Coming this August.
Just a few minutes of pure enjoyment from a Woody Allen film I loved entirely.
This is wonderful news and hopefully a prelude to a Criterion run of the Dardenne canon.
THE DARDENNE BROS. ARE COMING TO THE CRITERION COLLECTION!
been waiting way too long for this one.
the top image is a tease that Criterion posted on their Facebook page this afternoon. the bottom image is a full frame from the Dardenne brothers’ breakthrough film, ROSETTA (1999). Criterion will release it on DVD and Blu-ray this August.
while it may not have been the Dardenne film that i would have chosen (THE SON, duh), it’s still a remarkable bit of storytelling that was deserving of its Palme D’Or, and it allows one of the most accomplished filmmaking duos in the cinema’s history to take their rightful place alongside the other legendary auteurs whose work has been released under the Criterion banner. expect an official announcement on May 15.
The most miserable, hilarious movie trailer I’ve seen in recent memory.
This is why it’s great to live in New York. Apropos of nothing: a midweek Kieslowski festival at the library in April and May.
nypl:
If you’re contemplating activities for next week, we have a choice suggestion for (somewhat contemplative) Wednesday evenings…
Our new series Films of Krzysztof Kieslowski kicks off April 11 and provides a concise overview of the Polish director’s career, from his early neorealist films to his widely-regarded Three Colors trilogy.
All screenings are FREE and seating is first-come, first-served with doors at 6:30 p.m. Visit bit.ly/kieslowski-nypl for more info.
April 11: Camera Buff (1979, 103 min)
April 18: Blind Chance (1981, 114 min)
April 25: A Short Film About Killing (1988, 81 min)
May 2: A Short Film About Love (1988, 83 min)
May 9: Double Life of Veronique (1991, 96 min)
May 16: Three Colors: Blue (1993, 98 min)
The film making process will always fascinate me. This production still from the set of Mad Men has got me all excited.
The teaser trailer for Jesus Fish, a project spearheaded by good friends and one I am extraordinarily proud of and excited about.
The Golden Globe winners are not all that surprising to me, but one win in particular makes me happier than all the rest, a win that I hope is carried through this awards season: Christopher Plummer for best supporting actor in Beginners.
I watched Beginners a few nights ago in a mildly jet-lagged state and found it largely unremarkable, but was completely drawn in by Plummer’s stunning turn. Oftentimes I’m tempted to see him as little more than a comforting presence—the token gruff, orderly gentleman with a knowing smirk. (I once saw him on stage with Julie Andrews with a program called “A Royal Christmas” and felt the same way—but that may have been because he was traveling through Hershey, Pennsylvania in a program called “A Royal Christmas.”)
Nevertheless, Plummer is a revelation in Beginners. He plays Hal Fields, the widowed father of the Ewan McGregor protagonist Oliver Fields. Late in life, after years of marriage, Hal came out of the closet and lived his sunset years as a gay activist. His death of cancer (told in flashback) is the film’s centerpiece, but the way in which Plummer portrays the gradual breakdown of a very happy man is arresting in a surprisingly gentle way.
Gone is the knowing smirk seeing as Hal is in denial for almost the whole run time. But rather than screaming at him to come out of this denial, I found his progression wholly shattering. Hal has been genuinely searching all his life for the same love that his son is trying to find with a young actress named Anna (Melanie Laurent). In the end Oliver and Anna, after an initial breakup, commit to begin a relationship with the mutual acknowledgement that they don’t know how to do it. We see in them what Hal was always reaching for with the half-smiles, the young clothes, his marriage, and his relationships with men a fraction of his age. It was heartbreaking in a way that I am still trying to express.
Whether Oliver and Anna’s new relationship will last, I don’t know; I didn’t quite care about their characters enough to give it much thought. But oh how my heart reached for Hal.
Cheers to Plummer, a true actor.
