Criterion Challenge 2023

[Idioteque Stalker]

17. Dysfunctional Families. Five Easy Pieces (rewatch). Here's a man so allergic to bullshit he abandons his roots, his privilege, his talent -- dismantles himself completely, just for a fair shake at living an authentic life (albeit one in which he is secretly aware of his superiority) -- only to discover beneath all the layers of pretense resides a complete and utter asshole. I believe many (most/all?) of us would have a similar realization if we so diligently rejected our higher faculties. The road to "total authenticity" is long, and it eventually leads to a point in which we are governed only by our basest impulses of gratification and survival. Somewhere along the way we disregard others and become little more than selfish animals. So yeah, just because you haven't felt anything in years doesn't mean you should accuse someone else of faking a reaction to your Chopin prelude. Be decent and kind even when you don't feel like it; even if it's an abandonment of your true nature as a rabid, stinking beast. And if one day you realize you can't help but hurt others, there's still the failsafe of hitchhiking to Alaska to live and die alone, clean. Four stars. In a way, the inverse of Tar.

18. Food on Film. Sweet Movie. Introducing the Sweet Movie Diet -- You might never eat again! Feel skinny for the final month of your horrific, shameful life!

Goes to show even the most disgusting, unsanitary movies are still palatable with a bit of color and humor. Or as that old Yugoslav saying goes, "A boat-full of sugar makes the castration, bodily fluids, and public humiliation go down." Three stars.

19. Faith on Film. Miracle in Milan. De Sica went on quite a run after the war: Shoeshine, Bicycle Thieves, Umberto D.... Oh, and this wholesome little comedy about an incessantly cheerful orphan who saves his shanty town from a greedy oil tycoon by way of a magical dove. Humor, goodwill, and neat SFX abound in this very different type of siege picture, although there's little-to-no inquiry into the spiritual or sociological side of things. It's somewhat of a curious choice for the Palme d'Or -- especially considering De Sica's movement-defining films that sandwich it -- but hey, crowd-pleasers are people too. Three stars.


Up next:
20. Tearjerkers. Kes, Aparajito, Paisan, My Life as a Dog, or a rewatch of Tokyo Story. Leaning Kes or Paisan.

21. British Realism. This Sporting Life, Kes, Fish Tank, or Taste of Honey. Leaning Kes or Fish Tank.

22. Wilco's Closet Picks. Today I learned Being There the album is named after Being There the movie. Cool to see Wilco and Yo La Tengo talk about movies. The King of Marvin Gardens, Heart of a Dog, Mr. Freedom, or Rolling Thunder Revue. Leaning RTR.