What I’m Watching #2

Welcome to the second edition of What I’m Watching, a series that once every two weeks looks at the films I’ve been watching recently, and the films I plan to watch in the future. Today’s post covers all the films I’ve watched since June 18.

Films Watched for the First Time:

The Haunted House (1921): Silent slapstick from Keaton with great gags and memorable sequences, as well as some particularly impressive editing trickery. FilmScore: 7/10

Hard Luck (1921): Similarly funny Keaton short with some impressive gags. 7/10

Once Upon a Time in America (1984): After blind-buying this film on DVD, I was excited to give it a watch, and surprised with how incredibly well made it was. Leone’s auteur craftmanship doesn’t falter for a frame, and the actors keep the story going for an epic four hours. There are some particularly haunting moments that will stay with me a long while. An American classic. 10/10.

The High Sign (1921): I had to watch the epic final sequence of this Keaton short twice to fully comprehend it. Wonderful gags. 7/10

The Goat (1921): Quite possibly my favorite Keaton short so far, The Goat is relentlessly hilarious and well put-together, with sequences that feel truly original and delightfully hilarious. 8/10

Landscape in the Mist (1988): As my recent review of this film will tell you, this was my introduction to the work of Greek director Theo Angelopoulos, and I was incredibly impressed. There are many sequences in this slow but steady film that had me in complete awe. 9/10

Nashville (1975): I haven’t seen a lot of Robert Altman films, but this one is certainly my favorite. Flooring from start to finish with an incredible soundtrack of memorable songs and an impeccable cast of varying characters, this 160-minute film went by too fast, and I will definitely be seeing it again soon. 10/10

Living in Oblivion (1995): After a recommendation from Emil at A Swede Talks Movies, I decided to check this low-budget indie homage to independent cinema out, and while it’s got its own flaws, they’re very easy to overlook and the film is quite funny. 7/10

This Is Not a Film (2011): Is it fair to list this amongst the other films on this list, when after all it is not a film? 10/10

Through the Olive Trees (1994): After a too-long wait, I finally finished watching Abbas Kiarostami’s Koker trilogy, and the final film is perhaps my favorite. A quiet but meaningful story of a filmmaker struggling to finish a project, there are so many aspects of Kiarostami’s directorial greatness on display here. 9/10

I Vitelloni (1953): An early film from Federico Fellini, this is a much-treasured work among fans of the director, and perhaps the man’s most autobiographical film, personal on the same level as 8 ½, perhaps even more intensely than that. An influential classic. 8/10

The Play House (1921): Though this is one of the less impressive Keaton shorts, it does have one sequence that’s utterly magnificent: the opening sequence, in which Keaton plays literally dozens of characters all at once! 7/10

49 Up (2005): Yet another film in Michael Apted’s glorious series, which seems to be getting more and more personal and hauntingly deep. Though many participants have acknowledged the series has nearly ruined their lives, they still bravely agree to take part and bare their souls. Amazing. 9/10

The Ides of March (2011): Yeah… nah… 7/10

All These Women (1964): It seems as if I’ve seen all of Ingmar Bergman’s greatest films, and all that’s left are the less impressive, mediocre ones on the bottom. All These Women, Bergman’s first venture into colour, is a film that looks nice, but apart from that is absolutely horrid in every way. A disgusting mess. 3/10

This Can’t Happen Here (1950): Bergman says that for him, this film is ‘the very bottom.’ He despises it with all his heart and tried to disown it, so finally getting a chance to see this rare work was excting for me, and I’ve got to say, it’s nowhere near as bad as he makes it out to be. Sure, it’s not great or even good, but it’s only mediocre and has its moments. 5/10

The Touch (1971): Along with This Can’t Happen Here, Bergman also considers The Touch one of his absolute worst films. Personally, I think the man’s being a little too serious. Yes, this is a flawed film; in fact, its third act is where it becomes almost appalling in its contrived idiocy, but the first 60-70 minutes at least are almost fantastic, and quite well put together. Bibi Andersson is wonderful, speaking English fluently and acting very well. 7/10

Shame (2011): I’ve seen this twice, written two mini-reviews and considered its meaning deeply, and I still can’t comprehend fully the excellence of Shame, which may be the best film I’ve seen this month (closely tied ironically with another Steve McQueen film, Hunger, which I saw at the very beginning of the month). Fassbender is incredible, McQueen’s direction is that of a true auteur and Harry Escott’s score is wonderfully dark. No flaws whatsoever in this modern masterpiece. 10/10

Eternity and a Day (1998): My second Theo Angelopoulos film. While not quite as good as Landscape in the Mist, I thought Eternity and a Day was a very powerful arthouse film. Its pace is incredibly slow, but as you may already know I don’t have a problem with slow pace so long as there is something else interesting to keep me watching, such as the themes or imagery. This film is rarely boring and always wonderful to look at, with epic tracking shots reminiscent of Bela Tarr. 8/10

Le Havre (2011): A nice, harmless little French comedy which is delightful to watch and is wonderfully sweet the whole way through. Not a great film admittedly but one I felt a poignant attraction to and enjoyed a lot. 8/10

Rewatches Since June 18

• Volver (2006)
• World of Glory (1991)
• Taste of Cherry (1997)
• Raging Bull (1980)
• 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
• Shame (2011)
• Three Colours: Red (1994)
• Inland Empire (2006)

Films Ranked:

10/10

This Is Not a Film (2011)

Shame (2011)

Nashville (1975)

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

9/10

Landscape in the Mist (1988)

49 Up (2005)

Through the Olive Trees (1994)

8/10

Eternity and a Day (1998)

The Goat (1921)

I Vitelloni (1953)

Le Havre (2011)

7/10

Living in Oblivion (1995)

The Haunted House (1921)

The High Sign (1921)

Hard Luck (1921)

The Ides of March (2011)

The Touch (1971)

The Play House (1921)

6/10

5/10

This Can’t Happen Here (1950)

4/10

3/10

All These Women (1964)

2/10

1/10

Upcoming Films

As I mentioned two weeks ago, I keep ten films always on my Letterboxd watchlist. When one film is removed, another is added immediately and the number always stays at ten. Ten films from ten different directors, for me to watch over time. Since June 18, I have watched five films from that watchlist: Landscape in the Mist, 49 Up, Through the Olive Trees, I Vitelloni and Nashville. Those five were replaced with: A Swedish Love Story (1970), Peeping Tom (1960), Chelsea Girls (1966), I Was Born, But… (1932), and 56 Up (2012). I imagine I’ll be seeing most of those five films in the next two weeks. Also remaining on the ten-film watchlist are: Film Socialisme (2010), Out 1: Noli me Tangere (1971), The Terrorizers (1986), Rocco and His Brothers (1959) and Les Vampires (1915). I imagine I’ll have started watching the 12-hour Out 1 before the next What I’m Watching post.

I also have plans to watch: more Buster Keaton shorts, Theo Angelopoulos’ The Travelling Players (1975), Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Love is Colder than Death (1967), Ingmar Bergman’s Torment (1944), Harmony Korine’s Julien Donkey-Boy (1999), Chantal Akerman’s Je Tu Il Elle (1976), Kenji Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu Monogatari (1953), and… whatever else I happen to feel like watching. Keep reading and stay tuned; we’ll see how many of these films I’ve watched in two weeks time.

So what do you think? Have you seen these movies? What do you think of them? What have you been watching lately? Leave a comment below.