Tag Archives: 1960’s

#235- Blonde Cobra

Quick recap: A man becomes many different characters and looks at himself in the mirror a lot.

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There are many layers of crazy in a movie that is only 30 minutes long

Fun (?) fact: Jack Smith, who acted in Blonde Cobra, influenced Andy Warhol’s films as well as John Waters.

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My thoughts: I have no idea what I watched. No clue whatsoever. And after reading up a bit on the film’s meaning, I don’t think Jack Smith or director Ken Jacobs were really going for anything other than doing something experimental. And if that was truly their goal, great job, you guys! You surpassed it by a mile.

But seriously, what the hell did I just watch? Most of Blonde Cobra is Smith making weird noises, singing off-key, and telling weird, shocking stories that don’t really have a point. There are also various audio recordings played throughout, which further add to the madness.  There were a few parts that stuck with me, like the quote, ‘why shave when I can’t think of a reason for living?’ so it’s not completely devoid of meaning. At times, it seemed like Smith was descending into madness, or maybe at home he felt less inhibited (he was a self-identified ‘queer muse’) so this was his way of being himself. And you know what? I dig it. This short film is as weird as it gets, but I kind of liked sitting back for a half hour without the pressure of trying to figure out a deeper meaning. It’s Art, man. I’m not sure if this was the takeaway, but watching Blonde Cobra made me realize that not everything has to make sense all of the time.

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FInal review: 2/5. Go check it out on Youtube, although it is very explicit and messed up.

Up next: Memento

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#234- Lola

Quick recap: Lola is a cabaret dancer with guy trouble. There’s Frankie, an American sailor who is in love with her, Roland, a childhood friend, also in love with her, and Michel ,the guy who knocked her up and abandoned her and her son. It is Michel who Lola is madly in love with and spends her days hoping he will return.

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Lola and Frankie

Fun (?) fact: Director Jacques Demy, who has a wonderfully French name, said that Lola is ‘a musical without music’.

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Lola and Roland

My thoughts: For a movie named Lola, there isn’t actually a whole lot of Lola. Which is fine by me because I became very invested in the other characters while Lola herself bored me a bit. I get that she’s the connection between everyone and keeps the plot moving, but I would’ve been perfectly happy had the movie been something like Other Characters Who Aren’t Lola. I would watch the hell out of that.

That’s not to say I didn’t like Lola. The actress who played her, Anouk Aimée is beautiful and charming and really made the character come alive.It’s no wonder everyone was in love with her. My heart (and allegiance), however, belong to the character of Roland Cassard and his unrequited love. He was a mess most of the time- a charming guy who is so unhappy with his life that he enters a diamond smuggling ring (haven’t we all?) in order to get away from it all and do some traveling. After making the decision to participate, Roland runs into Lola and it’s the first time he smiles in the movie. I loved how much emotion was brought to the character of Roland, as he went from hopeful to head over heels to obsessive and finally to bitter as he accepted the fact that Lola didn’t love him back. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and it made me identify with him all too well.

Director Jaques Demy also made the film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which I loved, although I think I enjoyed Lola more. There were so many instances of characters having a connection to each other that it became a little silly, but on the other hand, it gives the movie an almost fairy tale sort of feel. And even though it ends badly for Emo Roland, Lola’s first love, Michel, comes back just as she is about to leave the city and everyone (except Emo Roland) lives happily ever after. It’s sappy but it works.

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Final review: 4/5, although it’s almost a 5

Up next: Blonde Cobra

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#225-Closely Watched Trains

Quick recap:  A young man wants to lose his virginity but his inadequacy to perform is an issue. And also Hitler. Hitler ruins everything.

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Not sure why the girls weren’t all over him 😦

Fun (?)fact: According to IMDb, “Iva Janzurová turned down the part of Zdenicka Svatá, eventually played by Jitka Zelenohorská.”

MIND. BLOWN.

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This stamp scene. Oh my.

My thoughts: I thought France’s portrayal of teenagers took the ‘wtf’ cake, what with their sexual fluidity and sleeping with their mothers, but NO, Czechoslovakia has to burst in and ruin the whole thing for everyone. This is why we can’t have nice things, you guys.

Although the setting and characters are a little odd (Milos is an apprentice train conductor during World War II), the story itself is very relatable. Basically, Milos wants to get laid and even has a girl (Masa) who practically strips every time she sees him, but he doesn’t really want to make the effort to go through with it. Instead, he spends his time lamenting over how horrible life is, which is actually pretty accurate for teens these days. When he finally gets the chance to sleep with Masa, he orgasms early and both of them treat it like the world has just ended and Milos might as well go kill himself for sucking so badly. Which he does. But then a doctor tells him that premature ejaculation isn’t a big deal and he needs a ‘more experienced woman’ to help him out. As dramatic as Milos was (he definitely would’ve fit in at Degrassi), I liked him and wanted him to reach his goal. He does finally find a woman to help him out and everything is groovy. Masa even returns and forgives him and wants to try and sleep with him again.  Happy ending, right? And all totally relatable up until the point that Milos gets shot dead by Germans and his body carried off on a train, which subsequently explodes.

So, besides the ending, most of the movie was pretty funny. The other people working at the train station are bumbling idiots that try to help Milos by giving him advice, but who ultimately fail to fix anything. There was one scene where a conductor and receptionist have an encounter, where he ends up stamping her butt with official seals. The next morning the girl’s mother finds the stamps and parades her around town, showing her butt to anyone who will pay attention. She is angry that her daughter has been taken advantage of, but the girl loves the attention and finds the whole situation hilarious. For a movie that ends so tragically, I think it still holds up as a rather accurate portrayal of teenage life, if just a little dramatic.

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Final review: 4/5

Up next: Amadeus

 

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#224- 8 1/2

Quick recap: An acclaimed Italian director has lost interest in his upcoming movie, even though everyone needs him to wrap it up. 8 1/2 refers to the number of movies director Federico Fellini had made up until this point.

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I need this poster.

Fun (?) fact: As was the style with most Italian films at the time, sound was dubbed in afterwards. Fellini had the actors say random lines throughout the movie and then wrote the dialogue later.

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I also need Marcello Mastroianni, who played Guido Anselmi

My thoughts: Milestones are a lot of fun for me to celebrate on this blog, like the time I hit 200 movies or the time I watched Shawshank Redemption for the first time. And now, I’ve finally reached another momentous event-I have an opinion about director Federico Fellini! I watch Juliet of the Spirits a couple of months ago but now that I’ve seen two films of his, I think that entitles me to an opinion, and here it is:

He’s alright.

But really, I liked 8 1/2 much more than I liked Juliet of the Spirits. Juliet I think is more aesthetically pleasing while 8 1/2 has more that I can relate to. Not that I am a famed Italian director (as far as you know), but I understand lack of motivation and all the things that distract me from finishing what I start. Fellini got it too, and managed to turn this basic concept into a work of art. In the film, Guido Anselmi wants to direct a Science Fiction film but with slightly autobiographical characters. Everyone relies on him to make decisions (probably because he is the director), which just leads to him putting off tasks even more. He retreats further into his thoughts and his past as the movie progresses, which don’t help him to finish anything.

There’s a lot about 8 1/2 that I just didn’t get, mainly the religious stuff, but I loved the characters and how Anselmi treated all of them equally horrible- his mistress Carla, his wife Luisa, the Saraghina-a rough woman who did the rumba on the beach. But at the same time, Anselmi is so charming that it is hard to hate him for too long. I’m sure that if I watched 8 1/2 a few more times, it would mean even more to me, but I just don’t have time for that. For a first viewing, it’s still a damn fine movie.

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Final review: 4/5. All That Jazz got inspiration from this movie, which makes me appreciate it even more.

Up next: Who knows? Head on over to this list and pick out something for me to watch. Or not. It’s your life, after all.

 

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