Comments for Dreams and Pomp

Comment on Surviving the Antichrist by James Steffen

James Steffen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:46:46 +0000

I admit that I was being a little snide about the Tarkovsky dedication. The film is beautifully photographed for the most part, though I still think it suffers in places from being shot on HD rather than 35mm. Near the very end there are some truly striking compositions reminiscent of Bosch. When is it set to open in Australia? Or are you in Armenia right now?

Comment on Surviving the Antichrist by Vigen Galstyan

Vigen Galstyan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:24:00 +0000

It’s funny… I keep thinking about this film constantly and the only reason is precisely because of what you term as ‘visual cliches’. I recognise them as such, but they are absolutely unshakable, pervasive and solid. In fact, I probably would argue that IT IS art – although I know that most would disagree (it is so unfashionable to like a beautifully crafted image nowadays). Oh, by the way, the only part of the film I’ve seen so far is the trailer

Comment on Surviving the Antichrist by James Steffen

James Steffen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:23:39 +0000

I didn’t write down the name, but I’m pretty sure the “misogyny consultant” was female. I think she provided historical research about the mistreatment of women in the 16th-17th centuries. Without giving too much away of the plot, the wife is a graduate student writing a thesis about the topic, and we see lots of antique woodcuts of women being tortured, presumably as witches. Lars von Trier also employed a “therapy consultant” since the husband was a professional psychotherapist.

Comment on Surviving the Antichrist by Louise

Louise — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:00:17 +0000

A Misogyny consultant? That’s hilarious! I guess it’s a good sign for women that the entire culture isn’t just like that all the time.

Comment on Surviving the Antichrist by James Steffen

James Steffen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:38:49 +0000

Hey, Stina! The Fall does have gorgeous photography. I’m sure that Tarsem Singh is familiar with Tarkovsky. There are also some deliberate homages to Paradjanov in his music videos “Losing My Religion” and “Sweet Lullaby.”

Thanks for the link to the Larry Gross review, which I hadn’t read. I think he has the film sized up just about right.

Comment on Surviving the Antichrist by sitting pugs

sitting pugs — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:19:19 +0000

Just mix together some desaturated color, black and white, slow motion, rain or other objects falling from nowhere, shots of wind blowing curtains, Baroque music on the soundtrack, and you’ve got Art. Sounds like the opening sequence of Tarsem Singh's The Fall, which I enjoyed very much. Have you read the Film Comment piece on the film? Written by Larry Gross. You can find it here.

Comment on Revanche by Louise

Louise — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:25:29 +0000

Hey congrats on starting your blog site, James, and I am honored to have Thoughts Happen included in your blogroll. I am in awe of the depth and breadth of your film knowledge, and expect to learn a lot here. I am interested to hear about another movie that doesn’t use a musical score – is that related to the Dogma 95 movement I remember hearing about? ( I hope I am getting the name right – or am I getting it mixed up with Windows 95? Another movie I recall seeing in the past few years that used this technique was the quirky Bill Murray movie which If I remember correctly was titled Broken Flowers. It does give a different tone by doing that.

P.S. “Pull ze string!” from Ed Wood is definitely one of my favorite movie quotes – good choice