• Lockdown Film Recommendations

Hi everyone! Given that we will have more time than usual in our hands due to the current lockdown, I thought it might be interesting if we shared what everyone has been watching.

I’ve been revisiting some Almodovar, mainly his early films. I have to admit I’m not the biggest fan of everything he’s done after the 80s (except for maybe Volver, as he reunites with one of my favourite actressess of all time, Carmen Maura). While his first feature Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Average Girls (Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón, 1980) might be a bit too intense for viewers that are not familiar with Almodovar, you might find this film quite funny:

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)

Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios

I think this is one of the last Almodovar films, when he took himself less seriously and his films captured really well the craziness of Spain in the 80s, after the fall of the Franco dictatorship.

Synopsis

Dumped by her lover Iván, soap actress Pepa needs to track him down to deliver an important message. But her life is soon invaded by a series of distractions: Pepa’s friend Candela might have got involved in a terrorist plot, while Iván’s son, who is flat-hunting, ends up visiting Pepa’s apartment.

You can probably find it online easily, but if you can’t, let me know!

Which films have you been watching recently?

    DiegoCollado I’ve just been getting started with Almodovar myself. During lockdown my friend and I would synchronously watch films on MUBI and call each other afterwards to discuss. So far we’ve watched Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, Live Flesh and Talk To Her. Very interesting writer/director. Astonishingly prolific as well. His filmography really is something to behold: 22 features in just over 40 years, in addition to numerous shorts, all of which he’s both written and directed.

    His style is growing on me - it’s bold and colourful; you never really know where the story’s going to go. My friend and I also noted that his sex scenes stand out when compared to the usual Hollywood fare. They’re sensuous without being gratuitious and they always serve a purpose in the story. I’m looking forward to exploring his work further, though I’d be interested to hear why his later work is not to your liking DiegoCollado!

          Last weekend it was Yilmaz Erdogan’s The Dream of a Butterfly for me; I’m only just discovering and admiring his work for the light it sheds on important, otherwise forgotten stories. This one was a tribute to all the forgotten poets - the two main characters were 2 young, aspiring poets who didn’t make it - whilst revering those who did - their teacher and other main character in the film was Behçet Necatigil, a famous Turkish author, poet and translator.

          I’ll check out Almodovar especially because I’ve been meaning to branch out to directors / writers from other countries for a while. You mentioned mubi @MugambaWilkins . I remember you guys told us how to access it for free as uni students during fresher’s week; do you mind reminding me? By the way, The Dream of a Butterfly, for those who are interested, is available on Netflix.

            Cha Sadly, MUBI is now only free to students who are already signed up. Newcomers now have to pay a subscription, though with a special discount for students - about £4.99 a month I believe?

              MugambaWilkins He is indeed one of the most creative contemporary filmmakers we’ve had in Spain. I haven’t seen his most recent short film with Tilda Swinton, although judging by the review on our blog (which you can find here), it is very well done (and it is also based on Cocteau’s A human voice, like Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown).

              I feel like his new films are colder than his earlier ones, less snappy, more formal, not so Spanish. It’s quite strange that his most recent films haven’t worked very well at the Spanish box office, but have gained enourmous traction worldwide. They are very well written and shot, but they are very different from what he did in the 80s and early 90s, where you could feel like it was him and his friends having a blast. His films try to be more social now, but at the same time they seem to me more detached from Spanish society, which is why I think they might not have been doing very well in Spain (his constant autobiographical plots might have tired the Spanish audience too, given everyone knows about his life already after years of being constantly featured on TV and press).
              I was talking a few days ago with @homiebowie about how Stephen Chow’s most popular films worldwide are not that well considered in Hong Kong, whereas the ones that are not well known here are appreciated there. Might be a similar thing? I don’t know.

              I really like his style, though, which has matured a lot from his early crazy films. As you say, very bold and colourful, different to the plain colour palettes that we see everywhere now.

              If you want to watch some Almodovar together, let me know! I can set up a stream (which anyone is welcome to join) and we can discuss the film afterwards. Or maybe send @BrynChiappe a message so that he programmes some Almodovar! 😆

                Cha I look forward to checking this film out, as I quite like Turkish cinema. I think I’ve only seen him in The Water Diviner, although I don’t think he played a big role there.

                The Wild Pear Tree (unrelated to Yilmaz Erdogan, but it’s another Turkish film), although long, was very interesting visually. Definitely requires some patience, though.

                Have you seen Mustang? It’s another contemporary Turkish film that I really enjoyed!

                  I haven’t seen either of those! Will check them out, thanks @DiegoCollado 🙂 By the way, Turkish cinema tends to be quite emotional as you might have observed. If you enjoy crying in films I definitely recommend The Miracle in Cell no.7 and My World.

                  I’d also be up for watching some Almodovar together!

                  Film recommendations 😃

                  Shoplifters-Koreeda
                  Buffalo ’66-Gallo
                  Parasite- Bong Joon-ho
                  The Handmaiden- Park Chan-wook
                  Boy and What We Do In The Shadows -Taika Waititi
                  God’s Own Country- Francis Lee
                  The Royal Tenenbaums- Anderson
                  Paterson— Jarmusch
                  Marriage Story-Baumbach
                  Before sunrise trilogy—Linklater
                  Portrait of a Lady On Fire—Sciamma
                  Rocks- Gavron
                  Brooklyn-Crowley

                    Yunan If you like Taika then I’d also recommend Hunt for the Wilderpeople and also if you’re a Baumbach fan some of his smaller films like The Squid and the Whale or The Meyerowitz Stories (although all his films are literally the same if you stare at them for too long). I’d also have to say that I’m more of a fan of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy than The Handmaiden and I’d put Sciamma’s Girlhood above Portrait of a Lady on Fire so I’d recommend those too if you haven’t already seen them.

                      19 days later
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