It's been mighty cloudy for the past 6 weeks. My last astronomy outing was Nov. 25th; that should tell you something. Every day we wake up it is dark, gloomy, damp, and chilly. Someday the sun will shine here again; I can feel it.
We've been enjoying our stereo/Spotify hookup, with lots of Philip Glass, Brian Eno, and Johann Johannson coming out of the speakers. And the soundtrack to Tales From the Loop by Glass makes an awesome album.
There are four films to report; two from Mubi and two from Criterion. We each picked one from each service. And coming up early in the week is our blue ray purchase of Aniara. Looking forward hopefully to that one.
My two choices were The Structure of Crystal, a Polish film from 1969 showing on Mubi, and Sunflower, a film by De Sica from 1970, and leaving Criterion January 31st. Crystal was directed by Krysztov Zanusski, with the entire film taking place in a rural farmhouse far from the city. A physicist and his school teacher wife have fled the rat race for a different lifestyle, and are enjoying it immensely. He does personnel research projects, and is the official weatherman for the local airport. They are visited by a former friend and colleague of the man, an active physicist who wants him to return to the city and his previous work. The film is a gentle one, and is quite beautifully filmed in b & w. The opening wide shot, as the couple await their visitor, is most memorable. The print itself was perfect. Filmed in winter, you will want to wear a sweater when viewing this film. Recommended.
De Sica's Sunflower, from the same period, is a vastly different beast. This is a big budget affair starring Marcello and Sophia. It was also the first Western film to be shot in Russia. It takes place during the 2nd World War. Marcello is shipping out to Africa in two days, but falls in love with Sophia just before leaving. After having sex, she convinces him to marry her, as it will give him a 12 day leave. When their 12 days are up, they hatch a scheme where he pretends to be crazy. He is found out, and shipped to the Russian front. Imagine a battalion of men from sunny Naples suddenly finding themselves in Russia during winter.
He doesn't return after the war, and Sophia, believing him to be still alive, goes to Russia to search for him. What she finds, and how she deals with it, takes up the latter part of the film. This is one of the best war (anti-war) films ever made, with only a very few scenes doing more to show what war is really like than most so called war movies. Marcello's face is once again perfect for his role as a hapless foot soldier far out of his depth. Highly recommended, with some very moving scenes. The way the film moves from comedy to tragedy, with the war the cause of it all, is masterfully handled.
Deb's choices included Harry Dean Stanton's last film, Lucky, and a Robert Wise B picture melodrama called The House on Telegraph Hill. Harry Dean was 90 when he made his film, about a 90 year man living alone in a small Arizona town. He has a daily routine which he follows religiously, including morning exercises, a glass of milk, a walk through town, an evening at the local bar, etc. The film does not begin with a lot of potential, but it slowly comes together very nicely. The film was done in 2016, with the premiere in 2017. Harry Dean died one week before the premiere. Filled with autobiographical material of the actor, the film is a fitting tribute to a great character actor who finally got his big role. Also starring President Roosevelt the tortoise (it's not a turtle; it's a tortoise). Also starring David Lynch as Harry's best friend, and directed by Lynch's son. Recommended as one of the best films about aging gracefully and cantankerously, at the same time.
Telegraph Hill is a gaslighting film from 1951, starring Richard Basehart as the cad, and a lovely and capable Valentina Cortese as a woman who steals a dead woman's identify after surviving a woman's Polish concentration camp during the war. Not a great film by any means, as it is full of tropes (the brake fluid is gone, so we have a great example of how not to drive in San Francisco; there is a gaping hole in an outbuilding, with a 30,000 foot drop to the street below,which she manages to fall into; her husband, who is trying to kill her, just happens to meet her downtown in the same building where she is seeking help from a friend; the ultra bitchy lover of the husband). However, a few of the tropes are turned upside down, such as the orange juice scene, and the bitchy lover proving loyal to the little boy she looks after rather the cad). In b & w, and maybe worth a look for fans of Robert Wise and gothic romance literature.
Our big outing for this week is to meet Randy G. for coffee later this afternoon at 14th Coffee. The excitement never stops at Lone Mtn. Homestead--come back soon and visit again.
Mapman Mike
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