It's been a busy week for films, as we had four that are leaving Criterion on the 28th at midnight, so we had to put a rush on them. Glad we did. Before we get to the films, a news update. Deb is feeling better and has just had her second iron infusion. She began to notice a difference 72 hours after her first one. So far so good. Her blood work shows a plethora of iron (just what is a plethora...) and her hemoglobin count is heading upwards. It's what we expected and hoped for, but it's nice when it actually happens. Deb had a miserable December, January and most of February. She is back working on her latest film. We have one more millstone to deal with around her neck, but that is next week. Moving on.
This morning I practiced at Randy G.'s house, since he lives not too far from where Deb was being treated. I also got to tour his amazing home built observatory for the first time, where he uses his 11" Celestron scope in his backyard. Though he lives in Windsor and the light pollution is bad, he has made enough adjustments to deal with the worst of it. I am looking forward to a night time visit just as soon as we get a few days past new moon. A full one is coming up soon and will feature a total eclipse, though we'd have to be in New Mexico to see the whole thing. There has been a tiny bit of progress in my piano pieces, but more on that after next week.
We continue to play the original Black Mirror PC game, though it is often a frustrating experience. In these old adventure games players can die suddenly, in quite horrible ways. As a result one has to stop often and save the game, or else replay an entire segment after one dies. Such gameplay kills the immersive experience totally, but gamer designers back then didn't get that. They thought it was cool that they could "outsmart" players. Anyway, more on the game when we have completed it.
Vermiglio is an Italy/France/Belgium film from 2024. It takes place in a tiny alpine village in Italy during the 2nd world war and just after. The film takes a close look at one family; the father is an aging schoolmaster for the local children. His wife is a baby making machine. By the end of the film they have had ten kids, and another is on the way. Another of the babies dies soon after being born. The film seems to focus on the three daughters, one of marrying age, another one in her mid-teens, and the third about ten or eleven years of age. When a soldier appears, running from the war
after escaping the village, he and the oldest daughter hit if off. Things soon turn topsy turvy. Beautifully photographed high in the mountains (Dolomites), we pass through all the seasons, some more than once. There is a lot to like about the film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice. Perhaps it could be outdone by a sprawling novel, which might be able to define characters a little more, the film is still an amazing accomplishment. Directed by Maura Delpero. Recommended viewing.
Next came a film with more screaming than any other film I have watched. Alucarda is a Mexican horror film from 1977 and directed by Juan Lopez Moctemzuma. Here is the blurb from the Criterion website:
Directed at fever-pitch hysteria by Alejandro Jodorowsky collaborator
Juan López Moctezuma, this ultrablasphemous satanic shocker is one of
the unholy grails of the nunsploitation genre—an orgiastic freakout of
Catholic imagery, vampirism, lesbianism, and demonic possession.
Following the death of her parents, teenage Justine (Susana Kamini)
arrives at a convent where she strikes up a curious friendship with the
mysterious Alucarda (Tina Romero)—a relationship that will unleash a
most ungodly terror within their cloistered world.
Tina Romero is unbelievably good as the dark-haired young girl taken over by the devil. Her face can change from a smiling and happy virgin to the most diabolical creature ever seen, in a single heartbeat. The film is in colour, and seems to echo Hammer Films, though this one goes much farther in pushing boundaries and in pure screaming horror. Watching the nuns, who are unable to deal with a satanic experience, is a highlight of the film. They just go stark raving mad, especially after the descriptive sermon given by the priest warning of what becomes of lost souls. A don't miss film, one that I had never heard of!
Exiled is a Johnnie To film from 2006 and may be the best gangster movie ever made. The action (and there are more bullets flying than on a typical day during WW II) takes place in Macau. Four hit men are sent to eliminate a former gangster who turned on his organization. They end up staying for dinner with his wife and baby, preparing and cooking it themselves. Watching killers peel and chop veggies and use a wok tells the viewer that this is no ordinary film. The five men were school chums at one time, and they still have a camaraderie. They end up taking on not one mob, but two of them (plus they manage a gold heist in their spare time). Terrific characters, and even though the film is a virtual comic book, it works remarkably well. There aren't many folk left standing by the end, but the mother and baby seem to make it out okay. Worth more than one viewing, especially once you figure out what is happening. Lots of comic relief, including a cop just days from retirement who keeps avoiding any killing and action. Highly recommended.
Somewhere is a 2010 film directed by Sofia Coppola. It has one of the worst openings to a film I have ever seen. It won the Golden Lion at Venice, so we plodded on. It turned into a pretty good film. A hotshot actor by the name of Johnny Marco has it all: fame, money, women, parties. However, inside he is as empty as a gas tank running on fumes. He drives his Ferrari out on a lonely circular track in the desert. In a drunken stair descent he breaks his wrist and lies abed for a few days. He hires twin blond pole dancers to come to his room and dance for him. The film seems to hit its lowest point because they come not once, but twice. Then his eleven year old daughter arrives, brought by his ex-wife. Beautifully played by a young Elle Fanning (her smile can light up an entire room), they hang out together and seem really connected. She figure skates and studies ballet. He ends up having to take her to Italy with him for an award ceremony where he is being honoured. The movie thrives on their partnership, but when he has to take her to summer camp (mom has left and did not say when she might return) and returns to an empty apartment, he is devastated, slowly beginning to realize how empty and useless his life has become. The final scene is ambiguous; he leaves his car beside a lonely road and begins walking. If he dies, then his young daughter will likely kill herself, as she already feels abandoned by her mother. If he lives then he mind find himself somewhere out there, and return a better person. I really wish I knew. I do not have a good feeling about a man walking in the desert without water. A pretty decent film.
Lastly comes Winter Kills from 1979, starring everybody from then. Jeff Bridges stars as the half brother of an assassinated President, with John Huston playing the overbearing but hollow rich and controlling father. The film pokes fun at conspiracy theories, especially the Kennedy assassination ones. Part black comedy and part adventure film, it is quite fun to watch. Eli Wallach, Anthony Perkins, Sterling Hayden, Dorothy Malone, Ralph Meeker, Toshiro Mifune and a cameo by Elizabeth Taylor all make the movie better than average. Directed by William Richert.
I will conclude with a few more Train Sim World screen captures, all with a winter theme.
Night or day, rain or shine, I'm moving freight and passengers across the world!
Mapman Mike
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