Wednesday 30 January 2008

L'ATALANTE (Jean Vigo, 1934)

L'Atalante is one of a select group of 15-20 films that routinely appear on lists of the greatest films ever made, especially since its 1990 restoration. Part of the reason for this canonization is surely the fact that this is Vigo's only feature length film. Vigo died shortly after its release, leaving behind L'Atalante and a few short films: Zero for Conduct (1933), Taris (1931), and A Propos de Nice (1930).

I saw the film for the first time last night at the Seoul Cinematheque in a very good print. At a narrative level, L'Atalante is a fairly cliched love story involving a barge captain marrying a village girl and taking her with him to live on the Seine River. She grows restless and longs for a more exciting life in Paris, and he grows more and more jealous. She leaves for a night in the city, he leaves her behind, and eventually they are both miserable enough that the barge's sailor, Pere Jules, brings her back for a joyous reunion.

But what impresses about the film is the visual style, the alternating between documentary-like images of life on the barge and striking high contrast, poetic imagery. However, coming to the film for the first time I must admit I was slightly disappointed that the film lacked the anarchist energy of Vigo's earlier 40-minute short Zero for Conduct. The film works in making the audience feel the boredom of life on the barge, with the energetic and worldly sailor Pere Jules a much more appealing screen presence than the dull lead. But when Juliette finally leaves the barge, the film is unable to invest its cinematic energy with her. Instead, he concentrates on reuniting the couple. This leads to two of the more memorable sequences: a surprisingly explicit cross-cut between the lovers that clearly suggests mutual masturbation; and the scene where the husband repeats his wife's earlier story of opening his eyes underwater in order to see his true love. Vigo goes so far as to suggest that the husband must imaginatively open himself up to the world to regain his love, but this is as far as the film will go in breaking social convention.

The film's images certainly stay in one's mind, much like a silent film, which it at times resembles. But I would be lying if I said I enjoyed the film immensely while I was watching it.

UPCOMING: THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

On February 6-13, the Cinecube theatre will be showing one of the more critically acclaimed films from last year: THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (Julian Schnabel, 2007). Not sure about english subtitles, however. For a review of the film, check out Ed Howard's blog entry:

http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2008/01/12-diving-bell-and-butterfly.html

UPCOMING: Jean Rouch retrospective

There is a upcoming retrospective at the Seoul Cinematheque of the French documentary filmmaker and anthropologist Jean Rouch. The schedule is not yet announced, but they will be showing 14 Rouch films, 8 feature length and 6 shorts. We'll have to see how many have english subtitles. More info on Rouch is available at the following websites:
http://allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll and http://der.org/jean-rouch/content/index.php

The films are as follows:

BATAILLE SUR LE GRAND FLEUVE (1951)
LES MAITRES FOUS (1955)
MAMMY WATER (1956)
MOI, UN NOIR (1959)
LA PYRAMIDE HUMAINE (1961)
CHRONIQUE D'UN ETE (1960)
LA PUNITION (1965)
LA CHASSE AU LION A L'ARC (1965)
JAGUAR (1971)
UN LION NOMME L'AMERICAIN (1968)
PETIT A PETIT (1972)
TOUROU ET BITTI (1971)
HORENDI (1972)
BATEAU IVRE (1987)

The only Rouch film I have seen is CHRONIQUE D'UN ETE (CHRONICLE OF A SUMMER), one of the main films in the cinema verite tradition, which combined observational techniques with an explicit acknowledgment of the role of the filmmakers themselves. CHRONICLE OF A SUMMER famously concludes with the subjects watching themselves and commenting on the portrayal, followed by Rouch and co-director Edgar Morin talking about the filmmaking process. A great film and worthy of comparison with the other great New Wave films being made in France at the time. Highly recommended, and I imagine it is the film most likely to have english subtitles.

Keep an eye on the website for the schedule; the retrospective will be held February 21-29.

UPCOMING: Minnellini Retrospective

There will a Vincente Minnelli Retrospective at the Seoul Art Cinema. The schedule is now on-line at the cinematheque website: www.cinematheque.seoul.kr. Especially excited to see they are showing TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN.

Dongseung Cinematheque/ Renoir Retrospective

Dongseung Cinematheque is located at Hyehwa Station (line #4); take exit 1, and walk towards Hyehwa Rotary (should be 2 minute walk). There is a website (www.dsartcenter.co.kr) but it doesn't work on my computer.

There is a upcoming Renoir retrospective. The schedule is as follows.

LA BETE HUMAINE February 3 4:00pm
THE RULES OF THE GAME February 5 7:00pm, February 10 4:00pm
LA CHIENNE February 12 7:00pm, February 17 4:00pm
A DAY IN THE COUNTRY February 19 7:00pm, February 24 4:00pm
MADAME BOVARY February 26 7:00pm, March 2 4:00pm

There is also going to be a Renoir retrospective coming to the Seoul Cinematheque March 1st-10th.

The schedule is not announced, but the films will be as follows:

NANA
THE LOWER DEPTHS
LA MARSEILLAISE
THIS LAND IS MINE
THE SOUTHERNER
THE DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID
THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH
THE RIVER
THE GOLDEN COACH
ELENA AND HER MEN
PICNIC IN THE GRASS

Not the usual suspects, which is nice.

And if you are in Pusan, there is currently Renoir retrospective running from January 25-February 21. The website is cinema.piff.org

Friday 18 January 2008

Korean film archive

Another place worth checking out is the Korean film archive. The website is www.koreafilm.org and is in English with directions to its various locations.

They show older Korean films and some foreign films, although unfortunately the Korean films are usually not with subtitles. This is a problem in general in Seoul; if you want to see Korean cinema you're usually confined to DVD, at least in my experience so far.

The archive also has a library with a decent selection of film books and journals. It is not as extensive as a ordinary university library in North America, but it does have some useful material. It costs 30,000 won for a membership in order to borrow material, but there's no entry fee.

Thursday 17 January 2008

Cinema Cube and Sponge House

I have not been to this theatre as of yet, but it does offer an interesting schedule of art films. It is located at the Gwanghwamun subway stop, line 5, exit 6. It has a website: http://www.cinecube.net/

There is a upcoming screening on the week of February 6th of the acclaimed THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY.

The sponge house cinema is also located close by: Go to Chongno 3 (sam) stop (line 1, 3 and 5) and take exit 15. Walk straight until the Burger King and take a left, you'll see the theatre on the left.

The problem with sponge house is that it is hard to find info on-line, although this may just be me. I did check the place out a few months back but they didn't have any schedules to take. I may check it out again soon, since it's close to the cinematheque.

Chungmuro Film Festival

In October this year, there was the 1st Chungmuro Film Festival in Seoul. Unlike most other festivals, it focused on older films. Notable events included:

Retrospectives on Chaplin, John Boorman, Lindsay Anderson, Luchino Visconti and Patrick Tam;
Sections on Korean cinema, Australian cinema and Hong Kong cinema;
Restored prints of numerous films, from popular films like GONE WITH THE WIND and THE SOUND OF MUSIC to cult items like Argento's SUSPIRIA and HEAVEN'S GATE.

I was able to attend 5 films: THE LEOPARD, DELIVERANCE, if..., POINT BLANK, and HEAVEN'S GATE. The only print that was a problem was DELIVERANCE, which was shown in a badly faded 16mm version. The others were fine and if... was especially nice.

From all accounts the festival was a success, with a reported 70% attendance rate, and there is another festival scheduled for next August, so something to keep an eye on.

Wednesday 16 January 2008

Films Seen in Theatres So Far

I may write about some of these later, but for now here is a list of films I've seen here in the theatre since October (roughly in order):

ONCE
THE LEOPARD
DELIVERANCE
if...
POINT BLANK
HEAVEN'S GATE
PARANOID PARK
THE KILLING
MICHAEL CLAYTON
BOB LE FLAMBEUR
ARMY OF SHADOWS
LEON MORIN, PRIEST
LE DOULOS
TWO ENGLISH GIRLS AND THE CONTINENT
THE BLACKOUT

Seoul Cinematheque and Film Forum

By far the greatest place for cinephiles in Seoul is the Cinematheque, located near exit 5 of the subway sub Chongno-3(sam)-ga, which is located on lines number 1, 3 and 5, although access is quicker from line 5. It is not the easiest place to find, but if you keep straight after coming up the stairs of exit 5 and go under the overpass you should see film posters on your left. Go into the building and up to the 4th floor. You should see the box office outside.

The cinematheque has a website, and although it is in Korean, you can navigate through well enough in English: http://www.cinematheque.seoul.kr/

The schedule of films is really quite strong. There have recently been retrospectives on Raoul Walsh, Fritz Lang, Stanley Kubrick, and Jean-Pierre Melville. Currently there is a Friends of the Cinematheque festival with a wide variety of items, including mini-retros on Francois Truffaut and Abel Ferrara, plus a showing of Rivette's CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING, Scorsese' TAXI DRIVER, and many others.

I have yet to attend a Film Forum screening, but it is located at the same place as the cinematheque. It focuses on contemporary films outside of the mainstream, basically the modern day art cinema of North America. The website is here: http://www.filmforum.co.kr/, although it is less user friendly than the cinematheque.

Cinema in Seoul

If you are a cinephile foreigner in Seoul, the situation has greatly improved in the past decade. That said, it can be frustrating to locate information on screenings. I'm still having these problems myself. However, I have found some information in the few months I have been here and I thought I'd share what I know and whatever I will find out on this blog. I'll also use the blog as a film diary for myself, which may or may not be of interest to others.