Movies I've seen lately

This is the compilation of many posts that were planned and put aside lately. But, I like what I have been watching: I am riding a wave of cinemat
ographic luck, and it is worth celebrating

Annie Hall (1977, Woddy Allen)



Woddy Allen. I never thought it could be so good. Specially after "Bananas" I thought: he doesn0t get better than this. But yes, he does. profound conclusions about everyday life, hilarious scenes, great dialogues, characters and just that unpredictability that runs thorugh the whole movie. Yes, unpredictable, that is the feeling. His creation of unreal/surreal/meta-real situations out of an ordinary story plot are brilliant. I just laughed and laughed untill the last minute.

Careful (1992, Guy Maddin)

"Brilliant movie. It is really strange too." And with this comment by the man on the counter I left with Guy Maddin's "Careful". It was so good that I want to watch all his movies I can possibly find - fantastic Canadian cinema! The film is a dark and twisted tale of repressed sexuality, Oedipus and Electra complexes and sibling rivalry in a surreal Alpine mountain. The aesthetics of it are remarkable: made as a 1920's movie, with a perfect mastery of colour effects and those great narrated written pieces. It reminded me a bit of "Nosferatu" at points and, I must say, it is ambitious in wanting to captivate a modern audience with "retro" technology. The thing is: it does capture you, completely, in a weird and yet fascinating web of silences and looks.

Central Station - Central do Brasil (1998, Walter Salles)

On the back of the DVD cover this was described as a "powerful tearjerker". I beg to disagree. Yes, it might excite a tear or two and a knot in your throat. But the movie is so much more than that. The characters are much more complex than what the synopsis could make you forsee. It is a story about second chances, about a boy alone in the world and a woman looking for a second chance at her own life. But neither are ready to admit this to themselves or each other. So a trip across the stunning interior of Brazil transforms itself into a subtle journey into each other's deepest fears, desires, and a rethinking of what each wants out of life. A surprising sequence of events and a powerful soundtrack. This is an example of how to take an ordinary story and make it an extraordinary movie.

Klimt (2006, Raoul Ruiz)


This was probably the exception to the list of sucessful viewings of this month. I had expectations: after all, I love the work of Gustav Klimt and I thought John Malkovich playing him would be tremendous. It would... if only I had managed to stay focused. It was really difficult. The movie is confusing on purpose, I understand. Surrealism is at work here, as far as I know. But I think the idea went too far: I feel lost! Very lost, too lost. Besides, the aesthetic exploration of the work of Klimt was good in certain scenes, but disappointed me in many ways. The end had a "revelatory moment" in which the audience was supposed to realise what they had been watching and its deeper meaning. My opinion: too late, too obscure. Unfortunate, really. And it was not Malkovich at his best, I must say. One great note: the mother-and-sister-madness-scene was very good.

The Piano (1993, Jane Campion)



Haunting and beautiful. The Piano is probably one of the most engaging movies emotionally that I have seen. I had never screamed out of pain and terror, cried of joy and sat there mesmerized like I did with The Piano. The movie tells the story of a deaf young Scottish woman sent to marry in the dark forests of New Zealand. Her passion is her piano, which she transports all the way to the deserted beach where she lands. Against all odds and appearances, a love story emerges. New Zealand, with its mud and darkness is a most beautifuly crafted setting. The music is key to this movie and is moving to a degree that is rarely seen. The themes of colonialism, marriage, love and communication between human beings and are treated in a subtle and sensitive way. The Piano has an emotional force that is remarkable and a magic quality that cannot be easily explained.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-haired Men

At the age of 17 the young Prophet had a revelation. And around him he gathered his followers and said, on the modern temple of television, "Thou shall not be cruel to long-haired men for theirs is the kingdom of rock'n roll."

The highest form of worship

"Do you indulge in any form of worship?

David Bowie - ahm... Life. I love life, very much indeed."


St. Bowie. Amen.

If there is one thing I love, it's gotta be the octopus

"I'm not sure where Portugal is, (somewhere behind Spain, right?). I don't know what the Portuguese people dress like, or look like. They went from being one of the world's superpowers to being famous for... Nothing, really. When was the last time you watched a Portuguese movie? Portuguese musicians? Writers? Is there really anyone in Portugal? As far as I'm concerned, Portugal was expressly designed to create Brazil, which is an actual COOL vibrant country. The food in Old Lisbon felt the same way. Very meh. Meh-diteranean. The fish and soups we had was just ok and the prices seemed a little steep for the familiar taste. I hear good things about their lamb chops, though! Maybe next time?"

"This was my first foray into non-Japanese octopus. The amount of Mediterranean seafood on the menu was a testament to the authenticity of this restaurant. The octopus was stewed in a tomato broth with potatoes, peppers and a few other items. It was very interesting to find the tentacles ranging from a millimeter in diameter to 1.5 inches in diameter. I was more surprised about the flavor and texture. As far as the flavor goes, the octopus had a very strong distinct flavor that I cannot compare to anything else. It was not so strong as to be unpleasant and the stewed vegetables and tubers that came along only helped. I had somewhat expected the texture to be rubbery and was pleasantly surprised that the flesh was quite supple and tender. "

NEVER, EVER read an America'n review of a Portuguese restaurant.

It makes you feel.... superior?

One thing is for sure: Portuguese food is to be enjoyed by those of educated taste and subtle minds, not by the curious and arrogant in some pseudo-retaurant in Miami.

If there is one thing I love about my country, it's gotta be the octopus.

The Portuguese s(h)elf

It feels funny.

I came into the library to do research on Basque Nationalism. As Portugal and Spain are neighbours, so are their book collections in the library. There it was: Portugal, a big set of shelves filled with books about it.

I looked at the books for a while. They are all old, nothing new has entered the dusty metalic shelves for a while, I presume. The spines are embelished with intricate patterns, decorative forms, some with touches of gold, some with fancy letters, floral printed titles. Faded aristocracy.

They are all big, strong, beautiful books, or once were, at least. They are all dusty, falling apart, their pages are yellow, some brown. There is an ambiance of decay about the shelves, a medieval air. They are out of place, those books should be in an old castle, in a convent. Not in the SFU library. They are all classics, basic important texts. And yet, they all look like rarities.

I feel funny. Like I miss that country far a way because of the books. Like the books were the fellow countrymen that I never found, like we have some common source, purpose. We all come from dusty Portuguese castles, pherhaps. But I also feel disgusted, ashamed of having something to do with these books, all rusty without any metal. Books that seemed to have neglected themselves, unimportant, uninteresting, lackign ambition. Books that rely on their embelished spines and do not even make an effort in their pages.

I pity and admire the books.

Tonight it is 1973 and I'm on a tourbus looking out the window with you

It is the first time I have felt capable of writing for a long time now. It has been a sequence of long journeys, trips, days looking at the windowpane sitting next to the bed, mornings tripping on the asphalt next to the bus stop.

What changed? Not much. Not that much. A movie, maybe... It is cinema, once again. It frees, it moves, it makes me part of something that I never could have been part of otherwise. And there is so much to be part of, so much! We must catch up, so much happened already before we were born. There is so much to see, learn, hear and feel. So much more coming up! It is like the world just cannot be comprehended and yet, we cannot help but trying. The merit, beauty and satisfaction must be in the attempt.

And tonight I feel like anything can happen. Like I can put on a really large hat and listen to rock'n roll, belong somewhere else, go back to a time outside of time.

Someone asked me today about love, about wanting someone to be with you forever. I do not know, I do not care. Sometimes we really need to stop thinking about this megalomania on personal relationships. We all, as a society, need to tune out of this greed, greed for people. We want more and more love, attention, care! As if that was an infinite resource. Accept it is not, be angry, have your world shattered. And then fall back into your empty bed, slide down to the floor. See the beam of light illuminating the dust in front of you. Close your eyes and stay there, covered in gentle silk and faded cotton. You'll find your balance, your strenght, yourself. In that dusty room.



I will say no more. There is little point, actually. It has been one of those perfect summer days. In my mind.

Electric Blues Mittens

After some months of labour, voilá the blue mittens I have been making.

The yarn:
Sisu by Sandnesgarn 80% norwegian wool and 20% nylon
and
Kid Merino by Crystal Palace Yarn (for the fury look)

The Pattern:
Drops Design's last winter collection


The Result:

(ok, ignore the fact that the pictures could be much better and consider I have not had a moment of good natural daylight for a long time)


The soft rainbow pullover has issues. Hopefully will be sorted out in Portugal and so I will be able to post the complete and final project. Oh, and the greek cotton pink top/tunic is also under way.

That's the state of the knitting drawer these days....