TIFF’s own retrospective on Marguerite Duras has ended, and thus Hot Docs begins. Like I did last year, I’m still going to be watching films from Hot Docs every now and then, but for films I’m under an embargo for until their premiere date, I’m going to keep my coverage brief (thus, said films I watched via screener are not going to be included here). But it’s always a great opportunity for myself to start watching more documentaries more than anything else, which I’ll gladly take to be a positive. Alas, this is where I’m at right now.
Without further ado, these are Friday’s Five Films. If you like what you’re seeing here, remember to subscribe for a whole lot more.
#1: Agatha and the Limitless Readings (1981, Marguerite Duras)
From all the new Marguerite Duras films that I saw within this series (I’d already seen India Song, which is a favourite), this was easily the best one. It was easily the best because it felt like Duras was trying to give us everything she could possibly offer to the screen, with showing us that experience of picturing people as our own memories of places, akin to reading a novel. Granted, I’ve noticed regular attendees seemed to have had mixed feelings towards this particular approach towards filmmaking but for me, having read many of her books, it was eye-opening. And it made me want to read more of her books, once again.
#2: The Color of Pomegranates (1969, Sergei Parajanov)
Soon to be expanded upon in a Defining Favourites piece, because I feel like this movie deserves one. I saw this one at TIFF back in February as part of an entire retrospective dedicated to the works of Sergei Parajanov, and even with a sold out crowd, you can only expect that the entire crowd was completely befuddled by the experience. But for me on the other hand, having already seen it prior and knowing exactly what I was getting into, it was a wholly revelatory experience. Because I remember that same befuddlement from watching this movie for the first time, only a revisit opened me up to seeing this movie as a spiritual awakening of sorts. I love it.
#3: The End of Evangelion (1997, Hideaki Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki)
I only saw Neon Genesis Evangelion for my first time in high school. To say the least, the show had quickly become what may very well be my favourite anime series of all time (alongside Cowboy Bebop and Serial Experiments Lain). And many fans, of course, would have a whole lot of things to say about the final two episodes (which I quite liked myself!). But seeing what Hideaki Anno bottles up in those two episodes, together with backstories having been expanded upon in here, together with a completely abstract storytelling approach here, the whole experience becomes something else entirely. A devastating meditation on self-hatred, to the point where people we love dearly do horrible things (the movie starts with Shinji doing something rather unpleasant to Asuka, at that), and it’s an animated film unlike anything else out there.
#4: Mean Streets (1973, Martin Scorsese)
Martin Scorsese’s big breakout, as some would say, it’s rough around the edges. But I find that only really applies if one were to talk the standards of Martin Scorsese’s own work, where I still find it to be among his best. The first time I saw Mean Streets, I also remember feeling rather unsure what to make of how it all came together too, because it didn’t have that same energy or urgency something like Taxi Driver or Goodfellas did when I first saw them. And yet, it’s still very thoroughly compelling, as any great Scorsese film would be.
#5: Risky Business (1983, Paul Brickman)
The best teen comedy of the 1980’s. More than any John Hughes movie, more than any Cameron Crowe movie in that period, and so on. It’s the best teen comedy of that period because it’s never afraid to enter dark territory, especially when coming to consider what it feels like to get a taste of the “adult world” when you’re too young to comprehend what it really does. And I think it’s also, oddly enough, a very sad film - a perfect indictment of how capitalism preys upon the youth too. Tom Cruise has always been one to show extravagant stuntwork in his movies, but truth be told, I can’t imagine anything he’s done to be more insane than his underwear dance in this movie too.
The Complete Day-by-Day Log
First time watches are denoted with bold text. Scores are on an out of five star basis.
Friday
Demolition Man (1993, Marco Bambrilla) - ✯✯✯✯
Le Navire Night (1979, Marguerite Duras) - ✯✯✯✯½
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000, Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Saturday
Late Night with the Devil (2023, Colin and Cameron Cairnes) - ✯✯
Trainspotting (1996, Danny Boyle) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Duras and Cinema (2014, Dominique Auvray) - ✯✯✯✯
Fulltime Killer (2001, Johnnie To) - ✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
The Color of Pomegranates (1969, Sergei Parajanov) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Sunday
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989, Kazuki Omori) - ✯✯✯✯½
Baxter, Vera Baxter (1977, Marguerite Duras) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The Children (1985, Marguerite Duras) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Organ (1996, Kei Fujiwara) - ✯✯✯½
Monday
Wolf’s Hole (1987, Věra Chytilová) - ✯✯✯½
Made in Heaven (1987, Alan Rudolph) - ✯✯✯
The End of Evangelion (1997, Hideaki Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Tuesday
Bob Marley: One Love (2024, Reinaldo Marcus Green) - ✯✯
The Mystic (1925, Tod Browning) - ✯✯✯½
Abigail (2024, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) - ✯✯✯✯
La Musica (1967, Marguerite Duras and Paul Séban) - ✯✯✯✯½, watched on 35mm
I Am Cuba (1964, Mikhail Kalatozov) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Wednesday
Maborosi (1995, Hirokazu Kore-eda) - ✯✯✯✯½
Agatha and the Limitless Readings (1981, Marguerite Duras) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Mean Streets (1973, Martin Scorsese) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Thursday
To Die For (1995, Gus Van Sant) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Risky Business (1983, Paul Brickman) - ✯✯✯✯✯
I Don’t Know Who You Are (2023, M. H. Murray) - ✯✯✯✯
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