Monday, December 19, 2011

Happy Xmas!

This is the last screening of this year! UUuu....we managed to get that far, it kinda' amazing! Thank you, let's thank the GSN for supporting this event!

So, tomorrow - a rather unexpected title... Very controversial, but DEFINITELY funny! And all of that just because of Christmas: let's start that year's holiday laughin'. It may be seen as edgy, but I can assure you that that film smashes each and every canon. It's absurd and maybe grotesque humor, a genre that may remind of the rather now-silent DADA. You may also think of it as a post-modern version of Ionesco's plays - all wrapped together and stripped of the great weight of post-war Europe. It's art, just from another angle.

Here's a nice description I found while looking for some materials: "There's no such thing as wallowing in cliche for this movie of Tom Green. It's all about playing with many intangible imagination. Trying to do something both hilarious and shocking (even repulsive) all at the same time and then... Tom just tried to best (or worst depending on your taste) his previous efforts with something even more unimaginable, unpredictable and even unacceptable in ethical norms."

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When: Tuesday, 20th of December, 19:00
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Where: LMU, Biocenter, GSN-Seminar Room, ground floor.
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Freddy got fingered

Starring: Tom Green

Year: 2001









Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Holy

This is the greatest. Movie. There. Is!
It's definitely my favorite all-time shot: philosophical; very surrealistic; dark humor and extremely critical. And as you can imagine, such a film was truly controversial - from cheap flick to rare masterpiece it covered the entire scale. Jodorowsky is one of a kind and I can't think of any other director that comes even close to his vision. Maybe Dali, Gaudi or Zappa - but none of them has done any films (-ish).

So yeah, I hope I didn't scare you off, or anything. :D

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When: 8th of December, 19:00
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Where: GSN Seminar Room, Ground Floor, Biocenter
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Holy Mountain

Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky

Year: 1973


















Monday, November 21, 2011

The Legend

This time, a proposal which came from Jörg. It's of course one of the finest shots of maybe the greatest Japanese directors of all times: Kurosawa.
I asked Jörg to write a short description to the film, here is what he sent me:

Japan in 16. Jahrhundert: Der greise Fürst Hidetora, einst ein mächtiger und grausamer Feldherr, überträgt sein Reich dem ältesten seiner drei Söhne. Blind gegenüber der aufrichtigen Liebe seines jüngsten Sohnes und unfähig, die Verschlagenheit der beiden anderen zu sehen, kommt seine Einsicht zu spät: Ausgestoßen und geistig umnachtet wandert er ziellos umher und muss erleben, wie die Söhne Reich und Erbe ins Chaos und Verderben apokalyptischer Schlachten stürzen.
Akira Kurosawas Werk ist inspiriert von William Shakespeares Tragödie "King Lear", von den aktuellen Traditionen Japans und von aktuellen Endzeitvisionen.
(it's German, so for those of you who don't understand it, be convinced it's definitely worth coming by!)

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When: Tuesday, 22nd of November, 19:00
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Where: GSN Seminar Room, Ground floor, Biocenter
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Ran

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Year: 1985





Monday, November 14, 2011

2!

After the last couple of pretty heavy wight movies that we screened, it's time to return to something more edible. And this doesn't imply by any means a 2nd hand movie.

This one is actually a pretty neat film, with the right amount between dark humor and adventure, packed into a not that common environment: a train.
After a family scandal which almost tore the family apart, one of the three brothers decides to reunite the siblings and thus he organizes a round trip though India. A small mafia subplot accompanied by very brief love affairs help to create a perfect frame towards destroying this mystical plan. To get an understanding of the type of ridiculous geniality which soars though this story, at some point, the train gets lost. Yes!

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When: Tuesday, 15th of November, 19:00
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Where: GSN Seminar Room, ground floor, Biocenter
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The Darjeeling Limited

Year: 2007

Director: Wes Anderson







Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Wander. Quietly.

A place full of dangers. Unexpected events, mysterious shortcuts and strange vibes. And at the other end, there is the long awaited reward, a holy grail of a very real feel - the only thing one would in the first instance adventure into this realm.

It is a very rich movie, one of the few that require almost mathematical attention to details. But once you'll leave the "zona" many things will bear a completely different light.

Tarkovsky, one of most intense directors that the 20th century was able to breed, was criticized as well as praised for this masterpiece. It relentlessly inspired generation after generation and after more than 30 years it is probably more actual than ever.

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When: Thursday, 3rd of November, 19:00
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Where: GSN Seminar room, ground floor, Biocenter
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Stalker

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Year: 1979

Monday, October 24, 2011

Beauty

The next film is yet another classic, Desire - Wings of.
Because it's my favorite band and because I happen to think that these lyrics are a museful interpretation of the plot, I will paste them here and postpone any other discussion until the closing scene of this masterpiece.

You see half the moon, its crescent, and one of the planets,
maybe Saturn, maybe Jupiter, in the early night sky over Berlin,
through the windows of a taxicab, near Potsdamer Platz

You think: Beauty!
No, this is not beauty, maybe not, maybe, this is the rest of it,
maybe not, maybe, the rest of beauty,
maybe not, maybe, what remains of beauty, maybe not,
maybe, what is visible, certainly, uncertain.
Your arms would not be able to stretch as far as necessary to form an
adequate gesture for beauty
(You know that, don't you?)

So, beauty remains in the impossibilities of the body.


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When: Tuesday, 25th of October, 19:00
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Where: Biocenter, GSN Seminar Room, ground floor
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Der Himmel über Berlin

Year: 1987

Director: Wim Wenders

IMDB: here


Sunday, October 16, 2011

The crisis.

For the start of the new semester I propose a very special cine, both hilarious and tragic - a perfect combination of first class acting and detailed directing. Shot in the midst of the cold war, it manages to capture in a most schematic but nonetheless vivid form the ridiculous tensions present throughout the political landscape of that era. Yet, turning on any TV-set and waiting for the news, the same absurdities seem live on disguised as important facts people should be concerned about.

Kubrick, one of my favorite directors, is the master-mind behind this cinematographic landmark, and because he succeeds to artfully decorate every frame I hope we'll have plenty of things to discuss afterwards.

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When: Wed, 19th of October, 19:00

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Where: Biocenter, GSN Seminar room, ground floor

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Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Year: 1964

Friday, September 16, 2011

Excursions to the jungle


And now to something completely different... Next week we will watch two documentaries, both somewhat related to the work on weakly-electric fish:

As a teaser we will see "Spying on an Invisible Sense", the movie the AG Benda created for the movie competition called for at this year's BCCN meeting. An exclusive preview, so to say!


The main movie of the day will then be “Wings of Hope (Julianes Sturz in den Dschungel)”, a documentary Werner Herzog made about Juliane Koepke who survived a plane accident in Peru in 1971. As the only survivor she wandered around the jungle for 10 days, while at the same time, Herzog was working in Peru on his movie "Aguirre". He had actually in the first place been scheduled to take the same flight, but by a lucky coincident didn't end up taking it. In 1998 together with Koepke he went back to the place of the accident and made this movie. The connection to the electric fish: Koepke leads a biological station in Panagua, where Jörg went for field work this year.

We hope that both movies draw interest not only in the AG Benda and look forward to seeing you next Wednesday (Sept. 21st)!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Daddy don't ever die on friday!

S'Been some time since the last film club....but horray...exams are over for now, and we can return to life's little pleasures.

So, tomorrow an absolute must! Hilarious, tragic and probably the best of all: fantastic music. In Zappa's words:

Information is not knowledge
Knowledge is not wisdom
Wisdom is not truth
Truth is not beauty
Beauty is not love
Love is not music
Music is THE BEST...


It's about a love and hate relationship, which is so typical of the Balkan (almost forgotten in the lawful "west"), and which extends far beyond the plot of the movie. Two keywords: Bregovic and Kusturica. Legendary compositor and controversial film-maker. The perfect couple...which as in every real world, is doomed to break apart. Various reasons.


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When: Tomorrow 17th of August, 19:00
Where: Biocenter, GSN Seminar Room, Ground floor
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Black Cat, White Cat

Director: Emir Kusturica

Music: Goran Bregovic

Year: 1998












Sunday, July 31, 2011

Erase'yr Head

Well....it's not yet another David Lynch shot, which I personally don't mind at all, but since around this time there are quite a few stressful hours, thinking of erasing the memories of these moments doesn't seem such a far fetched option. Yes, I'm talking about the exams! :D
So, because I have tomorrow another one, I'm not going to give a whole lot of descriptions here, and let you discover this wonderful(l) epic.

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When: Tomorrow, Monday the 1st of August, 19:00
Where: GSN Seminar Room, Ground Floor
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind


Director: Michel Gondry

Year: 2004

Starring: Jim Carrey

Kate Winslet

Elijah Wood

Kirsten Dunst






Sunday, July 17, 2011

9 years later....

When 6 month turn out to be really 9 years, somewhere down the line things probably got a little messed up. But in the "real" life, situations often turn out that way, and a casual parting is in some cases a very long goodbye. Even so, when amused by a guitar melody played by a whimsical figure, some of the worries might fade away and the nine years condense into a somewhat longer Sunday evening.

P.S. Olivia had the nice idea that if tomorrow will be nice weather, after the film - before sunset, we shall climb on the sand hill in front of the BioCenter, snap some photos, have some drinks and maybe a small barbecue/picnic....So if you fancy joining, you're free to bring anything that you might consider appropriate for such an initiative.

Cheers!


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When: Tomorrow 18th of July, 19:00
Where:Biocenter, GSN Seminar room; ground floor
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Before Sunset


Year: 2004

Director: Richard Linklater

Featuring: Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

IMDB: here






Sunday, July 10, 2011

CyLove

As announced last week, after the first part of the double story we'll have a one session break and dive in into something with a similar theme, though a very different feel.

And very different it is. There is always a second time you might say, a thought that becomes clear right after firing one of the very few shots available. She may have come into the game too early, too unprepared - whatever the reason, you know that once she hit that door you will start to wander the streets; you will peek though the muddiest of keyholes, hoping to get another glance at the vivid scent infiltrated deep in your dreams. And being on the run for such a long time, you might not recognize her when she stands right in front of you, asking for a minute detail, which only you happen to know.

A loose follow-up of "In the Mood for Love", Kar Wai Wong masterfully manages to create one of the most beautiful films in the history of cinema. Almost each frame can be printed and displayed as an art photography - combined with the elegant music and the delicate plot he truly gives birth to an unique mold.

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When? Monday 11th June 7pm
Where? GSN Seminar room, Biocenter, ground floor.
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2046

Director: Kar Wai Wong

Year: 2004

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance

IMDB: here





Thursday, June 30, 2011

Step off your train! Know.

After having watched a series of pretty demanding films (Tarkovsky - The Mirror, Vinterberg and von Trier - Festen and Lynch - Blue Velvet) perhaps we should move on to something a bit more emotional, though not cheesy or cheap. What I have in mind for the next period are three films, two of which are parts of the same story. At Laurence's suggestion we'll separate those by another title, so that the idea in the first part can mature - as the characters also do.

Being one of my absolute favorites, I could talk about this title quite extensively, but I don't want to spoil any of the delicate moments which ornament the beautiful epic. I will only tell you how I've discovered it.

During my high school I had a very good friend who was 4 years older than me, which happened to have a huge and ever growing movie collection. I think that in those years I watched on average 3 to 4 films a week, and I really had almost 0 (zero) selectivity for what to watch next. A major exception was this one. Perhaps I already had this movie 6 or 7 months before I dared to give it a chance. But then came the summer break, my friend was on a holiday, and soon I ran out of new things. I starting rewatching movies - for the "Linklaters" I had no interest what so ever.

I thought that it may well be the most boring film ever to be produced. Why? Well, I zapped though it on several occasions, but I couldn't see anything happening. A more or less static scene, that being a couple filmed from a "news" angle - discussing. Very little background change (nice but similar places in Vienna), almost no soundtrack, so thought I could also turn the radio on, it might be the same experience.

Now being bored one summer day, I actually started listening to that dialogue. I couldn't stop. I watched the second part right away, and couldn't believe how captured I was by the whole unfolding.

This one is a must. If you've seen it you will probably love to return to that atmosphere!

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When: Monday, 4th of July, 19:00 (after the MCN lecture)
Where: GSN Seminar Room (ground floor)
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Before Sunrise


Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Julie Delpy
             Ethan Hawke
Year:     1995





Sunday, June 26, 2011

Velvet underworld, not underground.

For this post I will restrict myself to only copy-and-pasting an excellent review which I stumbled recently upon while looking for some facts about our next screening.

"The last real earthquake to hit cinema was David Lynch's Blue Velvet —I'm sure directors throughout the film world felt the earth move beneath their feet and couldn't sleep the night of their first encounter with it back in 1986—and screens trembled again and again with diminishing aftershocks over the next decade as these picture makers attempted to mount their own exhilarating psychic cataclysms. But no one could quite match the traumatizing combination of horrific, comedic, aural, and subliminal effects Lynch rumbled out in this masterpiece—not even Lynch himself in the fun-filled years that followed before he recombined with himself to invent The Straight Story and Mulholland Drive.

[...]perhaps it is Isabella Rossellini's femme fatale Dorothy Vallens that is Blue Velvet's greatest gift to posterity. Director and neophyte actress collaborated to retool the old genre's often stock figure, to deglamorize and humiliate the supermodel, to knead her pulpy nakedness into a bruise-colored odalisque of inseminated sensualities and untrusting ferocity. There is something sharply porno-entomological, something of the implacable godless terror with which insects mate and devour, and something terrifyingly true, in the bearing of this bravely performed character. Nuns at Rossellini's old high school in Rome held a series of special masses for her redemption after the release of this film—still a hilarious, red-hot poker to the brain after 20 years. A new print has been struck for the special anniversary two-week run at Film Forum."

Source: villagevoice.com

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Where: GSN Seminar Room (Ground floor)
When: 19:00 (after the BCCN double lecture)
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Blue Velvet


Year: 1986
Director: David Lynch

Imdb: here