november 2015 finds is what i managed to sneak in in-between work bouts during this past month. and that seems to be a lot of films!
1. tokyo sonata is a glimpse into the everyday life of a japanese family: the husband loses his job and hides that from his family. but lies have short legs so things end up differently than planned. i didn’t necessarily like it but it was not bad (imdb score of 7.1) especially if you are looking for such insight or you want to see tokyo’s backstreets.
2. taxi tehran won the golden bear at the berlinale 2015. the director poses as a regular taxi driver and films his various clients. the film is worth seeing to gain insight into the everyday lives of iranians.
3. white god is kornel mundruczo’s latest film. if you love animals, you’ll enjoy the many dogs starring in this film. watch it!
4. the only book i went through this months is visual: art nouveau by keiichi tahara. it helped me get context and set straight the various names of the same architectural current. very interesting!
5. le tout nouveau testament is a super fun belgian comedy about god. it’s light and contemporary and it keeps you interested for the entire duration of the film. i loved the casting and the subtlety: check it out!
6. lumea e a mea/the world is mine aims to be a teenage drama for the romanian facebook generation. the main character is played by a non-actress, which greatly helps. the general feeling is that of stiffness and of acting. still, some things made me watch it all the way through.
7. i watched two woody allen films, both shot in london: scoop and you will meet a tall handsome stranger. they are not allen’s best work but worth watching anyway.
watch scoop for a goofy ride featuring a wannabe journalist (scarlett johansson) helped by a redundant magician (woody allen) trying to find the secrets of a millionaire/maybe tarot serial killer (hugh jackman).
you will meet a tall handsome stranger has an equally star studded cast, as expected when it comes to allen films: antonio banderas, naomi watts, anthony hopkins, etc. everything revolves around the making and the breaking of couples, peppered with some future telling, escort marrying and novel stealing.
8. mon oncle by jacques tati. i loved the wordlessness of the film and hated the occasional annoying noise (squeaking, creaking, vibrating, etc.). it’s a 1958 film that i totally recommend if you are interested to discover the mesmerizing universe of mr. hulot (played by the director himself)!
9. for some reason, i saw the latest 4 james bond films within 10 days. yes, the ones starring daniel craig as 007: casino royale, quantum of solace, skyfall and spectre.
my favourite? definitely spectre!
i saw the first 3 of them before i saw spectre and i was worried i’d be bored to see the formula applied the 4th time. i didn’t need to: spectre has everything it needs to keep you interested for 148 minutes! lows: the theme song is weak and the villain is forgettable. highs: i liked the locations and i loved how they decided to couple a 47 year old bond with 51 year old lucia sciarra (monica bellucci) even if bond finally walks off into the sunset with 30 year old madeleine swann (lea seydoux). it’s a great fun film so put it on your list!
10. not coincidentally, obviously, i made a top 5 bond songs. i chose the songs based on their bondliness and you’ll have to agree that dame shirley bassey is the ultimate bond theme singer. press play!
5a. goldeneye by tina turner
4a. the world is not enough by garbage
3a. skyfall by adele
2a. goldfinger by shirley bassey
1a. diamonds are forever by shirley bassey
having creative friends around me is the best inspiration one could ask for. seeing them follow their star keeps me motivated and in contact with my own ideas. recently, two of my artist friend had show openings.
11. george anghelescu had a retrospective called collateral effects at carturesti carusel.
also, a catalogue of his works, called dulce et decorum, was launched. my copy helped me get detailed info on george’s artistic route. i’m a proud supporter of my friend’s artistic undertakings!
12. last week, my friend stefan ungureanu had the opening of his solo show ant generated future at h’art gallery in bucharest. i was there and i am happy to report that his vision is as strong as ever and that his works are windows into an engaging alternative universe. they make me want to find out more about what’s happening in there. keep up the good work, stefan!
what were your november 2015 finds?
photo and video credits: copyright holders
