Film recommendations

LongTheta · Post by **LongTheta** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:42 am

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

Directed by Dito Montriel (debut) and based on his (semi-)autobiographical book of the same title about growing up in Queens in the 1980's.

It starts very slowly and takes time to make its point, but once it does, I thought it was very powerful.

RFMontraz · Post by **RFMontraz** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:17 pm

Броненосец «Потёмкин»

My favourite film ever.

urnash · Post by **urnash** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:32 pm

Brazil (the non-US version)

riemann · Post by **riemann** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:41 pm

Interview with Steve Buscemi & Sienna Miller

jslade · Post by **jslade** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:30 am

LT recommended:

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Directed by Dito Montriel (2006, debut) and based on his (semi-)autobiographical book of the same title about growing up in Queens in the 1980's.

That one hit pretty close to home, ouch. I didn't grow up in Queens, but it was a lot like that. I actually lost sleep thinking about this movie and how it relates to my own sordid yoot.

I also kinda wanted to punch adult Dito for making his chums and his dad look less human than they probably really were in his movie. I mean, it probably went down something close to like he says, and I can relate to seeing your stuck pals from the hood that way. It was the little details of making his pal Antonio into someone inhuman even when he's laying some pipe with a young lady, wheras Dito's teen affairs were portarayed as all violin music and rosepetals ... that just seemed petty and wicked to me. Bad enough Dito became a millionaire rock star and movie maker while his pal was doing time ... Like the song says, nobody knows what it's like to be the bad man.

I think I'm going to go watch "Football Factory" on an endless loop so I don't go getting weepy about the fallen ones from me barrio. Sad

RFMontraz · Post by **RFMontraz** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:05 pm

I might add "Dies irae" by Carlo Teodoro Dreyer and "L'uomo di Aran" by Flaherty.

I expect DerFund and Granchio to get this. If not, I'm very disappointed.

LongTheta · Post by **LongTheta** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:55 pm

for making his chums and his dad look less human than they probably really were in his movie.

In the copy that I have, right after the end of the final credits, there is a 45 sec footage of the real Monty (have you seen that?). based on that, I believe that the portrayal of Monty is quite accurate. I also don't think that it was meant to be "less human". I thought he was a very human father who just never wanted to let go of his only son.

Other than that, I agree with you that the film hit very close to home for me too. Some scenes were hypnotic in their subtlety and realism.

LongTheta · Post by **LongTheta** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:03 pm

Focus (2001)

William H Macy and Laura Dern. Based on a Kafkaesque novel of the same title by Arthur Miller, it tells the story of a WASPish couple who are mistaken for Jews in the USA during WWII. At the very end ---- well, I don't want to spoil it for you, but I thought the ending was stunning.

jslade · Post by **jslade** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:14 am

I didn't see that part with the real Monty somehow. I suppose dad was real enough; it was his chums I was more thinking of.

I guess I have thought about writing about figures of my youth as well, and couldn't think of a good way to show who my pals really were without being a dick about it. I mean, I love those guys, but they were pretty messed up. I'd more want to write about what great guys they were, rather than making their defining characteristics their mistakes. I made big mistakes too, but I was lucky. I figured Dito made big mistakes too. Running off to LA to become a punk rock star worked out pretty well for him, but it's not what I would call a wise career choice, any more than bonking a guy playing asteroids on the casaba was. Anyway, I am perhaps projecting my own junk onto what kind of a jerk I thought the writer was being. Looking a little deeper, most of 'em weren't real anyway. It was certainly a good movie.

LongTheta · Post by **LongTheta** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:58 am

I didn't see that part with the real Monty somehow.

He's an old man now. Weak. Apologetic. No longer 'the king', but he still talks about Antonio 'He's a good guy. I like that guy'. He's resigned that it's all over, for him and for Antonio. I think he identified with Antonio. He wanted to save him. There is something about this footage and certain other scenes. It's too real.