Posts by Amanda Nguyen5

Emily Gonzalez51 said:Did anyone actually sit through the whole thing for Quiet light? I totally bailed after about 15 minutes because absolutely nothing was happening. It was just five minutes of a family eating, then two minutes of some guy crying, then three minutes of driving, then three minutes of workers doing stuff, and then another two minutes of them bringing over a tractor part... My friends walked out after half an hour, so they have no clue either. Honestly, if I’d seen this movie on day one or two, I might’ve had the patience for it, but watching it on the last day? That was just too much for me.

Me and my buddy were basically counting heads the whole time because I bet him that more than 50 people would walk out during the screening, and man, he was right.

Weerasethakul's "Quiet light" was so incredible that even being the fifth movie I watched that day wasn't an issue at all, despite how slow it seems. I can't say the same for "Three monkeys," though—that one was also excellent, just way more exhausting.

northerncrane4 said:But honestly, how much of a total cinephile do you have to be to hit up a festival where they’re screening a Fadil Hadžić film produced by Joza Patljak in the main competition? 😁

😁

I was at the theater today watching Schrader's "Elite Unit" and "Love Story" (pretty sure that's the translation) starring Rade Šerbedžija.

What can I even say? "Elite Unit" is a solid watch. As for "Love Story," it's an okay debut, but even though it stays interesting and engaging the whole way through, it just didn't quite sit right with me.

Arthur Garcia59 said:...plus, if John Doe bags that "50 years" award, there's a massive chance we'll see "H-8" up on the big screen too.

Well, that part is a done deal.

And somehow, Ken Russell's "Tommy" is lurking in the shadows, though I honestly have no clue why.

Honestly, man, I was just wondering myself why we were even talking about Baezian stuff in the Dylan thread.

Hey mods, any chance you could move those last few posts from the Dylan section over here?

I’m not entirely sure if the schedule is officially out yet, but heads up to all my fellow film buffs: they’re screening Eisenstein’s "Strike" and Tarkovsky’s "Ivan's Childhood."

They’ve also got that old CinemaScope tech from New York City back in ’76—I can't recall the inventor's name off the top of my head—and since Mija Oremović is picking up that "50 Years" award, there’s a pretty solid chance we'll see "H-8" on the big screen too.

Sweet.

Look, let’s just lay out some basic facts here:

- "The Ninth Circle" is a movie that handles the Holocaust and Jewish history with incredible dignity and respect. It deserves that much.
- Attacking or disrespecting a film this honorable is basically an insult to everything it stands for.
- Playing a movie straight from a DVD in a theater? That’s just disrespectful to the entire craft—to the director, the subject matter, everything.
- And get this: "The Ninth Circle" was actually screened from a DVD during the opening of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.

The conclusion is pretty obvious, but that’s all I’ve got to say about the organizers, that production miracle Mr. Lustig, and the rest of them.

Oh, and if I can add one more thing—during the most emotional, gut-wrenching scene in the whole movie, the Paramount Pictures logo flashed up in the bottom right corner and just sat there for a few seconds.

If you haven't caught the winner of "Sweet Relief" while hanging out in Napa Valley, you're missing out. And honestly, if you haven't seen "Forger" yet, you really need to fix that. Those two are absolute must-watches.

There’s also "Beaufort" coming up, which is looking like an Oscar contender. Definitely one to keep an eye on.

Oh, and for anyone who missed that acclaimed flick—I think it was called "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" or something like that—it was just playing at Central Park recently. You should check it out.

And obviously, for the big opening night, you can't pass up the old classic "The Ninth Circle." It's pretty hard to find a film like that on the big screen these days.

David Price5 said:There's a good chance he and his brother picked the time themselves. ;-)

😁😁
Damn, I totally missed that. It was right there in plain sight, too.

northerncrane4 said:Except those "other films" were mostly Kung Fu flicks or a Bud Spencer marathon. My old man used to take me and my brother to the theater all the time—usually for the action stuff—but one day he missed the mark and took us to one of these instead. The ticket booth clerk didn't even blink; just sold them the tickets.

you think he did that on purpose?
Or maybe he was just trying to ease you guys into the adult world without making a big deal out of it? 😁

I’ll be honest, during my freshman year, I kept pushing off my film studies classes, thinking I had all the time in the world.

And look where we are now.

I really regret not getting to experience that era firsthand.
Seriously.

Bradley Ramos2 said:I don't know if anyone else caught this incredibly awkward detail that casts a massive shadow over the whole festival: they're hosting a guy named Karl-Heinz Dellwo, a former member of the RAF terrorist group. Honestly, that says everything you need to know.

I honestly have no clue how the organizers could have missed such a massive oversight. But hey, in a city where the Crisis Management Committee is chaired by a total terrorism apologist like Pavle Kalinić, I guess absolutely nothing is impossible.

So, would you actually want to see Peres at the Sundance Film Festival?
Man, honestly? It would’ve been way better if they just brought out an actual, active RAF member—provided they promised not to blow anything up, obviously.

Richard Howard2 said:On the other hand, Neil Leach totally blew me away. He managed to outdo Slavoj Žižek with just a few shy little remarks dropped between pauses. Of course, he only outdid him if you actually knew what was being discussed.

Neil Leach was decent enough, but he just couldn't top Slavoj Žižek. Honestly, even Žižek isn't saying much of anything smart these days.
But hey, he was actually pretty good at yesterday's lecture.
The main thing is that everyone just laughs at him, no matter what he actually does. Even when there isn't a single funny bone in his body. But hey, that’s how it goes. He’s got the beard, he’s a bit heavier, he’s clumsy, he’s got those nervous tics—so everyone cracks up because apparently, that’s just how things are supposed to be.

I actually enjoyed it when he didn't even bring up the movie during the lecture. Most of the crowd showed up thinking he was going to illustrate every single point with film examples, you know? Not quite what happened.

Megan Rodriguez44 said:I totally missed the Slavoj Žižek talk because I was stuck in a capitalist Cinestar watching some modern horror flick. I actually went to see John Carpenter just because the company was great, plus I still hadn't caught this specific movie even though it’s being sold at every newsstand and corner shop every other Tuesday. Honestly, I bailed about a third of the way through because the anti-subversive vibe from the guy sitting next to me was physically and mentally draining. We decided to grab some salty snacks and beer instead.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Cinestar.

anti-subversive😁

Megan Rodriguez44 said:...rather than trying to tackle Makavejev online.

It’s not even about trying to track down Makavejev. I mean, come on—the Criterion Collection released him, so finding his stuff is actually pretty easy compared to other directors. The real issue here isn't availability; it's that we're dealing with Makavejev on a massive scale.
It’s honestly such a shame that most people still don't get it.
It’s not just about Makavejev—it’s about movies in general.

Megan Rodriguez44 said:Today we’ve got Slavoj Žižek and John Carpenter on the menu. 🙂

It's the exact same thing.
Slavoj Žižek said a couple of things about John Carpenter, and honestly, the movie they're showing is absolutely killer. $9.75 Just hit the stands.

Amanda Lopez50 said:...I'm honestly sitting here thinking that staying home to catch the LP finale instead of seeing Mystery was definitely the wrong call.😳

Maybe you should have thought about that before you made the choice.🙄

Amanda Patel said:I noticed that too.

Yesterday was an absolute nightmare crowd at Theorem, but some people actually gave up halfway through (the film was running a full 50 minutes 😠 late), so things finally started to breathe a little. 🙂

I didn't catch the ones who bailed because of the delay since I was already inside the theater, but I definitely saw plenty of people walking out during the screening itself.
Honestly, if there wasn't a screening happening, at least 10 people wouldn't have walked out—unless you count the first day of "The Naked," where there were only about 20 people total. I just don't get these intense types who show up and then bail; it's like they didn't even bother checking what was playing.

So far, most people are flocking to the Bernardo Bertolucci film—man, the theater was packed, way beyond what anyone expected.

To save my sanity, I’m skipping "Lead Time" and "Mystery of the Organism," even though I really wanted to see them on the big screen.
My head is starting to throb, so I better call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be a massive day.

Brenda Lee50 said:Are the movies being poorly received? Polimac wrote in Večernjak that they are festival must-sees: Weekend, Theorem, Early Work, WR Mystery of the Organism, and a few others I can't quite recall.

Since when does Polimac write for Večernjak?
Drop the link.

It’s true, I actually spotted him at the screening of "Theorem" today.

Look, there aren't even that many options, unless you count the big "hits" like Bertolucci and Pasolini piling up, but man, things got pretty heated during the panel today.

I wouldn't be fair if I didn't give a shout-out to the organizers. Huge congrats on what's been a (so far) really well-run festival. The tracks were excellent, the program booklet was solid, and the crew is young, energetic, and doing a great job with an amazing lineup.
The only thing? They should have shelled out more cash for the translators. Instead, they gave the job to some beginners who clearly have zero connection to cinema, so the translations were honestly laughably bad in places.

As for the movies I've seen, they all get high marks from me—except for the documentary "Stockholm 75." It’s interesting in terms of plot and cultural context, but cinematically? It's pretty mediocre compared to the giants sitting next to it. It's just your typical TV documentary that Dželo would undoubtedly pick.

Brenda Lee50 said:Can anyone recommend something from the lineup? I haven't heard of most of these films, and honestly, I’m not really into Jean-Luc Godard. I'll probably just stick to the closing documentary, "The Air is Red." After that, they say—party! 😵

Ha, look, honestly, anything from that list I pointed out would be worth seeing. Especially if you haven't seen any Dušan Makavejev yet.

For the heavy hitters, you've got Marker, of course—I haven't talked about him much. And I totally forgot to mention Želimir Žilnik’s "Early Work," which I'm pretty sure snatched a major award ages ago.

If you actually have the time and the energy, that long-ass Argentinian feature looks pretty solid.

rustyseal40 said:I have a question, and it's a big one: will EVERY film in the lineup be subtitled? Because honestly, watching something by Guy Debord or Marker without subtitles would be totally pointless—unless we're talking about French films (and don't even get me started on German titles).Amanda Nguyen5, maybe you can dig up some info on this?

Why does everyone's brain have to work the exact same way? I’d probably swear right now if I hadn't learned that it's useless—it doesn't actually help anyone.

As far as my own info goes, from what I know, everything has subtitles. Even that long Argentine feature, though there's always a chance for surprises.

And regarding those two you mentioned, I think you got them wrong. You can watch Marker just fine without understanding a word, and with Debord, you can pretty much just read along (or also watch without any issues).

With other films, things get a little trickier.

But regardless of whether you can or can't, I'm the first person to say no to watching any film without subtitles, so I totally get where you're coming from.

Now, Kragić would probably jump in here with that old story about how the French New Wave crowd used to watch American classics in theaters without subtitles and zero English skills, claiming they learned even more because it wasn't about the plot, it was about the form. But... yeah, I hear you. And I hear myself too.

Starting today, you can find it online too:

http://www.subversivefilmfestival.com/

Heads up: every single one of these films is shot on 16mm or 35mm.