cinema

the most beautiful movie ever…

i thought the tv room would be flooded by tears…

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg directed by jaques demy (1964)

SUSPENSO~! ROMANZA~!

i just wrote an email wishing happy tuesday. and i realized it’s still monday. i’m still sick and my brain is not working yet…
anyhoo, happy monday with italian spiderman.

via videosift

“Sailors — Friends, Lovers, or Husbands”

amazing music, beautiful film.

i still can’t believe this video has only one vote on videosift… well, it should get three votes. because paul, elijah and i love it!

jacques demy
michel legrand

watch this video on videosift.

scene from “the royal tenenbaums”, directed by wes anderson.

it’s a great “time stands still when i look at you” moment.

i watch this movie over and over again.

“city lights” written by, directed by and starring charlie chaplin.

i used to watch chaplin’s films on late night tv in japan. this is my favorite chaplin film, especially this scene.

he falls in love with a poor blind flower girl who mistakes him for a millionaire. he pretends to be a millionaire and raises money to pay for an operation to restore her sight. this is the final scene where the flower girl can finally see again. she recognizes him by the touch of his hand.

once you find your true love, you’re going to want to do a lot of kissing.

bill plympton’s animation shows many useful techniques for how to kiss.

have a happy valentine’s day♥

life is short. it’s not to be wasted.

“gondola song”:
life is short, fall in love, maidens.
before the crimson colour fades away from your lips.
before the tides of passion cool within you.
for there will be no tomorrow.

from the movie “ikiru (to live)” by director kurosawa akira.

this is my favorite scene of all time. the actor, shimura takashi, portrays watanabe, who works at a city office for thirty years without passion. everyday just passes without purpose. one day, he finds out that he has terminal stomach cancer and only six months to live. he regrets that he has wasted his life and decides to do something good for society in the time he has left. he is determined to help a group of working-class mothers get a playground built. without telling anybody that he has terminal cancer, he dies alone in the snowy playground…

i heard a rumour a couple years ago that there was a plan to remake ikiru, with tom hanks in shimura’s role. i hope that plan was trashed, because they are wasting their time.

if you haven’t seen the original, make sure you do.

vermillion pleasure night is a japanese tv show directed by yoshimasa ishibashi, avant-garde director from kyoto, japan. vermilion pleasure night is an omnibus show, which was aired on tv tokyo on sunday midnight starting 2000. once again, yoshimoto kogyo, the king of comedy agency produced it. the show became a huge hit throughout japan. it’s kitschy and full of dark humour. i love it. now the shows are available on dvd. now i can watch them in north america! banza~i.

this “utau 6-nin no onna” is one of his short films. the title means “six women, who sing”. it sounds better in japanese. i like the use of kanji for “utau (sing)”. there are five ways of writing “utau” in kanji - 歌う　謡う　詠う　謳う 唄う. the first “歌う” is to sing from your throat rhythmically. the second “謡う” is to sing by developing your voice with melody. the third “詠う” is to sing / read a poem. the fourth is to sing in a suppressed voice with intonation as you bend your body. the last one, “唄う” is a transliteration from Sanskrit. it’s used when anything non-human creates a pleasant sound or beautiful voice. for example, “a bird sings” or ” a stream sings”. when it’s used in a noun form, it means folk song. for the title of this piece, the choice is the last one, “唄う”. it gives a nostalgic tone to this piece, yet this whole thing is absolutely modern. i love the ambivalence. it’s post-post modern.

i’m a slave for this sort of languid ambiance. i just think he’s brilliant.

(music)
ah~
i persistantly continue to wash
stain, i can’t get rid of
my fingers, cracked and swollen
my fingers, stung by cold water

(music)
on a windy day like this, my clothes might be blown away
but a warm day will come
a bright day will come

(music)