Yeah I love faye wong and tony leung but it was kind of aimless but I guess thats the point. My gf loves it though.

ive been over a24 for a minute now.

hipster slop most of it now
it all ended for me when I saw a guy with a24 gym shorts and they dropped that slop past lives, mid trash

2018 chinese film Us and Them much better at conveying a lost love from the past. Heartbreaking movie.

I need to get back to my obscure letterboxd super 8 japanese short films that cant be found anywhere

Not sure, I think I've heard of Ice, but outside of that no idea. Asylum Pieces looks pretty good, is that what you're reading?

@elric I almost never do reviews, but decided to write up something for The Mirror since y'all were talking about it the other day. Might take it down though, not sure. It’s not really a review of the film… more some random thoughts that I think relate to Tark’s filmography in general. Writing is a bit flowery but idc I had fun writing it. Also didn't know you fkd with that film @Galaxy

Actually I need to rewatch the film it's been a while.

letterboxd.com/very_based/film/mirror/1

you wrote this without having rewatched it?

hey USA fam what's up with these drones all over the place

I rewatched the last 30 minutes. I also own the film, so I'll often watch specific sequences that I really love, and I remember the film pretty well anyway. But the "review" applies more to his films in general.

I also just read his memoir, Sculpting in Time. Would highly recommend. @RASIE @Aruji

“I'd rather people feel a film before understanding it. I’d rather feelings arise before the intellect".
I can get all the way behind this

Was gonna use this for a layout: docs.google.com/presentation/d/1j9dog1B5Nz22iV66NoNrfT3TrYUME4LjQHCQoljsb68/edit?usp=drivesdk

Can't be bothered anymore, I've lost the enjoyment of them

I always felt Bresson wasn't able to articulate his thoughts very well when speaking about his own films (though this actually kinda supports the thesis of my review, similar to Lynch) but yeah that quote is great In fact, I started reading Bresson's Notes on the Cinematographer after putting it off for 6-7 years. It's difficult but really interesting so far.

But if you're interested in reading a book by a director Tark's Sculpting in Time is definitely one you should pick up. I can send you a digital version if you want.

I think you'd really like the book's introduction where Tarkovsky shares a bunch of letters he received about The Mirror back in the 70s. They range from people telling him his films should be banned for being so confusing to beautiful letters like the one of the young girl I included at the end of my review.

some excerpts:

"How vulgar, what trash! Ugh, how revolting! Anyhow, I think your film's a blank shot. It certainly didn't reach the audience, which is all that matters ... ' This man even feels that the cinema administration should be called to account: 'One can only be astonished that those responsible for the distribution of films here in the USSR should allow such blunders."

"An equipment engineer from Kalinin was also terribly indignant: 'Half an hour ago I came out of Mirror. Well!! . . . Comrade director! Have you seen it? I think there's something unhealthy about it, wish you every success in your work, but we don't need films like that.'"

"'What is this film about? It is about a Man. No, not the particular man whose voice we hear from behind the screen, played by Innokentiy Smoktunovsky.' It's a film about you, your father, your grandfather, about someone who will live after you and who is still "you". About a Man who lives on the earth, is a part of the earth and the earth is a part of him, about the fact that a man is answerable for his life both to the past and to the future. You have to watch this film simply, and listen to the music of Bach and the poems of Arseniy Tarkovsky; watch it as one watches the stars, or the sea, as one admires a landscape. There is no mathematical logic here, for it cannot explain what man is or what is the meaning of his life.'"

"A worker in a Leningrad factory, an evening class student, wrote: 'My reason for writing is Mirror, a film I can't even talk about because I am living it. 'It's a great virtue to be able to listen and understand . . . That is, after all, a first principle of human relationships: the capacity to understand and forgive people their unintentional faults, their natural failures. If two people have been able to experience the same thing even once, they will be able to understand each other. Even if one lived in the era of the mammoth and the other in the age of electricity. And God grant that people may understand and experience only common, humane impulses—their own and those of others.'"

Really interesting to see how Russians reacted to the film right when it came out in the Soviet Union

Yup that was part of the short story collection, it’s well written for sure but the stories didn’t really vary. I guess considering the time (1940’s) the paranoia was real.

you did a great job of articulating the intangible

whenever Im reminiscing with my sister (who is insanely book smart and runs the books for her husbands big construction company) I find that she barely remembers anything and definitely doesnt spend much time thinking about our childhood etc. was on vacation with a friend who's sister is one of my sisters besties and within a few days I had mentioned growing up on a farm enough times for her to be like "ive been best friends with your sister for a decade and she's never mention growing up on a farm once".

made me realize how different we are and people can be. i am constantly having waking dreams, reminiscing, pondering our path in life etc so when I saw Mirror it was like somebody had captured the flow of memories that were always flowing around me. feel like this film is flawlessly engineered for that type of viewer. not to try and sound deep cause im not and theres alot of this movie that is still beyond me but that just adds to the mystery.

over the last few years ive done a super deep dive on Russian history and know dramatically more now than I did last time I saw Mirror so Im very due for a revisit. for instance just realized that Spanish dude that does his badass bullfighter spiel is a refugee still living in the USSR after having fought for the communists in the Spanish Civil War historical context wise I cant wait to watch it again

what's the collection called?

goddam those last two

how is the new cure album?

Machines In The Head (selected stories) Most of the stories so far seem to be only a few pages and have some metaphors for addiction. Their interesting but I hope the next batch of stories shift gears a bit.