The Chorus Canon • Page 8

I started to doze at the beginning of that storyline so I turned it off. Tonight I’ll finish

 

probably my second favorite Carax film behind Holy Motors but not by all that much tbh

 

The Lovers on the Bridge is definitely my favourite of his. Just a magnificent film.

 

still need to check that one out

 

This is definitely the one.

But they’re all very good.

 

excited to see what Annette ends up being

I'll be sure to watch Lovers on the Bridge soon. I've only ever heard great things

 

Finally got to The New World and holy shit is that a beautiful movie.

 

Malick was a really tough one to narrow down to 5 films for me (an arbitrary rule that I broke for other filmmakers in my list so there’s that).

I included A Hidden Life because I was really moved in the theater but almost feel like Knight of Cups or Song to Song might have been a more interesting inclusion? And yeah not including The New World was one of the toughest calls I made, but Badlands/Days of Heaven/The Thin Red Line/Tree of Life seemed so essential that once I had those I wanted something post-Tree of Life.

Days of Heaven is easily in a future update, Knight of Cups I haven’t seen since theaters and it’s the coldest I am on anything he’s done. Song to Song had a welcome warmth I didn’t get from Knight of Cups at the time, I may revisit both soon.

Alan Rudolph’s Remember My Name is on the TCM app so I’m planning on that tonight

 

I’ve seen less Malick than I should have, but out of what I’ve seen, To the Wonder deserves more credit, imo. Really loved a lot about that one.

 

It’s wonderful. Brainfart to forget it, though I think it’s the most critically divisive of his work? I left the theater adoring it.

 

It’s been years but I remember feeling like To The Wonder was almost like a companion to Tree of Life, like taking the grandiosity of ToL and encapsulating it in a much smaller world.

 

What was the reception compared to Knight of Cups & Song to Song? I don’t really follow such things all that closely.

I actually didn’t connect to Knight of Cups all that much from what I recall, & didn’t see Song to Song.

 

Post Tree of Life and pre Hidden Life I think critics were mostly mixed. I’d like to revisit Knight of Cups since it’s the least I’ve connected with anything he’s done and I’m curious as to why.

 

I still have to see Knight of Cups, To the Wonder and Song to Song. I was clearly caught unprepared for his strange burst of productivity.

 

i didn't like any of those three haha. each have parts but as a whole they're pretty messy

 

Loved To the Wonder, liked Song to Song (particularly Gosling and Patti Smith), and didn’t like Cups

 

Controversial take I assume, but A Hidden Life is probably his best. Perfect marriage of actual plot, incredible visuals, and profound themes at play in a way only he could do.

 

Chungking Express was..okay? I’m bummed I didn’t like it more. Maybe it would’ve hit harder if I’d seen it earlier. I watched 85% of In the Mood for Love a few years ago but had to pause and never got back to it. It was much better

 

Watching now

 

everyone should watch Sans Soleil

it's the best

 

I'm not big on esoteric, experimental stuff necessarily, but that movie is great.

You might like Mediteranee by Jean-Daniel Pollet. They've always felt similar in vibe to me.

 

I'll check it out. thanks for the rec

 

By the way, it's far from perfect, but if you can get one of the first 2-3 editions of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it makes for an awesome crash course. I've seen like 860 in my version of The Book and it's been a great education.

The recent editions have massacred all their good work though, so avoid those.

 

planning on watching The Sacrifice soon. it's the one Tarkovsky film I still have to see

 

so I can safely say these would all be in my personal canon:


The Mirror
Mulholland Drive
Sans Soleil
Miller's Crossing
Holy Motors
There Will Be Blood
Casino
8½
Alphaville
House of Tolerance
2001: A Space Odyssey
Persona
The Turin Horse
Koyaanisqatsi
3 Women
On the Waterfront
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?