Film Persona

  Satyajit Ray's "Charulata" There are certain films that reinvigorate my love of cinema. These films will always come as a shock, given that my affections for film never waned. But every so often, a film like Satyajit Ray's " Charulata " will come along and remind me why this artform is such a precious and remarkable gift. What makes " Charulata " so transcendent its ability to communicate so much through its subtext, while turning simplicity into something remarkable. While Ray's early films were far more aligned with the theories and visual compositions of neo-realist films, his work in the 60s allowed him to transform into something far more formalist. Even while attaining formalist heights, the internality of its story does not suffer in the slightest.  The film follows the titular Charulata, the intelligent and artistic housewife of Bhupati, an upper-class Bengali intellectual who owns his own newspaper business in 1879. As Bhupati challe...

  Richard Lester's "A Hard Day's Night" Considered one of the most influential films of all time, Richard Lester's " A Hard Day's Night " captures one of the most culturally significant movements of the 20th century: Beatlemania. Starring John, Paul, George, and Ringo as themselves, " A Hard Day's Night " is a "comic fantasia with music," as described by British critic Leslie Halliwell. The plot is a comedic venture in the 36 hours before The Beatles perform on live television and features a musical soundtrack from the band's album of the same name. Despite being such a monumental and commercial success, the film feels more like it succeeds at being a prominent cultural artifact than a great film. Admittedly, there are various gags that are worth their humor and numerous musical moments that remind you why The Beatles are who they are. There are even some thematic underpinnings that concentrate on ideas of irreverence that...

  Masaki Kobayshi's "Kwaidan" Partly based on the 1904 book " Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, " Masaki Kobayashi's 1964 film " Kwaidan " is an anthology of four stories, all centering around paranormal folklore. Because it was one of the most expensive Japanese productions at the time, the lack of commercial success made it a failure, and even bankrupted the production company, Ninjin Club. However, despite this commercial failure, it is often retrospectively regarded as not only one of the greatest Japanese horror films, but one of the most visually beautiful films ever made. Each chapter of the film offers its own unique brand of supernatural horror. Although, I don't think 'horror' would fit the right word for modern audience (who are used to a far more intense version of the genre). None of the sections are 'scary' per se, besides " The Woman in the Snow " (which is my personal favorite of the selec...

  Sidney Lumet's "The Pawnbroker" Beyond featuring one of the greatest performances of the 1960s, Sidney Lumet's 1964 film " The Pawnbroker " is equally unique for its influence in abolishing the Hays Code. Although the Code wouldn't officially be abolished until 4 years later, " The Pawnbroker's" use of brief nudity caused so much controversy, that conversations began to take place about the special 'exception' it received, along with the continued censorship of film.  Aside from these discussions, the film remains a powerhouse of influence in the contemporary American film landscape.  The film stars Rod Steiger as Sol Nazerman, a professor and Holocaust survivor working at a pawn shop in East Harlem. Now a single loner, he continues to have visions of the wife and children he had prior to the war, as well as horrific visions of what happened to them during it. His trauma defines his behavior, as his gruffness and lack of empathy c...

  Dusan Makavejev's "Man Is Not a Bird" Somewhat of a strange artifact, Dusan Makavejev's 1965 Yugoslavian film " Man Is Not a Bird " mixes the simplistic starkness of neo-realism with some stylistic flair borrowed from Nouvelle Vague. It centers on an engineer who comes into a small town to re-industrialize its mining plants. While there, he falls in love with a much younger woman. Although there is a romantic story at the forefront, the film's real themes spring from the Communist town and its restless machinations.  One of the key insights to understanding the film stems from a side storyline involving a hypnotist who comes to town for the purposes of entertainment. At the film's end, he narrates, "Hypnosis is not ordinary sleep but an induced artificial sleep. For a man asleep can do nothing, but under hypnosis he can carry out the most complex commands, including murder." His voiceover is matched with images of the town's industria...

  Sergei Parajanov & Dodo Abashidze's "Ashik Kerib" The 1988 Soviet film " Ashik Kerib"  was the final completed film by Sergei Parajanov before his death in 1990. It centers on a minstrel set out to gain wealth to win the respect of his betrothed's father. Told in typical Parajonov fashion, the film's abstract imagery and colorfully illustrated painterly images details Azerbaijani culture through clothes, music, dance, and customs. Not only was this Parajanov's final film, it was also dedicated to the memory of his friend, Andrei Tarkovsky, who had passed away two years prior.