Posts tagged "film-and-tv":

Journal:Photographers, reflections

It's a Saturday; my wife is in a mindfulness retreat, and my day is even less structured than usual. In the morning, my brother, an aviation buff, had sent me a link to an air museum in Sirvihisar, in central Turkey, joking that he'd love to see it some day. I looked up Sirvihisar in Wikipedia and noticed that one of the central personities who hailed from there was an Armenian poet, Moushegh Ishkhan, who once wrote that, for Armenians, whose diaspora lacked a territory,

Sira'at

Watched Sirat (2025), maybe so you don't have to. But if you do watch it, just be warned that it deliberately defies the expectations that it builds in us early on.

Almodovar | Mishra

(From January 11)

Journal

Watched "It was just an accident" (2025) by Jafar Panahi. He's a brave man and the film deserves the acclaim.

Lazy day at home

Went for an early morning walk with my new barefoot-like sandals: crossing through the pinewoods, descending the path that leads down to the vineyards in the valley, then back up through the woods towards home. Surprised that despite the stony paths around here, there was no discomfort in these sandals, except once when I was looking at my phone and banged my toes into a rock lying on the path. That's the thing about walking without adequate foot protection: you have to be mindful.

Practice day / book launch, a film

This morning I took part in a practice day / book launch for the translation of Zen and the Art of Climate Change (the same theme as the book launch that I previously described in Tel Aviv. Here there was maybe a greater effort to describe the common ground between the spiritual approach and the phenomenon of climate change, which Avner Gross managed to describe very well. the event was much smaller (about 40 people) so there was a chance for the audience to express themselves - their remarks were interesting.

Journal

We watched the film "Only the Animals" (Seules les Bêtes) directed by Dominik Moll. Wikipedia has a good article about without too many spoilers. I agree with what most of the critics say about it; I would also give it about 4 stars. It could be categorized as a black comedy; but it's many things. Not a feel-good film; all of the characters are suffering badly - all of them want something they can't get and therefore end up hurting each other.

A film, thoughts about Epicyon and federation, links

Went with Y and D to see Cinema Sabaya, which is amazing. I didn't feel like making the effort to see it and D almost had to drag me along - it would have been insulting as Y had already bought us the tickets. But I was immediately caught up in the film, because it's simply so well done. A mixed group of Arab and Jewish women take part in a video-photography course. From class to class and exercise to exercise they learn about each other and themselves; where they can relate to one another as sisters and where they cannot agree; where they can support one another and where they shouldn't press too hard. There are layers on layers of complexity. The film is utterly engaging and unfailingly authentic.

Diary

I made a new fedi personal instance using epicyon. It took hours, and wasn't even my first choice. I rented the new server under the assumption I'd be using Streams. See the post I wrote on epicyon itself here. It's actually a temptation to continue using epicyon's blogging feature. But org-static-blog gives me better possibilities for presentation.

Saturday

On Saturday morning I fixed a few broken items with epoxy glue, but not a pair of shoes, whose sole has become partly detached. From watching a couple of YouTube videos, it looks like it will be better to buy a specialized glue for that - one that's waterproof and flexible.

Gregory David Roberts

I started to watch Shantaram, which I found surprisingly good - it captures the atmosphere and feel of the novel and the casting is brilliant. I read the novel in 2009 and loved it, of course, like everyone I know. But I didn't read The Mountain Shadow, Roberts's second novel, because I read a couple of negative reviews when it came out. I sort of passed him off as a "one book" writer. Someone introduced me to that term when describing Pilgrim at Tinker Creek writer Annie Dillard; though I actually enjoyed a couple of her other books.

Journal

I am gradually picking up many of the connections I previously had, just because someone ends up boosting posts by one of them, here and there. As a result, my timeline is growing more interesting by the day.

Alchemy

Yesterday evening I finished watching the first season of "The Bear", which somehow lives up to all the rave reviews of the critics. It does so more on account of its presenting a situation than for its storyline - the plot for all of the first season could be summarized in two or three lines.

New walk planned, film

It took several hours today to decide on a flight to Porto, in Portugal, in order to walk again on the Camino trail. Perhaps we will make it to Santiago on this one. Flights are expensive in this season - and increasingly immoral. But the only way to reach the European continent from this country is to fly, so it's either that or stay at home. At least when we reach our destination, our manner of vacation will be environmentally friendly. The trip is planned for September.

The film festival

YS invited us this year to see films with her at the Jerusalem film festival. The festival takes place every year in July, and, for many years we have been going to see four or five films. Choosing them has always been difficult, but this year we let YS choose them for us. It was actually at the film festival, one year, that we renewed our connection with her.

2022-04-17 | Drive My Car | Movies

We watched "Drive My Car" in two sittings… it's a 3-hour film. A great film. Hey, it's 2022 and they are still making good films, somehow. I have not read the Haruki Murakami story upon which it is based, although I've read so many of his novels and stories. And I have also never seen or read Uncle Vanya, which is enfolded within it. It isn't the first film to do that - I have the earlier one in my library to watch.

2022-02-17 - Diary - a Turkish film - links

In the morning helped D prepare for her Day of Mindfulness at the Spiritual Center. In the daytime, I was at home. My son and his daughter brought the "family cleaner" to clean up the rooms they had been living in before moving into their new house. The mother of M said originally told me that he was from New Guinea, but it turned out he was from Konakri Guinea in West Africa. He has been spending time in Israel on-and-off for years, since 1988, and is now aged 56. He belongs to the Fulani tribe - which is huge - they are spread across more than 20 countries, all across to the Red Sea. Most are Muslim. He says that in Guinea, there are no inter-communal problems, unlike, say in Nigeria. But Guinea has a history of military coups and is currently again run by the military. He is planning to return again soon, as he has been away for awhile. He has one grand daughter, whose picture graces the wallpaper of his phone. They have a house in the city and another, a few hundred kilometers away in a village. He says that he enjoys the village the most; it's very green there and the family are farmers. We talked a little about music as I like a few musicians from neighbouring Mali - Kandia Kouyaté, Salif Keita, Ali Farka Touré, and he likes these too so I played him some of the music while he worked. He says that also in Guinea they have great musicians and told me a couple of the names to check out. Meanwhile he did a really good job of cleaning. I don't know if he has a profession besides cleaning, but he is quite a smart guy.

2022-02-13: Kimi

Watched Kimi, based on the review in The Guardian. Since I agree with the review, and this Benjamin Lee writes reviews better than I can, there's not much to add. I too would give it 3 or 4 stars, because it's enjoyable, well-made, does what it intends to do, and doesn't try to be more than it is. Films like this feel "transactional"; it feels like we, or the company that purchased the film, have entered into an agreement with the director and s/he has lived up to the agreement and handed over the goods. He (Soderbergh) and the cast may have given it their all, worked really hard, or just had a good time - it doesn't matter - as the product has been delivered in perfect condition.

Documentary film festival

Spring is usually the time for the DocAviv documentary film festival in Tel Aviv, but this year, of course, there's the pandemic, so they have postponed it till September and, in the meantime, are streaming some films that one can watch from home.

Planet of the Humans (again)

Reading George Monbiot’s critique of “Planet of the Humans” I appreciated his ability to sift through the many details, see where the errors lie and then state the ways in which the film is inaccurate, dangerous and damaging to the cause that it is supposedly trying to support. Environmentalists face so many challenges from the political right and those with vested interests who wish to undermine challenges to the continued degradation of the biosphere.

Human

Human-themovie.org by Yann Arthus Bertrand

"Long Day's Journey into Night"

I saw the Chinese film “Long Day’s Journey into Night” (2018) the other day. It’s very long, and I only just managed to stay awake till the end (my partner didn’t). But still I’m glad I saw it. Visually, it’s among the most beautiful films I’ve ever seen. Every frame is stunning. In terms of the plot, you just have to accept that it’s all a jumble – it’s deliberately so. Only the 2nd part of the film creates a coherence – but it’s the coherence of a dream, where the brain takes many disconnected elements and somehow weaves them into a story. After the film, it’s helpful to read what the critics say, in this case. The most helpful essay I found was Roderick Heath’s on Film Freedonia. Seeing this film, and thinking about it more deeply, is sure to offer a lot.

At the film festival

This year at the Jerusalem Film Festival we saw three films: “House of Hummingbird”, “Young Ahmed” and “The Invisible Life of Eurydice Gusmao”. All three were special. “House of Hummingbird” was the best; a poignant coming-of-age film where not a lot happens (for its 2 hours and 20 minute running time) but it holds the attention and keeps the eyes moist throughout. For a lot of people, this will have been their favourite film in the festival.

The Sea of Trees

Auroville has a movie theatre which seems to specialize in films no one ever heard of. But the screenings are free, the place is airconditioned, and sometimes there are real gems. Tonight’s offering was “A Sea of Trees”, which is about a man who goes to commit suicide in a Japanese forest that is a popular suicide spot. A special film.