sigelphoenix

It's a wrap! Or a warp. I like to offer you an informed choice. ;-)

Film: Nouvelle Vague, 2025, is US / French film about the making of A bout de souffle. So it's a Richard Linklater homage to Jean-Luc Godard - a movie god making a film about a god of cinema, or at least a godard of cinema. Exactly as you'd expect in every way. I felt it didn't quite deserve full marks due to minor blandness and predictability, but there are no actual faults with the film: the audience gets what it deserves. ;-) 4.5/5
P.S. That dance scene from Bande à part referenced again (but Le Week-End is still my fave recreation).
P.P.S. So, now I've mentioned the other film, Nouvelle Vague has a smart script with slick direction and cinematography and production... but it's also sorta shallow compared to Le Week-End, which gave audiences three truly great film actors* allowed space by the director to explore everyday human experience in depth. Both movies focus on trivia, one more intellectually and one more emotionally, but only one of them finds additional profundity. Quoting philosophical one-liners is not in itself a profound activity and any parrot can be trained to do it. Nouvelle Vague is a tribute, while Le Week-End is an original.
* Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent, and Jeff Goldblum.

Film: Grass, a Nation's Battle for Life, 1925, US / Bakhtiari documentary film about the seasonal migration of 50,000 of the Bakhtiari (Lurs) and all their sheep, goats, cows, horses, donkeys, and dogs from exhausted pasture to fresh pasture, across several rivers including the Karun and over a snow covered mountain pass through the 4,221m Zard-Kuh subrange. Just crossing the river takes a week! (Spoiler for history: when the team considered remaking the film in 1947 they were told the migration was now done mostly in cars and trucks.) It is, of course, a silent movie, although the music track for the screening I attended was painfully ear-splittingly loud for no apparent reason. There are explanatory intertitles throughout, beginning with typical USian self-congratulatory racism about "Aryans" supposedly originating in West Asia and progressing westwards as civilisation progressed... with the implication that Hollywood is the peak of human culture, lmao (USians: so modest!). If you're wondering why the intertitles keep shouting "Yo, Ali!" it's because the Bakhtiari are Shia Muslims.
Presenter: Marguerite Harrison.
Conclusion: worth seeing on a BIG screen for the spectacle, but the commentary is as racist as most "Aryan" ethnography of the time. No rating.

Film: Köln 75, 2025, is a German film about... well, that's a problem because it doesn't know what it's about. ( Cut for moaning. )
Conclusion: the filmmakers and their male gaze didn't find Vera Brandes that interesting as a central subject, they couldn't focus on their hero Keith Jarrett, so they produced a confused hash spiced up with teenage girl sex-appeal for their chosen audience. No rating because the film is too inconsistent.
P.S. There's a documentary, Lost in Köln, 2025, which I haven't seen but I'm guessing would be a more worthwhile investment of time than... whatever this was that I watched.
P.P.S. Only fun if you understand German but... Floh de Cologne - Sei Ruhig Fließbandbaby.

* Piano tuners being a hot theme for movies made in 2025 for some reason?

Film the collective most wanted to see together but missed was Queer as Punk, 2025, which I mention because some of you might also be interested in a queer Malaysian punk movie.

Film: All That's Left of You, 2025, is an unexpectedly gentle and also thoughtful film about a Palestinian man and his family, told episodically from 1948 to 2022. I usually resent any film over the 2hr mark but this deserved and filled the 2hrs 25mins it took to tell these stories. The cinematography is decidedly beautiful, with Palestinian lives and homes being lit in warm colours. I hadn't read any spoilers so I'd no idea where these stories were heading beyond forwards in time from the Nakba through the First Intifada, and I was surprised by the later themes which I thought were extremely well handled despite their difficulties. An aspect of the film-making that drew my attention very early on were casting decisions for the two occasions during which we see close-ups of members of the Israeli military being abusive, when the actors chosen looked as much like the Palestinian lead as possible, so the first could have been his brother and the second a close cousin (a more diverse population was shown but the casting in these two incidents was clearly intentional).
Conclusion: I recommend watching All That's Left of You if you enjoy heartfelt family-themed films (also rated 12A - about PG-13 - despite the surrounding violence [/ reminder that European film ratings tend to be higher for violence (and lower for sex) than US ratings ]). 5/5

Film: Colours of Time / La Venue de l'avenir, 2025, is a lightweight middle-of-the-road French film exploring recent history through the lens of one family, and was clearly sponsored by the Normandy tourist authority (and good for them!). The casting suited the plot as well as the characters, the lighting was good, and all the very mainstream music - from acoustic to electronic dance - was spot on. Cliches are racked up constantly, but each is well done and forgivable (except possibly Monmartre as a romantic pre-suburb village, which was wholly unnecessary nostalgia that didn't rly work as commentary on the present and was balanced by the equally saccharine Ooo They've Got Electricity scene). The Obligatory Pride in French Arts Culture is offset by making it mildly amusing. Beekeeping featured as the vaguest form of token environmentalism. There is the most improbably upbeat and escapist take on teaching as a career. Warning for the usual pervasive French misogyny, albeit dialled down as this is intended to be a sweet story. Nonetheless I noticed the Stressed Businesswoman Who Just Needs a "Date" trope, and although the Women's Magazine Culture is Lol Lowbrow trope was offset by humour, there was also Historical Women Were All Sex-Workers. Also warning for glamourised recreational drug-taking. The best laugh line was "I got hit on by Victor Hugo!" and I'm absolutely not going to spoil the context, although for balance there was also a dreadful pun about cat/chat room filters.
Themes: family, love, nostalgic history. 5/5

Film: The Blue Trail / O Último Azul, 2025, is a Brazilian film, that I saw with the original soundtrack and subtitles (there seems to be a terrible dubbed trailer about too?). In a near-future dystopia, 80 year old people are bussed away to a "colony" for old people so they don't impair the economic activity of younger people... according to pervasive government messaging. Unfortunately for the protagonist, Tereza, the age limit is lowered to 77 only a few weeks before her 77th birthday. She is mandatorily retired from her job at an alligator processing factory (warning for animal death and dismemberment) and sent home to her small shack to await the inevitable. However, Tereza has other ideas and decides to flee in pursuit of her desire to fly. Along the way she meets a drug-taking riverboat courier who shows her a wild snail that excretes blue "drool" which induces visions in humans when used as eyedrops. Various snitches try to turn her in to the authorities, and her dream of flying crashes. But Tereza meets another riverboat traveller, on the rainbow-coloured Caridad (Charity - aka loving kindness), who might have an alternative dream for our heroine. But what will the visionary wild snail reveal about this, and how much will Tereza's renewed life cost her and the animals she inevitably continues to exploit (more warnings for animal death)?
Themes: exploitation, of people and animals and the environment; but also love and redemption (which has its price, like all redemption). Possible lesbian and/or female friendship themes but these are choose your own adventure interpretations.
Conclusion: beautiful, disjointed, occasionally upsetting, and partially individually redemptive. 4/5

As some of you already know, our wonderful minoanmiss left us on March 3rd. Her loved ones asked us not to make any public announcements for reasons involving her family of origin, but we've been given permission to announce to the community now.

Those here in agonyaunt will remember her for her contributions from Ask A Manager, and her insightful comments on family, found family, and other topics. The wider fannish community will remember her for her amazing fiction and her art, particularly her drawings of Minoan culture. Others will remember her for her amazing fruitcake and other culinary adventures.

sabotabby created this lovely portrait. I think I will try to remember her this way.

Happy Saturday!

I'm going to be doing a little maintenance today. It will likely cause a tiny interruption of service (specifically for www.dreamwidth.org) on the order of 2-3 minutes while some settings propagate. If you're on a journal page, that should still work throughout!

If it doesn't work, the rollback plan is pretty quick, I'm just toggling a setting on how traffic gets to the site. I'll update this post if something goes wrong, but don't anticipate any interruption to be longer than 10 minutes even in a rollback situation.

1. Have you ever watched illusion magic? Close-up, or in a stage show, or on television? Did it work for you?

I've seen illusionists on television and close-up in real life and even when I know how the trick is done I've never spotted the illusionist at work. They're magic to me in at least one sense of the word.

2. Have you ever wished on a star, or a lucky cat, or a coin in a wishing well? Did it work in some way?

Yes, I've wished on objects, but never believing the wishes would come true and none of them ever has. Most of my family aren't superstitious so we mostly did time or place specific traditional customs such as wishing on a poultry wishbone at xmas dinner or when blowing out candles on birthday cakes.

3. Have you ever cast a spell, made a love charm, or tried a curse? Did it work in some way?

I've asked for healing at special springs by leaving a traditional (biodegradeable) offering but, again, without believing any favour could or would be granted. Also, I expect the genii locorum prefer people who clean up their habitats by removing non-biodegradeable litter &c. Despite being a dedicated apatheist I also once asked for healing for a USian Christian friend at the shrine of St David in St Davids Cathedral in the city of St Davids before walking to the nearby holy well dedicated to his mother St Non (and then sent my friend the token I acquired at the cathedral and carried on pilgrimage - she was thrilled but not afaik healed). I was passing the well anyway as it's on a beautiful seaside cliff-top footpath. I was alone when I arrived but soon surrounded by a large group of women pilgrims, who'd walked from another direction, which was interesting because organised pilgrimage groups are an uncommon sight in the UK. I couldn't talk with any of them though because their guide was very LOUD and INSISTENT on having her group's ATTENTION. Fair enough as they'd signed up for it, and I'd already been blessed by a peaceful moment alone at the well (and my friend received the pilgrim token to tell her I cared about her).

4. Are there any other traditional superstitions you pay attention to? Do they work in some way?

My family didn't indoctrinate me with superstitions as I grew up so no to any magical element. But not walking under ladders, and paying attention to the weather and wild animals seems worth it, as does picking up stray pennies and buttons.

5. Would you want major magical powers like in a fantasy story? Which powers, and how would you use them?

Eep, NO! I'd probably end up as a medical experiment in a secret government research bunker. But I would like to have enough manual dexterity to palm things like a stage illusionist. I bet that skill would have all sorts of uses in addition to doing crime or stage magic....

6. And y'all? :-)

Dear Care and Feeding,

I’m a stay-at-home mom, and my husband works outside the home. We have three kids and obviously we all sometimes get sick. However, for some reason (*cough* I wash my hands and he doesn’t *cough*) I usually seem to get a much milder case of whatever bug we’re all dealing with than my husband, or sometimes don’t get it at all, leaving me to care for sick kids without any help. I know I should be grateful that I don’t usually get as sick, but being under the weather and nursing sick babies while my husband sleeps all day is hard. I usually end up completely run down, exhausted, and sometimes even depressed.

Recently, we all got the flu, and this time I did get it pretty bad. My husband was still recovering, and the baby was still sick so my mom had to come stay with us for a while … and then she got it. My husband and I talked after we were all healthy about how we could better handle a house full of sick people and, uncharacteristically, we didn’t come to a great resolution. I’m tired of not being able to get significant rest time when I’m ill and being on my own with sick kids, so I think we should rely on help from family more and also that my husband should accept that being sick as a parent isn’t the same as being sick without kids. I asked him to really consider what help he could offer me while he’s sick and volunteer it more. I also admitted that I should do a better job of asking him to work from home occasionally when I need to recover from being sick. He agreed on the last point but didn’t accept either of the first two: He thinks it’s out of line to ask family to come help us and get sick themselves and isn’t willing to commit himself to doing more when he is sick. We’re all healthy now but I’m sure the next virus is just around the corner, so who is right? How do you fairly split the work when everyone doesn’t feel good?

—We’re Not at Our Best

Dear WNaOB,

I am always thrilled to hear anyone is out there, washing their hands, which is one of the best forms of preventive “medicine” we have. This may indeed help account for the times you manage to avoid the bug entirely but can have no possible relationship to the times you just have milder symptoms than your less fortunate family members.

Every illness is different. So is what “doing more” can mean. I’m glad you are on the same page about him working from home more frequently while you are recovering; I am not sure why it hinges on you asking as opposed to him making the decision based on the situation, but if that’s what it takes, fine.

On the family question, I’m torn. I would not ask an older relative to risk the seasonal flu, if at all possible. For minor bugs, if you are extremely honest that you are floundering and need a second pair of hands and that those hands may wind up catching whatever illness the family has, people can make their own informed decision about helping.

Sometimes everyone is sick at once. One of the worst parts of being a parent is not being able to retreat to the couch with a Gatorade, regardless of how terrible you feel, because a child needs you to hold their hair back or heat up some soup. It’s a good time to rely on food delivery for a short period (if anyone actually feels like eating), and I recommend having basic sickness prep ready to roll (children’s cold medicine to bring down fevers and help with sleep, Pedialyte, extra mattress protectors under extra fresh sheets so you can just yank off the soiled top set and have a pre-made bed ready to go, etc.)

You and your husband are not going to solve for all time the “but I’M sicker when I’m sick” argument. You do need to ask for what you need and to be specific with what those needs are. “Can you please switch the laundry to the dryer? Can you load the dishwasher? Can you bring home saltines and ginger ale?” It seems as though communication in your household has become contentious and now carries the weight of grievances from Ghosts of Seasonal Flu Past. He thinks you’re telling him he’s a malingerer, you’re drowning in gross tissues, etc. Please try to strip emotion out of these interactions whenever possible. Fake it like you’re on a team until you’re actually on a team here.

Also, I hesitate to tell a grown man to wash his hands during cold and flu season, but if he hasn’t grasped the repeated and unpleasant cause and effect at play here, you have my permission to tell him a professional advice columnist thinks he’s being a real tool.

Dear How to Do It,

I made a mistake. I have been very close with my friend, who’s a woman, for the past three years. I am a man, and for the most part, I’ve been able to convince her that I am gay.

At first, I just yearned for the platonic affection that only a woman can offer; nothing obscene. But now … I am enticed by her smooth skin and curves. I’ve seen her naked several times, and she’s always felt safe around me because she thinks I am gay. How can I proposition her so that she’ll forget all about my so-called gayness? Should I pretend to be bisexual? HELP!

—Cross My Heart and Hope to Die

Dear Cross My Heart and Hope to Die,

Did you consult with any media before deciding to pursue opportunistic identity impersonation? With icing on her face, Mrs. Doubtfire would have shrieked at you, “Hell noooooo!” You have placed yourself in a farce that rarely works out as intended. You purposely deceived someone in order to make a connection, and now that you have that connection, you want more. Meanwhile, your friend will end up with less. It is safe to assume that her attachment to and comfort around you are predicated on your lie. You’re asking what to say to make her forget, as if I’m a wizard who’s been holding out on revealing a magic technique for mind-editing and not just some guy sitting on his couch in Brooklyn.

Here are your options: Keep up the deception and forget any kind of romantic pursuit because to her, you are as good as gay. You will have to keep up this deception for the rest of your life and/or friendship (whichever ends first), which seems exhausting and doomed to fail. Or you can come clean and hope that she is already in love with you and has been secretly wishing that you would just turn straight already. Unless she is under love’s spell, she is likely to be angry when she finds out that you have deceived her. Since your relationship is built on a lie, you can expect the relationship to collapse once the lie is dismantled. I don’t think there’s any way around that, but at least now you know what not to do next time.

#GNU PTerry Pratchett

Train, funny: children cheering for their destination station at every announcement. By the third time most of the other passengers were joining in and one of the women alighting at the same place stood up to perform a celebration dance. :D

Train, naughty: 30s guy on the phone to his parents claiming he was on a train to Liverpool was actually with his friend on a train to Caergybi / Holyhead (presumably for the ferry to Dublin).

Train, weird: two guys who had watched the Winter Olympics were having a competition to see who could sing the most national anthems, and I've never heard a Welshman and a Scouser get so far through O Canada before. :D

Film, bad: packed screening and, as usual, the only persistent cougher in the whole room was seated directly behind me. Did she cover her face effectively while coughing? She did not!
ETA, Friday 13th: And today's lone cougher was sat directly next to me, between me and the guy who arrived in a mask and presumably regretted taking it off so he could sip fluids during the film.

Film, good: same full house and the biggest laugh from the entire audience in unison was for the line: "I got hit on by Victor Hugo!" :D