must be considered films

cave of forgotten dreams: a look at the recently discovered Chauvet caves in the South of France by werner herzog

i finally got to see this, bit slow and boring but herzog’s amazingly gentle german voice makes anything charming to listen to. it’s worth seeing for sure if you are at all interested in the human psyche or fred astaire (just watch it and you’ll see) only herzog can put chauvet caves, albino alligators, nuclear power plants and cave painting into one film and shoot it all in 3d. i’m still puzzled at how they did the aerial shot through the arc? its not his best but its 100% herzog for any fan. by dd

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films

the artist: by hollywood films

somebody had to do it… i personally was expecting some “artist” to do it and call the film “hollywood” but instead, “hollywood” did it and called it “the artist”… haven’t seen the silent film but who wouldn’t want to sit in some hollywood film and see the actors shut the f@#k up for once. i’m so sold… by dd

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films

larisa shepitko


“i was looking for my own formula of immortality.” (1971)

unfortunately, this stunning and brilliant russian writer director was not immortal, and passed away in a vicious car accident at the mere age of 40.  but what she left behind were very few yet tremendously powerful pieces of work such as “the ascent” and “you and i” by sv

CATEGORIES: fashion birds: women of style, must be considered films

Herb and Dorothy: a great film about art and a mailman with an incredible collection

saw this documentary last night and it was quite incredible and uplifting. the story is about the famous couple herb (a postal worker) and dorothy (librarian), better known as the vogels, who amassed an incredible art collection worth billions on their measly salaries living in a stuffed rent-controlled apt in nyc. their collection included works by richard tuttle, dan graham, donald judd, sol lewitt, christo & jeanne claude, roy lichtenstein, david salle, cindy sherman, chuck close, jeff koons and many others. living a completely modest life with their cat in the same apt, they refused to sell any of their works or donate them to the numerous museums that offered to house them… until one day, they donated the entire collection to the national gallery of the arts. they accepted this for two reasons, 1- because it was a national gallery and not a private one, and 2- because it was and is free for the public. they asked for nothing in return. now i like to know who in the world would do such a thing unless you are a selfless angel from another planet.  nice to see there are people in this world that still consider wealth to be irrelevant. by dd

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films

the art of not blogging

oh child, spare me. everything i love about bill cunningham, is what i hate about scott schuman. they are the opposite poles in the same sector. bill is a spirit, the other pure flesh. bill is about life the other about fame. bill is about grit the other about flash. bill is about art the other about business. bill is about love… bill is humble… bill is light and the rest is darkness. in the end ,it does come to be about who you are as a person and bill is the epitome of all that i love about new york. no offense! when you become famous, you have to be able to take some shit. scott is surely loved and respected by many and i can be the one hater (not sure he can handle that). sorry i see no interest in satorialist or scott’s work nor his fame or how business smart he is. business smartness and fame mean nothing to me, if anything they tell me a bit about who you are and it’s generally not good. that brand is built on pandering to the status quo, not supporting the the fringe that feeds that status quo. when you photograph a bunch of vain editors and models after the shows you too can expect guaranteed traffic. bill just never wanted the attention or the fame or the money. i admire that tremendously. by dd

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films

talking about the rich, here’s (Ha-nyeo) the housemaid-2010: a remake of the 1960’s film by kim ki-young

lee jung-jae (also known as sam kang) as hoon, the rich husband

jeon do-yeon as eun-yi (the housemaid) washing the madam’s hair

byeong-sik, as “miss cho”the main maid and eun-yi (the new housemaid)

the original poster from the 1960’s film hanyeo by korean director kim ki-young

it’s not often these days that i spend two hours of my time on a film and feel happy that i did… housemaid is a great new korean film by director im sang-soo based on a remake of the original 1960’s film, praised as “marvelous… extraordinary image…” comparing the korean director to luis bunuel. the remake by sang-soo is equally amazing and up to date, not only for its sparse dialogue and unconventional story, but also for its visual style. the film competed for the palme d’or at the cannes and is worthy of your precious time. the story is about a wealthy korean family who bring on a young maid into their fold. in time, this reveals the bourgeois family’s true colors. beautifully styled and filmed on location, it’s at times surreal but never unreal. i couldn’t help but think of “the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie” while watching it, except i must confess i enjoyed this more than its french counterpart. a great recent film to indulge in if you haven’t already seen it. deserves a place in the “must be considered films” section on TS indeed. by dd

CATEGORIES: must be considered films

love, it’s the most important quality a revolutionary must possess –ernesto “che” guevara

after that post on hemingway and castro, i ended up watching the 4 hour IFC film “che” directed by steven soderbergh and starring benicio del toro (who won at the cannes film festival for best actor) as a convincing, despite slightly overweight, ernesto che guevara. the film is in spanish with an english subtitle. it’s the best film i’ve seen on che, and despite it’s high budget production, it retains the grit of the era. love the vintage documentary footage mixed in with the grainy b&w mockumentary footage and the high-def muted color film. with the UN in full swing right now it’s worth a watch just to hear che’s 1965 UN speech. beautifully romantic and idealistic. by xy

CATEGORIES: clips, must be considered films