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

well it wasn’t such a happy weekend in new york after all

fox news “fair and balanced” take on the demonstrators, as usual “its just a bunch of dumb uneducated punks on the streets” riiight! this represents the 99% of americans who don’t make a million a year. nice job “fair and balanced”. but that said i’m impressed with o’reily’s ability to insult as many people as possible and sound as ignorant as he does in just under 5 minutes with out it ever phasing him for a moment.

sorry we had agreed not to talk shop on TS. but keeping silent in this time is a crime. over 700 people arrested just on saturday while we sat and talked about… oh i don’t know the weather. personally i don’t see why there needs to be a protest at all. what is this republican argument against the idea to pass a law that insures that the rich (those making over a million a year) will pay at least the same percentage of tax as the rest of us? not more. not less. what is the rationale behind this? in most developed countries the rich pay higher taxes, in the US the rich pay no taxes. seemed like it all worked until the country went broke, and then the rest of the world. does the u.s. government really need our help to pass this clearly logical law? are these people so blatantly corrupt that they can stand up and say no to such a tax law? well, with fox news bending over for the rich its clear to see why there isn’t more people on the streets. I wonder what o’reily gets to be this much of an ass? or is he really just a naive servant that he appears to be? by dd

CATEGORIES: earth related

lesson 101 in reaganomics: who was the worse U.S. presidents to increase the debt

you’ve probably seen this but just in case you haven’t… mind numbing!! (for all you doubters source of the info is from the treasury department!) “reagan proved deficit doesn’t matter?” oh really? why were we celebrating him as the best president during Bush? i thought the republicans were so careful of spending our hard earned money, they are usually so kind they stand-up, on our behalf, against those bad democrats who try to raise taxes on us poor folks. looks like, maybe some of these commercials you see are laced with false information, and just maybe, fox news isn’t so “fair and balanced” after all. oh lord, i always looked up to our preachers and politicians for my moral values, such as how to treat my neighbors or advice on marital issues until those bad presidents and priests all got busted getting blow jobs, some from little boys, others by fat unattractive girls. now it seems we can’t even trust the news anymore. what is next lord? a president that will put the well being of corporations above that of its citizens? source by xy

CATEGORIES: read

and another: on guns and books


this is becoming a series it seems, J.D. Salinger.

disclaimer: books are good things. guns are terrible things. we are not suporters of NRA nor easy access to guns but we do support responsible hunting of birds and animals that one eats after and wears their fur… or decorates their hair with feathers… by dd

CATEGORIES: books

more Alain Robbe Grillet

alain robbe grillet and book

girl and gun… film still from l’éden et aprés

still from “glissements progressifs du plaisir”

still from trans europe express

a little background on robbe grillet who wrote the script for the film last year at marienbad directed by alain renais (another gem worth watching). he was a french writer and director who was originally trained as an agricultural engineer. during the years 1943 and 1944, robbe grillet participated in compulsory labor in nuremberg, where he worked as a machinist. in his words he found it to be a vacation as it allowed him time to think and write. his first novel, the erasers, was published in 1953 and aftre just 4 novels he worked with renais on the notable marienbad film. after which he went to direct many films most of them lost to the archives with only a few remaining and available negatives on the market. if you find a book or a film get it as it will only gain value. i found an amazing book in a used store on his films which i will one day photograph and post. by dd

CATEGORIES: must see films

Alain Robbe Grillet: TRANS EUROP EXPRESS

one of my favorite films by alain robbe grillet with one of my all time favorite actors, jean-louis trintignant (also in the film by bernardo bertolucci, the conformist).  along with marie-france pisier and nadine verdier, this film is nothing short of beautiful. by dd

CATEGORIES: clips, must see films