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Tildes Film Festival: Final call for nominations
Please submit candidate films, documentaries or shorts, focusing on things rarely watched, but that might provoke an interesting discussion.
Please vote on movies that interest you.
The Lighthouse (2019) - Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
7.5 on IMDB. 90% Fresh.
Free with Amazon Prime or $2.99
Nominated by @cfabbro
I wanted to see this movie when it came out and I thought I found a torrent but it turned out to be a similarly black and white movie from 2016 with the same title and the same premise of two guys at a lighthouse. I got forty five minutes into it before I realized that Robert Pattinson wasn't going to show up. I wound up really disliking the 2019 one tho..
I have bad facial recognition. I'm still not convinced Robert Pattinson was in the 2019 eggers version.
Stalker (1979) - Russian Andrei Tarkovsky's sci fi lucid dreamscape.
8.2 on IMDB.
$2.99.
Nominated by @beneGesserit
The General (1926) - Buster Keaton as a southern railroad engineer facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War.
8.1 on IMDB. 93% Fresh.
Free on youtube.
Nominated by @ShroudedMouse
Keaton did all his own stunts. There’s rarely any camera trickery. He straight up fractured his neck for one stunt and easily could have died doing many others. The dude’s wild.
Hereby I nominate a Danish film from 1992. It has a controversial title so I have chosen not to cite it here explicitly. The best scene starts at 12:50.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soXkFMO4ixI
Highly debatable. It's packed with memorable scenes. Gayniggers from Outer Space is a gem and fits perfectly in the premise: Please submit candidate films, documentaries or shorts, focusing on things rarely watched, but that might provoke an interesting discussion.
Papers Please - The Short Film (2018) - An adaptation of the hit indie game, reproducing the atmosphere of the original with the nuance that a live action setting provides.
7.4 on IMDb, unlisted on RT.
Free on YouTube
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, US, 1975)
A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
Histerical musical comedy that stood the test of time. Beloved by the LGBT community, I reckon
Amazona (2016) – Documentary. This is the story of Val and Clare: a mother and a daughter. After the tragic death of her eldest daughter, Val left her kids and family behind and escaped into the Colombian jungle in order to search for her identity. Clare was only 11 years old when her mother left and couldn't understand what she was looking for. A son who became an addict, three break-ups and a fractured family remained behind. Now Clare is pregnant and decides to confront her mother, heal the wounds of the past and try to define motherhood on her own terms. Together they go on an intimate journey exploring the boundaries between responsibility and freedom, the power of love and the meaning of family.
7.2 on IMDB.
$3.99
Nominated by @Kremor
Hello, I actually forgot this was a thing and I've to say that I'm unsure about my nomination, I've only seen the movie once but it really talked to me, that's why it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the post, however I think a lot of people have problems getting into the documentary due to the subject.
After sending the nomination I remembered The Eagle Huntress (7.5 in IMDB), the story of a girl that is fighting to become the first eagle huntress, the documentary has a very Disney quality to it and I think it will be more to the liking of tildes, plus is also a film that would be hard to come by casually, and It's also available in Amazon Prime and Youtube.
Anyways, let the votes decide.
Monsieur Ibrahim (2003) - In Paris, a Turkish shop owner befriends a Jewish boy in his mid-teens.
7.3 on IMDB. 85% Fresh.
Free in French?
Nominated by @rosco
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) – Western in which two local cattlemen are drawn into a lynch mob to find and hang three men presumed to be rustlers and the killers of a local man.
8 on IMDB. 91% fresh.
free on youtube.
Nominated by me
Promising Young Woman (2020) - A young woman, traumatized by a tragic event in her past, seeks out vengeance against those who crossed her path.
7.5 on IMDb, 90% fresh
$5.99, but as far as I can tell, difficult to stream outside the USA currently
Nominated by me.
La Haine - 24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.
8.1 on IMDb, 100% fresh
$3.99 to rent on Amazon
Not sure if submissions are still open, but I think this would be a great film to watch. It isn't particularly obscure (by my standards, at least) but it would provoke excellent discussion.
Coherence (James Ward Byrkit, US, 2013)
Strange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.
High quality mindfuck done with zero budget and basically one location.
Entranced Earth (Glauber Rocha, Brazil, 1967)
In the fictional Latin American country Eldorado, a poet tries to effect political change by influencing powerful men.
A Brazilian classic from a controversial filmmaker. A film that questioned the political establishment during a brutal dictatorship.
The Tragedy of Man (2011)
An epic animation started in 1988 and only completed decades later, this adaptation of the most famous Hungarian play is the story of mankind. Meandering through history with each era evoking a unique animation style, the passage of generations and time is broadly felt as mankind struggles to define a righteous way of living.
Accompanied by Lucifer, an embodiment of man's primal nature and desires, mankind is forced to use his higher consciousness to make a better world for himself. However, as civilizations rise and fall, it's clear the tragedy of man is his mortal coil and the ego that emerges from the selfish desire to optimize the "one life to live" while passing the buck to the next generation.
It's a bit psychedelic at times, and metaphysical in others, but it is steeped in philisophical prose that will keep you pining away at the meaning of life while time inevitably marches on.
8.0 IMDB
Free on YouTube (YT English subs on top of hardcoded spanish subs...), or
Buy or Rent on YouTube
First Cow
A skilled cook has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two collaborate on a successful business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRUWVT87mt8
An Elephant Sitting Still (2018)
Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, France, 1959)
Michel passes the time by picking pockets, careful to never be caught despite being watched by the police. His friend Jacques may suspect, while both men may have their eyes on Jeanne, the pretty neighbor of Michel's ailing mother.
A masterpiece of elegance and minimalism
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) – Short. short experimental film directed by and starring wife-and-husband team Maya Deren and Alexandr Hackenschmied.
7.9 on IMDB. 100% fresh.
Free on youtube, and only 15 minutes long.
Nominated by @cardigan
It is now clear that this comment was a mistake. I won't delete it just because people answered to it already, and its absence would make the conversation incomplete. I will now make some suggestions for single films like others have done.
moved from the other thread because this one seems more appropriate
I see that people are nominating a single movie, I made an entire list :P. I'm not sure if that is appropriate, so if that is not the case please consider this a list of single possible suggestions surrounding a theme instead.
Okay!
There are all kinds of film festivals, with all kinds of selection criteria. Within these festivals, there may be "film sets" (I don't know how to say that in English, in Portuguese I might call it "mostra de filmes") which contain movies of specific genres, countries, filmmakers, etc. From what I understand, what we're going to do here is therefore not a festival per se, but a much smaller thing, like a section of a festival. Something like 5 to 10 movies, maybe?
A set of films can certainly be defined just like @HotPants suggested as "a bunch of unusual movies". That's totally fine. I think deciding on certain criteria and following them can also be quite fun and illuminating! It can be a referential list, a genre, a mood, a country, a period... anything!
With that in mind, here's my first suggestion!
1 - Meditative films
Here I'll define "meditative films" as films that require the viewer to take a deep breath and abandon certain expectations associated with stories that are heavily goal-focused, allowing for a more or less meditative experience of time. The reason for that proposal is that I identified in many previous threads a recurrent interest in the work of Andrei Tarkovski. The film Stalker was endorsed and suggested, as well as Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse.
The Films
This short film (46 minutes) that Tarkovski made during college introduces all the main signifiers that he explored in his career -- a great way to understand his storytelling and filmmaking. A delightful, heartwarming story.
A movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies. A puzzling comedy that defies interpretation.
While attending a retrospective of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his film. A brilliant homage to 8½.
A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.
When Don Johnston is dumped he embarks on a cross-country search for his old flames in order to find his long-lost son.
A day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating marriage.
A theatre director struggles with his work as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking.
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
So let me know what you guys think... the other ideas by @HotPants and @cfabbro are also great. What @cfabbro proposes is what we call a cineclube in Brazil ("movie club"?), and it's a great way to conduce things as well. But since I saw the word "festival", I got excited for us to do something more structured...
That was my first idea. The order of the movies is not super important... like everything else it's subject to change (sugestions are welcome!). I will post a new comment later today with another idea that I have. In the meantime, tell me what you think!
Here’s where these films can be watched:
The Criterion Channel has the Criterion Edition, so it includes a bunch of extras. This isn’t always the case for films on The Criterion Channel, so I’ll note the ones that are.
Another Criterion Edition.
I don’t believe this one is a Criterion Edition, but it does have extras.
I was unable to find it on any traditional streaming services, but you may be able to watch it with your library card on Kanopy.
Looked far and wide to no avail. It appears it was recently available with Cinemax, but is no longer. You might find it coming to HBO Max soon if it’s not that their license expired, or Peacock if it has, as Focus (a subsidiary of NBCUniversal) handles U.S. distribution.
A brilliant list, and it shows which streaming services are pulling their weight. You’ll notice some big-name omissions here.
I love the enthusiasm, but I think the sheep are already out of the gate. In the earlier thread where I asked for input people were already nominating ideas, one idea per person. Which is fantastic. I love it. I was initially going to suggest three films, but I personally stuck to one nomination to align with what everyone else was doing.
The criteria I suggested was "rarely watched, but that might provoke an interesting discussion." My thinking was two fold. "Rarely watched" because the only criteria my local film festivals put in place is "never been screened before in the area." Plus something novel is more likely to spur an interesting discussion. "Interesting discussion" as that is the premise of Tildes, and while we lack the immersive experience of hearing fans cheer and laugh, we can instead enjoy the after movie discussion, which film festivals often lack.
I think it is good to be respectful of people's suggestions. Overall I have been incredibly impressed with the selection so far. I have watched 94 of the American Film Institute top 100 list you suggested on the earlier thread. There were only 6 I have not seen.
Out of the 13 selections so far submitted by Tildes participants, I have only seen four, and all selections look outstandingly appetizing to me.
Your list of ten is excellent, but perhaps because you limited your selection by theme, it has only three I have not seen.
Both approaches have merit, but I think people are eager to have their selection discussed, in addition to watching others suggestions, and I prefer participation over anything else.
It seems like the path forward is to select 1-3 movies a week, and then have discussion threads, (plus maybe other options.) If you wanted to curate the list and select 1-3 interesting movies by theme, I think that would be an amazing approach. It would spur a more interesting conversation to have a film major such as yourself lead the selection effort, explain the commonality, and initiate the conversation.
How does that sound to you?
If that sounds good to you, I just suggest you limit yourself to one selection, as everyone else has done, and try to curate the list so we end up watching as many of the suggestions from as many of the people as possible.
Yeah, I may have gotten over excited hahaha
Well, it is quite possible that you have a larger repertoire than most. It is also possible that you and I have very similar tastes. I definitely could have gone for something more obscure. My suggestions were made for hypothetical viewers that are interested in film but are not necessarily dedicated to this kind of film, especially older classics.
Regarding the AFI list, I also watched most of it. But then again, I wasn't thinking about experienced cinephiles when I suggested it in the initial thread.
I wouldn't really mind rewatching a bunch of movies, really... great films lend themselves to multiple appreciations and the most important to me would be the discussion afterward.
Sure, selecting one to three films a week is fine. That is clearly what the majority want and it would be silly not to respect that. One per week is maybe a good idea... people have other stuff to watch and do.
Sure, I can do that. What movies from my list you haven't watched?
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, Hong Kong, 2000)
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Can you film love? Like, actual love?
The Trespasser (Beto Brant, Brazil, 2001)
Two businessmen hire a hitman to kill their third partner and are then blackmailed by the hitman as he takes over their company.
Really good Brazilian thriller
Drained (Heitor Dhalia, Brazil, 2006)
A pawn shop proprietor buys used goods from desperate locals--as much to play perverse power games as for his own livelihood, but when the perfect rump and a backed-up toilet enter his life, he loses all control.
Not the kind of movie one expects from Brazil. A very weird tale, full of irony, sarcasm, and pessimism.
Thief and the Cobbler: Recobbled Cut (2013)
About the restoration
8.6 IMDB
Free on YouTube
So, to vote for a nomination you just vote for the comment with it?
Yes.
Blue Gate Crossing (Chih-yen Yee, Taiwan, 2002)
The love struggles of a group of Taiwanese teens.
A pungent and authentic story about the profound frustrations of love in the youth. I left the theater crying and kept crying until I got on the bus. And I never cry...
Central Station (Walter Salles, Brazil, 1998)
An emotive journey of a former school teacher, who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
We're good at melodrama, this movie is only one example. Nominated for 2 Oscars.
A Dog's Will (Guel Arraes, Brazil, 2000)
João Grilo and Chicó are two very poor and clever Brazilian Northeasterners who struggle for survival and trick people to get by.
Wonderful comedy that is very very Brazilian, based on the work of one of our most celebrated authors.
7.9 on IMBD. 98% fresh (Roger Ebert was the one holdout)
Free on TubiTV, $3.99 elsewhere.
I’ve been meaning to see this one for a decade.