WhiteLinen said:
No, it has not premiered here yet. But I will see it when it comes... maybe in the premiere night already.
Sounds like it's a perfect Lynch film for me. That's how I like them, understood on an emotional level. Do you have favourites of his other films?
Lynch is the only filmmaker who's films I enjoy anymore. I used to be a film fanatic, seeing tons of films per week and making lists about what I should see next, but recently films (old and new) have started to seem boring. I think I prefer theatre to films, as in films everything seems to perfect and staged... and I want spontanity, I want something other than perfection. That's why I have abandoned my interest in films lately, apart from Lynch. Maybe I could get my love for films back somehow?
Sorry for such a slow response. I read what you'd written shortly after you posted, but then got distracted. As far as other Lynch films, I'd say my list of favorites is fairly predictable- Blue Velvet + Mulholland Dr.. I've seen most of them (missed The Straight Story), but some I've only seen once and others, like Lost Highway and Eraserhead I've only seen on VHS, so it's hard to remember many specifics.
I know how you feel about losing the real passion for films. In late 2002 my appendix ruptured, so I had a lot of free time while waiting to get back to school in the fall. I'd recently moved to a new city, so I didn't know anyone very well, so I spent a great deal of time watching movie after movie. After a while it was just too much and it seemed like a chore rather than a pleasure. It was the same way as you described- lists of things to see: the sight and sound lists, the new Criterions, Cannes winners etc. I've also run into the same issue when I've tried to catch up with a lot of the Oscar nominees. I'll get stuck watching a string of mediocre movies and give up on them for a week or two.
Ultimately, I just had to force myself to slow down and do other things. You mentioned theatre. For me it has been going to lots of small rock shows. Like you mentioned, there's something about the unpredictable nature of live entertainment that can't be captured with a film. It also helped to spend a summer travelling w/o access to tons of films. Once I got back I appreciated seeing them again. I couldn't just take their availablity for granted.
I don't think there's a magical method to rekindle anything like this, but balance seems to be the key. I get burned out with anything if I spend too much time on it (music, video games, concerts, movies etc.). I don't think it's something you can really plan out. It's not like going to Inland Empire will necessarily make you love the cinema again, but it's worth a shot. Maybe you could also pick some genre or director that is either completely new to you or who you've seen a couple of things from and see how it goes. Sometimes having a sense of continuity (a series of Nouvelle Vague movies or Russian movies or noirs or 5 Kubricks in a week or two) can get you thinking critically and actively engaged again.
As far as Hitchcock goes, try looking into some of his lesser seen mid-period work. I haven't seen all of the really early or late movies, but there are some lesser seen movies like I Confess and Strangers on a Train in the early 50s. I Confess has really striking visuals with a tone closer to the introspecitve European directors of the era than your standard Hollywood thriller and Strangers deals with a lot of subtext while remaining entertaining. Maybe they don't match his univerally regarded masterpieces, but they're definiely worth a look. I also like Marnie pretty well. It's flawed, but something about Connery dealing with Hedren's issues appeals to me.
I liked Rope fairly well, but have only seen it once. It feels a little stagey, but again, there's a lot of subtext and it's a good attempt at making a movie look like it was all done in one take. If you pay attention you'll see when they had to cut to switch the reels. They'll zoom in on the back of someone's jacket or whatever so that the edit is less noticable.
