Unknown Pleasures posted by Darren at 10:09 AM

Unknown Pleasures is the third and most recent feature from filmmaker Jia Zhangke. Like his previous films, Xiao Wu (1997) and Platform (2000), Unknown Pleasures was made without the permission of the Chinese government and, therefore, cannot be shown in the director's homeland. Jia's latest project, The World, which is scheduled to be released later this year, will be his first "aboverground" film.

I'm relatively familiar with the big names of Taiwanese cinema -- people like Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang, and Tsai Ming-liang -- but don't think I've ever seen a contemporary film from mainland China. I've tried to avoid reading too many reviews, but I do know that the film falls pretty comfortably into the "disaffected youth" genre, and most critics seem to read it as a commentary on the alienating effects of encroaching Westernization. This is a common theme among many interesting filmmakers right now, particularly those in "developing" nations like China and Iran. When I watch Tsai's films, I'm often reminded of Modernist writers like Hemingway and Amy Lowell -- slow, simple meditations on alienation that show a real ambivalence toward "progress."

Unknown Pleasures was shot on digital video, and if the screen shots below are any indication, it looks like Jia captures some of that alienation even in his compositions, positioning people on opposite edges of the frame and dwarfing individuals against a massive landscape. Click on the thumbnails to open larger images.

      

Here are some useful links:

1. An interview with Jia Zhangke
2. An overview of Jia's life and career
3. A whole mess of reviews

Christ in Concrete posted by Darren at 6:08 PM

Paul sent along the following:

I decided to assemble a few pre-screening resources for Sunday's screening of "Christ in Concrete" by Edward Dmytryk instead of writing and delivering "introductory comments." Doing it this way allows you more time to consider the info before the screening, and means you can return to the resources after seeing the film.

"Christ in Concrete" was made in 1949 and is also known as "Give us this Day". It was directed by Edward Dmytryk. The screenplay, by Ben Barzman, was adapted from Pietro di Donato's novel. Jonathan Rosenbaum (Chicago Reader) calls it a "moving and durable" film.

The film is the first made by Dmytryk after he was blacklisted and sent to prison for contempt of Congress in 1948 for refusing to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee. The film was made in England. Like Dmytryk, Barzman was also blacklisted and moved to Europe. (He also worked with Joseph Losey, another blacklisted filmmaker.) Dmytryk, however, returned to the USA and became a "friendly witness" to HUAC.

1. General information on "Christ in Concrete" from Internet Movie Database

2. Review of the "Christ in Concrete" DVD by Scott Tobias (Onion AV)

3. A brief bio of director Edward Dmytryk. Includes links to information on HUAC

4. An interview with Dmytryk done shortly before his death. (No mention of "Christ in Concrete".)

Finally, if you're interested, here's a bio of Victor Erice, director of "Spirit of the Beehive"