Insee Thong
When watching one of the Insee Daeng movies — or any other existing example of popular Thai cinema from the 1960s — it’s possible to see a separate story being told in the countless pops, skips and scratches that riddle the severely weathered and damaged available prints, much as you might see a story in the lines etched in an aged human face. And that story, depending on how you look at it, can be either a sad one or a happy one. On the one hand, those wounds and blemishes speak of a unique part of world popular cinema that is on the verge of being lost to history — the ragged condition of each surviving film testifying to the many, many more that have ceased to exist entirely. On the other, as with a child’s threadbare teddy bear, that conspicuous wear and tear serves as evidence of just how much these movies have been loved and enjoyed by their intended audience, thread over and over again through projectors — be they in urban cinemas or makeshift outdoor screenings in small villages — until there was little left of them to thread; in short, loved by their audience to the extent that today they have been virtually devoured.
Archive for June, 2008
Thai Spy
Jun 5
In a startling change from the standard late-period Full Moon horror flicks, which featured lame premises poorly executed, Totem (1999) written and directed by stable workhorses David DeCoteau and Benjamin Carr, features a premise that’s original and intriguing.
(Still poorly executed, of course.)
[Sorry, no photo again. Apparently I can add them from work, but not from home.]
So Sari
Jun 4
Qurbani
I know all too well that many of you more adventurous viewers out there have already suffered disappointment at the hands of Bollywood. You’ve perhaps picked up a dvd because its cover bore a picture of, say, Amitabh Bachchan in shades and a bowtie carrying a scope rifle with something blowing up in the background, only to find that the movie contained therein had a couple of underwhelming action set pieces, but was mostly three hours of some guy crying about his mom. Rest assured, however, that Qurbani is not that film. Delivering on the promise of it’s pulsating theme and “Hulk smash” opening titles, the film goes on to entertain the hell out of you — all the while teaching you that it’s okay for two extremely manly men to tenderly cup one another’s faces in their hands while looking at each other like they’re maybe going to kiss.
We continue our look at movies featuring killer octopuses, courtesy of TCM..
And, no, that’s not Octaman. The resemblence is definately there, though.
Back in the Saddle
Jun 3
OK, my ten day Highland motoring tour through Scotland (I did not find a man-frog in the middle of a hedge maze, though) is over, and as a result of it, I am dead broke. $100 to fill up a Ford Focus??? Anyway, luckily, while I was away eating haggis and drinking a positively staggering amount of single malt scotch whisky, the rest of the crew kept the home fires stoked:
VOODOO ISLAND
The irrationality of the film is in some ways before its time. I think this is part of its ultimate failure; the writers clearly wanted to create a sense of un-reality at a time when there weren’t many films whose lead they might follow. Bleeding plants, the voodoo ragdoll which serves no apparent purpose, the “death wishes” based on real magic which don’t end up being lethal, the trouble with the radio, etc…. These have been criticized elsewhere as loose ends of a script that never had a final draft. I’ll throw out the possibility that, in fact, they were more deliberate attempts to undermine Knight’s stolid positivism because–and I’m not trying to be cute here–there was no unity to their disunity.
Back by popular demand!
Jun 1
Due to personal issues for one of us, and technical issues for others, the RUBBER SOUL Roundtable has been officially extended until Sunday, 8th June. So expect to see one, hopefully two, maybe even three—
No, I guess that’s overly optimistic. Let’s make it, expect to see two more Roundtable entries during the upcoming week!