May 2020 – STROHLTOPIA

Streaming Recommendations, Vol. 14: HBO Max launch.

Featured image from Black Girl.

Before the main event, there’s just one other recommendation I want to triple emphasize: John Frankenheimer’s The Train on Amazon Prime. It’s the best. French resistance fighters, notably Burt Lancaster, try to stop a train full of French artworks that a German colonel is trying to steal during the last days of WWII. Also featuring Jeanne Moreau and a wonderful late performance from Michel Simon. It’s a terrific action movie, but also interesting because of its exploration of the question of whether it’s ever worth the loss of human life to preserve works of art.

Okay, the main event: HBO Max is pretty lit. Far from the trash fire of Disney+, everything is in the right aspect ratio and there are more than a few great movies on offer. There are lots of wonderful cartoons and nostalgic TV shows and all that, but allow me to point in the direction of all this fine cinema:

Trouble in Mind (Rudolph, 1985): What a treat! I watched this last night. I was thrilled to see that it’s in very good quality HD (the image is grainy, but that’s how it’s supposed to look). It has never been available in good quality for home viewing before. I once read the quip (to paraphrase): “With Trouble in Mind and Choose Me, Alan Rudolph attempted to single-handedly redeem 80’s American cinema and mostly succeeded.” I have a rosier view of 80’s American film, but the point’s not too far off. Rudolph brings tropes from the 40’s and 50’s together with a neon-splashed futurist urban milieu and the result is deeply strange. There’s really nothing else like it, but it wouldn’t be unfair to say that Rudolph did for the city what Lynch did for the suburbs (though the styles of the two directors are completely distinct). The cast is glorious, including Divine as mob boss Hilly Blue.

The Young Girls of Rochefort (Demy, 1967): In the running for the single greatest musical.

Black Girl (Sembène, 1966): Potent and infuriating look at the experiences of a Senegalese woman who moves to France to work as a nanny

L’argent (Bresson, 1983): Bresson’s last film, based on a Tolstoy story. Threatens to be a trite ‘money is the root of all evil’ exercise, but in Bresson’s hands it becomes something far more disturbing and profound.

Lady Snowblood (Fujita, 1973): I love revenge movies, and the greatest of all revengers is Meiko Kaji. This is iconic and essential. That death stare! (Not a fan of the sequel.)

Belly (Williams, 1998): Hype Williams fuses Blaxploitation with hip hop. Brilliantly filmed, with performances from Nas and DMX. It’s a terrible shame he didn’t direct more movies, but don’t miss this one.

Body Heat (Kasdan, 1981): I can’t wait to revisit this sweaty Florida noir. Kathleen Turner here is near the pinnacle of human sexiness.

Kwaidan (Kobayashi, 1964): A gorgeous quartet of Japanese ghost stories. I love it.

The Bridges of Madison County (Eastwood, 1995): Makes me cry just thinking about it. One of the greatest movie romances.

The River (Renoir, 1951): Sort of a non-musical Meet Me in St. Louis set in India. One of the greatest uses of color in all of cinema.

Unstoppable (Tony Scott, 2010): One of the best action movies in recent memory and also one of the best movies about top down class warfare.

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (Almadovar, 1990): There’s no way you could get away with something like this anymore. If you enjoy Almadovar at his most transgressive, here you go.

Taste of Cherry (Kiarostami, 1997): Perfect place to start with Kiarostami. It has many of the qualities that are distinctive of his cinema, but with more readily accessible thematic concerns.

Sweetie (Campion, 1989): Jane Campion’s first film and a fine showcase of her talent. Very strange family drama.

Now, Voyager (Rapper, 1942): One of the greatest melodramas, starring an unforgettable Bette Davis. I have a ton to say about this movie, but I’ll restrain myself. It’s about the constraints of adulthood and the possibility of authenticity amid such constraints.

The Naked Kiss (Fuller, 1964): Biting Sam Fuller drama about a sex worker who tries to start over in a small town and is greeted with prejudice.

Pépé le Moko (Duvivier, 1937): Peak Jean Gabin as an indefatigable hood on the run from the law in the Casbah.

Senso (Visconti, 1954): One of Visconti’s great color pictures about the decline of the aristocracy, this time by way of amour fou.

The Shooting (Hellman, 1967): Monte Hellman’s bizarre existential western, starring Warren Oates and a young Jack Nicholson.

Fat Girl (Breillat, 2001): Breillat’s ultra-edgy brand of feminist film-making has gone out of style (though take note of Eliza Hittman) but at least now you can watch this on frickin’ HBO.

Hairspray (Waters, 1988): Not the shitty remake, the real John Waters version with Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry, and Sonny Bono.

In Vanda’s Room (Costa, 2000): Definitely not for everyone, but I’m in awe that you can watch this in HD on HBO. Part of Costa’s trilogy documenting the destruction of the Fontainhas neighborhood in Lisbon, which was formerly populated by people from Cape Verde and has since been gentrified. This is basically three hours of a woman doing heroin and rambling while the neighborhood is torn down around her. It’s extremely abrasive, but it’s great cinema.

Ivan the Terrible parts I & II (1944, 1958): Eisenstein’s historical epic, the second part was banned by Stalin. A masterpiece.

Gold Diggers of 1933 (LeRoy, 1933): Hilarious and racy pre-Code musical. I couldn’t emphasize enough how enjoyable this is. I could watch it every day. Busby Berkeley’s fantastical choreography is utterly delightful. What a cast: Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, and Ginger Rogers.

The Player (Altman, 1992): Perhaps the single greatest Hollywood take-down?

Double features and marathons

Lone Wolf and Cub series. The order goes: Sword of Vengeance (1972), Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972), Baby Cart to Hades (1972), Baby Cart in Peril (1972), Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973), White Heaven in Hell (1974)

Enormously entertaining series starring the great Tomisaburō Wakayama as an invincible swordsman who takes up a vocation as an assassin along with his young son after he is betrayed by the shogun. Whenever someone questions whether this is an appropriate situation for a child, he’s like “My son and I walk the demon way in hell together!”

Late Ophüls: The Earrings of Madame de…. (1953), Lola Montes (1955)

Pure joy. Earrings is probably his most beloved film and is absolutely essential viewing. Lola Montes is a remarkable spectacle of pageantry that influenced the New Wave. It tells the story of a courtesan and her illustrious affairs, including trysts with Liszt and Ludwig I of Bavaria.

Monsieur Verdoux (1947) Limelight (1952) A King in New York (1957):

There’s a lot of early Chaplin on there as well, but these talkies are great. Verdoux is deliciously dark, Limelight is exceptionally sad, and A King in New York is his bitter statement on McCarthyism.

Stromboli (1950) Europe ’51 (1952) Journey to Italy (1954):

There’s a lot of Rossellini on there and it’s all great, but I’d call special attention to this trio starring Ingrid Bergman. Essential stuff.

Bergman: Sawdust & Tinsel (1953), The Rite (1969) Cries and Whispers (1972) Autumn Sonata (1978)

There’s some other Bergman as well. It’s all good, but I’d skip the theatrical versions of Fanny and Alexander and Scenes from a Marriage in favor of the full miniseries versions, which are over on the Criterion Channel. The Rite was hard to see until fairly recently. It’s on the strange side for Bergman. Cries and Whispers is my personal favorite of his films. It’s about as dark and upsetting as movies get.

Godard on HBO: Vivre sa vie (1962), Masculin Féminin (1966), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967)

Hahaha, wow. Just wow. I left off Breathless because I assume everyone has seen it, but this progression is really great for tracing his deepening radicalism. Weekend is my favorite Godard.

Cassavetes marathon: Shadows (1959), Faces (1968), A Woman Under the Influence (1975), Opening Night (1977), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1978)

Terrific stuff. A Woman… is probably the greatest portrayal of mental illness on film. Opening Night is relatively under the radar but one of Cassavetes’ best works.

The Wild Goose Lake

2020 hasn’t exactly been a great year for movies thus far, with so many releases being postponed. I am pleased to report that I finally saw a new release that I feel unbridled enthusiasm for: Diao Yinan’s The Wild Goose Lake. I watched it a few nights ago, stood up and pronounced “holy shit that was good!”, went to bed thinking about it, woke up thinking about it, watched it again, liked it even better, and then resolved to write a review. So here we are.

I’ll start with spoiler-free remarks and then get into some discussion of the plot, marked with a clear warning for spoilers.

The film is a neo-noir about a gangster who is the subject of an intense police manhunt. It opens with a meeting between him and a mysterious woman. Then we flash back to learn how we got to this point, who this woman is, and how she came to be involved. There are several big set pieces and a high degree of suspense throughout, which has prompted Hitchcock comparisons. Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train is an apt point of reference for the big shootout scene, but really The Wild Goose Lake is much closer to Lang than Hitchcock. In particular, it’s downstream of the numerous paranoid thrillers Lang made where the protagonist is the subject of an investigation or manhunt (most famously M, but there are lots of others, including Hangmen Also Die!, House by the River and The Blue Gardenia). Lang used these tropes to examine both the fascist police state he had fled in his home country of Germany and the appalling justice system he found in the USA (his first three movies upon arrival were about how messed up our justice system is). Diao similarly uses these tropes to critique Chinese authoritarianism, but with a satirical edge: the cops in this movie are for the most part bumbling and incompetent. They overwhelm through ubiquity and sheer numbers.

Diao’s use of shadow and silhouette is frequently reminiscent of Lang:

And contemporary points of comparison include Refn and Bi Gan (especially the tracking shots):

No one planned it this way, but The Wild Goose Lake cannot help but gain an overwhelmingly haunting resonance in virtue of its setting: Wuhan. The film’s sense of place is extraordinary: the city pulses and throbs as we weave through seedy bars and menacing alleys. It’s a city with a fever, and the film presents us with a ready opportunity to vividly imagine the first waves of our current global crisis rippling through these streets.

Spoilers henceforth

One of the protagonists, Zhou Zenong (television star Hu Ge), is in hiding because he shot a cop who he mistook for a rival gangster. This is one of those movies, like for example Resevoir Dogs, where a character is dying for basically the entire duration. He has been shot, there is a rich reward for capturing him dead or alive, and cops and rivals are closing in around him from all sides. Death is coming. His quest in the movie is not to escape it– it’s already fated– but rather to die the right death. In particular he seeks a degree of redemption by making sure the reward for his capture goes to his abandoned wife.

The other protagonist, Liu Aiai (Taiwanese actress Gwei Lun-mei, who also starred in Diao’s mystery noir Black Coal, Thin Ice) is a “bathing beauty,” that is, a sex worker from the lawless shores of the Wild Goose Lake. She is a bystander to the whole situation, but has been roped in by her manipulative boss to help facilitate Zhou Zenong getting himself turned in for the reward. We follow her point of view for much of the film, and she is an absolutely entrancing performer. By centering her perspective, Diao cleverly inverts the trope of the unknown woman.

So while the film’s primary trajectory is Zhou Zenong’s march towards death, Aiai has her own arc, where she is swept into a nightmare and must balance an emergency of self-preservation with the competing demands of honor and humanity. I wouldn’t detract from anyone’s work here but her performance is particularly astonishing.

I am extremely impressed by this film. It works as a pulpy genre exercise, but it is rich with subtext. Its politics are much subtler than Diao’s Black Coal, Thin Ice, which is also worthwhile. The previous film (which won the Golden Bear) is clumsier about integrating its thematic concerns into its genre trappings. Wild Goose Lake is seemless. I’ve seen several new releases this year that I liked quite a bit, but this is the first one that blew me away. I don’t want to say anything else except that you should see it (and then see it again).

Streaming Recommendations, Vol 13: Plague Year Zero

Featured image from Daughters of Darkness.

Amazon Prime

Runaway Train (1985)

One of the very best action movies of the 80’s, about a prison escape. It contains the single best Jon Voight performance, and I don’t say that lightly (yes, I’ve seen Anaconda). Also exceptional turns from Eric Roberts, John P. Ryan, and Rebecca De Mornay.

Daughters of Darkness (1971)

Arthouse-grindhouse hybrid par excellence, with the inimitable Delphine Seyrig as Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Arguably the high point of 70’s vampire erotica.

Slugs (1988)

I love Slugs! Top-tier 80’s horror. This hits the “killer slugs” premise out of the park. Very sleazy. More lurid and violent than typical 80’s horror. Content warnings, etc.

King of the Ants (2003)

Stuart Gordon died recently, and here’s a classic Gordon revenge-exploitation flick to celebrate his legacy. This is at the farthest extreme of mean, nasty grime in his filmography.

99 River Street (1953)

Awesome B noir from the great Phil Karlson about a washed up boxer who gets tangled up in a web of trouble.

The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

An essential classic with all sorts of new resonances related to the rise of social media. I would be in favor of an Instagram remake with DJ Khaled as Burt Lancaster and Drake as Tony Curtis.

Death Wish 1-5

Be still my beating heart. The original Death Wish is actually probably the weakest entry in the whole series. The sequels totally rule. Quick rundown: II is the gnarliest of the bunch by a large margin. Full rape-revenge mayhem. III is the most over the top and absurd. It’s still pretty gnarly but so ridiculous that it’s not as likely to be upsetting. IV is the schlockiest and not at all gnarly or upsetting. V is all about the Michael Parks factor and the bizarre choice of setting: the Fashion District.

Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc (2018)

I think we’ve brought this up before, but in any case, we love it. It’s a head-banging metal musical about the childhood of Joan of Arc. It’s a little long, but mesmerizing throughout.

Torso (1973)

This came at the tail end of Sergio Martino’s run of all-time great gialli. It is a giallo, but on the proto-slasher side of the spectrum, with a psycho who stalks co-eds.

The Toxic Avenger (1986)

Restored version! I grew up with this hilarious and delightfully depraved spectacle. I just rewatched it and I found that it’s still very much to my liking. Peak 80’s trash.

Tromeo and Juliet (1997)

I love it. Content warnings in spades. This is the most transgressive, distasteful, taboo-breaking Shakespeare adaptation out there, as far as I know.

Knightriders (1981)

George Romero’s singularly odd tale of a motorcycle gang with a medieval reenactment show. Essential for anyone interested in Romero. Peak Ed Harris.

Art School Confidential (2006)

Very funny and acrid art school satire from Terry Zwigoff.

Fear City (1985)

Early Abel Ferrara. One of his least ambitious movies, but it’s very appealing sleaze with Tom Berenger and Melanie Griffith and a killer targeting exotic dancers.

Netflix

NB, there’s some really excellent stuff coming later in the month: Michael Mann’s masterpiece Public Enemies on May 16th and (in case you’ve been under a rock for the last year) the Safdie Brothers’ total banger Uncut Gems on May 25th

The Core (2003)

My book (in progress) about love of good-bad movies begins with lots of swooning about The Core. This is one of my personal favorite good-bad movies. The core of the Earth has stopped spinning and so a crack team of fake scientists led by a very emotional Aaron Eckhart has to drive a special vehicle made out of Unobtanium into the center of the Earth to detonate all the nuclear bombs at once. I’ve seen it at least a dozen times and I’d watch it again right now.

She Hate Me (2004)

Spike Lee’s most underrated movie. It’s widely disliked, which I take to be evidence not that it’s bad, but that it’s bold and aggressive. Not for everyone, but definitely for me. Give it a try.

Bloodsport (1988)

I’ve known every word of dialogue in this movie by heart since I was 9. I can still recite all of it, and I’m still not the least bit tired of the movie. This is the most essential Van Damme film.

Angel Has Fallen (2019)

Excellent mid-budget Gerard Butler action movie. This one leaves aside the dubious politics of the first two (to be clear, I like those as well, but the politics are messed up). If you like action movies and find yourself complaining that they don’t make ’em like they used to, here’s your movie. All the stuff with Nick Nolte is amazing.

Den of Thieves (2018)

A pulpy, trashy version of Heat with the sweatiest, stinkiest performance of Gerard Butler’s career.

Dolemite is My Name (2019)

This has been around for a while but we’ve never brought it up in a recommendation post. In case you skipped it: highly recommended. It was the most entertaining new release I saw last year. It’s frickin’ hilarious, but it’s also a joyous and very satisfying celebration of renegade movie-making and the rejection of constrictive mainstream notions of what it means to be “good” movie. I really, really do not like the practice of watching good-bad movies in the mode of mockery and ridicule. Love and affection is the higher path. This movie gets it.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)

One of the most essential martial arts films. Make sure you switch the audio track to the original and watch it with subtitles. It’s too good to watch dubbed.

Blood Father (2016)

If you need a badass Mel Gibson fix, here you go. I always misremember the title of this movie as Anger Dad.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

This holds up. Austere and tightly constructed, it’s one of the better spy movies of the new millennium.

Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016)

Much better than I expected it to be. It’s more or a less a DTV remake of the original Kickboxer, except now Van Damme is the trainer (Dave Bautista is Tong Po!). There is so much more Van Damme in this than I expected.

The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

Certainly not as good as Elaine May’s classic, but the Farrelly Brothers’ remake is plenty frickin’ hilarious in its own right.

How to be a Latin Lover (2017)

I keep hammering this recommendation, but it’s because I feel I need to. I never in a million years would have guessed from the title and DVD cover that this would be any good. But it’s hilarious.

Just Friends (2005)

If and only if you like Ryan Reynolds romantic comedies (I know there aren’t a lot of us these days, but we’re out there), this is a nice little treat.

Hulu

Hulu is trash. Disney destroys everything it touches. But there are a few good titles.

Portrait of a Lady of Fire (2019)

It is very rare that I agree with the Indiewire crowd about a movie, so I really want to relish this occasion. It ticks enough progressive film twitter boxes to appeal to them, but it’s got enough elegant neoclassicism to light me up. This is easily the best new release I’ve seen lately.

Misery (1990)

Already standing out as one of the best Stephen King adaptations, this has gained potent new resonances now that fans are trying to usurp more and more power over the creative process (eg., “redo this movie I didn’t like!” petitions everywhere, fan edits, etc.).

Mother (2009)

Probably my third favorite Bong Joon-ho movie after Memories of Murder and The Host. It’s closer to the former than to Bong’s other work.

Bangkok Dangerous (2008)

The Pang brothers were Hong Kong action directors who migrated to Thailand. It’s very fun to see Nicolas Cage in a proper Asian action movie.

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

I’ve mentioned this a few times but I just want to gently nudge people again. Jenkins’ follow-up to Moonlight is in my opinion by far the better of the two films. It’s gorgeous and the acting is remarkable.

Start Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

A bunch of the Star Trek movies are on Hulu. I’m not a huge Star Trek fan but even tourists like me should be able to appreciate this. Ricardo Montalbán is a perfect human specimen.