Distilled joy.
Somehow combines a sort of animated realism and fantasy/ magical realism that captures the joys and a few of the tribulations of childhood. One of the few films to exist that is both excellently made and would appeal to quite literally any age range. Probably the only film ever that would be able to perfectly appeal to an audience of 3, 10, 15, 25, 50, 75, and 100 year olds at the same time. Maybe because it portrays…
Firstly I'd like to address the complaint of "It's just military recruitment propaganda!"— like various forms of propaganda haven't lead to incredible films or technical advancements. And if that is your argument, it's pretty benign in that capacity. This isn't Triumph of the Will, it's a Gold's Gym ad.
Secondly, this doesn't just manage to justify its existence by being an okay, but seemingly unneeded sequel to a mediocre film from the 80s. It surpasses the original on every front.…
Watched the 30 minute reconstruction from the Australian National Film & Sound Archive.
Every time I see something like this, I'm reminded of Stroheim's Greed. A film that could be great, but we may not ever know to the full extent. This seemed like a pretty good early silent film with the ~25% of archived film being in good condition, other than a few segments with terrible burns/ chemical damage. Australia's early contribution to the Western genre and feature length films.
March Around the World 2018
3/30
Portugal
Fun, whimsical, wonderful.
Did Manoel de Oliveria create some sort of Portuguese New wave with this film? It consistently had a sort of Neorealism vibe to it. In some areas it even reminded me of The 400 Blows. For such an obscure film I thought it deserved that many people would either hold this in higher regard or at least be a little more well known given the quality. Before checking the year…
