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My review of Abdul Rahman's 8th Street

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The old man (Venkatesan) 8th Street (2026/Abdul RAHMAN/India) 1h Film review by Benoit Rouilly for Unspoken Cinema (containing spoilers voluntarily). A clean, well directed piece by Abdul Rahman, who in just one contemplative hour and three cryptic chapters, evokes the devious outlines of five mysterious stories within four opaque characters… Some stories will remain unresolved as others stand open-ended. Everything takes place, practically in real time around 2am, in a single night-bar, named “8th Street”. A lovely place, with marble pedestal tables, wooden chairs and comfy booths. There are rounded corners to the door-frames like on a boat. Coffee bean wooden patterns form a see through ceiling. And a neo-classical sepia painting on the back wall, representing customers at coffee tables, completes the atmosphere. The protagonist enters the bar last, a clean, well lighted place, and penetrates by the front door this “huis-clos” (=a single action takes place in a single space behind c...
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Contemplative Absence (Hessam Abedini) about The Wind Will Carry Us

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Latest addition to the Library page at Unspoken Cinema: "This article examines how Abbas Kiarostami’s The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) creates sacred experience through systematic absence within contemporary slow cinema aesthetics. While previous scholarship has focused on religious content in spiritual cinema, this analysis demonstrates how formal techniques—particularly strategic concealment and extended duration—generate contemplative states without explicit religious references. Drawing on Paul Schrader’s transcendental style theory and recent slow cinema scholarship, the article traces how Kiarostami adapts Persian poetic traditions, particularly concepts of pardeh (veiling) and the interplay between bāṭin (hidden) and ẓāhir (manifest), to create meaning through what remains unseen. The dying woman who never appears, the acousmatic voices of invisible characters, and the village spaces kept off-screen transform absence from lack into generative force. Through comparative analys...
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TSAI Ming-Liang's new studio in Taipei

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"Acclaimed filmmaker Tsai Ming Liang has opened a new space in the hills of Xindian, and it feels like an invitation into his world. Set inside a restored mountain house, the newly unveiled art space extends the director’s long-standing exploration of time, solitude, and slow living beyond the cinema screen. Visitors will find paintings, film posters, video installations, personal collections, and a café serving coffee and light meals curated by Tsai himself. Known for films that linger in silence and embrace the passage of time, Tsai has spent decades crafting a cinematic language defined by slowness. That same sensibility now shapes the space itself, where every detail, from the exhibition layout to the atmosphere of the café, reflects his personal touch. In a city that rarely slows down, this may be one of Taipei’s most unexpected new cultural destinations." The Taipei Edit; 5 June 2026; Instagram ; Substack . No. 152, Zhangchun Rd, Meitan Village, Xindian District, New Ta...
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Interview with Ian Darling (THE VALLEY)

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From the director’s statement on his website : “This project challenges traditional documentary storytelling. I aimed to create an immersive, meditative experience that invites patience and openness from viewers. With its mostly silent narrative, the film emphasises the unspoken — highlighting the power of stillness and the sounds of silence. It invites viewers to interpret and create their own stories for each character, filling in the quiet moments, and embracing the ambiguity. Its length and rhythm requires a conscious commitment, but I believe this approach offers a meaningful journey — one that suspends the noise of modern life and offers a space for empathy and reflection. Ultimately, THE VALLEY is a contemplative journey — a chance for viewers to slow down, breathe, listen and observe. It celebrates the power of solitude and the importance of community. In these challenging times, it offers a quiet affirmation of inner peace, resilience, and the profound beauty of stillness.” ...
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I Reject The Invitation From God (Abdul Rahman) Film review

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  I Reject The Invitation From God | Missed Movies (YouTube) 45'35" (Missed Movies) 12 March 2020 Written - Directed - Edited by Abdul Rahman Tamil (subtitled in English) My review: I Reject The Invitation From God (2019/Abdul Rahman/India) 45’ One widower patiently awakes from a comatose sleep on the unmade bed, at the insistent sound of an old fashioned ringtone. His body lies face up and stretched out like a corpse. Slowly, very slowly, he sits up and rubs his bearded face, like the weight of the years bearing on his shoulders, numbing his whole body, his every joint. He speaks no words, since he lives on his own and sees no one all day. The film title reveals everything from the start. But when will it happen? What are we looking at? A dream? A miracle? Or just another day?  Abdul Rahman’s fourth short film opens slowly and without speech (the first word uttered comes out right before 7’ 30”). The shots are long and almost always static, but we enjoy partaking in the pro...
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Légion d'honneur pour Weerasethakul !

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  L’Ambassadeur de France en Thaïlande a remis les insignes de Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur au cinéaste thaïlandais Apichatpong Weerasethakul, le 10 juin 2026.
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Gris (Contemplative Video Game)

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  GRIS Gameplay Walkthrough Part 1 FULL GAME [1080p HD PC] - No Commentary (YouTube) 2h14'50" (MKIceAndFire) 15 Dec 2018 * * * The Beauty Of Gris (YouTube) 2'35" (TheBeautyOf) 26 Sept 2021 Voir aussi sur Wikipedia : Gris (jeu vidéo) See also at Unspoken Cinema :  A Slow Year (conceptual videogame)
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Analytical Minimalism: Il Buco (Mustafa Oğuz Yeğin)

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Latest addition to the Library page at Unspoken Cinema: Abstract: "Minimalism has been seen as a movement in cinema based on simplification in terms of aesthetics and narrative. Minimalism in cinema is generally defined by diluted narrative elements, limited dialogues, long-shot sequences, and natural setting elements. Indeed, Yasujiro Ozu's minimalist approach in Japanese cinema has developed an aesthetic based on Zen philosophy, unlike Western art. Robert Bresson, on the other hand, has deepened the narrative by using non-visual elements and off-screen areas with metonymic minimalism. This study analyzes the use of Kovács's “analytical minimalism” theory adapted to the relevant film level, based on Michelangelo Frammartino's film Il Buco (2021) as the research object. Il Buco is constructed with long shots, slow camera movements, and natural sound design, while addressing the existential images of an old peasant in Calabria who continues his life with the cycle of...
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1000th

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 1000 posts (articles, citations, comments, illustrations, theory, reviews, video essays, webcasts, interviews...) about Contemplative Cinema since 2006, in 20 years, on Unspoken Cinema ! As well as 1327 comments. 1000
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Valley Time (a film review of Ian Darling's The Valley, 2026)

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“Valley Time” is a peculiar pace of life. Such life is nonchalant, carefree, and at times delightfully indifferent. Adopted by the residents of the village of Kangaroo Valley (shy of 900 souls) strung along the meandering Kangaroo river, nestled amongst rocky sandstone cliffs. This secluded settlement sits a mere two-hour drive south of Sydney, in Australia. Throughout this silent landscape, distances stretch vast until the next neighbour. Community is bound not by proximity, but by a shared introspective state of mind. Such space is unique to the mountainous and isolated terrains. Such pace is unique to the insulated people living far apart yearning for each other.  The documentary The Valley (2026) crafts a multifaceted, deeply evocative portrait of this remote enclave over the course of 3 hours. It shifts from one dairy farmer/painter to a gardener cultivating vegetables to a baker kneading dough to lonesome locals running errands… and so on, and so forth. A seamless human tape...
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Evolution of a Filipino Family (A viewer's guide)

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Joshua Polanski's Guided Film Club - Discursions in Time: Slow and Poetic Cinema(s) ( announced here  on Unspoken Cinema) ended with a bang(er) = Lav DIAZ's record breaking durational drama behemoth, Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004) and an insightful online discussion. You can do it too. What you ought to know before getting into Lav DIAZ's 10h24' long epic saga (spoiler free): 1) - The events depicted in the film, around the Gallardo clan, take place in The Philippines, between 1971 and 1987. 2) - The Philippines have a history of conversions, conquests, occupations, and colonisations: Islamisation (XIVth century) Spanish colonisation and evangelisation (1521-1898) since Magellan American rule (1898-1946+) USA economic influence Japanese occupation (1942-45) during WWII Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship (1972-1986) martial law (1972-1981)  Assassination of father Tullio Favali (1985) Roman catholic priest Democracy (1987-) 3) - Lav DIAZ was born on December 30, 1958...
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Diverging Aesthetics (Zühre Canay Güven)

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"New Turkish Cinema embraces minimalist audio-visual elements, with long takes, contemplative narratives, and a mediated film experience that invites slow engagement and introspection. Through a focused comparison of Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Zeki Demirkubuz, two of the most influential and internationally recognized figures in this movement, this article examines how their distinct directorial styles articulate the aesthetics of slowness. Both emerged in the 1990s as central figures in the post-Yeşilçam cinematic landscape, yet their approaches differ markedly. Ceylan’s films employ rural landscapes, subdued rhythms, and interior stillness, while Demirkubuz crafts existential narratives in confined urban settings through stark realism and elliptical storytelling. Despite their stylistic differences, both directors adopt techniques associated with global slow cinema. This article argues that slowness in New Turkish Cinema functions not merely as a matter of pacing, but as a cinematic ...
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Les Grandes Marées du Mont-Saint-Michel (France TV) Slow TV

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"Vivez les grandes marées du Mont Saint-Michel en Slow TV. Immersion totale et continue 24/7 sur france.tv : 10 caméras dont un drone et une caméra immergée. Spectacle naturel unique." "Un dispositif technique inédit à suivre en direct et en continu sur france.tv Du lundi 3 novembre à 7h30 au lever du soleil jusqu'au dimanche 9 novembre à 18h00 au coucher du soleil, pendant 155 heures au total, 9 caméras, 1 caméra immergée et 1 drone seront déployés autour du site majestueux du Mont-Saint-Michel, qui deviendra sous nos yeux, une île, à la faveur des plus hauts coefficients de marée de l'année. Ce dispositif permettra une immersion totale, 24 heures sur 24, sans artifice, autour du spectacle des grandes marées, capturant en temps réel les mouvements de la mer et l’incroyable beauté du site. Ces caméras saisiront la montée et le retrait de la mer, à la lumière du jour comme dans l’obscurité de la nuit, révélant alors une facette méconnue de ce spectacle naturel. El...
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Slow Films on YouTube (The Don't Tell Show)

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  The Don't Tell Show's: Top 5 Slow Cinema Feature Films on YouTube (YouTube) 3' (THE DON'T TELL SHOW) 11 Oct 2024 "Full Playlist here: Slow Cinema on Youtube "
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A Sociological Analysis on "I Don't Want To Sleep Alone" (zeogonzo)

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A Sociological Analysis on Tsai Ming Liang's "I Don't Want To Sleep Alone"  (YouTube) 6'13" (zeogonzo) 3 march 2024  "A short analysis on the themes and concepts introduced in Tsai Ming Liang's only film done in Malaysia. Made as an assignment for a sociology class in my film school."
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