Unspoken Cinema

  The Aesthetic Features of Slow Cinema - FILM301 - Jono Li - Video Essay (2023)  (TOASTEN) 17 Oct 2023 (YouTube) 4'47"

  From Void to Memory - MUBI video essay (YouTube) 29'32" Film Scalpel (7 April 2020) Footage:  Late Spring (Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)  The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952)  Tokyo Story (Ozu Yasujirō, 1953)  An Autumn Afternoon (Yasujiro Ozu, 1962)  Fortini/Cani (Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub, 1976)  One Way Boogie Woogi (James Benning, 1977)  Too Early, Too Late (Danièle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub, 1982)  Innisfree (José Luis Guerin, 1990)  Sud (Chantal Akerman, 1999)  One Way Boogie Woogie / 27 Years Later (James Benning, 2005)

  Divine Corporality: The Cinema of Albert Serra - A Video Essay (YouTube) 3'05" Film Essays by M.O. (11 Aug 2023) The films of Albert Serra have inspired thought on the ideas of the corporeal and the idea of presence, always regarding to a certain literary and cinematographic tradition. This essay seeks to find some moments in his films that better illustrate some of these ideas and how they relate with each other.  -- Films used in the video-essay: Honor de Cavalleria, Albert Serra (2006) - Andergraun Films El Cant dels Ocells, Albert Serra (2008) - Andergraun Films Història de la meva Mort, Albert Serra (2013) - Andergraun Films, Capricci Films La mort de Louis XIV, Albert Serra (2016) - Rosa Filmes, Andergraun Films Liberté, Albert Serra (2019) - Rosa Filmes, Andergraun Films Pacifiction, Albert Serra (2022) - Rosa Filmes, Andergraun Films

  A Focus on "Slice of Life" Films - VOLUME: I (YouTube) 18'19" Vamshi Ohgs (12 Nov 2023) On Ozu ( Tokyo Story ) * * * A Focus on "Slice of Life" Films - VOLUME: II  (YouTube) 21'56" Vamshi Ohgs (26 Nov 2023) On Edward Yang ( Yi Yi )

  To Be At Home: The Cinematic Realism of 'Goodbye, Dragon Inn' (YouTube) 19'30" Aries C. Ferrer (29 Jan 2023) In this video essay, I discuss the rationale and assumptions of Siegfried Kracauer’s cinematic realism in relation to Tsai Ming-liang’s 2003 slow film 'Goodbye, Dragon Inn'.

  (Left to right: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Béla Tarr, Carlos Reygadas) Watch the discussion between Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Carlos Reygadas and Béla Tarr (The Film Stage, Sarajevo Film Academy, 12 Dec 2016) 40' x2

  Landscapes are Poetic Cinema ｜Video Essay (YouTube) 1h03' Unfeatured Films - 15 nov 2023 Read also at Unspoken Cinema: Losing the ability to contemplate Nature for itself

  Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles - The Significance Of Banality (YouTube) 10'44" (You Have Been Watching Films) 3 march 2023

 La galerie du Jeu de Paume à Paris, organise un cycle de films de Ben Rivers du 14 au 26 Novembre 2023. Cette première rétrospective française de grande ampleur du travail de Ben Rivers ne cherche pas moins à récapituler l’une des oeuvres les plus importantes du cinéma contemporain qu’à profiter de sa puissance régénératrice. La présentation de chacun des programmes du cycle a été confiée à une autrice ou un auteur de fiction de renom, qui lira le texte que lui a inspiré la sélection de films projetés — texte qui donne par ailleurs son titre à la séance. L’ensemble de ces écrits forme la matière d’un recueil de nouvelles, publié par Fireflies Press. Tout en dessinant un panorama de la littérature contemporaine que Ben Rivers affectionne, ce livre et ce cycle invitent à habiter ses mondes et à en fabriquer de nouveaux avec lui. * * * Entre ses mains, la caméra est bien autre chose qu’un outil d’observation du monde, elle ouvre des brèches dans le tissu serré du présent pour découvrir

  Fredrick Wiseman Interview on National Gallery: A Fascinating Behind-the-Scenes Journey (YouTube) 35'30" 28 april 2023

  Twin Peaks The Return: Lost in Time- The Aesthetics of Slow Cinema (Spoilers) Omega Reviews - 7 avril 2019 (YouTube) 34'10"

  Carlos Reygadas | Intuitive Cinema (YouTube) 7'49" (Approach) 15 Nov 2021

Contemporary Contemplative Cinema Frequently Asked Questions #10 :  Which Contemplative Cinema could children watch? Minuscule, Valley of the Lost Ants (2013/GIRAUD/SZABO/FR) from 3 yold Breaktime (1972/KIAROSTAMI/Iran) from 4 yold Baraka (1992/FRICKE/USA) DOC from 5 yold My Brother Silk Road (2001/SARULU/Kyrgyzstan) from 5 yold The Adopted Son (1998/ABDYKALYKOV/Kyrgyzstan) from 5 yold Koyaanisqatsi (1982/REGGIO/USA) DOC from 6 yold The Experience (1973/KIAROSTAMI/Iran) from 6 yold Kelid / The Key (1987/FOROUZESH/Iran) from 6 yold Samsara (2011/FRICKE/USA) DOC from 7 yold Koza / Coccon (1995/CEYLAN/Turkey) from 7 yold Bal / Honey (2010/KAPLANOGLU/Turkey) from 8 yold Father and Daughter (2000/DUDOK DE WIT/Netherlands) Short Anim from 10 yold The Red Turtle (2016/DUDOK DE WIT/Belgium) from 13 yold Angel's Egg (1985/OSHII/Japan) from 15 yold Samsara Read also at Unspoken Cinema: Minuscule : la vallée des fourmis perdues Angel's Egg (1985/Oshii) All CCC FAQs  

  Distant Cinema - video essay (YouTube) 7'08" (Blaine Hensley) 27 Sept 2023

  The "father" of Positif, Michel Ciment, French historian and film critic for over 60 years, has left us on monday (13 November 2023)... He was the first to talk about "Le cinéma de la lenteur", later translated in English into "Slow Cinema". And he was contrasting the legacy of the Lumière brothers with that of Méliès, defining two trends of cinema pervasive until today: on one hand, the documentary, reality (Lumière) leading to Neorealismo, Modern Cinema, Contemplative Cinema and on the other hand, the animation, or spectacle (Méliès) leading to Hollywood. "Facing this lack of patience and themselves made impatient by the bombardment of sound and image to which they are submitted as TV or cinema spectators, a number of directors have reacted by a cinema of slowness, of contemplation, as if they wanted to live again the sensuous experience of a moment revealed in its authenticity. Angelopoulos in Greece, Nuri Bilge Ceylan in Turkey, de Oliveira and

Contemporary Contemplative Cinema Frequently Asked Questions #9 :  How should I approach watching a contemplative film? For this, you may need to invest in a moment, peaceful and whole, uninterrupted by distractions, in order to dedicate your full attention to the immersive universe created by the film. So set the mood right… With an open-minded attitude your rewarding experience of the film comes a long way. Check prejudices and preconceptions at the door, embrace freely the exercice with tolerance and fairness, to give yourself the chance to sympathize respectfully with what might be a tough nut to crack. It’s all a matter of being in the right mindset to let yourself engage properly with the dreamscape reality of Contemplative Cinema. Demanding art cinema is not like eating your vegetables as a kid… it means fighting off your boredom as a grown up and engross yourself with the beauty of a novel culture. Discovering a new kind of cinema, a low-key, minimalistic aesthetic that will

  Sergei Loznitsa - Interview des Rencontres (YouTube) 10'32" Rencontres 7e Art Lausanne - #r7al - 10 may 2023

Contemporary Contemplative Cinema Frequently Asked Questions #8 :  Where to start with Contemplative Cinema ? For someone new to Contemplative Cinema, who has never heard of it and never watched any such film, I would recommend to pick one of the following titles suggested and give it a try, involving yourself with the most attentive dedication. These ten recommendations, ranked from most fun to most austere, are all pretty approachable and easily available. You may pick at random any of them to get a good grasp of Contemplative Cinema right away. Or you perhaps would want to watch them all in a row as the hypothetical line up of my fantasy festival… These films aren’t necessarily representative of a complete œuvre dedicated to Contemplative Cinema (unlike my list for iconic auteurs), however individually they embody the feel and soul of what this aesthetic stands for. Each of them is a new entry into this singular peaceful universe, with each a different style and genre. Their runtime

DÉBAT DU CINÉ-CLUB CRITIKAT : LEVIATHAN Débat autour de Leviathan de Véréna Paravel et Lucien Castaing-Taylor, après la projection du jeudi 2 mars 2023 au cinéma Les 3 Luxembourg. Intervenants : Marin Gérard et Corentin Lê.

  Beautifully Boring: A Look at Films Where 'Nothing Really Happens' (YouTube) 28'29" 18 March 2022 (pompous unhelpful nit) Films referenced (Slow Cinema Not necessarily CCC):  Paterson dir. Jim Jarmusch  The Great Beauty dir. Paolo Sorrentino  Her dir. Spike Jonze  Before Sunrise dir. Richard Linklater  Somewhere dir. Sofia Coppola  Columbus dir. Kogonada  Mary Janes Not A Virgin Anymore dir. Sarah Jacobson  Ladybird dir. Greta Gerwig  Blue Jay dir. Alexandre Lehmann  Napoleon Dynamite dir. Jared Hess  Bicycle Thief dir. Vittoria de Sica  Pierrot le Fou dir. Jean Luc-Godard  La Notte dir. Michelangelo Antonioni  Le Rayon Vert dir. Eric Rohmer  Nomadland dir. Chloe Zhao Rome,  Open City dir. Roberto Rosselini  Hand of God dir. Paolo Sorrentino  Master of None dir. Aziz Ansari

  "Ma" in Japanese cinema by Hamaguchi (YouTube) 1h05' JAPAN HOUSE LA (8 feb 2022) Also read at Unspoken Cinema: Enso (Zen Circle) MU

  Nikolaus Geyrhalter on Documentary Filmmaking  (YouTube) 1h29'  Berlinale Talents 2019 - 13 Dec 2019 Parallel realities are subjected to acute observation in the documentaries of Nikolaus Geyrhalter. His cinematic work offers lucid looks at areas and topics such as industrial food production, sexual abuse or the stalled construction of an Austrian border fence. In his most recent work, Earth, screened at Forum, he turns his camera towards our relentless efforts to mine our planet. Characterised by extremely detailed long takes, Geyrhalter’s shoots are preceded by extensive research, the principles of which he will share with the audience. Geyrhalter’s notion of “scripted reality” is of particular interest here, suggesting preparation yet ultimately entrusting the interpretation of the many dimensions of an issue to the audience.

  PILLOW SHOTS of Apichatpong Weerasethakul (YouTube) 15'12" Just Another GUY with a Camera (4 march 2022)

Contemporary Contemplative Cinema Frequently Asked Questions #7: CCC FAQ #7 : Who are the iconic directors of Contemplative Cinema? Five auteurs, five personalities, five styles, one contemplation...   Lisandro ALONSO , Argentinian filmmaker, is always the first name that comes to mind when evoking Contemplative Cinema, because his œuvre is an exemplary model from beginning to end. Since his debut feature, La Libertad (2001), he films protagonists like his neighbours, daily, caringly, respectfuly. Unaffected body language instead of long discourses. Silences and pauses tell more about their inner turmoil. His urge for dead-times, his patience for the right interval are commandable. WANG Bing , Chinese independant filmmaker, is an exceptionnal documentarian. He’s made some of the greatest documentaries in cinema history. They are always driven by immersive images in succession, sharing the plight of his subjects. Without voiceover commentary, they build a direct bond between the film

  Franco Piavoli Interview - Nostos: The Return (YouTube) 7'18" 15 mai 2019

Contemporary Contemplative Cinema Frequently Asked Questions #6 :  What are the main features of Contemplative Cinema ?   We could designate five aesthetic characteristics departing Contemplative Cinema from its Modernist precursors and its minimalist contemporaries (also known under the broader term of « Slow Cinema ») : 1. Exteriority First and foremost, Contemplative Cinema takes a step back and aside, to observe the protagonists and the universe from outside. The non-intrusive camera plants itself in a corner and looks on the whereabouts of people who happen to pass by. The framing of this reality is all-embrassing and captures more than is necessary to provide a solid context to each shot. The spectator scrutinizes the outer shells of mutic faces and gazes over what could have been, ruminates blindingly on what once was, contemplates lengthily on what might happen next… 2. Hyperrealism Real-life is the template. The screen is a mirror. Away from the artifice of pure fiction, Conte

A seminal film that presaged the 1960s boom of independent cinema in Japan, Shindo Kaneto’s The Naked Island (1960) also marked its director’s breakthrough to the international market. This article examines how the film’s depiction of primitive agrarian life, particularly the ‘authentic’ labouring bodies, relates to the notions of neorealism and ‘slow cinema’. Tracing its international influences, a comparison to Flaherty’s Man of Aran (1934) reveals how ‘poetical licence’ is an integral part of documentary film with ethnographical aspirations. Working outside the restrictive nature of the Japanese studio system, The Naked Island consolidated the director’s stripped-down and self-sufficient methods of independent filmmaking. After winning the Grand Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival, it also brought him a considerable following amidst the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War. abstract from Real and slow: The poetics and politics of Naked Island by Lauri Kitsnik (Kyoto

 Contemporary Contemplative Cinema Frequently Asked Questions #5 :  When did Contemplative Cinema actually begin? We heard a lot about Contemplative Cinema (or « Cinéma de la lenteur », Michel Ciment) right after the year 2000… But as early as the 60ies, the very first prototype of a new aesthetic came to life, breaking off with the classical script and the mainstream dialogue, Kaneto Shindo’s Naked Island (1960/Japan). A commercial feature film (not an experimental short film), with rare spoken words and a thin plot, moreover in black & white. It recounts the tough life of one family of four whose raison d’être is to grow and care for their crops atop a barren island without any water spring. Every day the family rows a canoe to the nearest land proving fresh water and meticulously brings back a few pots full of the precious liquid, to scrupulously douse their plants. The takes are longer in duration. The story is mundane (with one single incident). Halfway through the 130 odd y

  Slow Cinema: Learning to Love the Lyrical Beauty of Boredom (YouTube) 17'35" Sinjun Chapman (24 Oct 2023)