Tree of Life and other artsy fartsy films.

[David.Seth2]

Not sure how other people feel about art films, but I really want to see this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLPe0fHuZsc

art films aren't something I seek after, but the few I have seen I have really enjoyed, like Koyaanisqatsi (as well as Naqoyqatsi), Elephant, Punch Drunk Love, Angel Egg, Brazil, Save the Green Planet, and A Clockwork Orange (I'm sure I could come up with a few more but I'm tired). Anyone else like these types of movies?

 

[Zephos]

I am quite looking forward to this film, and I know there will be many detractors of it. The director of this, Terrence Malick, directed The Thin Red Line and Badlands/Days of Heaven, of which all three I'd heartily recommend. They are tough watches, not exactly conventional and very often pretentious but you can't deny the beauty of his work.

Your definition of arthouse is pretty broad (A Clockwork Orange? Kubrick is pretty unconventional I suppose), so it's hard to recommend more films.

 

[David.Seth2]

Yeah my idea of art house is a bit all over the place, but the same could be said about sci-fi. Metropolis, A Scanner Darkly, and The Iron Giant are all sci-fi, but are extremely different from one another. I also used A Clockwork Orange as an example because most people would probably have seen/heard of that one and could relate (same with Brazil). But Elephant? Koyaanisqatsi? I'm surprised that even I know what those are, let alone seen them.

 

[Zephos]

Haha I can't even admit I've seen the latter. I wasn't criticisng, was just wondering what I could recommend. My movie knowledge is still relatively flimsy because I think I'm still one who cannot stand most arthouse wankery. There's a good sub-genre of foreign films I like to call "Three boring people sitting in a cafe for 90 minutes questioning their lives and the universe".

 

[David.Seth2]

There's a good sub-genre of foreign films I like to call "Three boring people sitting in a cafe for 90 minutes questioning their lives and the universe".

Well haven't come across any of those. Although, I have seen Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, which are great films and only star 2 people (Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy) who basically talk the whole movie (both movies were made by Richard Linklater who also made A Scanner Darkly, as well as Dazed and Confused).

edit: if anyone remembers this teaser for GTA4, you basically saw a well executed parody of Koyaanisqatsi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlF6fbIFiCM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirH8PADDgQ

eddit: lol Simpsons and Scrubs did parodies too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8ekQgWuGcw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFrikkN8nwM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOqtnU2faTc

huh, Its weird that I've seen those episodes yet didn't make the connection

 

[StardogChampion]

Some of those you listed are practically mainstream films.

I hate art films. Especially Last Year at Marienbad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=019kmMFpCcI

 

[Mogi67]

All I really care to watch anymore are indie films

 

[Remus]

Koyaanisqatsi can take credit for being the first film to do the whole, time lapse footage + moody ambient/orchestral music thing, an art direction which is influential to this day.
It's a combination which I do enjoy, but asside from that I really don't like art films.

 

[dfc05]

I watched Koyaanisqatsi because of Phillip Glass. I made it through the first viewing. Thought they could've edited it down significantly. Fell asleep during the second viewing, probably at the part where you have to watch the plane land in super sloooooooooooow-mo.
As for Richard Linklater, Waking Life was alright. I didn't like A Scanner Darkly because the book was so much better. Something was definitely missing.

So I guess I don't really like "artsy" films if those are what counts.

However... this is going to sound totally contradictory but I enjoy watching Filmmaker's Corner on Pittsburgh PBS -- basically anyone can submit short videos for them to air. None of the films are particularly good, most of them are "artsy" crap -- yet I enjoy watching them.

[edit] Just watched those Koyaanisqatsi parodies. Good stuff.

 

[David.Seth2]

dfc05 i totally agree that koyaanisqasti was boring. Thankfully other artsy films aren't as bad. I would recommend Streets of Crocodiles by the Brothers Quay. Actually, most of their shorts are pretty interesting. Jan Švankmajer also makes some really good movies, so check his out too. and then, there is the Forbidden Zone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjN4Ysdc69w

 

[dfc05]

Cool, I'll try to check those out if I can find 'em. I've seen a bunch of the Svankmajer shorts and Alice, and thought some of them were pretty cool. My 10th grade English teacher had us watch the Fall of the House of Usher short. After showing it, everyone had this "wtf" look on their faces. I think most of them already thought the teacher was weird because one time he randomly decided put a film on without any warning, and it was some kind of home video of him in a parking garage dancing with his two dogs.

...yeah. Anyhow, I really liked the House of Usher short. Favorite short is probably Punch and Judy -- least weird/most entertaining.

Did you decide to go ahead and see Tree of Life, and if so, any good? I'm considering seeing it at a little neighborhood theater but frankly kinda hate that the trailer gives no indication of what the film is about. I'm afraid it'll be something like Revolutionary Road or The Hours, both of which I disliked.

 

[David.Seth2]

Sadly I have not had a chance to go see it. I have to drive at least an hour away to see it. but I will make the trek out there when I have a chance. And while the trailer is a bit ambiguous as to what the movie is about, check out some reviews.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/49760
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110602/REVIEWS/110609998
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_tree_of_life_2011/

WTF... I saw this when I tried to play the trailer I had embedded:

Really? youtube had to take down a movie trailer (aka commercial) due to copy right? What is even the point? Don't these movie studios want as many people to their movies as possible? Who cares if joe shmoe put up a copy on his own youtube account, its basically free advertisement.

 

[dfc05]

I managed to see this today. My first thing to say about this is, don't make plans to do anything else after you see this. I originally planned to go to the grocery store afterwards. Didn't happen. I went in kinda-tired and came out totally exhausted -- I guess you could say my mind was blown . Not in a "wooooooo awesome!" way, but in a "all I wanna do is lie down and stare at my wall now" way. I don't even know why. It wasn't depressing (maybe even more towards -- uplifting? not sure what word to use).

My overall impression was that it was good though it's impossible to describe why.

I did however think one part was overdone:

Spoiler

The part toward the beginning where they show the universe and segue into the bit with the dinosaurs. I hate to say it, but it felt like they took all the most epic shots from space and Earth documentaries and put epic music on top of it. I believe Lacrimosa was playing on this part.

It's a nice visual and auditory spectacle, but really not all that impressive. It felt like a relatively good music video but a bit too over-the-top. There's only so much EPIC one can put together before it starts to feel like: . In my opinion. Also, some reviews say they really loved the end, but I thought it was a little bit cheesy.

Everything after that was good though. It managed to be fairly captivating for 2 hr 20 min without much of a storyline, so that's a pretty big credit to the film.

Just hope that you are in the theater without some old farts sitting in the row behind you making comments on how the film sucks every 5 minutes. I didn't mind it too much but there was this point near the end where they got up and were about to leave, which was a relief, but apparently they decided to stick it out to the end. But the dude came directly to me, about 10 minutes before the film ended, and said "Isn't this the stupidest film." oh man, lol

p.s. Henryk Gorecki
by which I mean to say, the music selection was good for the most part. Actually, just by looking at the music used, you can probably figure out if the film will be too pretentious for your tastes or not.
http://criterioncorner.tumblr.com/post/6794090621/treeoflifemusic
+ Alexandre Desplat

p.p.s. It did feel like it was meant more to be art rather than a traditional film, as in one that tells a story. So "art"/"artsy fartsy" is indeed the appropriate way to approach it.

 

[Asknoone]

I went to see this last night, but they'd sold out. We've booked for Monday's evening showing.

EDIT: I'm actually seeing it tonight.