Author: ryan

• Anna Karenina

  

  “She was in that highly-wrought state when the reasoning powers act with great rapidity: the state a man is in before a battle or a struggle, in danger, and at the decisive moments of life-those moments when a man shows once for all what he is worth, that his past was not lived in vain but was preparation for these moments.”

  LEO TOLSTOY, ANNA KARENINA

  Anna Karenina is full of these “decisive moments of life”: Vronsky’s horse race; Levin working with the peasants; Anna reuniting with her son; The death of Lenin’s brother; Kitty’s labor; Anna’s final hours; Lenin’s revelation. These are visceral and unforgettable moments.

  However it’s also full of superfluous scenes, characters, and dialogue. Is this the secret that makes Tolstoy’s world full and rich? Do these moments shine the way they do because of the slog it took to reach them?

  In this way perhaps it mirrors life. And maybe that’s why, when Faulkner was asked his three favorite novels, responded, “Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina”.

  You can’t help but notice the same thread of mania running through both Dostoevsky and Tolstoy’s characters. Karenina’s frenzied paranoia is the same of Raskolnokov’s. A temperament that when taken to its extremes, results in death. Don’t swim out too far…

  January 26, 2024

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• From Beirut to Jersusalem

  

  Started this book a few days after I returned from Beirut. A few days after that, Hamas attacked Israel. Now Israel is launching drone attacks in Beirut and trading rockets with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

  Despite the title, what happened in Hama, Syria in 1982 will stick with me more than anything else I read. Once you understand “Hama rules”, nothing about Israel’s response will surprise you.

  The first (Lebanese) half is much better than the second (Israeli) half, only because the latter half covers the same ground that’s been covered many times before (and after). Somehow, Friedman is able to maintain a folksy optimism about the whole thing. Saw an interview with him recently – wasn’t getting a lot of optimism.

  January 18, 2024

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• The Passion of Joan of Arc

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928. I have resumed my quest with an apparent masterpiece. Nothing I have seen thus far has presented such deeply varied and expressive characters. Covering only Joan’s trial and execution, almost every shot is a tight close-up, providing a highly charged, claustrophobic scene. Joan’s rapture emanates from the screen and is sharply contrasted by her accusers’ hostile questioning. Watching her continuously confound the theologians was harrowing. There are several grotesque moments, namely the letting of the blood and the menacing cruelty of the torturers, that gave me pause to imagine humanity in 1431. Dreadful to consider. But the film is so dense that repeated viewings would be rewarded despite the heaviness of the subject matter. Another leap forward.

  July 18, 2019

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• A Brief Break

  I watched a few more films after the Unknown, but never posted about them. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, and I don’t feel compelled to watch them again solely to write something, so I’ll just enter it in the Captain’s Log.

  I saw October (dir. Sergei Eisenstiein). I remember this film being ambitious but incoherent and a bit of a chore to watch.

  The Jazz Singer (dir. Alan Crosland) wasn’t much better. This was on the list due to it being the first feature-length “talky”. There wasn’t much to say about it besides its historical significance.

  Napoleon (dir. Abel Gance) was a mountain of a movie. A mountain I can not yet climb. It’s so long (378 minutes) and so many scenes drag on for far too long. I got as far as the ships in the rain scene and had to call it quits. Perhaps another time I will revisit.

  I remember very little of The Kid Brother (dir. Harold Lloyd).

  The Crowd (dir. King Vidor) I remember being struck by its themes – namely the crushing enormity of New York City and also James Murray’s resemblance to Ray Liotta. This is one I would consider watching again, as I do remember being moved by it. I loved the Big Parade (same director) so it’s no surprise I also enjoyed this film.

  The Docks of New York (dir. Josef von Sternberg) I remember being very succinct. It feels like it inspired On The Waterfront. I should probably revisit this film in the future, but there is so much more to watch.

  And finally, An Andalusian Dog (dir. Luis Buñuel) seems to be known for its image of an eye being sliced with a knife. I don’t recall much else about this film besides some of its surrealistic imagery.

  Ok – now on to Joan of Arc and some more detailed output.

  July 18, 2019

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• The Unknown

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Tod Browning, 1927. Such a crazy premise: A bad man with two thumbs (Lon Chaney) disguises himself as an armless circus performer to avoid arrest. But when he falls in love with Joan Crawford things things get really complicated. It sounds like a comedy, but there is some really weird shit going on here. This is  an oddball psychosexual circus drama as well as a morality tale told in the most unconventional way. 

  October 19, 2016

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• The General

  Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton, 1927. I can see why some people consider this one of the greatest films ever made. But I did miss Keaton’s more intimate gags that gave way to the big-action ones. Still, undoubtedly great.

  October 18, 2016

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• Sunrise

  

  

  

  

  

  F.W. Murnau, 1927. What a leap for film! I guess the Kubrick stare is really the Murnau stare. Prior to the attempted drowning scene, I had not experienced such a visceral reaction while watching silent cinema. This is a masterpiece and easily my favorite since The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

  October 18, 2016

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• The Gold Rush

  

  Charles Chaplin, 1925. Chaplin fans have said how mesmerized they are by this shot. How could you not be? This kind of filmmaking is ageless.

  October 18, 2016

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• Metropolis

  

  Fritz Lang, 1927. The version I watched was just way too long, but this scene is unforgettable.

  October 18, 2016

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• The Big Parade

  

  King Vidor, 1925. John Gilbert is magnetic. And for the first time in silent cinema I believe two people are in love. It’s no wonder this was the highest grossing silent, it has everything.

  October 18, 2016

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