Keeping with my January post, here are my memorable viewings from this past February. In the order they are discussed, these films are:

• The Creator (2023)
• Lemora (1975)
• Le 15/8 (1975)
• Parasite (1982)
• Angels Egg (1985)
• Brief Encounter (1945)

The best movie I saw on the big screen was The Creator (2023), which I viewed at South Puget Sound Community College. This closed, educationally focused event was open only to the college and enrolled students. Patti Poblete’s introduction to the film made this experience doubly meaningful. Rather than summarize her ideas, you should just read them yourself on her blog. I cannot tell you how often I have thought about these remarks and the film since this screening.

Proportionally, I enjoyed the film’s first half far more than the second. Somewhere along the line, the film became an exercise in how epic events and corresponding images could become. Conversely, in the first half, more character-focused storytelling was bolstered by exceptional performances, especially from the principal characters played by John David Washington and Madeleine Yuna Voyles. The rest of the cast was equally good. Ken Watanabe and Allison Janey were, as always, pleasures to watch, and then – to my surprise – Sturgill Simpson showed up. Who knew? I sure didn’t.

The cult classic film that cast a spell over me, even over Synapse’s new to-die-for BD treatment of Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972), was Lemora (1973), also currently distributed on DVD by Synapse. Weird, narratively ambitious, it’s a Southern Gothic meets vampire-tale in monster-mash-nightmare somewhere with Alice in Terrorland. Though it’s a low-budget affair that proceeds occasionally with that independent clunky clunk, it is a film made with great care and love. I know little about the film’s history or production, but I will return to it. There are copies of it floating around on YT, but they are terrible looking; this is how I initially watched the film, and I wound up eventually buying the DVD version, which is superior in image quality. The DVD has plenty of extras, which I know I’ll be delving through.

The next film that has been one I continually think about is Chantel Akerman’s Le 15/8 (1975). I’ve been slowly working through Akerman’s work to have a more informed context for her masterpiece, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975). The process has been illuminating, and the work, even where I don’t fully care for it, is some of the most daring, complex cinema I’ve ever seen. The film’s concerns and themes are rich, like every frame, which become paintings and poetic reflections distilled in time. I also don’t think I’ve ever seen someone embody the meaning of “shruggie” so perfectly – even before the Internet gave us that kaomoji. You’ll know the shot when you see it.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The worst movie I saw was Parasite (1982), and no, not the fantastic Parasite from 2019. I am talking about the Charles Band 3D film starring Demi Moore. The only good thing about the movie is Moore. Considering the material, it’s more of a serviceable performance, but it was also a good demonstration of her talent. The film also reminded me just how potent Moore’s voice is; it’s unique, velvety, deep, and rich; it might be a stretch, but I’d rank it alongside Bacall’s in terms of its quality. The film, however, is entirely uninspired, mainly trash, and sometimes downright reprehensible. I didn’t see it in 3D, but you could see where every dumbass 3D shot was in the movie, such as when someone gets impelled with a metal pipe and – wait for it – blood drips out of the pipe… Good job, nerds.

The most stunning animation I saw was Angel’s Egg (1985). Narratively, the film gives you nothing to hang onto. The enigmatic nature of the story is decidedly intentional, leaving the viewer lost to understand why exactly things are happening. Still, proceeding in this manner places that same viewer in a headspace of the characters, creating an empathy link so deep that when things twist and break, the viewer, too, is crushed. While I’d wager that there is plenty of good conversation on what the film is about, what struck me was how it made me feel those things despite the alien way it was told. And for you Souls fans out there, I’d be shocked if Angel’s Egg didn’t influence some of those games design, especially Bloodborne.

The best film I watched in February was Brief Encounter (1945). With its short runtime of around 90 minutes, the film is a masterclass of storytelling, direction, camera, performance, and design. It’s a film I will return to, no doubt, countless times from here forward. While the story itself is sad, it’s also the specter of war that permeates the tale, never really acknowledged, which brings into focus its art and, in turn, captures what it is to be human. It’s filmmaking at its very finest, and this is one to study for those interested in making movies.