Movies
An old favorite that lost a little of its original shine. I'm not too surprised, as I watched Werckmeister Harmonies very early on in my discovery of arthouse cinema. The stark black-and-white cinematography and the remarkable score are clear pluses here, but the setting was a bit too dire for my taste. Tarr serves arthouse poverty porn with a layer of fantasy and a nicer finish. While I appreciated the presentation, I've seen better over the years, so it didn't quite drown out the negatives as it used to. The slow pacing and lengthy runtime were a bit of a bother too, but there's still plenty to love here. It just wasn't as overwhelming as I remembered it to be.Read all
Tarr slows things down even more, so beware all those who come for narratives, characters, and/or plot twists. This is slow cinema pur sang, so it's a good thing Tarr is a proper stylist, otherwise I would've suffered too. But even though the characters and setting didn't appeal to me at all, the mood of the film still got to me. The black-and-white cinematography was nice and gritty, very capable, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I cared more for the score and soundscapes, which really added to the atmosphere. 150+ minutes was a bit excessive, and I can't say I found it a very memorable film, but there were moments of brilliance here.Read all
Visions of Europe
I like a good anthology, but when there are too many directors and the project is a little too vague or open-ended, it's difficult to turn it into something coherent (not just a random bunch of shorts bunched together). Visions of Europe is a miss in that regard, but it's still worth checking out. There are some pretty familiar and respected names (Tarr, Boe, Greenaway), but most of the directors are pretty niche and have limited appeal outside of their bubbles. There's a handful of memorable shorts, the rest is pretty forgettable, but it's at least quite varied and the shorts are well short, so it never gets too dull.Read all