My Relationship With Cinema; Breathless

This blog has been the source of much deliberation lately.  I'm unsatisfied with much of its content and wish to improve it.  This improvement isn't in quality (but I hope so anyway) but in its utility to myself.  I despise the notion of writing for the sake of writing, and that's what I feel I've been doing.  I've been trying to fulfill some fantasized obligation.  I want to leave this fantasy.

Many of the films I've watched lately have had plots which I didn't entirely understand.  Because of this it's been difficult to articulate the nature of my emotional response to each.  This may also be due to my minimal experience and skill as a writer.  Because of my difficulty to convey my emotions, I may stop trying to convey it to others altogether.  At least in this form.  If I write, I sincerely hope there'll be value, intrinsically.

All these thoughts culminated after a week of 8 1/2, Persona, and most prominently Breathless.  I embarked on these largely to diversify my film palette.  As it turned out they were so much more.  8 1/2 displays the battle for the true artistic subjective.  Persona is...well, I have no idea.  It just works.  The way the avant-garde techniques are mixed with plot is quite unexpected.  What I mean is that it doesn't seem like it should work, but it does!  Breathless is the first addition to the Pantheon since February.  I'm still astonished by it.  Why did I like it?  It seems so light, so easy.  Godard created a film with ease.  The ease is not in the process of creating the film, it's a feeling the film exudes to the viewer.  I seem to be predisposed to be more enthralled by females in cinema, so naturally I was more moved by Jean Seberg's performance than Jean-Paul Belmondo's.  But Belmondo's scene at the end, dear God, it was incredible.  I cannot believe this was created in 1960!  Someone save me from this elation!

Breathless culminates with a black screen imprinted with white letters saying "FIN."  So wonderfully perfect.  The momentum this film has accumulated is incredible, it's approaching 4.5!

Note: I'm morally against 4.5.

Film: 5/17-5/23

Under the Skin, Jonathan Glazer: 2.5 / 4

I wanted to understand.  Why is this so acclaimed?  I didn't have a particularly enjoyable during my initial watch in January, but I felt I should've.  So I embarked again, hoping to emotionally attach to Scarlett Johansson's character.  I didn't get there.  This film's artistry is admirable, a select few scenes are extremely powerful.  But the universe was too relatable, the Scottish-realism mixed with ScarJo's search for some sort of existential answer didn't work for me.  I'm not sure what they could've done differently, they seem to have made the movie they wanted.  The only rewarding parts were the beach scene and the conclusion.

Solaris, Andrei Tarkovsky: 3 / 4

Whatever evaluation I could possibly put here is premature.  This film's layers are too extensive.  All I can say: God save us.

Film: 5/10-5/16

The Sacrament, Ti West: 2.5 / 4

The Best Years of Our Lives, William Wyler: 2.5 / 4

Film: 5/3-5/9

Groundhog Day, Harold Ramis: 2 / 4

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, Ana Lily Aminpour: 3.5 / 4

Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky: 3 / 4

Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Joss Whedon: 2 / 4

The Sacrifice, Andrei Tarkovsky: 3.5 / 4

Film: 4/26-5/2

The Grandmaster, Wong Kar-wai: 2 / 4

Crimes and Misdemeanors, Woody Allen: 2 / 4

Tracks, John Curran: 3 / 4

Glengarry Glen Ross, James Foley: 2.5 / 4

Film: 4/19-4/25

The Razor's Edge, John Byrum: 3 / 4

Oslo, August 31st, Joachim Trier: 3 / 4

I Used To Be Darker, Matthew Porterfield: 2.5 / 4