Saturday, October 11, 2014

El Estudiante, political movie (learning from Argentina) + list of other ingenious "political" movies







Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna e i vecchioni (1610), Image from Julian Bell's Mirror of the World;
There is a Brazilian "political" movie I'm unable to talk about. I saw it much later than it came out, and just like Os Famosos e os Duendes da Morte, it touches me as only a few other Brazilian movies really do: Se Nada Mais Der Certo (José Eduardo Belmonte, 2009). It is far away from being perfect, but it is touching and convincing.El Estudiante (Santiago Mitre, 2011);
O Traficante dos Traficantes: Francisco Félix de Sousa, o Chachá (Eduardo Bueno/Youtube); 
"Tous Terroristes? Fassbinder nous regarde" (Pacôme Thiellement, Blast/Youtube); 
L'Affaire Duhamel: un vrai cas de "biberon" [fake news diffusée par la droite brésilienne pour combattre Lula et Haddad à la présidentielle de 2018], et il doit y en avoir d'autres surtout parmi ces décadents de l'université et même ceux qui se disent de gauche, comme Duhamel (une gauche alignée sur des perspectives comme la défense de Cuba); ces gens à l'intelligence un peu au-dessus de la moyenne (et qui ne sont que des prédateurs capables de calculer) dominent mainte fois les milieux bureaucratiques, comme l'université; cela n'a rien à voir avec les vrais penseurs (qui excellent en France, mais là encore ils se comptent sur les doigts, et ont généralement un rapport beaucoup plus distant avec l'académie), comme Deleuze, Foucault, Derrida, Kristeva; l'affaire Duhamel est très représentative du cas typique et pitoyable des professeurs arrogants, qui finalement (incapables de penser) ne produisent rien d'original par eux-mêmes, et qui se considèrent comme des sommets de l'intelligence parce qu'ils humilient les étudiants, manipulent les collègues et se disent détenteurs de la vérité dans certaines niches: bref, l'essence même de l'intelligentsia académique bien établie, généralement applaudie et félicitée!!!
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Vestibule: 


"... toute l'histoire de la politique européenne au moins, et depuis Marx au moins, serait celle d'une guerre impitoyable entre des camps solidaires et également terrorisés par le fantôme, le fantôme de le autre et son propre fantôme comme fantôme de l'autre."
"... tous ces opposants de l'ombre ont beau savoir que l'Europe est en train de trembler devant certain fantôme, celui qui désigne le Manifeste dès son premier nom, ils complotent aussi contre une armée de spectres, contre la spectralité même, et ils pensant tous, sans doute, que c'est de bonne guerre... le noeud des complicités et des antagonismes entre Marx, Engels, Feuerbach, Stirner, Hess, Bauer, etc." 
Jacques Derrida, Spectres de Marx

"As you can see what happened in the Soviet Union, they wanted to change and have socialism. They could not. Karl Marx was somewhat aware of this. He said there is such a thing as false consciousness. This show, which is concealed, is false consciousness."
David Bohm (interview)
"O que os fascistas fizeram com os meus amigos judeus, por exemplo, diante de mim, de nós... tudo o que aconteceu... O racismo absurdo que eu não podia compreender intelectualmente... Neste ponto a minha cabeça simplesmente não funcionava mais... Sabe de uma coisa, no fundo vivemos todos num grande caldeirão. Isto nós não vamos conseguir mudar, é assim. A única coisa que podemos aprender e ensinar é como viver em um caldeirão, como libertar-se dos problemas do caldeirão."
Koellreutter (entrevista com Carlos Kater)

"You just never know with people. You just never know what they'll like, what you should do for them... Some little thing can set off reactions, you don't know what is in their past that's making them like or not like somebody so much..."
Warhol
"'Jean-Jacques avait bien raison de dire: L'homme se corrompt dans l'air empoisonné des villes.' — Père Dodu, vous savez trop bien que l'homme se corrompt partout."
Gérard de Nerval
"Tout commence bien pour finir mal."
Gauguin
"... so dass der Verwegenste zuletzt vielleicht bereit ist, mit Giacomo Leopardi zu seinem Herzen zu sagen: Nichts lebt, das würdig Wär deiner Regungen, und keinen Seufzer verdient die Erde. Schmerz und Langeweile ist unser Sein und Koth die Welt — nichts Andres."
Nietzsche (Nutzen und Nachteil der Historie für das Leben)

"Aos olhos deles, eu era apenas um peão fazendo seu dever."
Gerald Thomas, Entre Duas Fileiras
"Sem dúvida grandes negócios políticos os hão juntado..."
Micaela/Qorpo Santo (Certa Entidade)
"Tenía un Ronson, podrás creerlo?"
narrador del Bataraz (Mauricio Rosencof)
"La muchacha apareció una madrugada, en las calles de Geremoabo, con la cara marcada a fierro con las iniciales J y S. Estaba encinta y llevaba un cartel explicando que todos los hombres de la banda eran, juntos, el padre de la criatura."
Mario Vargas Llosa (La guerra del fin del mundo)
"... mas agora observo, a título de curiosidade, que, de todas as impressões colhidas por ele em todo o tempo que passou em nossa cidade, a que ficou gravada com mais nitidez em sua memória foi a produzida pela figurinha sem graça e quase abjeta de um funcionariozinho de província, ciumento e déspota familiar grosseiro, avarento e usurário, que trancava à chave os restos de comida e os tocos de vela e ao mesmo tempo era um sectário zeloso sabe Deus de que futura 'harmonia universal', que às noites se inebriava de êxtase diante dos quadros fantásticos do futuro falanstério em cuja realização imediata, na Rússia e na nossa província, ele acreditava como na própria existência..."
Dostoiévski (Os Demônios)

"Chaque événement, que ce fût l'affaire Dreyfus, que ce fût la guerre, avait fourni d'autres excuses aux écrivains pour ne pas déchiffrer ce livre-là, ils voulaient assurer le triomphe du droit, refaire l'unité morale de la nation, n'avaient pas le temps de penser à la littérature. Mais ce n'était que des excuses, parce qu'ils n'avaient pas, ou plus, de génie, c'est-à-dire d'instinct."
Marcel Proust (le narrateur)
"Gang of Four and Scritti Politti abandoned tell-it-like-it-is denunciation for lyrics that exposed and dramatized the mechanisms of power in everyday life. 'Question everything' was the catchphrase of the day. These bands demonstrated that 'the personal is political' by dissecting consumerism, sexual relationships, commonsense notions of what's natural or obvious, and ways in which what feels like spontaneous, innermost feelings are actually scripted by larger forces... the subversive potential of the lyrics resided as much in their formal aesthetic properties (how innovative they were on the level of language or narrative) as in the message or critique they delivered."
Simon Reynolds
"... existe um sentimentalismo autocomplacente, isto é, um sentimentalismo deslumbrado consigo próprio. Você pode notar isso também no esteticismo, na falta de sensibilidade. O sujeito filma como se dissesse: 'Olha como estou filmando! Sou bacana!'. Pois eu tentei fazer um filme em que me critico. Cada filme que eu fizer será uma forma de autocrítica."
Rogério Sganzerla (Jornal do Brasil, 1969)
"... teria sido muito mais criativo se você tivesse feito, dentro do regime soviético, um trabalho de modificação e de complicação geral que é o que eu estou fazendo. Eu já escolhi o caminho que é o caminho conseqüente de transformação da sociedade. Dentro desse caminho eu sou incômodo."
Rogério Sganzerla (Pasquim, 1970)

"Foi em 1969 quando o ditador marechal Arthur da Costa e Silva implantou a chamada Diretriz para a Política de Segurança Interna. O documento estabeleceu que caberia aos comandantes militares da área do Exército a responsabilidade pelo planejamento e execução das medidas para conter a subversão e o terrorismo... em 1977, o coronel Perdigão, seus aliados e comandados já davam mostras de uma perigosa independência, e estavam claramente atuando fora da lei e fora da cadeia de comando militar..."
Marcelo Netto & Rogério Medeiros, Memórias de uma Guerra Suja
"Empresto a Antônio Cândido o livro de crítica política de Lourival Fontes, intitulado Homens e multidões, que ele repele com horror. Mal sabe que se trata de um milagre, pois, do tradicional e consciente fascista que organizou o DIP, saiu o melhor volume que possuímos no assunto, inteligente, imparcial e in- formado."
Oswald de Andrade (Um Homem sem Profissão)
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Main Hall: 


The strength of a "political" movie such as El Estudiante (2011, by Santiago Mitre) is the determination with which it follows the internal contradictions of its material as they can be handled in its specific "code" (cinema has its own way to conjure up reality). The plot is unraveled by unexpected turns. It is not demagogical and confronts us with puzzles: how people who supposedly are simply exploited somewhat contribute to their own situation, and above all how people who intend to help are generally unconsciously entangled in the labyrinths of their own selfishness. Argentina is the country of sophisticated directors such as Marcelo Piñeyro, Carlos Sorin, Pablo Trapero, Anahí Berneri and Lucrecia Martel.
In Brazil, the best examples are documentaries. Eduardo Coutinho and João Moreira Salles are accomplished documentary directors. Garapa (2005), by José Padilha, deals with its material in a way which is also interesting (the case of Gabriel Mascaro is more peculiar). In fiction, recently, the best results were attained by Anna Muylaert: Mae só há uma (2016) hasn't got so much attention as Que horas ela volta (2015), but it is just as good. The plot seems implausible (the idea of going back home), but it is actually a metaphor for a very complex and troubled situation. Muylaert works with the actors in a way that is the most convincing. The direction is very honest and unconceited. I wasn't much convinced by Cleber Mendonça Filho's O Som ao Redor (2012), but Aquarius (2016) is excellent. And O Céu de Suely (2006), by Karim Aïnouz, is remarkable. Heitor Dhalia and Lírio Ferreira made quite singular, more metaphorical but credible movies, staged in stunning locations with elaborate plots. 
The Mexican director Amat Escalante is also ingenious. His Los Bastardos (2008) is astounding.
Some intentionally political movies are otherwise just pseudo-engagé movies: they are unable to engage truly with their own material, and merely submit the material to an external code (such as ordinary ideas and not necessarily false clichés but nonetheless clichés about "human exploitation"). In my opinion the most frightening examples are Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardener and Blindness (2008, **see my critical review), or José Campanella's El Secreto de sus ojos (2009). Besides being "intentionally political," these movies are somewhat "intentionally artistic." In Brazil there are many movies that would fall under such a category. Lavoura Arcaica (Luiz Fernando Carvalho, 2001) is perhaps the worst case scenario. It is not exactly political, but "epic." And it is just "intentionally artistic" (mannered and pious) as the language of Raduan Nassar’s original book was affected and bookish. It won about 50th prizes in festivals, but not exactly in Berlin or Cannes. ***Walter Salles, on the other hand, was redeemed by Dark Water (2005)—an unabashed "genre" movie, in which all his immemorial & carefully pampered clichés finally mount up to a truly terrifying degree! Without irony, I actually consider it to be his best movie ever (homespun philosophy transfigured). 
****I'm not considering Glauber Rocha's movies here, because they are very unequal and—except for Barravento and Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol—each one difficult to evaluate as a whole. But Glauber Rocha was a visionary artist whose works have unparalleled value (see here). And Cinema Novo has other interesting names such as Ruy Guerra, Leon Hirszman, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, and Paulo César Saraceni. There is also Cinema "Marginal"—if not political, apocalyptical! And, around the same period, Roberto Farias and Neville de Almeida, besides the Argentinian naturalised Brazilian Héctor Babenco. Already in 1989, Murilo Salles realised Faca de Dois Gumes, a first-rate brilliant thriller with political implications (based on a story by Fernando Sabino).

List of other ingenious "political" movies (under construction & not to be found on amazing #IMDbitches' site, which certainly has the same kind of shortcomings as Wikipedia):
- Socrates (Alexandre Moratto, 2018);
- Der goldene Handschuh (Fatih Akin, 2018);
- Napszállta (László Nemes, 2018); 
- Everybody Knows (Asghar Farhadi, 2018);
- Gräns (Ali Abbasi, 2018);
- Non-Fiction (Olivier Assayas, 2018);
- Lazzaro Felice (Alice Rohrwacher, 2018);
- No Date, No Sign (Vahid Jalilvand, 2018);
- Museo (Alonso Ruizpalacios, 2018);
- Ahlat Agaci (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2018);
- Mademoiselle Paradis (Barbara Albert, 2017);
- Wieza. Jasny dzien (Jagoda Szelc, 2017);
- Happy End (Michael Haneke, 2017);
- The Party (Sally Potter, 2017);
- Jupiter holdja (Kornél Mundruczó, 2017);
- La Cordillera (Santiago Mitre, 2017);
- Los Perros (Marcela Said, 2017);
- Nelyubov (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2017);
- War Machine (David Michôd, 2017);
- The Square (Ruben Östlund, 2017);
- Geumul (Ki-Duk Kim, 2016);
- Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016);
- Zjednoczone stany milosci (Tomasz Wasilewski, 2016);
- I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach, 2016);
- Deep Web (Alex Winter, 2015);
- Boi Neon (Gabriel Mascaro, 2015);
- Francofonia (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2015);
- Saul fia (László Nemes, 2015);
- Tharlo (Pema Tseden, 2015);
- The Big Short (Adam McKay, 2015);
- Clouds of Sils Maria (Olivier Assayas, 2014);
- Aire Libre (Anahí Berneri, 2014);
- Um Sonho Intenso (José Mariani, 2014);
- Leviatan (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014);
- Simindis kundzuli (George Ovashvili, 2014);
- Inside Llewyn Davis (Coen Brothers, 2013)
- The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese, 2013);
- Epizoda u zivotu beraca zeljeza (Danis Tanovic, 2013);
- Tian zhu ding (Zhangke Jia, 2013);
- Heli (Amat Escalante, 2013);
- Pelo Malo (Mariana Rondón, 2013);
- Après mai (Olivier Assayas, 2012);
- Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012);
- The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012);
- Cosmopolis (David Cronenberg, 2012);
- Tabu (Miguel Gomes, 2012);
- Les Adieux à la Reine (Benoît Jacquot, 2012);
- The Iron Lady (Phyllida Lloyd, 2012);
- Le Capital (Costa-Gravas, 2012);
- A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg, 2011);
- Elena (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2011);
- This is not a Film (Jafar Panahi, 2011);
- A torinói ló (Béla Tarr, 2011);
- Concerto de Violino (Luciano Vidigal, 2010);
- Por tu culpa (Anahí Berneri, 2010);
- Carancho (Pablo Trapero, 2010);
- Inside Job (Charles Ferguson, 2010);
- Green Zone (Paul Greengrass, 2010);
- Submarino (Thomas Vinterberg, 2010);
- Mammuth (Benoît Delépine & Gustave Kervern, 2010);
- Life During Wartime (Todd Solondz, 2009);
- Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009);
- Das weiße Band (Michael Haneke, 2009);
- Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008);
- Vincere (Marco Bellocchio, 2008);
- Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (Uli Edel, 2008);
- Louise-Michel (Benoît Delépine & Gustave Kervern, 2008);
- Gomorra (Matteo Garrone, 2008);
- Los Bastardos (Amat Escalante, 2008);
- La mujer sin cabeza (Lucrecia Martel, 2008);
- Liverpool (Lisandro Alonso, 2008);
- Nightwatching (Peter Greenaway, 2007);
- Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg, 2007);
- No Country for Old Men (Coen Brothers, 2007);
- There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007);
- Paranoid Park (Gus Van Sant, 2007);
- The Road to Guantanamo (Michael Winterbottom; Mat Whitecross, 2006);
- The Last King of Scotland (Kevin McDonald, 2006);
- A Fost Sau N-A Fost? (Corneliu Porumboiu, 2006);
- Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005);
- Manderlay (Lars von Trier, 2005);
- Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005);
- A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005);
- Solnste (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2005);
- Sangre (Amat Escalante, 2005);
- El método (Marcelo Piñeyro, 2005);
- Árido Movie (Lírio Ferreira, 2005); 
- Entreatos (João Moreira Salles, 2004);
- Der Untergang (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004);
- Aaltra (Benoît Delépine & Gustave Kervern, 2004);
- Los Muertos (Lisandro Alonso, 2004);
- Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003);
- Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003);
- Le Temps du Loup (Michael Haneke, 2003);
- Buongiorno, Nuote (Marco Bellocchio, 2003);
- Cidade de Deus (Fernando Meirelles, 2002);
- Edifício Master (Eduardo Coutinho, 2002);
- Bloody Sunday (Paul Greengrass, 2002);
- Historias Mínimas (Carlos Sorin, 2002);
- La Ciénaga (Lucrécia Martel, 2001);
- La Libertad (Lisandro Alonso, 2001);
- Telets (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2001);
- Taking Sides (Stván Szabó, 2001);
- Suchwiin bulmyeong (Ki-Duk Kim, 2001);
- Plata Quemada (Marcelo Piñeyro, 2000);
- The Filth and the Fury (Julien Temple, 2000);
- Moloch (Aleksandr Sokurov, 1999);
- Goya (Carlos Saura, 1999);
- Ghost Dog (Jim Jarmush, 1999);
- Notícias de uma guerra particular (Katia Lund e João Moreira Salles, 1998-99);
- Idioterne (Lars von Trier, 1998);
- Happiness (Todd Solondz, 1998);
- O Velho: A História de Luiz Carlos Prestes (Toni Venturi, 1997);
- Lost Highway (David Lynch, 1997);
- Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994);
- Prêt-à-porter (Robert Altman, 1994); 
- Lektionen in Finsternis (Werner Herzog, 1992);
- The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, 1992);
- Europa (Lars von Trier, 1991);
Sonata dlya Gitlera (Aleksandr Sokurov, 1989);
- Faca de Dois Gumes (Murilo Salles, 1989); 
- Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 1987); 
- La Película del Rey (Carlos Sorin, 1986); 
- Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986); 
- Kiss of the Spider Woman (Héctor Babenco, 1985);
- Cabra Marcado para Morrer (Eduardo Coutinho, 1984);
- Rio Babilônia (Neville de Almeida, 1982); 
- Lili Marleen (Fassbinder, 1981); 
- Mephisto (István Szabó, 1981);
- Pixote (Hector Babenco, 1981); 
- Die Dritte Generation (Fassbinder, 1979);
- Mamá cumple 100 años (Carlos Saura, 1979);  
- La Vocation Suspendue (Raul Ruiz, 1978); 
- Das Schlangenei (Ingmar Bergman, 1977);
- Stroszek (Werner Herzog, 1977);
- Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977);
- Cria Cuervos (Carlos Saura, 1976);
- Mr Klein (Joseph Losey, 1976);
- Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma (Pasolini, 1975);
- Lacombe Lucien (Louis Malle, 1974);
- Il Portieri di Notte (Liliana Cavani, 1974);
- Ana y los Lobos (Carlos Saura, 1973);
- The Assassination of Trotsky (Joseph Losey, 1972);
- A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971);
- Porcile (Pasolini, 1969);
- British Sounds (Godard, 1969);
- Sympathy for the Devil (Godard, 1968);
- Teorema (Pasolini, 1968);
- Mouchette (Robert Bresson, 1967);
- Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964);
- Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (Glauber Rocha, 1964);
- Vidas Secas (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1963);
- Barravento (Glauber Rocha, 1962);
- Assalto ao Trem Pagador (Roberto Farias, 1962);
- Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, 1959);
- Un condamné à mort s'est échappé (Robert Bresson, 1956);
- Journal d'un curé de campagne (Robert Bresson, 1951);

About Judicial Systems:
- Into the Abyss (Werner Herzog, 2011);
- Leonera (Pablo Trapero, 2008);
- Juízo (Maria Augusta Ramos, 2007);
- Justiça (Maria Augusta Ramos, 2004);
- Krótki film o zabijanius (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1987);  

Latin-American military dictatorship period:
- La noche de 12 años (Álvaro Brechner, 2018);
- Missão 115 (Silvio Da-Rin, 2018);
- El Clan (Pablo Trapero, 2016);
- El Botón de Nácar (Patricio Guzman, 2015);
- Nostalgia de la Luz (Patricio Guzman, 2010);
- Mundialito (Sebastian Bednarik, 2010);
- Cidadão Boilesen (Chaim Litewski, 2009);
- Em teu Nome (Paulo Nascimento, 2009);
- El Circulo (José Pedro Charlo y Aldo Garay, 2008);

Violence against Women and related issues:
- Dylda (Kantemir Balagov, 2019);
- Dronningen (May el-Toukhy, 2019);
- Torre das Donzelas (Susanna Lira, 2018);
- Familia Submergida (María Alché, 2018);
- Assassination Nation (Sam Levinson, 2018);
- Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, 2018);
- Den skyldige (Gustav Möller, 2018);
- The House that Jack Built (Lars von Trier, 2018);
- Egy Nap (Zsófia Szilágyi, 2018);
- Las Herederas (Marcelo Martinessi, 2018);
- You were never really here (Lynne  Ramsay, 2017);
- Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017);
- American Honey (Andrea Arnold, 2016);
- La patota (Santiago Mitre, 2015);
- Mommy (Xavier Dolan, 2015);
- Butter on the Latch (Josephine Decker, 2014);
- Miss Violence (Alexandros Avranas, 2013);
- Después de Lucia (Michel Franco, 2013);
- I, Anna (Barnaby Southcombe, 2012);
- We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, 2011);
- Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009);
- Das Fremde in mir (Emily Atef, 2008);
- 4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile (Cristian Mungiu, 2007);
- Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (Jasmila Zbanic, 2006);
- Lilja 4-ever (Lukas Moodysson, 2002);
- La Pianiste (Michael Haneke, 2001);
- Krótki film o milosci (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1987);
- Les nuits de la pleine lune (Eric Rohmer, 1984);
- Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984); 
- Panelkapcsolat (Béla Tarr, 1982);
- Pepi, Luci, Bom e Outras Tipas del Grupo (Almodóvar, 1980); 
- A Dama do Lotação (Neville de Almeida, 1978); 
- Die Marquise von O (Eric Rohmer, 1976);
- A Mulher de Todos (Rogério Sganzerla, 1969); 
- Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966);
- Porto das Caixas (Paulo César Saraceni, 1962); 
- Ganga Bruta (Humberto Mauro, 1933); 

See also:
- The House that Jack Built's simple equation;

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