Mirror Images

On two consecutive evenings I happened to watch two films with great mirror scenes - Orson Welles' Lady From Shanghai (1948) and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973).
The symbolism and meaning is obviously evident, but nonetheless it makes for some fantastic imagery.

don't mess with femme fatale Rita Hayworth

Hayworth and Orson Welles (who were married during filming)

the lovely Julie Christie

Lady From Shanghai is of course not one of Welles' best, but it is good, and it is accessible. And shot after shot in this climactic fun house scene is a winner! Beautifully crafted.

Even more so beautifully crafted is Roeg's thriller Don't Look Now. The way he manipulates images is amazing; the photography and editing are so effective. It also contains one of the best love scenes I've seen on film, truly lovely.

Check out the At The Movies 'Classic' review of it.

Note to self: Don't visit Venice in winter. When in Venice, avoid at all costs walking down its claustrophobic alleys at night. Avoid people in red raincoats.

Endless City Project

I first read about the Endless City Project in Occult zine.
It's basically a short story that has been displayed in street art form, down hidden alleys and laneways in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley. 

The creator David Cowan has painted each sentence of the story on plyboard and placed each board in a separate location across the Valley. Each of the boards are numbered and you can navigate to the tumblr page to get a map of the locations (and also to get a look at some of the boards).

Endless City tumblr

A friend and I spent an awesome afternoon gallavanting around the Valley in search of the story. He utilises the locations really well, appropriately choosing the placement of each board, and each spot beckons you to explore the places you wouldn't normally tread.

It's a fantastic project and the street-art-cross-with-literature is a great platform to get people both out exploring the urban environment, and reading.

April highlights

When not reading and writing about transmedia storytelling for a uni assignment my April has consisted of:

- Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend (1945), a truthful portrayal (particularly for the 1940s) of alcoholism with the dashing Ray Milland 

- Season 2 of Luther on DVD - watched during the day, with the doors locked

Idris Elba as John Luther

- Enjoying The Rubens' set at Triple J's One Night Stand

- Reading and learning about film on film academic David Bordwell's blog

- Eating cheese, always and forever

- Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone (2012) with the fine Marion Cotillard

- Absorbing vitamin D after the sunshine returns to the Sunshine State

lines

via fluesterspiel

La Grande Illusion

Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion from 1937 make's many film critics' Greatest Films of All Time list, and it's easy to see why.

Pierre Fresnay

I watched it for the first time last week and was very impressed, not to mention surprised.
For a film set in the POW camps of WWI, I was not expecting the humour and cheekiness that crops up in the narrative amidst the pain, loneliness and stagnation of a soldier's life. I have seen this display of cheekiness in characters in the only other Renoir film I've watched, the great La regle du jeu (The Rules of the Game) made two years after - so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Jean Gabin and Marcel Dalio

La Grande Illusion displays, and calls for, the unity and comradeship of people across class, religious, political and racial divides - soldiers and non-soldiers alike.

Dita Parlo and Jean Gabin

Erich von Stroheim and Pierre Fresnay

It's a war film unlike any other - surprising, beautiful, and deeply humanist.
Highly recommended.

Secret park, Sydney

A rainy afternoon's drive through a secluded park on the outskirts of Sydney led to many a new discovery.

 

Beautiful roof tiling on a perfect little greenhouse

A favourite pastime is going down unknown streets and laneways (in a car or on foot) in search of inspiring architecture and nature. I'm equally inspired by the built environment as I am the natural one.
My next visit to Sydney will definitely include a longer tour of this secluded park, and hopefully one sans rain so I can take more pictures.

The walk

Lola vs Harper