A man plays the Bach piece of the title on the organ, accompanied by images of stone walls with cracks and holes that grow and shrink, intercut with images of doors and wire-meshed windows.Read More »
Short Film
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Jan Svankmajer – J.S. Bach Fantasia g moll AKA J.S. Bach: Fantasy in G Minor (1965)
1961-1970AnimationCzech RepublicJan SvankmajerShort Film -
Jan Svankmajer – Poslední trik pana Schwarcewalldea a pana Edgara AKA The Last Trick (1964)
1961-1970AnimationCzech RepublicJan SvankmajerShort FilmTwo magicians, Mr.Schwarzwald and Mr.Edgar, try to outdo each other in performing elaborate magic tricks, leading to a violent ending.Read More »
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Igor Cobileanski – Sasa, Grisa & Ion (2006)
2001-2010ComedyIgor CobileanskiMoldovaShort FilmSynopsis:
Three maintenance technicians, sent off to dig up and repair a faulty cable find themselves at odds with the blistering cold outside, a bottle of vodka and their own ingenuity.Read More » -
Abbas Kiarostami – Be Tartib ya Bedoun-e Tartib AKA Orderly or Unorderly (1981)
1981-1990Abbas KiarostamiIranShort FilmSYNOPSIS:
This film’s first shot shows students descending a staircase in a calm, orderly fashion. Its second portrays the same action as a chaotic rush. Separated by slates and Kiarostami’s voice intoning, “sound, camera,” subsequent sequences describe the same dichotomous behavior in a schoolyard, on a school bus, and in the haphazard traffic of Tehran. Kiarostami described this as “a truly educational film,” but it plays more like a quirky philosophic aside.Read More » -
François Ozon – Une robe d’été AKA A Summer Dress (1996)
1991-2000ArthouseFranceFrançois OzonShort FilmIt’s summer. Sébastien loves the singer Sheila. Lucia loves boys. And all Frédéric wants, is to get a nice tan…Read More »
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Victor Sjöström – Trädgårdsmästaren AKA The Gardener (1912)
1911-1920Scandinavian Silent CinemaShort FilmSilentSwedenVictor SjöströmQuote:
The Gardener is a 1912 Swedish silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. It is mostly known for being the first film to ever be banned by the Swedish censor system. It was long thought to have been lost, but in 1979 a copy was found in an archive in the United States. The Swedish premiere followed on 14 October 1980 when it was shown at the cinematheque in Stockholm.In Sweden, the film was banned in 1912. The director said, “To the best of my recollection, the wreched faith of my ‘maiden work’ was due to the final scene. The president of the studio was horrified by the grubby, brutal gardener (played by yours truly)-according to him, the public didn’t want to see me tromping around with a big moustache. But I insisted that it was indispensable from an artistic standpoint, and I finally got my way. This particular stubby, brutal gardener lusted after a young lady in his employ, and he seduced- well, he virtually raped- the innocent thing in a lovely greenhouse among beautiful roses and every other flower imaginable. In the final scene, the girl is found dead the next morning on the floor of the greenhouse, with red roses and exquisite blossoms delicately strewn all around her. The marriage of death and beauty, in other words. But the thick-headed censors didn’t understand a thing- they had no feeling for that kind of beauty- and the film was banned.” The official comments of the censors were, “A breach of respectability. The association of death and beauty poses a threat to public order.”Read More »
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Abbas Kiarostami – No (2010)
2001-2010Abbas KiarostamiFranceShort FilmIMDB:
A little girl with beautiful hair. She loves movies and wants to become an actress. She is being told about the plot of a movie that she is going to play: “a friend is jealous about her hair and cuts it when she is asleep”. The girl rejects playing the role. Then she is then told that she can play the jealous girl but she again rejects the role. Written by Anonymous Read More » -
Segundo de Chomon – Satan At Play (1907)
1901-1910FranceSegundo de ChomonShort FilmThe Birth of CinemaIMDB:
In an unnamed place, his majesty Satan is bored. Despite his servants exertions, nothing can be found to cheer him up. Read More » -
Valérie Gaudissart – Céleste (2005)
2001-2010ArthouseFranceShort FilmValérie GaudissartIn the French countryside, Céleste loves a postman who leaves her just before she realizes she is pregnant by him. For nine months, the solitary woman tries to hide her pregnancy, awaiting her boyfriend’s return rather than the coming of the baby… (IMDb)Read More »