Filmdogs Interview | The Director of Columbia’s official Oscar selection “The Colors of the Mountain””
Colors of the Mountain is the first film from Columbian director Carlos César Arbeláez, and it’s also the country’s official Oscar selection for 2012. It tells the story of three young boys caught in the middle of political conflict, while trying to retain some sense of their youth. I recently had the chance to talk with Arbeláez about his journey making the film, here’s what he had to say.
Carlos: [There was no film school in my country, I was self-taught.] I learned the craft by doing documentaries for ten years. I learned different crafts within the field, how to work a camera…I also belonged to various cine-clubs. In 1998 I began to do short films, fiction shorts. In 2002 I began to do my first feature film, long reel. I wrote the script for The Colors of the Mountain therefore I’m a screenwriter and director. This film The Colors of the Mountain took me almost ten years to do.
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Quick Review | “Conan the Barbarian”
So, I finally got around to watching the new Conan the Barbarian movie last night. I saw the crappy scores it got on Rottentomatoes.com so I never rushed to see it. But, being a fan of the Arnold version, I wanted to check it out.
Filmdogs Interview | The Director of Spain’s official Oscar selection “Black Bread”
I recently had the opportunity to talk with director Agustí Villaronga about his latest film Black Bread, which also happens to be Spain’s Official Oscar selection for 2012. The film concerns a young boy’s coming to terms with the harsh realities of the post-Spanish Civil War landscape. Here’s some of his thoughts on the film, and his approach to storytelling.
Filmdogs: Tell me a little bit about your background in Cinema.
Agustí: This is my fifth film, my first film was In a Glass Cage. It’s [set] in 1945 and after that I made five films more. I work as an actor also, sometimes in the beginning as a production designer and costumes. I never starred in movies I just worked as a position on a team. In the end I decided to make my own films.
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Filmdogs Interview | The Director of Iceland’s official Oscar selection “Volcano”
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Icelandic director Rúnar Rúnarsson about his first feature film, and the countries’ official Oscar selection for 2012, Volcano. The drama about an older man trying to make amends with his family, has been well received around the world. Rúnar was recently nominated for the Golden Camera Award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Here’s what Rúnar had to say about the film and his approach to filmmaking.
Filmdogs: First of all congrats.
Rúnar: Yeah, thank you.
Filmdogs: What can you tell us about your background in the film industry?
Rúnar: When I was a kid, I was taking photographs, making ugly sculptures and paintings from pictures, and when I was 17 there was a buddy of mine who got a VHS camera, and we made our first short together. It first was then that all this different media was coming, that I had been unsuccessful [with] came together in one medium, so to say. After that I starting making a lot of shorts, and then when I was like 20 or something like that I started to work on other peoples films. So, I was doing maybe, I think, [several] films as a continuity girl, Gaffer, Best Boy, etc.. And I just got infected. I got the disease. Of course wanted my films to evolve to get a little bit better, and I got a little bit better at what I was doing. It was 2003 that I got the first little bit of money to do a short film which became The Last Farm.
Filmdogs: And that film was nominated for an Oscar correct?
Rúnar: Yeah, and that film helped me into the National Film School of Denmark. That was my entry film. So, that was exactly what I needed at that time. There are limitations on how far you can develop yourself with no money, and it was being in heaven to me to be in film school, to have a budget to play with, to have all the equipment and to be in this program for four years with people who are interested in the same things as you and basically not do anything else…
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Classic Star Wars Dialogue: Episode 17
The seventieth episode of Classic Star Wars Dialogue is here and it features my “favorite” character name of all the prequels…
Watch previous installments here, or watch all seventeen Episodes on our YouTube Channel. May the Force be with you…always.
Classic Star Wars Dialogue: Episode 16
The sixteenth episode of Classic Star Wars Dialogue is here and it comes with brand new powers!
Watch previous installments here, or watch all sixteen Episodes on our YouTube Channel. May the Force be with you…always.
Classic Star Wars Dialogue: Episode 15
This week marks the return of Classic Star Wars Dialogue, or maybe you have a nickname for this series. Like Anakin’s perhaps…
Watch previous installments here, or watch all fifteen Episodes on our YouTube Channel. May the Force be with you…always.
Rental Review | Somewhere
It took me sometime to really put into thoughts (let alone words) how I truly felt about Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere. It is a film that revels in the mundane; the moments of life that bore us, or (if you look closely) move us. The plot of the film is simple. Movie star Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) goes about his daily routine with little interest or affection in his lifestyle. He walks aloof at the Chateau Marmont, drifts in and out of parties, does PR work (poorly), and has the loneliest makeup test known to man. When his daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) is dropped into his care he is able to make sense of his life and accept responsibility for his actions. There are some really fantastic elements to Coppola’s film such as: Dorff and Fanning who are understated and remarkable, Coppola and her director of photography Harris Savides’s eye for composition, and the setting and tone of the piece. Much of the tone of the film is done without dialogue and it features only select music from Phoenix and The Strokes that adds meaning and gravitas to the film. My favorite aspect of the film is the setting, the Chateau Marmont Hotel. I have always wanted to see a film set there, and Somewhere captures a certain essence of disconnection that could only come from that specific location. The most interesting gamble, and at first what I thought would be a problem, is hoping the audience will care for a movie star who is bored and unsatisfied. Why care? I think the answer is obvious. He is a human being. He has doubts, struggles, and insecurities, just like us. Overall, Somewhere is a unique viewing experience and I believe if you are a fan of Coppola’s previous work (The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, and Marie Antoinette) then you will connect with at least some aspects of Somewhere.
The Stream | The Accidental Tourist
My senior year of high school, I discovered Lawrence Kasdan’s film The Accidental Tourist and loved it immediately. Considering that was eight years ago, I decided it was time to revisit the film. Upon re-watching it I realized that not only did it hold up, but it was even more poignant and rewarding than before. The understated and brilliant, William Hurt plays Macon, a travel writer whose books tell how to travel without leaving your comfort zone. After the sudden and tragic death of his child, he and his wife (Kathleen Turner) drift apart and he finds himself struggling to get back into the groove of life. However, he soon meets Muriel (Geena Davis) who dares him to break out of his mundane safe life and take a chance. Letting go and starting over are themes that have been around forever, but Kasdan breathes life into his piece by introducing unique characters whose quirks and oddities show flawed human beings. With every line of dialogue and character action, the audience is presented with individuals who struggle with who they are and show their ability to change. This alone marks The Accidental Tourist as a well crafted ensemble character piece, and certainly worth your time. Highly recommended and available on Netflix watch instantly.
