Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Bjork, Catherine, dancer, Dancer in the Dark, dark, Deneuve, drama, Film, Lars, Lars von Trier, movie, musical, Trier
1
Feb
24
I’ve been wanting to see Dancer in the Dark for a long time and I must say I wasn’t at all disappointed. Lars von Trier, Björk, Catherine Deneuve, good music and a heart breaking story – a pretty good combination. Also, the documentary-style appearance makes you feel more close to the characters, which is something I really like in movies.
The story follows an European woman – Salma (Björk) who moved in the United States hoping to raise money for an operation that could save her son from a life of darkness. Between her jobs, taking care of her son and the illness that would eventually make her blind, she finds time for drama classes and daydreaming. Unfortunately, all her struggle is about to be destroyed by the man who is renting her a trailer near his family’s house.
It’s actually kind of an ordinary story, if you stop to think about it for a moment – a poor woman trying to save up money for her son, someone trying to steal that money and death. But Lars von Trier managed to turn that into an amazing musical drama. You can actually almost feel the poor woman’s pain and despair, especially in the end. It was quite a nice end really, not nice in a happy ending kind of way, but more in a theatrical way.
Selma: You like the movies, don’t you?
Bill Houston: I love the movies. I just love the musicals.
Selma: But isn’t it annoying when they do the last song in the films?
Bill Houston: Why?
Selma: Because you just know when it goes really big… and the camera goes like out of the roof… and you just know it’s going to end. I hate that. I would leave just after the next to last song… and the film would just go on forever.
Tune of the Day
people, prodigy, song, tune, video, voodoo
None
Feb
19
Since the weather is warm I feel really energetic today, so I thought I’d post one of the songs I like from The Prodigy. It gives me more energy (or maybe that’s just the coke I’m drinking 
)
Anyway, the video is nice too.
Enjoy!
Home on film
black, Film, home, Photography, photos, white
6
Feb
14
I finally managed to get my film developed. These were the first photos made with my new film camera, so they were mainly tests. But since I like how most of the photos came out I will try to make more of them on film from now on 
.
For those of you who care, the camera is a Canon EOS 500.
The series is entitled home.
Baraka’s Butterfly Photoshoot .2.
baraka's, butterfly, clothes, photo, Photography, shoot
7
Jan
31
I know I haven’t posted anything for a while..but I didn’t have any interesting things to write about. Haven’t finished the book, haven’t seen any movies, haven’t looked for any good artists… But I have some new photos now, from the photo shoot for Baraka’s Butterfly
Hope you’ll like them.
Model, make-up and clothes: Irina Irimia (Baraka’s Butterfly)
Photographer: me
Random thing
fashion, look, looklet, random
4
Jan
23
I was reading Cristina’s blog earlier and she had some images of looks she created on Looklet … and since I am bored I thought I’d give it a try and “play stylist”. Here’s what came out:
Well..that’s it…
Secretary (2002)
Film, gyllenhaal, james, maggie, movie, Quotes, secretary, shainberg, spader, steven
None
Jan
18
directed by Steven Shainberg
Since the book I am reading now has more than 700 pages and my reading time is limited and I felt like writing something here, I thought I’d try to write about one of my favorite movies.
Secretary is a story about an unconventional love between Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her boss, E. Edward Grey (James Spader). After being released from a mental institution, Lee gets back to her dysfunctional family and starts trying to have a normal life. After a difficult beginning caused by her alcoholic father, she manages to get a job as a secretary at Mr Grey’s law firm. At first, her lack of experience and social awkwardness seems to bother Mr Grey, but after a while we realize that he is attracted by her submissive behavior.
We witness the start of a relationship between the two characters. Many would describe it as weird or way out there, but who are we to decide what’s weird and what’s not. People act the best way they can at any given moment. I think I wrote about “normal” before, but even if I didn’t, I don’t really feel like blabbering about some things most people wouldn’t care about. So, back to our story. I really like a phrase used to describe the synopsis on the movie’s official site :
The tender beauty of two people coming slowly together in a mutually quirky and unconventional harmony is captured perfectly.
I’m not going to try to put that in any different way.
After a while, Lee gets fired because of Edward’s shame in what he was feeling and doing. Pressured by her family and boyfriend she accepts the latter’s marriage proposal. But, just before the wedding, she runs away to Mr Grey’s office and declares her love to him by sitting on his desk chair for three days without moving. That’s quite a love declaration, right?
He finally comes after her and they live happily ever after. The End
Tune of the day
area, clear, heap, imogen, Music, the, tune
None
Jan
15
Imogen Heap – Clear the Area from the album Speak for Yourself (2005)
Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain(2001)
amelie, audrey, Film, jean-pierre, jeunet, movie, poulain, tatou
4
Jan
10
directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Sometimes I like watching a movie I’ve seen years back because I am curious to find out if I still like it. So, today I decided to watch Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain. And yes, I still like it
Amélie grew up in a rather cold family environment. Her mother died when she was little and her father touched her only for the monthly check-ups. She didn’t have friends and her only dream was to make enough money so she could leave their home and live by herself.
After many years, we find her working as a waitress and living alone in the city. One day, after finding an old box filled with memories she decides to find the owner and return the mystery box. That was the day when Amélie found her destiny. From that day on she started planning and scheming to help people around her. It would be nice if more people would do nice things for others, try to help them in any way they can, wouldn’t it?
In the middle of her adventure she falls in love with a guy named Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), who is working at a sex shop/video store and a ghost train in the amusement park. She decides to play a little “hide-and-seek” game with Nino instead of just meeting face to face, but they end up together eventually
You know, I wonder, are there people who actually do that? Play little games like that to get someone’s attention? Maybe they are, who knows.
It’s funny, romantic and a bit weird. I love the colors and images. I like Amelie’s character, though I really like the actress that plays her too – Audrey Tatou. She has this pretty, innocent face that makes her look adorable. I also like Nino’s hobby – collecting thrown away photos from photo boots and putting them all together in a catalog. I always found observing people as interesting – looking at their faces, gestures, listening to their voice and looking at their photos.
Memorable scenes:
Narrator: Amélie still seeks solitude. She amuses herself with silly questions about the world below, such as “How many people are having an orgasm right now?”
[scenes of various orgasms taking place]
Amélie: Fifteen.
Hdr attempt
dynamic, hdr, high, image, photo, Photography, range
3
Jan
05
For those who are not familiar with the term, hdr means high dynamic range. For more information on hdr imaging click here.
Natsuo Kirino – Grotesque
author, book, grotesque, japanese, kirino, natsuo, novel
2
Jan
03
A story of decay… decay of the human nature. A story about how society and other people can influence one’s life and make them turn into a monster. A story about childhood in the Japanese society and in one of the most prestigious schools there. A story about prostitution and a story about murder. That’s what the author lays in front of our eyes.
Our storyteller is a Japanese woman in her forties, who has always lived in her sister Yuriko’s shadow. Hating her sister for the extreme beauty she possessed, she had always considered her to be a monster and always tried to be nothing like her. Turning into prostitution at a very early age, Yuriko ends up murdered by a Chinese man, who came to work illegally in Japan.
We also have Kazue’s story, a girl who has been taught that all you need to do is try your best and you can accomplish anything you want to. But this disillusion turned her into a monster who thought that by being both a career woman and a prostitute made her better than any other woman out there. She ends up being murdered by the same man who killed Yuriko.
We witness the decay of these people. We witness their actions and emotions in a cruel reality.
Grotesque is a novel that can really make you wonder. It makes you wonder about how your actions can influence someone’s life and how your decisions and choices can influence your own life. It makes you wonder about your dreams and hopes. What ever happened to them? Every one of us had dreams, we all have goals, hopes for a better life, but in the end, how many of us will actually accomplish them? How many of us can say that they had all their dreams come true? Every human being starts their life in the same way…what makes us who we are today?
Have you ever wondered where you would have been if you had made a different choice at some point in your life? There are many things we cannot control, that would change our lives, but it’s up to us to try our best to have the life we want and not the one decided by society or any other person.
I started rambling..sorry, but these are the kind of thoughts reading Grotesque had me thinking.
