the salesman ( 2011 film )
farhadi’s 2011 movie a separation established his name in hollywood as it won best foreign language film at the oscars and the golden globes .
keswick film club won the best new film society at the british federation of film societies awards in 2000 .
directed by sébastien pilote, starring gilbert sicotte. selected at sundance 2011 i world cinema competition
a documentary film about horse - breeding in poland. the film observes only the animals; not until the end
newfilmmakers welcomes back digital film academy and presents the film of the month documentary series vinit parmar living river 2011, 59 minutes, video. digital film academy program film of the month screening the most popular newfilmmakers online film during may 2011. anthony pedone, eli higgins & stephen floyd the why 2011, 89 minutes, video. blaming himself for the rape and murder of his true love lula, boyo commits suicide. but there is a surprise waiting for him: at the moment he pulls the trigger, his mind explodes and re - forms into the world of the why; his search for answers and meaning begins anew. wednesday, february 1, documentaries at 6: 00, digital film academy program at 7: 15, film of the month at 9: 15 .
taraneh alidoosti in iran' s
the salesman
, a 2016 iranian - french drama film directed by asghar farhadi. (tiff )
iranian filmmaker asghar farhadi has been making headlines for years in the film world, creating award - winning film after award - winning film and even winning both the golden globe and the oscar for his 2011 film, a separation. his newest film, the salesman, was guaranteed to make a splash — and it did. lines at film festivals wound around the block, and to no one’s surprise, the salesman was nominated for the oscar for best foreign picture. but farhadi was in the papers for a very different reason this past week: after the us president donald trump signed an executive order banning iranians from entering the country, farhadi was effectively barred from attending the academy awards. the controversy has drummed up new interest in the salesman, and this film is well worth the interest. the film is complex and intelligent, with a mystery whose perpetrator is, in the end, far less important than the choices the protagonists must make to catch him .
newfilmmakers celebrates the performing arts documentary series bruce bernstein two grown men (2011, 11 minutes, video) & ana barredo the table 2011, 71 minutes, video. short film program colemar nichols sc & ah aka funny man (2010, 8 minutes, video) matt davies untitled # 17 (2011, 9 minutes, video) antonia roman hollywood tale (2011, 19 minutes, video) chip hackler two hours in the dark (2009, 35 minutes, 16mm) feature presentation thomas bentey love chaos 2011, 90 minutes, video. journalist joe lombardi has a shot at a big - time nyc newspaper if he can only write one last home - run article – on the ‘hot - n - sexy’ jersey shore dating scene. wednesday, february 22, documentaries at 6: 00, short film program at 7: 30, feature presentation at 9: 00 .
it' s in crisis that we reveal our true selves ,
farhadi, whose 2011
a separation
won the academy award for foreign - language film, said in an interview .
film to me is like a court trial. the spectator is the judge .
the screening of the salesman will begin at 4. 30pm and will end at 6. 35pm on february 26 .
forceful, steely and well - acted … shahab hosseini as emad in the salesman. photograph: habib majidi
don' t call it the canadian glengarry glen ross. simple, and yet complex and multilayered. follow the salesman .
marcel lévesque, a quick - witted car salesman nearing retirement, lives to sell. he has been salesman of the month for the last sixteen years at the dealership where he has spent his career, ... see full summary »
london mayor sadiq khan has announced that asghar fahadi’s the salesman, which is nominated for best foreign film, will be shown to the public for free in trafalgar square on sunday february 26 .
the salesman has a 98 per cent rating on rotten tomatoes, with critics calling it ‘masterful’, ‘deeply empathetic’ and ‘fascinating’ .
asghar farhadi' s 2011 film a separation, about a family break - up in tehran, was a five - star masterpiece, deservedly winning the foreign language oscar; his last film, the past, made in france, in french, was less convincing, its profound moral codes translating uneasily to a foreign setting .
sghar farhadi’s sombre new movie is the story of a shocking and mysterious event which shatters the wellbeing of a middle - class couple. it is about male pride, male violence, male privilege – but since its first appearance at cannes last year, the film has outgrown its own immediate significance. it became a totem for cultural resistance to donald trump when the proposed travel ban threatened to exclude this iranian director from the academy awards, where the salesman was nominated for best foreign language film (farhadi had already won an oscar in this category for his 2011 film
“it’s in crisis that we reveal our true selves, ” says iranian filmmaker asghar farhadi, whose film
the salesman
is getting oscars attention. (marcus yam / los angeles times )
one of my best 10 films of 2011. a fine debut from a canadian director. and so relevant today for management gurus and management executives. my full review is posted at urltoken
“the 2011 lineup taps into the breadth of talent trail - blazing the canadian film scene, ” said tiff senior programmer steve gravestock in a statement. “from crime dramas to a 3 - d dance piece, from prolific veterans to emerging filmmakers, this year’s canada’s top ten showcases the wide scope of innovative talent driving the industry. ”
this is the second film i’ve seen in a week about a salesman set against the backdrop of a harsh snowbound winter, although this time it is a far more serious reflection on the harsh realities of life and how our choices diminish through the years .
movie news, screening invitations and reviews from the world of independent film and beyond .
founded in 1999, senses of cinema is one of the first online film journals of its kind and has set the standard for professional, high quality film - related content on the internet .
greg dolgopolov is a lecturer in film studies at the university of new south wales, sydney .
). the ban was overturned, but farhadi stayed away in protest anyway. his film had a
a film about the indigenous community of the kollas of tinkunaku, a region in northern argentina. without recourse to dialogue, the film conveys the life of this community. we accompany the seasonal journey of viviano and ramona from the valley up to the village of santa cruz, 3000 meters above sea level, where they spend the summertime. through their experiences, the film portrays the story of the day - to - day disappearance of an indigenous group .
keswick film club is a voluntarily - run, not - for - profit organisation .
william wegman explains how a close relationship with a dog can produce a feeling of trust in a customer, for example towards a used - car salesman .
since then, the club has won film society of the year and awards for best programme four times and best website twice .
program 5: out of the archives: anthology film archives and harvard film archive programs 5 and 6 of our tribute series bring together works from the kuchar collections of anthology, harvard film archive, and pacific film archive. we all possess substantial holdings of george’s many films and videos, and tonight screen some personal favorites, as well as brand - new preservations. from anthology film archives: the oneers (1982, 17 minutes, 16mm) leisure (1966, 9. 5 minutes, 16mm) anita needs me (1963, 16 minutes, 8mm - to - 16mm blow - up) preserved by anthology film archives with support from the avant - garde masters program of the film foundation, administered by the national film preservation foundation. from harvard film archive: club vatican (1984, 13. 5 minutes, 16mm) the carnal bipeds (1973, 22 minutes, 16mm) total running time: ca. 85 minutes .
with an enthralling central performance by gilbert sicotte, this masterful debut feature examines the life of the top car salesman in a fading quebec town as events challenge the 67 - year - old’s sense of identity and the meaning of life at the most profound level .
given that this story gets a bit into meta - narrative itself, i' ll do some of the same by showing hosseini in makeup to portray his character, emad, who' s then shown getting in makeup for the performance of death of a salesman within harhadi' s film .
car salesman marcel lévesque operates by the rules of a bygone era, turning on the charm to make his quota. but the increasing decline of his fading industrial town threatens to plummet this peddler of dreams into an unfriendly reality
for what it’s worth, a second viewing confirmed my feeling that this is a minor farhadi film: forceful, steely, well acted but a bit contrived and unsubtle. yet the undiscussed irony is that the salesman is arguably the most pro - american work the iranian film industry has ever produced. its two lead characters are performing in an amateur production of arthur miller’s death of a salesman in tehran, and the play is referred to approvingly in a school classroom. miller’s play is a trenchant critique of the american dream, of course, but nevertheless its cultural value is calmly assumed, without any attendant attack on the states in farhadi’s dialogue .
for the salesman, farhadi has returned to tehran. emad (shahab hosseini, who last night won best actor at cannes for this) is a teacher and semi - professional actor, married to rana (taraneh alidoosti), with both of them appearing in arthur miller’s death of a salesman, emad as willy loman, rana as his wife linda .
french film bags three awards at mff which also honored morgan freeman with a lifetime achievement award .
excellent film. i agree with the reviewer. really, of all the dragon movies i’ve seen, i like this the best. can’t quite understand some of the dialect, though .
the salesman won best screenplay and best actor at cannes last year, and now looks set for oscar glory if it can beat land of mine, a man called ove, tanna and toni erdmann .
my only real criticism is the dearth of humor. will is a serious young hero, and the film takes its cue from him; a lighter touch might’ve made the film move faster. and i must say i prefer the original title, paladin, to its rather generic replacement .
darragh byrne’s feature film debut stars “hell on wheels” actor colm meaney and colin morgan of “merlin. ”
this film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are. see what’s now showing
however, the harsh reality of geopolitical conflicts enter into our larger awareness of the salesman anyway, as we begin with the recent trump administration' s ban on travelers coming from 7 middle - eastern / north - african, muslim - dominant countries into the u. s. which would have prevented iranian director farhadi from attending the upcoming oscar ceremonies in support of his work’s earned nomination for best foreign language film
un vrai beau film de sébastien pilote avec un gilbert sicotte immense, tellement juste et vrai. bravo !
marcel lévesque, a quick - witted car salesman nearing retirement, lives to sell. he has been salesman of the month for the last sixteen years at the dealership where he has spent his career, in a declining industrial town in lac saint - jean, where it' s cold enough to scare away the tourists and buying a car sometimes seems completely absurd. there' s just one thing on his mind: getting his beloved detroit rides off the lot. marcel lévesque is a salesman from a bygone era, a man who learned his trade by telling tales -
fibs dressed up with flowers
- and making his customers happy. but a tragedy will change everything for this peddler of dreams .
members of the academy and the american film institute have expressed their consternation that iranian farhadi seems to have been shut out of the country simply because he is from a muslim - majority country .
newlatino filmmakers program feature presentation will fonseca changing diego 2011, 118 minutes, video. the story of diego morales, a shy, young paralegal who lives with his parents and his eccentric grandmother who believes in the supernatural. when the girl he loves reveals a crushing secret, diego turns to his grandmother and the supernatural world. tuesday, february 8, newlatino filmmakers program at 6: 00, feature presentation at 9: 00 .
there is much to preside over in
the salesman ,
which opens friday and is nominated for this year' s foreign - language oscar. emad and rana struggle to hold things together while staging arthur miller' s
death of a salesman ,
whose post - world war ii new york of cultural change and capitalist cruelty plays like a metaphor for modern - day iran. even rana' s attacker is not the kind of bad guy we might expect .
disturbing, quasi - inexplicable crisis … hosseini with taraneh alidoosti as rana. photograph: habib majidi / film company handout
people, monsters, sensations. the beguiling images in prater transform the legendary viennese attraction into a cinematic experience. the film brings together the cultural history of the oldest amusement park in the world with brilliant insights into the changeability of technological attractions. we are introduced to the people for whom the prater is a place of amusement, memory, or quite simply the center of life .
what we’re left with is a gripping story about human frailty, well worth its oscar nomination for best foreign language film .
i could’ve brightened up that intro a bit couldn’t i? well there is no escaping the fact that le vendeur (the french title) hits hard, laying on a heavy spread of suffering. so the strong performance of marcel lévesque (gilbert sicotte) the salesman, lays out his charms for some time before it gets heavy .
. she’s shaken to the core—can’t sleep, suffers memory lapses, is desperate to move elsewhere—but an attempt to resume her death of a salesman role also goes badly as she breaks down in the middle of a scene, requiring the show to be cancelled until another woman in the cast can take on the role. emad’s furious at the situation, especially about rana' s refusal to let him go to the police .
khan then invited film fans across the country to attend this ‘celebration of london as an international hub of creativity and as a global beacon of openness and diversity. ’
cologne, germany – irish drama parked from director darragh byrne has won the top prize at the mannheim - heidelberg film festival, one of europe’s leading fests for up - and - coming directors .
in his earlier movies about elly and a separation, farhadi showed the european influence of films such as antonioni ’s l’avventura and haneke’s hidden, and the assault on rana is insidious and sinister for having occurred off - camera, as if the film is mimicking the character’s stunned state of denial. it is a profoundly disturbing, quasi - inexplicable crisis that cracks the carapace of bourgeois calm and reveals seething, brutal emotions underneath. it is a meteor that lands arbitrarily on an existing situation from without, but it is also a convulsion from within, a trauma that was waiting to happen. farhadi is a gimlet - eyed anatomist of the middle - class hypocrisy in iranian life, and like jafar panahi ’s 2000 film the circle, the salesman is candid about the reality of prostitution in iran and the complacent male clientele .
i loved the movie and have to admit the biggest draw for me was the stunning filming sites in ireland. i mean it was not bad at all for a b grade film and i actually would rate it a b +. enjoyed the banter of the irish & english cast as well…
the seriousness made the setting more believable to me. too many genre films descend into self parody by trying to add comedy. nice to see a film where their characters actually believe in the events going on in the story enough not to try to break the fourth wall by cracking jokes .
program 5: unproduced and unfinished this live, late - night event, hosted by members of the wooster group, features jim fletcher and young jean lee. fletcher will read from the short novel wrong guys by jim strahs followed by a clip from twg' s unfinished 1997 film version and lee will read from the unproduced twg screenplay: kokajo, based on the 1964 kaneto shindo film, onibaba .
i grew up in west tennessee an hour north of graceland (home of elvis) and twenty minutes from nutbush (birthplace of tina turner). i' ve been a reporter, editor, photographer and door - to - door vacuum cleaner salesman .
at the instigation of the filmmakers, the young men of the ile - aux - coudres in the middle of the st - lawrence river try as a memorial to their ancestors to revive the fishing of the belugas... see full summary »
a film about canada’s most notorious bank robber, psychiatric pioneers and a shotgun - wielding hobo are among the movies on the 11th annual canada’s top ten list, unveiled by tiff at a reception tuesday evening .
it is impossible to view this film set in the thirteenth century outside of the context of the history of its production in the late 1930s. alexander nevsky is an allegory that projected present events and sensibilities onto the past in order to draw strength from russian history. propaganda in the soviet union was not considered an invective. the film was designed to mobilise and bring confidence to the worldwide struggle against fascism. throughout the 1930s, relations between the ussr and germany were in a constant state of flux. germany’s rearmament, hitler’s avowed anti - communism and the weakness of the european policy of appeasement were cause for enormous anxiety. stalin’s increasing paranoia and the search for traitors resulted in the great terror of 1937. socialist realism had become enshrined as the appropriate working method and style and was intended to produce “images that are made with the purpose of helping along a desirable reality” (1), having put an end to the artistic experimentation of the early years. highlighting the direct connections between medieval times and the present, the film provided dramatic commentary about contemporary conditions and how to correct them .
abandoned stuff to a new location, came into the apartment thinking that rana was his clandestine lover, swears he never entered the bathroom, yet can’t explain how he cut his foot. under duress from emad' s constant, harsh interrogation, he ambiguously yet sincerely begs for the angry man' s forgiveness only to find himself locked in when emad rushes off for the impending performance of death of a salesman. right after the end of the play
did the people involved even watch this blaring pos before they shipped it? i feel horrible for the audio and photography pro’s on this, and the heroine, her father and the aunt because frankly their acting was very well done (especially the aunt !), because the rest of the elements in this hack of a film are not worthy if their efforts .
but the iran of his youth is changing. despite years of economic sanctions, some of which were lifted after the nuclear agreement struck between tehran and washington in 2015, farhadi said the country is feeling the ripple of globalization and the reach of capitalism. he compared it to the upheaval that buffeted willy loman, the tragic protagonist in
death of a salesman .
it is another manifestation of the struggle between modernity and tradition in a society that has produced great poets and architecture along with terrorism and persistent intrigue .
the salesman is a film about personal tragedy, but it is also a film about the role of machismo in iranian society. it questions whether emad’s vigilantism is truly justice or merely self - indulgent revenge. though emad claims to be doing everything he does for the sake of his wife, she repeatedly begs him to stop and instead stay with her and help her through the feelings of instability and vulnerability that she feels as a result of the attack. so is this quest of his really protecting her interests? or is it his own feelings of vulnerability that he’s trying to sate by finding the culprit? is it his own feelings of helplessness, born out of an inability to protect his wife, that drive his actions? what does it truly mean to be a strong man and a good husband? these themes are mirrored in the namesake play that emad and rana are acting in throughout the course of the movie, arthur miller’s death of a salesman. emad plays conflicted blowhard, willy loman, a man who struggles with concepts of strength, “winning, ” and how to properly head his family. rana plays willy’s always supportive but often disappointed wife, linda. those roles are mirrored and complicated in the relationship between emad and rana, and though at the beginning of the film, emad is a mild - mannered schoolteacher who seems to have nothing in common with willy loman, by the end the parallels become uncomfortably clear .
with willem dafoe. “bigelow’s first feature immediately reveals her canny talent for simultaneously fulfilling and deconstructing popular film genres. set in the 1950s and starring a young, pomaded willem dafoe in his screen debut as the charismatic leader of a leather - clad and immoral bike gang, the loveless deliberately uproots the genre’s traditional embrace of youthful rebellion by introducing a notably noir shading and sharp feminist perspective into its story of generational and gender conflict. bigelow’s training in painting and experimental cinema informs the film’s (relatively) slow pace, meticulous framing, and sparse, deliberately iconic dialogue – not to mention the evocation of kenneth anger’s scorpio rising in the camera’s close attention to the bikers’ gleaming chrome and leather. ” –harvard film archive
farhadi' s new movie ,
the salesman ,
slips into the lives of emad and rana, husband and wife actors whose notions of each other are redrawn after a stranger enters their tehran apartment and attacks rana in the shower. the sacred has been spoiled. rana grows withdrawn, emad plots vengeance, and their sense of home — that delicately constructed illusion — turns from refuge to menace .
really enjoyed this film. realitically done. terrific photography of ireland. well acted. good digital effects. quality product. i’d like to see more .
parked, which is byrne' s feature film debut, stars hell on wheels actor colm meaney as an unemployed man who returns home to ireland but has nowhere to live but his car. when a dope - smoking 21 - year - old, played by merlin ’s colin morgan, parks beside him, the two develop an odd friendship. sweden’s the yellow affair is handling world sales for the film .
the movie’s grandiloquent and drawn - out final sequence, which ultimately discloses a thumpingly obvious parallel with miller’s play, is for me its weakest moment. actually, this might be the aspect that nailed down the oscar. here is where the movie becomes a little strident, and self - consciously tragic in that milleresque sense. the salesman shows farhadi’s ideas are in danger of becoming mannerisms, though it is a potent, disquieting piece of work .
still, from the first epic shot of ireland’s coast to the final romantic image, it’s clear that real love and attention was put into dawn of the dragonslayer. there’s a film here bigger than its budget, and i hope it finds an audience .
why do i get all these sad movies! this one is set in a small quebec town (ahuntsic kept coming to mind) where the economy is going down the tubest due to the closing of the major employer. it' s all seen through the eyes of a 67 year old car salesman. he is quite likable and soft - spoken. sad things happen and you wonder what the hell is worth living for. one kleenex. ps if you like moose, don' t watch the beginning scene. it repeats near the end as well .
screenplay by john sayles. with burt reynolds and casey siemaszko. the second american film by scottish director bill forsyth (gregory’s girl, local hero) portrays the relationship that ensues when professional thief burt reynolds and the younger, inexperienced casey siemaszko break into the same house. reynolds decides to take the amateur crook under his wing, and the result is a charming, unexpectedly affecting comedy. “a subtle, masterly film, a series of life lessons which never ducks the moral ironies, no less precious for their simplicity. ” –time out john sayles in person following the screening on friday, february 24 !
( holunderblüte) a journey into the land of childhood, to that magical place where past, present, and the future meet – where everything is still possible, still thinkable, and where longings and expectations are still part of one’s experience. the film deals with the lives of children in and around kaliningrad, the russian enclave that belonged to east prussia before the second world war .
the first american film by the great raul ruiz (who passed away in august 2011) features appearances by a host of ny underground luminaries, including jim jarmusch, kathy acker, annie sprinkle, and several of the wooster group’s actors: kate valk, michael kirby, michael stumm, and anna köhler. “stars michael kirby as a creepy, logorrheic derelict and compulsive slasher – modeled according to ruiz on kojak – who leaves a trail of unquiet corpses around lower manhattan as he leads a young village voice rock critic on a quest for god, or maybe a mexican soap opera star. … in addition to [ its ] impossible camera angles and loop - de - loop dialogue, the movie is characterized by its bloody tableaux, circular structure, and pervasive hacienda music. ” –j. hoberman, village voice
at the snowmobiles blessing, the sign says
benidiction de skidoos
. apart from the fact that the first
n
is backward, the first word should read: benediction .
i really appreciate the way the film is deliberate in its setting and pace, and the commentary it has on how salesmen have been masking themselves as friends when they are, ultimately, not. the themes of commerce, family, identity and purpose are all intertwined in an eloquent way. gilbert sicotte is in fine form .
( black box brd) in november 1989, the chairman of the board of deutsche bank was killed in a terrorist attack ascribed to the raf. four years later, wolfgang grams, a suspected raf member, was killed in a gun battle with the police. this acclaimed film intertwines the two life stories without implying any explicit connection. the decisive context lies in the late - 1980s era of the federal republic, in which both men featured as prominent representatives of diametrically opposed ideologies .
now i don’t know who is responsible for the rough continuity, the drwn out shots and video editing, or the story staying in period and characters in context. but aside from competent visuals and camera work, this film totally belongs in the mystery science theatre collection as taken as a work in whole, it is laughably horrible .
an iranian movie is being screened in london on the same night as the oscars, following the news its director has boycotted the ceremony due to his theoretical ban from the us by donald trump .
my feeling was this was a film that would only be seen in iran. my friends were, like,' isn' t it a shame.' i remember we didn' t even budget for subtitles because we thought this isn' t a film that' s going to make it abroad. but it turned out to be the opposite, and i came to realize the people the world over resemble each other far more than they differ from one another .
farhadi' s characters are less concerned with the world' s political questions than dwelling in a realism driven by foibles and transgressions and marked by forgiveness and repudiation. they are small lives cast against big, often self - inflicted dramas that test love, friendship and force them to stand flawed and unadorned before one another, much like the cracks in willy loman' s veneer. the attacker in
the salesman ,
for example, ends up with both our sympathy and our condemnation .
with eric mitchell, patti astor, and deborah harry. “a year later i made the foreigner, a film about a european coming to ny. in this case max menace (eric mitchell), a german terrorist who is trying to find a place to hide. but you can’t hide in jungleland! he is terrorized, and ripped to bits. this is the story of the other side of the american dream; the foreigner who doesn’t make it. a nightmare film in an existential philosophical context, a world where less is more. ” –a. p .
completely agree with your review of this movie and enjoyed this film. just wanted to mention one thing about this movie. it has some truly remarkable similarities to the man from snowy river, at least in the story line so if you found this good might want to check out the other, lol .
instead of involving the police, emad, perhaps affected by his role in the play, wants to take matters into his own hands, finding the man and shaming him. the consequences are painful — and, in a reversal of identities, perhaps it is not emad who is most like poor willy after all. the salesman (for which farhadi also won best screenplay) profits from the strict decorums of iranian cinema, and indeed of iranian life, to mount serious reflections on guilt and shame, trust and forgiveness. although compelling, it is not quite his best work .
like other examples of socialist realism, alexander nevsky sets up the clearly unacceptable but earnestly expressed policy of appeasement, as well as the “reality” of german superiority, early on so that it can dramatically expose this proposition to be false throughout the rest of the film. after the sacking of pskov, the townsfolk of novgorod meet in the town square to hear a wounded knight’s story of the german attack. his passionate appeal to defend the sacred soil of russia is ridiculed by the city’s lords who argue for appeasement and surrender (it becomes clear later that they are the traitors who have aided the german attacks). but colourful and reasoned oratory from peasants and seasoned warriors offer the correct solution. they demand that alexander nevsky be summoned to lead them into battle against the invaders. resonant political themes of the 1930s were clearly pronounced and connected effortlessly with such folkloric elements as the essential unity of the peasants with the land and its protection, and the need for a strong leader to deliver the people from their fear and immanent destruction and courageously face the enemy who dares to invade russia .
( überleben in new york) print courtesy of the reserve film and video collection, the new york public library for the performing arts. the successes, trials, and tribulations of three young german women trying to conquer the new york city jungle. claudia, uli, and anna have very different backgrounds and deal with big - city challenges in very different ways; but all agree that the fascination of new york outweighs its frustrations, heartaches, and dangers .
( mat) based on the novel by maxim gorky. with the simple theme of a working - class mother growing in political consciousness through participation in revolutionary activity, this film established pudovkin as one of the major figures of the soviet cinema. a student of kuleshov and an admirer of griffith’s films, he was writing his first book of film theory at the same time he was making mother. his expert cutting on movement and his associated editing of unrelated scenes to form what he called a “plastic synthesis” are amply demonstrated here. although in direct opposition to eisenstein’s shock montage, pudovkin used a linkage method advanced far beyond kuleshov’s theories .
farhadi' s best films are layered collisions of conscience and consequence .
a separation
is a morality tale in a struggle over past and present ;
about elly
( 2009) explores the dangers of deception and the constraints of tradition ;
the past
( 2013) shows how elusive truth is against jealousy, resentment and conflicting agendas. in each, as in
the salesman ,
his characters are universal but also portraits of a young iranian generation steeped in cosmopolitanism while navigating the confines of an ancient culture and a rigid islam that adheres to blood money and arranged marriages .
screenplay by john sayles. with robert forster. “a very funny meditation on the old ‘what happens when you flush the goldfish down the john? ’ nightmare. it is also a formula film that simultaneously demonstrates the specific requirements of the formula while sending them up with good humor. lewis teague, the director, and john sayles, who wrote the screenplay, know exactly what they’re doing. … though alligator is done straight, not as parody, it never for a minute loses its sense of humor. ” –vincent canby, new york times
outtakes with fiore [ 2 ] (this is fiore' s new review site, beginning in feb. 2016; we still don' t agree much but i respect his opinions about film if not always about politics )
an advertising film promoting safe and comfortable meat consumption: “nutritious wholesome food will keep our nation strong [... ] meat is a favourite with almost everyone – everywhere. ” guest: schäfer christian winz (landgut krosigk )
rehearsals will soon enough occur, this film progresses through a very specific set of circumstances about human tragedy, opening itself up for speculations, interpretations, contemplations by offering us no easy answers for the characters' motivations or even full clarifications of plot events. while it’s clear that something happened that fateful night between rana and the man
he said censorship remains an issue — it' s referred to in
the salesman
— but
day by day it' s growing more open .
others may disagree, but farhadi is a man who does not want to complicate his career with an errant comment to a journalist. after discussing censors and his country' s restrictive politics, including the recent death of former president ali akbar hashemi rafsanjani and the battle between conservatives and reformists, farhadi looked up and remarked :
we' ve talked about sensitive topics. please report exactly what i said .
all this makes dawn of the dragonslayer, an indie fantasy film directed by anne b. black (and not, let me be clear, connected in any way with syfy), that much more extraordinary and interesting. it couldn’t have cost much more than most syfy movies, yet the things that don’t depend on money–talent, the desire to do good work, and belief in the project at hand–nudge it into the realm of real cinema. it’s low budget, but not low rent .
i completely agree. i was just watching this movie and thought the same thing. it is almost identical to “man from snowy river. ” from the death of the father; the man coming down from the hills; the other men don’t get along with him except the quiet one; the early fight with the dragon; the girl runs off; and so on. as far as i can tell, the only difference is the time it’s set in and there is a dragon and not a horse. this movie, although pretty good, is a rip - off of “man from snowy river. ”
screenplay by john sayles. with richard thomas, robert vaughn, john saxon, and george peppard. this roger corman - produced mash - up of star wars and the seven samurai finds seven intergalactic mercenaries teaming up to defend a peaceful planet from the evil tyrant sador (saxon). the film’s charming modesty belies the heavy duty talent behind the scenes, including james cameron (who was responsible for the art direction), composer james horner (titanic), production assistant gale ann hurd (producer of aliens), and of course, john sayles, who contributed the witty, memorable screenplay .
ma”s. black, her writer and producers need to go back to film 101 because they made a complete mess of something that had plenty of opportunity to be something quite good. to paraphrase my father - “what a bunch of dumbasses” .
‘i hereby express my condemnation of the unjust conditions forced upon some of my compatriots and the citizens of the other six countries trying to legally enter the united states of america and hope that the current situation will not give rise to further divide between nations. ’
screenplay by jeremy larner. with robert redford, peter boyle, and melvyn douglas. left - wing lawyer bill mckay (redford), enlisted by a politico (boyle) to run for the senate, agrees on the condition that he can say exactly what he thinks. his honesty captivates the electorate, but as he inches up in the polls the corrupting forces of the american political process come into play. released the fateful year of richard nixon’s reelection, the film garnered numerous accolades including the oscar for best screenplay (screenwriter larner thanked the “politicians of our time” for inspiration). “the candidate managed to garner real followers, if not votes, for its imaginary candidates. indeed, it was thanks to the candidate’s satire of image politics that a good - looking if dimwitted law student named dan quayle decided to follow his electoral destiny. ” –j. hoberman, village voice
farhadi regards his films as local tales. they sweep like storms through rooms in houses and apartments, shaking the sanctuary and meaning of home. he says it' s
still strange
to think his stories resonate with audiences outside iran. that was the case with
a separation ,
a fable set around a wife' s attempt to divorce her husband. the film examines working class disdain for the elite and the passions — both petty and grand — that arise around religion, cosmopolitanism and the desire to seek a better life in a new place .
while some detective stories are fast - paced and action - packed, the salesman is not one of them. farhadi instead presents the audience with a slow burn. a sense of looming dread starts to build as viewers learn about the complicated human relationships that drive this story, and when events start to spiral out of control in the last act of the movie, those same relationships provide an explosive finish. the story is as well - written and well - acted as one might expect from one of farhadi’s films, if perhaps a bit less subtle in its messages than a separation. those messages are more relevant than ever as we contemplate the ramifications of the ban that is preventing farhadi from entering the united states. what are the dangers of a tough guy attitude, and who are the innocent victims of revenge? what does it mean to protect your family, your wife, or your nation? to provide for them? is it possible to do these things and still keep them emotionally, intellectually, and physically whole ?
“when the trilogy was performed together for a two - month run in the winter of 1978 - 79…its imaginative use of film, dance, music, child actors, and non - linear texts confirmed its stature as one of the most impressive and innovative theater events of the ‘70s. ” –village voice three places in rhode island will be followed by future real moments 1 - a work - in - progress by theatre - video artist and filmmaker zbigniew bzymek. this new piece is based on the group’s online dailies that grapple with presenting the work and behind - the - scenes life of the wooster group. posted every workday since oct 2010, the dailies include footage from the group in and out of performance, on tour and at home. for future real moments 1 bzymek has edited an installment of these short films about art for the big screen, in which the group encounters and consumes the filmmaker as a wannabe auteur .
new york' s the wooster group is a company that has online flair in bucketloads…these abstract shorts convey a palpable flavour of the company, fostering an online relationship with their audience that bridges the atlantic .
– the guardian
to be fair, there’s a certain dourness to the film that prevents it from being as much fun as it might. but it gets so many other things right, especially compared to what’s normally found in indie fantasy films, that it’s easy to overlook this. the film was shot on the west coast of ireland, and thus has an unexpected scenic beauty. the acting, especially from leads richard mcwilliams and nicola posener, is solid and at times inspired. further, while both are attractive, they also look suited to the story’s time and place (no pouty false lips on her, no gym - rat abs on him). the lack of scale–a cast of less than a dozen and virtually a single setting–is used to the story’s advantage, not as something to be ignored with a cynical wink and nudge. and panu aaltio’s music is lush and romantic .
screenplay by john sayles and terence h. winkless, based on a novel by gary brandner. with dee wallace, patrick macnee, dennis dugan, kevin mccarthy, john carradine, and slim pickens. “a popular los angeles tv reporter is given doctor’s orders to visit a remote consciousness - raising retreat called ‘the colony’ after a traumatic incident with a serial killer. the bizarre behavior of the residents begins to make sense once the reporter discovers that she is staying amidst a community of werewolves! the howling is not only a great werewolf movie, but also a witty and knowing commentary on the genre itself. the film is as full of impressive werewolf transformation scenes as of social satire, which is no surprise given that the special effects were done by rob bottin (the thing) and the screenplay was written by john sayles. ” –the wexner center
schoolteacher emad (shahab hosseini) and his wife, rana (taraneh alidoosti), are playing the unhappy salesman willy loman and his wife, linda. emad and rana have had to move into a new apartment because their old building is structurally unsafe – a metaphor for their lives, perhaps. the new flat was once rented by a woman working as a prostitute, and one day when she is alone there, rana casually buzzes in a caller she assumes is her husband. but it is one of the prostitute’s former clients. the next time emad and the audience see rana, she is in hospital, covered in blood from a head wound, having been subjected to a sexual assault that she cannot clearly remember .
that he’s willing to commit suicide to provide the material support he can no longer earn. it’s clear from farhadi’s comments in that aforementioned - interview he equates the man with willy, at least in allusory - fashion, in terms of the tragedy of a lost life, even though other details of these 2 stories are only very loosely related. what connects them, though, as well as complicating things by putting the film’s focus on emad and his obsessive quest for vindication
( zum vergleich) for his most recent film, farocki observes the process of manufacturing bricks, in various cultures, and across different modes and scales of production. “i wanted to make a film about concomitance, and about contemporary production on a range of different technical levels. so i looked for an object that had not changed too much in the past few thousand years. this could have been a shoe or a knife, but a brick becomes part of a building and therefore part of our environment. so the brick appears as something of a poetic object. i follow its mode of creation and use in africa, india, and europe. ” –h. f .
( das netz) a subversive history of the internet, this insightful documentary traces contrasting countercultural responses to the cybernetic revolution via an inquiry into the rationale of ted kaczynski, the infamous unabomber, who grew to oppose the late - 20th - century web of technology. dammbeck’s conceptual quest links multiple nodes of cultural and political thought in the manner of the internet itself. the net exposes a hidden matrix of revolutionary advances, coincidences, and conspiracies .
after the executive order was signed, asghar farhadi made an eloquent statement as to why he would not be attending the academy awards even if an exception was made for his entry. though the statement should be read in full, one sentence stands out as exceptional: “instilling fear in the people is an important tool used to justify extremist and fanatic behavior by narrow - minded individuals. ” farhadi is right; fear is a potent ingredient in the recipe for violence and unforgivable actions. what things fear can make us do, whether it is fear for our lives, our loved ones, or our social standing, are presented starkly in the salesman. it is a story of one man, but also of many. as the headlines about asghar farhadi shift from his genius to his victimhood, it is becoming clear that is also a story of nations .
program 11: white homeland commando & rhyme ‘em to death white homeland commando is twg’s 1992 full - length video and was originally shown at the nyff and included in the 1993 whitney biennial. michael kirby’s teleplay is a cops - versus - white - supremacists tale imagined as a structuralist police procedural, as well as a prescient examination of domestic terrorism and the national security apparatus. rhyme ‘em to death, a short black - and - white film shot by leslie thornton and inspired by victor hugo’s the hunchback of notre dame and the salem witch trials, was first shown in the 1995 whitney biennial.
the salesman ( french : le vendeur ) is a 2011 canadian drama film directed by sébastien pilote . the film premiered at the sundance film festival and had a theatrical release in quebec on 11 november 2011 . shot in the small city dolbeau-mistassini , in the saguenay – lac-saint-jean region of the province of quebec , the film looks at the effects of a declining economy on a sexagenarian car salesman . 
the salesman (french: le vendeur) is a 2011 canadian drama film directed by sébastien pilote. the film premiered at the sundance film festival and had a theatrical release in quebec on 11 november 2011. shot in the small city dolbeau-mistassini, in the saguenay – lac-saint-jean region of the province of quebec, the film looks at the effects of a declining economy on a sexagenarian car salesman.
the salesman (french: le vendeur) is a 2011 canadian drama film directed by sébastien pilote. the film premiered at the sundance film festival and had a theatrical release in quebec on 11 november 2011. shot in the small city dolbeau-mistassini, in the saguenay – lac-saint-jean region of the province of quebec, the film looks at the effects of a declining economy on a sexagenarian car salesman.