Mysterious Object at Noon wrote:

An adventurous experiment in cinematic storytelling, this low-budget independent Thai feature is structured like the Surrealist idea of the "exquisite corpse." One person begins a story, and a succession of others continue it in whatever way they see fit. Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul gleans his participants from all over the Thai countryside. The story, begun by a young woman with a personal history harrowing enough for its own movie, concerns a wheelchair-bound boy and his enigmatic tutor Dogfar. As the tale is passed along between a variety of rural characters (including, at one point, a traveling dance troupe who perform it for an audience), everything from kidnappings to space aliens are added to the mix. The film alternates between the storytellers and the story they tell, along with "behind the scenes" shots and other documentary footage that blur the line between fiction and non-fiction and make the film itself a witty, quirky exploration of the very notion of storytelling.

Lumière and Company wrote:

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Lumière brothers' first films, filmmakers Sarah Moon and Philippe Poulet challenged 39 renowned international directors to each complete a 52-second film using the original Cinematographe camera under the conditions endured by the brothers. The result of the project was this film, Lumière et Compagnie. The film stock used was homemade from a slightly altered version of the Lumières' recipe. No synchronized sound was allowed and only natural lighting was permitted. The participating directors included John Boorman, Costa-Gavras, Peter Greenaway, Lasse Hallström, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Liv Ullmann, and Wim Wenders. Among the actors who performed in the films were Liam Neeson, Lena Olin, Aidan Quinn, and Alan Rickman.

Koyaanisqatsi wrote:

An art-house circuit sensation, this feature-length documentary is visually arresting and possesses a clear, pro-environmental political agenda. Without a story, dialogue, or characters, Koyaanisqatsi (1983) (the film's title is a Hopi word roughly translated into English as "life out of balance") is composed of nature imagery, manipulated in slow motion, double exposure or time lapse, juxtaposed with footage of humans' devastating environmental impact on the planet. Starting with an ancient rock wall painting, the film moves through sequences depicting clouds, waves, and other natural features, then into man-made landscapes such as buildings, earth-altering construction machinery, and cars. The message of director Godfrey Reggio is clear: humans are destroying the planet, and all of human progress is pointlessly foolish. Also notable for its intense, atmospheric score by new age composer Philip Glass, Koyaanisqatsi (1983) was a labor of love for Reggio, who spent several years filming it. The film was followed by sequels, Powaqqatsi (1988), Anima Mundi (1991) and Naqoyqatsi (1999).

Fireworks wrote:

Actor and auteur Takeshi Kitano (who in Japan also uses the stage name 'Beat' Takeshi, primarily for his work as a television comedian) wrote, directed, edited, and starred in this unusual crime drama. Nishi (Takeshi Kitano) is a policeman whose emotions seem to run only on two extreme paths -- either quiet contentment, or brutal rage. Nishi's life is falling apart around him; his daughter was murdered, his wife Miyuki (Kayoko Kishimoto) is dying of leukemia, his partner Horibe (Ren Osugi) was ambushed by thugs after Nishi left him to visit his wife in the hospital and will now spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, and another cop was killed coming to Horibe's rescue. Nishi desperately wants to quit his job so he can spend more time with his dying wife, so he borrows a large sum of money from the Yakuza (the Japanese Mafia) and takes up a career as a painter while he cares for Miyuki. Not wanting to stay in debt to the gangsters, Nishi engineers a daring bank robbery (using his police uniform and an old auto disguised to look like a squad car) and uses the loot to pay off the Yakuza and take his wife on a final vacation. However, the loan sharks are not eager to have Nishi off the hook, and they begin complaining that he still owes them interest on their loan.

Just curious...anyone seen em? Any good?

Haha Kypade, who did you think was moddong this forum huh? Yeah I've seen one, but sadly only one. Koyaanisqatsi

How I felt about it: Its an excellent movie and exactly how your write up mentions it. But I will warn you it comes from a long history of such films going as far back as far as The Man with a Movie Camera by Vertog (1929) which I've also seen. It is sort of like Microcosmos minus the National Geographic insect touch. Does that make sense, mostly it is images, and images pulled away from expectations (close up, framed in the screen in new ways, time elapse, etc). Some of it might feel cliche now if you watch MTV pop videos, for there is a sequence of roads and traffic passing through but speeded up so that it looks like lights. That happens all the time in music videos now which is why I mention that, but remember this movie was from 1983. It was filmed in 75 different locations as well (I think, either that or Baraka was, which is associated with this film because of the cinematographer). So the traveling camera and the montage of images will appeal to your wonderlust as well. This is Glass at his finest (as far as scorse) and probably one of the movie that really vaulted him into the lime-light. Check it out and I bet you'll love it, but my father only *loved* the parts who occasionally woke up for if you catch my drift. :wink:

It doesn't have a storyline as much as a vague sense of narrative, so if you're into that this movie is the best. If you're not, you'll still appreciate it for directorial, cinematography, production, and score value, but probably won't watch it twice.

cool...this name came up at another site when l was looking for ''specific types of movies'' (i.e. ones that are different from the norm...SOMETHING about em is totally unique - Timecode, having 4 different screens within the screen happening at once, for example) and l think it sounds very cool. Havent been able to find it until now that l've got blockbuster online again, though. So yeah, the "no story, dialogue, or characters" thing isnt a problem; just the kinda thing l was looking for. Glad to hear it's good. :wink:

The other 2 l just read about today. Apparently David Lynch's short on the Lumière one is really good, (l read it described as a 50 second 'epic'.) but some are not...(Spike Lee spent 50 seconds trying to get his baby to say ''daddy'' or something). And ''Mysterious Object'' sounds kinda quirky and experimental - so l should like it.