Due to YouTube’s too restrictive copyrights policy, this is only an amputated version of this episode. For better and original version of this video please go to LBRY.TV: https://lbry.tv/@FilmMagistery:c/Holy…
Holy Motors is not a work that was made to be liked, but rather to be experienced, and as such it doesn’t belong to the kind of films that are a part of the entertainment film industry for the broad masses. Holy Motors doesn’t rely on symbolism but on associations.
In this episode I discuss does our existence have a meaning, and if it does, does it benefit us? We do not have our own identity, since we are all the time forced to be someone else. We wear someone else’s mask almost in every situation, and we rarely have an opportunity to see our own face in the mirror.
Space Office was released in 1999, and it has inspired digital content creators worldwide, especially in the world of memes. Although the film isn’t a masterpiece by any standard, it is picked up as a work that carries a satirized yet important message. In this episode Dino discusses the eternal suppression of mankind, and a world in which human beings have chosen not to be the priority in society.
– “When did you last see the world, Mr. Stevens?”
James Ivory’s The Remains of the Day (1993) is, besides being a masterfully crafted drama, a great example of how people can fall into a pitfall of not doing something that will have a considerable impact on people’s lives and ultimately have a greater existential meaning. Many of us are waisting the best days of our lives and we are not even aware of it. In this episode, Dino talks about how Mr. Stevens, the main character in the film The Remains of the Day, realizes too late what could have his life been if he only acted and thought differently. The main subject of this episode is regrets, in this case, regrets of not doing the right thing, the regrets of not exploring the opportunities that present themselves at some point of one’s life.
LINKS:
The Remains of the Day on IMDb.
The Remains of the Day on Letterboxd.
MUSIC:
Kevin MacLeod: Ghost Dance
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)
VIDEO and IMAGES:
Image of Socrates, copyright 2005 – Eric Gaba for Wikimedia Commons
“The Remains of the Day” Dir. James Ivory. Columbia Pictures, 1993
Video footage of youth from videezy.com
Scenes from the film by movieclips.com
Tarkovsky’s The Mirror is undoubtedly one of the true masterpieces in the magical world of cinema. In this episode Dino talks about Tarkovsky and his concept of the so-called Time Sculpting, which is here explored in his seminal work “The Mirror” (1975).
And no, there is no awkward impersonation of Tarkovsky’s Russian accent in this episode.
Links:
The Mirror on IMDb.
The Mirror on Letterboxd.
In the seventh episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about slavery throughout history. The Code of Hammurabi is mentioned, and so is the slavery in Africa, Europe and the United States. And do we have slavery in modern times, here in 2017?
The reference to the concept of slavery is Steve McQueen’s powerful film 12 Years A Slave (2013).
Resources:
Code of Hammurabi.
Roger Crowley, Conquerors: How Portugal Forget The First Global Empire, 2002.
International Labor Organization: 21 million are now victims of forced labor
“12 Years a Slave.” Dir. Steve McQueen. Fox Searchlight, 2013.
In the sixth episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about the abundance of bullshit today around us and Coens’ underrated film ‘Burn After Reading’ (2008), a tongue-in-cheek spy film about some people who know nothing, but pretend to know a lot. It says a lot about the cultural and interpersonal condition of the modern society today.
We ask what bullshit is and why is there so much of it around us.
References:
Harry Frankfurt, On Bullshit, 2005.
Photo “I’m not a liar!” by Tristan Schmurr Licence: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Photos and video footage from pexels.com.
18 Unbelievably Expensive Artworks That Sold For Millions This Year
This painting just sold for $46.5 million at Sotheby’s in New York
In the fifth episode of Film Magistery the subject is eternal love (and human existence). As the reference is used Darren Aronofsky’s beautifully shot and edited film The Fountain (2006) with excellent performances by Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman.
Is love truly eternal, and is it the hidden knowledge just beyond our perception and physical reality? What if we can live forever?
In the fourth episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about surveillance and how the society is subdued the heavy tracking from many different sides. As the reference to the theme the German film The Lives of Others (von Donnersmarck, 2006) is chosen to be discussed and how East Germany’s security police, the Stasi, kept the whole nation under its firm surveillance. Bentham’s concept of Panopticon is mentioned as an important element in discussion about surveillance.
But what does surveillance mean to us? Does it concern us on a personal level or are we just saying “I don’t care; they can monitor me anywhere and anytime – I have nothing to hide”? But what when surveillance is undertaken by private companies, domestic or foreign governments? Dino asks if a society should passively accept surveillance or perhaps contest it and demand from politicians to legislate and control it.
There is also a mentioning of some other examples of films with surveillance as the main theme: The Conversation, Minority Report, Caché, Brazil, Rear Window etc.
Relevant links:
The Lives of Others (IMDb)
The Lives of Others (Letterboxd)
Film Magistery YouTube channel
Surveillance (Wikipedia)
Michel Foucault – Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison
David Phillips – Identity and Surveillance Play in Hybrid Space
Online Territories: Globalization, Mediated Practice and Social Space, 2011.
Julia Angwin – Dragnet Nation
Hubertus Knabe – The Dark Secrets of a Surveillance State (Ted Salon)
In the third episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about Tim Robbins’ Bob Roberts (1992), a satirical mockumentary about a young right-wing conservative folk-singer who runs for the US Senate. The film’s political theme is compared to the current presidential election in the USA and Donald Trump. Dino asks if the election of both Bob Roberts and Donald Trump is a clear sign that we live in a post-factual society.
There is also a mentioning of some other examples of political films: The Candidate, Wag The Dog, Election, The Ides of March etc.
Relevant links:
Bob Roberts (IMDb)
Bob Roberts (Letterboxd)
Film Magistery YouTube channel
Huffington Post: An Oral History Of ‘Election’, 15 Years Later
Roger Ebert: Bob Roberts
In the second episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about Erice’s The South (El Sur, 1983), a great film about a young girl and her relationship to her mysterious father. He also puts it into the perspective of his own childhood and his perception of his father. There’s also a short mentioning of Dino’s recent six DVD acquisitions. Yes yes, a Tarkovsky work is among them. Dino compares El Sur’s ambiance to Caravaggio’s use of lighting in his paintings.
Oh, and did you know Dino’s brother’s name is Elvis?
Relevant links:
El Sur (IMDb)
El Sur (Letterboxd)
Caravaggio Foundation
Film Magistery YouTube channel
Film Magistery, my film/history podcast is on air! So, what is it about? Film Magistery is a podcast about films and history... but mostly about films. This show wants to explore the films that belong to deeper cinematic experience by talking about a single theme or concept that is related. You can expect to stumble upon films made by Tarkovsky, Kubrick, Allen, Malick, Altman, Coen, Kiarostami, but there should be space for the mainstream cinema, too. The topic of the first episode is Resnais' Night and Fog, a short documentary from 1956. Its theme is Holocaust. Is it still relevant today? Additionally, I talk about whether the humankind has progressed on a cultural level or not? I mention several other genocides in the recent history, especially the one in Bosnia in 1995. Also, watch me make a fool of myself while doing a (fake) Russian accent.
Relevant links:
Night and Fog on IMDb
Night and Fog on Letterboxd
On Holocaust: US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Stenton's 8 stages of genocide
Remembering Srebrenica
