If I had to pick one decade as my favorite for movies, I think I would have to go with the 1960s. Picking my six favorite movies from that decade? That’s a little more difficult. (It’s hard enough to limit myself to six favorites from a single year of the decade.) After much debate, I’ve decided on the following films (listed chronologically), though there are probably about two dozen other titles that could just as easily have made the cut.
“The Mermaid is above all else a tale of degradation through love, of a passion,” François Truffaut said of his 1969 film Mississippi Mermaid. “I think most of my films are built on the principle of a complication in which the protagonist, always weaker than his partner, gets caught.”
Continue reading “Cliché and Sincerity: Mississippi Mermaid (1969)”
On the rare occasions when I watch them, I always approach musicals with a certain wariness. I can’t pinpoint why they don’t appeal to me, especially when there are quite a few exceptions to the rule: West Side Story, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof. (The Beatles’ movies never feel like musicals to me, though I suppose they are, and I do love A Hard Day’s Night and Help!) All I know is that I’m not likely to seek out a musical unless it’s required film fan viewing (Singin’ in the Rain, for example) or there’s some other attraction, such as an actor or director whose work I’ve enjoyed. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg fell into the former category; The Young Girls of Rochefort, consequently, fell into the latter.
Continue reading “Flights of Fantasy: The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)”
Cinematic Scribblings 