Fando y Lis (1967)

Directed by
Alejandro Jodorowsky

Writing credits
Fernando Arrabal (play)
Alejandro Jodorowsky

The film follows Fando (Sergio Klainer) and his paraplegic girlfriend Lis (Diana Mariscal) through a barren, post-apocalyptic wasteland in search of the mythical city of Tar, where legend has it all wishes come true. The film is divided into four acts:

Act I

This first part begins with a flashback of young Fando hanging around with his father. The father says that when he dies, his skin would make a beautiful drum, and that, if ever Fando should ever feel lonely, he should go to the wonderful city of Tar. Fando and Lis begin their journey in a destroyed city (Fando drives Lis in a small wooden cart, which also carries Fando's drum and Lis' phonograph), where they meet a group of aristocrats having a ball in the midst of the destruction. Fando is lured away by a group of seductresses into a junkyard, where he is blinded and made to chase after them. In the end he is tricked into kissing a man and paid for amusing them. Meanwhile, Lis is surrounded by the arisocrats and a flashback occurs, where we see young Lis being lured backstage by a puppeteer (played by Jodorowsky) and being harassed by the artists yonder. Fando throws the money away and goes back to get Lis and leave the city. They hang around in a cemetery: Lis sings "I shall die, and no-one shall remember me..." and Fando reassures her that he will remember her and will visit her grave bringing a flower and a dog. A musical sequence follows, "Qué bonito es un entierro" (how beautiful is a funeral), during which the couple play dead and cavort around the cemetery.

Act II

Fando and Lis pull into what appears to be a dead end until they are guided out by the Pope, who also signals the road to Tar. He also advises them against the coming of the night, which is signaled by the beating of drums, "for those who are asleep become awake". Shortly afterwards the couple come across a marsh in which the bodies of men and women lie asleep. As they approach, they wake up and bathe in mud. Fando leaves Lis behind, planting her in the muddy swamp, much to her chagrin, but changes his mind and rescues her shortly after. Not long afterwards, however, he becomes tired of Lis and mistreats her, dragging her across the desert and abandoning her at the bottom of a spiraling canyon. Fando runs away and upon reaching a mountain top witnesses a card game between three old ladies, playing for the right to suck fruit pulp off a young man's mouth. Fando runs away from the scene and into an ambush composed of desert women armed with bowling balls and a scantily clad woman with a whip. The group chases Fando and sends him tumbling down a hill and right next to the grave of his father, who proceeds to come back to life and send his son into the tomb. Fando eventually goes back to Lis and the two leave. He promises never to hurt her again.

Act III

A sequence of scantily-clothed Fando and Lis follows, painting each others' names in black in a room and proceeding to throw buckets of paint at the walls and at each other. Back in the desert, the couple come across an array of different characters: a man and his blind son begging for blood (which they extract from Lis but the father drinks and leaves nothing for his son), a party of transvestites (who cross-dress Fando and Lis) and an apparition of Fando's mother (who is then shown in a flashback along young Fando, in which we see her death and how she taunted Fando's father - her servants are the young women from Act II), now begging to be killed. Fando subsequently strangles her with her own hair and walks her to her grave.

Act IV

Yet again, Fando becomes tired of Lis, and tearing her clothes apart, chains her up to the cart and hides nearby. He leaves her to the mercy of three men (the clowns from the circus flashback of Lis' childhood)) who slowly approach the scene. Fando reappears and encourages the men to look at her and feel her and kiss her. They do so, but shyly walk away after Fando proudly claims she is his girlfriend. The couple drifts some more but constantly reaches the same barren spot between the mountains. Lis points it out and a frustrated Fando charges against the hills, but to no avail. He then proceeds to handcuff Lis and torture her once more. In retaliation, she throws Fando's treasured drum away, breaking it. An enraged Fando beats Lis up, killing her. Lis is taken away by a mob, who puts her in a coffin and cannibalize parts of her skin. Fando interrupts the ceremony to retrieve Lis' body and eventually bury her. In the film's last scene, Fando visits Lis' grave as promised with a flower and a dog. Calling her name, he lies down by the grave and is covered by crawling ivy. Then, we see a naked Lis rising from the grave, spotting an also naked Fando, and the couple running off into the woods. But we cut back to Fando, lying by Lis' grave, calling her name in dreams, wrapped in ivy.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061643/

Late Autumn (1960)

AKA Akibiyori

Directed by
Yasujirô Ozu        

Writing credits
Ton Satomi (novel)
Kôgo Noda
Yasujirô Ozu

 

Three middle-aged friends and former college mates – Mamiya (Shin Saburi), Taguchi (Nobuo Nakamura) and Hirayama (Ryuji Kita) – meet up for the 7th memorial service of a late college friend, Miwa. Miwa's widow Akiko (Setsuko Hara) and 24-year-old daughter Ayako (Yôko Tsukasa) are also present. The three friends remark amongst themselves how good Akiko looks despite being in her forties.

The party chats and thinks that it is time for Ayako to get married. Taguchi tells them he has a prospective suitor for Ayako, but it later turns out the man already has a fiancée. Mamiya instead offers his employee, Goto (Keiji Sada), as another match, but Ayako confides privately in Akiko that she has no wish of getting married. Ayako, who lives alone with Akiko, is close to her mother, who teaches dressmaking.

Ayako meets Goto one day at Mamiya's office. Later, after a hiking trip, a fellow colleague offers to introduce him to Ayako again. Ayako and Goto rapidly progress to be a couple, but Ayako is unwilling to get married because that will mean Akiko will live all alone. Ayako puts forward to Mamiya her theory that "romance and marriage could be separate". The three friends think that all this is an excuse and begin to speculate that Ayako will marry if Akiko remarry. The other two offer Hirayama, a widower, as Akiko's prospective remarriage partner. Hirayama warns them not to go ahead with their plan, but after privately obtaining permission from his son to remarry, changes his mind.

Hirayama now approaches Taguchi and Mamiya for help. Before they can break the subject to Akiko, however, Mamiya tactlessly lets Ayako know about their plan. Thinking that her mother has known about this, an unhappy Ayako goes home to question her and then leaves for her colleague and friend Yukiko's (Mariko Okada) place in a huff. Yukiko however approves of Akiko's remarriage. She persuades Ayako not to be so selfish, which gains Ayako's displeasure.

Displeased, Yukiko confronts the three friends, and finds out the truth from them. Mamiya apologizes for their mishap; however, seeing their cause, Yukiko decides to help Hirayama. Unfortunately, when Akiko and Ayako go for their last trip together, Akiko tells her daughter she has decided not to marry. She urges Ayako not to worry about her. With her assurance, Ayako successfully marries Goto, leaving her mother to live all alone in her apartment.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053579/

Hour of the Wolf (1968)

AKA Vargtimmen

Director:
Ingmar Bergman

Writer:
Ingmar Bergman

The film is framed through the account of Alma (Liv Ullman), who addresses the audience directly while sitting at a picnic table. She tells of her husband's disappearance, which is explored in a flashback constructed of his diaries and her words.

Johan Borg (von Sydow) is a painter who is regularly approached by odd and suspicious people. He confides to his young, pregnant wife Alma (Ullman) that he believes them to be demons, and that his insomnia is growing worse. On the nights when Johan can't sleep, Alma stays awake by his side through the nights, especially during the vargtimmen ("The Hour of the Wolf"), during which, Johan says, most births and deaths occur. Johan begins to give names to the figures who approach him, including the Bird-Man, the Insects, the Meat-Eaters, the Schoolmaster (with pointers in his trousers), and The Lady With a Hat. Throughout the film, Alma expresses her belief that two people who love each other, and spend their lives with each other, will eventually become alike. (See Persona.)

It is implied to the audience that these figures represent Johan's shames, traumas, and vices. Johan's wife talks about wanting to grow old with him, and that night, a 216-year-old woman approaches him, taunting him about age. In one scene, he recounts to his wife meeting a small boy tanning himself on a rock. As the nude boy approached Johan, he "realized" it was a demon representing homosexuality (and sexual experimentation in his youth), and violently smashed the child's face against a stone before tossing him into the ocean to drown. Alma reacts to the story with shock, and sinks into despair. Johan tries to persuade her to leave so he might kill himself, but the couple are approached by a baron, von Merkens (Josephson), who lives in a nearby castle. The painter and his wife visit them and their surreal household: a castle, where Johan's ex-girlfriend Veronica lies waiting on a table. Swarms of men dress Johan in make-up and women's clothing in preparation for a sexual encounter with her, while Veronica hands Alma her husband's diary and tells her "I have bought myself a sizeable stake in your husband." Veronica taunts her by showing her bruises on her pelvis, "perpetual sources of reinvogarated enthusiasm".

Johan panics, and flees into underbrush. In the last act of the film, Alma searches the forest for her husband, only to find his mangled body. In the final moments, she addresses the camera, "Is it true that a woman who lives a long time with a man eventually winds up being like that man? I mean, she loves him, and tries to think like him, and see like him? They say it can change a person. I mean to say, if I had loved him much less, and not bothered so of everything about him, could I have protected him better?", believing that her love of Johan spread his demons to her, so that she could not protect him.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063759/

Tokyo Story (1953)

AKA Tôkyô monogatari

Director:
Yasujirô Ozu

Writers:
Kôgo Noda
Yasujirô Ozu

Two elderly parents Shukichi (Chishu Ryu) and Tomi Hirayama (Chieko Higashiyama), from the small seaside town of Onomichi in southwest Japan, pay a visit to their busy children in Tokyo and Osaka. Only their youngest unmarried daughter lives with them: Kyoko (Kyoko Kagawa), a schoolteacher.

Upon arriving in Tokyo (before the advent of the bullet train, almost a day's journey), they find themselves neglected by their children. Their eldest son, Koichi (So Yamamura), is a district pediatrician with two boys. Their eldest daughter, Shige (Haruko Sugimura), is a hairdresser. The children wish to spend time with their parents, and do, to an extent; but, as they have lives, work and families of their own, they find it difficult to maintain a balance between the two. Only the couple's widowed daughter-in-law Noriko (Setsuko Hara) goes out of her way to entertain them. She takes them on a sightseeing tour of metropolitan Tokyo.

Koichi and Shige pay for their parents' cheap stay at the hot spring spa at Atami, but the parents return because the busy nightlife at the hotel interrupts their sleep. Shukichi stays with Shige and visits some old friends, while Tomi goes to visit Noriko. At Noriko's, Tomi advises Noriko to remarry as her husband, the couple's son, died eight years ago in the war.

The couple, seeing that their children are too busy, leave for home. They stop at their youngest son Keizo's (Shiro Osaka) place at Osaka, but during the ensuing train journey Tomi is taken ill. When they reach Onomichi, Tomi becomes critically ill. Koichi, Shige and Noriko rush to Onomichi, on receiving telegrams, to see Tomi, who dies shortly afterwards. Keizo arrives late as he is outstationed.

After the funeral, Koichi, Shige and Keizo decide to leave immediately as they have their work at Osaka and Tokyo, leaving only Noriko to keep their father company. After they leave, Kyoko complains to Noriko that they are selfish and inconsiderate, but Noriko explains that everyone has their own lives to lead and that the drift between parents and children is inevitable.

After Kyoko leaves for school, Noriko informs her father-in-law that she must return to Tokyo that afternoon. Shukichi notes ironically that it is she, a daughter-in-law who has no blood relation with them, who has treated them best during their Tokyo visit. He gives her a watch from the late Tomi as a memento, and advises her to remarry. At the end, the train with Noriko speeds from Onomichi back to Tokyo, leaving behind Kyoko and Shukichi.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046438/

The Silence (1963)

AKA Tystnaden

Director:
Ingmar Bergman

Writer:
Ingmar Bergman

 

After a nightly train journey through desolate countryside, two emotionally estranged sisters stop at a once-grandiose hotel in an unidentified Central European country on the brink of war or insurrection, in the middle of a heatwave. The older, more cultured sister, Ester (Ingrid Thulin), who is a literary translator, is taken seriously ill, which seems to be terminal. Her fear of death, as well as long-standing rivalry and need for control, cloud her relationship with her younger sister Anna (Gunnel Lindblom). The sisters are depicted as a spirit/flesh dichotomy, with Ester representing the heart and mind, and Anna representing the body and soul.

Upon arriving to the hotel, Anna's son, Johan (Jörgen Lindström), a boy of 8 or so, wanders around the seemingly empty hallways, encountering a friendly old man and a group of Spanish midgets who are part of a travelling circus. Meanwhile, Ester wastes away in her room, attempting to work on her translations, and Anna ventures into the city, eventually having a one-night-stand with a stranger, which infuriates Ester.

By the end of the film, Anna and Johan leave the hotel, and Johan reads a note given to him by Ester while boarding the train. The note reads: "To Johan- words in a foreign language". Anna, seemingly unaffected by it, opens the window and cools herself with the outside rain. It is implied that Ester dies at the hotel, alone.

The theme of 'silence' is repeated throughout the film: God has been silent to Anna over her life, and is now silent in Ester as she dies; in addition, none of the characters speak the language of the country, causing disorientation and confusion; and the two sisters constantly misinterpret the others' words, making communication difficult or impossible.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057611/

Late Spring (1949)

AKA Banshun

Directed by
Yasujirô Ozu

Writing credits
Kazuo Hirotsu (based on the novel "Chichi to musume" by)

Kôgo Noda (screenplay)
Yasujirô Ozu (screenplay)

Professor Shukichi Somiya (Chishu Ryu) has only one child, a twenty-seven-year-old unmarried daughter, Noriko (Setsuko Hara), who takes care of his everyday needs. However, a meeting with his sister Masa (Haruko Sugimura) convinces him that she is now of marriageable age. Noriko is close to his assistant, Hattori (Jun Usami), and Masa asks Somiya to question Noriko if Hattori is interested in her. However it turns out that Hattori already has a fiancée he is about to marry.

A Kyoto friend of Somiya, Professor Onodera, pays a visit to the Somiyas. Noriko learns that Onodera, a widower, has remarried, and she tells Onodera that she finds the idea distasteful - filthy even. Onodera teases her endlessly for harboring such thoughts. Meanwhile, Masa keeps pressurizing Noriko to go for a matchmaking session to see a prospective match who resembles Gary Cooper. Noriko declines, stating that she does not want to marry because of her father. Marrying will leave him alone and helpless. Masa declares that she plans to matchmake her father and Mrs Miwa, a widow, which will mean someone will take care of him.

At a Noh performance, Somiya nods to Mrs Miwa, which triggers a pang of jealousy in Noriko. When her father tries to talk her into going for the matchmaking session, he tells her that he is going to marry Mrs Miwa. Devastated, Noriko decides to go to see the match. To her surprise, she has pleasant impression of him. Masa talks to her if she will marry. Spurred by thoughts of her father remarrying, Noriko gives in to her aunt and agrees.

The Somiyas go for their last trip together, to Kyoto, where they meet Onodera and his family. Noriko reverses her attitude towards Onodera's remarriage when she finds his new wife a pleasant lady. While packing luggages for their way home, Noriko asks Somiya why can't they stay as they are now – she is happy with her father and marriage certainly can't make her any happier. Somiya admonishes her and gives her a short talk asking her to strive for marital happiness together with her husband, something that will take time and effort. Noriko apologizes for her earlier thoughts and agrees to wed.

Noriko finally leaves on her wedding day. Noriko's divorced friend Aya (Yumeji Tsukioka) stays with Somiya in a bar, long enough to hear him confess his supposed "remarriage" to Mrs Miwa is all a ploy to get Noriko married. Aya is touched by his sacrifice and promises to come and visit him often, but Somiya must go back and face the quiet night all alone in his apartment.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041154/

A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)

AKA Ukikusa monogatari

Director:
Yasujirô Ozu

Writers:
Tadao Ikeda
Yasujirô Ozu (story)

The film starts with a travelling kabuki troupe arriving by train at a provincial seaside town. Kihachi Ichikawa (Takeshi Sakamoto), the head of the troupe, is a very popular actor. He takes time off to visit a former mistress Otsune (Chouko Iida), with whom he had a son years before. His son, now a student, does not know that Kihachi is his father, thinking him an uncle. Kihachi and his son, Shinkichi, spend a fruitful afternoon fishing for dace in a nearby river.

When the troupe's performance tour is postponed by the constant downpour around the region, one of the members of the troupe unwittingly reveals a secret: that Kihachi is seeing a woman every day. Otaka (Rieko Yagumo), one of Kihachi’s actresses and his present mistress, decides to pay a visit to Otsune's watering-hole with fellow actress Otoki (Yoshiko Tsubouchi). Kihachi becomes enraged, warns Otaka never to come and harass the mother and son again, and breaks off his relationship with her.

To get back at Otsune and Kihachi, Otaka suggests to Otoki to try to seduce Shinkichi and offers her some money. Otoki waits for Shinkichi at a tree by the road one day and offers to meet after her performance at the same place. Shinkichi agrees to the meeting, and the two start a clandestine love affair.

As time goes by, Otoki realizes she has fallen for Shinkichi. She tells Shinkichi to forget her because she is merely a traveling actress. Kihachi discovers their affair, confronts Otoki and slaps her, demanding to know what she wants. Otoki reveals Otaka's setup, but tells him she now loves Shinkichi and is not doing this for money. Kihachi then beats up Otaka, but realizes he no longer has any control over the affair.

Kihachi decides to disband the troupe, selling all their costumes and props. The kabuki actors have one last night together. Kihachi visits Otsune, and tells her of his troupe's break-up. She invites him to stay with her for good, and they decide to tell Shinkichi of his paternity secret. Shinkichi and Otoki return, but Shinkichi and Kihachi get into a violent quarrel when Kihachi hits Otoki repeatedly.

Otsune now tells Shinkichi that Kihachi is his father, but Kihachi refuses to acknowledge him for abandoning them. Otsune reasons that Kihachi doesn't want Shinkichi to become a traveling actor like him. Shinkichi leaves for his room in a huff. Kihachi decides to restart another troupe, realizing he cannot stay. Otoki asks to join him, but Kihachi leaves her in Otsune's care and asks Otoki to help his son be a great man.

Shinkichi comes down to look for his father but he has gone on the road. At the railway station, Kihachi meets Otoki who helps light his cigarette with matches. He invites her to start a new traveling troupe with him at Kamisuwa. Otaka goes to buy an extra ticket to accompany him. The film ends with a shot of a train traveling toward Kamisuwa.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025929/