The Silver Screen Oasis

Masha wrote:I am surprised that Ingmar Bergman has not inspired more people to delve into Swedish movies. Or perhaps people have done so and found them lacking in some way?

Look here: http://silverscreenoasis.com/oasis3/vie ... =22&t=4382

How difficult, I realised I adore German silent cinema too and Lubitsch, Ophuls and various directors but I'm going with my original three.

Masha wrote:

charliechaplinfan wrote:How difficult, I realised I adore German silent cinema too and Lubitsch, Ophuls and various directors but I'm going with my original three.

It appears to me by your comment and the comments of others that individual directors are more important than nation.

I think that's the general consensus and is how a lot of viewers decide on what they will view or seek out, especially if it costs them money to do so. When I see a great film, I am very interested in who directed it, the cinematographer, actors, and even the composer. This is how I discover other works they've done, maybe with a different director, which causes me to investigate rest of his output and so on.

Then there's the idea of exploration by genre. If you want to explore westerns, you start in America. Although many other countries made great western movies, America is where the genre originated. Giallo, you go to Italy. Noir is all over the map, having its classic heyday in the U.S., but originating in German Expressionism, French 30's crime, and so on.

The bottom line to me is that I'm actually finding great movies. How I do it (usually with a little help from my friends), is not as important as the end result.

Another complicating factor in viewing films based on "nation" are the geo-political-economic matters that impact on availability. Germany, as an example: several films are available from the Silent and early Talkie era. Then (with a bit of overstatement), in the U.S., it seemed that Germany didn't exist again until the German New Wave, which didn't really appear to be a movement, but a marketing tool applied to some directors. Were there no films in-between (other than Riefenstahl)? Of course, there were. Were they championed and made readily available? If not, why not? There are similar patterns related to almost all nations.

So, not only is it difficult to take 100 years of film history within a nation and, even with adequate access to a cross-section of films, determine that there is a nation's cinema that is a favorite and have the statement be quasi-meaningful, it is extremely difficult to do that with either (a) inadequate access to that cross-section of films, or (b) inadequate time to have viewed a cross-section related to several nations.

In the meantime, I'm left with national origin of directors' first forays into film and the apparent lasting impact it had on their work regardless of in which nation or language the subsequent films were made.

This is so difficult! Especially since I am re- enamored of French films right at the moment. I discover when I rack up the count of favorite films (and directors) my vote must go to Germany. Then there are some films that register most strongly, but they are Russian! And then the most human and sympathetic to me are Italian. Too difficult, but I will try to somehow parse out which country deserves the most points.

My three favorite foreign films are La Strada, The Marseilles Trilogy, and Cranes Are Flying, so what am I to do? Is it simply the number of films from a country that I happen to like? If not, how do I weight each film?

I am quite sure my vote really shouldn't count, as I am quite unfamiliar with Swedish, Mexican, Chinese, most Japanese (except for Kurosawa), and Spanish films.

Wait, make that my four favorite foreign films and add The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna. Now what am I to do?

Seriously? I am allowed to vote for three? or are you joking with me?

Sure, I'll give it a try.

Oh wait, I can't. It's already accepted my one vote, and I don't think I can do it again.

That's fine, Masha, I felt I had to pick one, so I did. It was a good exercise in self control and discipline, of which I have too little.

I am with you on that.