Movie notes Summer 2020

[sasha_feather]

Salt of the Earth - 1954, Black and White. I couldn't find captions on this library DVD.

A story of a miners' strike in New Mexico, told by Esperanza, who is the wife of a miner. Feminist, anti-racist, pro-union story, that was black listed by Hollywood. Recommended! I super enjoyed this and wish this was shown as a classic film in college classes. Content notes: police brutality, Catholic religion.

ETA: It's on YouTube legally https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE1oKQCwwo4

Aquaman - also a library DVD.

Very silly and fun, not to be taken seriously, and probably very forgettable, but the effects were nice. Was definitely too long. I do appreciate that there are indigenous actors in this big-budget film.

Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind

I don't think I'd seen this before, and it was entertaining and well done, but the characters we so thinly sketched, and the story was so simple, that it left me a bit cold. The slow pace relies on the creepiness of the aliens, and the special effects, which were state of the art 1977.

Richard Dreyfuss plays ordinary "every man" Roy Neary. He has a close encounter with aliens and subsequently develops an obsession with them. He compulsively draws a figure that turns out to be a clue about how to find the aliens' landing site. Prior to this encounter, he seemed to be a happily married father, though we get few details here. The behaviors he exhibits seem to be out of his control, and at the end he basically fucks off to go on a space adventure with the aliens, abandoning Earth and his family. I'm not sure what I as a viewer am supposed to take from this story.

Comments

[hellofriendsiminthedark]

Admittedly I fell asleep in the theater when I saw Aquaman, but Jason Momoa did an awesome job. I also particularly liked the scene where he's on his knees, bound by golden chains, but that's just because of the oggle factor.

Wow, I haven't thought about Close Encounters of the Third Kind in ages! I saw it once when I was extremely small and I thought it was so compelling lol. I was really fascinated by Devil's Tower for several years until I finally saw it in person, and then it was just overwhelming because it's a big rock.

[sasha_feather]

I saw Devil's Tower when I was a young kid on a road trip with my family. I don't remember much about it though!

[sovay]

Feminist, anti-racist, pro-union story, that was black listed by Hollywood. Recommended!

I've wanted to see this for years! I'm glad it can be gotten from libraries. When the libraries around me are open again, I'll look for it.

[sasha_feather]

It's on Youtube! It is in the public domain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE1oKQCwwo4

[sovay]

It's on Youtube! It is in the public domain.

Thank you!

[jesse_the_k]

I remember seeing Salt of the Earth as part of a communist cell's entertainment. It was wonderful -- in its time, it was fucking radical as the late Senator from Wisconsin -- Joe McCarthy -- was ascendant.

[sasha_feather]

That's awesome! I don't know where I heard about this movie, probably somewhere on here or twitter. It showed up in my holds at the library. I think more people should watch it. :)

[melita66]

I think I saw Close Encounters at the right age--I was 10 or 11 and still remember quite a few details about when I first saw it (with my dad at the local theatre, we walked there, etc). I read the novelization several times. IIRC, the aliens caused the obsessions, as a sort of first contact. Who would be amenable to them? That's why there are some people at the landing site that run away, even among the group that Roy joined at the end who were primed to go with the aliens.

[sasha_feather]

Interesting!

[wordweaverlynn]

Salt of the Earth added to my watchlist.