Random Thoughts

WFC Costa Rica: Del amor y otros demonios

I was unable to find this on DVD or via any of the streaming services with English subtitles, so I had to resort to *ahem* crowd-sourcing. The aspect ratio is slightly off, but I couldn’t figure out how to de-squash-o-vision it, so everybody look kinda skinny.

This is a very languid film. Which is something that I usually enjoy watching, but for some reason I didn’t connect with the film at all. I have no idea why: The actors are fine, the cinematography is good, and it’s based on a Gabriel Garcia Marques novel. Should be great, huh?

So it might just be me, but:

Of Love and Other Demons. Hilda Hidalgo. 2009. Costa Rica.

Mamadita

1 part Amaretto
1 part Amarullo
1 part Kahlua
cream
sugar

Whip the cream with sugar. Shake the first three ingredients with ice. Pour into a tall class. Top with the whipped cream.

(The original recipe has Bailey’s instead of Amarullo, but I seemed to have run out of Bailey’s.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

Gosh

I added some further improvements to my Javascript-based “quick scan” Diamonds Previews catalogue site: Goshenite.The main tweaks is to make it a bit more responsive (with a spinner when the cover images haven’t been preloaded), as well as a way to “favourite” certain publishers.

If you click a publisher name (up to the left), it’ll become green, and all comics from that publisher will be displayed, no matter what the selection settings are.

These publishers will also be sorted first when you visit the site. So if you’re massively interested in Drawn & Quarterly and Fantagraphics, and mildly interested in everything else, you’d favourite those two, and leave the selection settings to “First Issues” only. That way you can just use the Right key to go through the catalogue quickly: First all the comics from the publishers you are interested in, and then the first issues from all the rest.

WFC São Tomé og Príncipe: Mionga ki Ôbo: Mar e Selva

This is a Youtube find. It’s a very personal and intimate documentary about São Tomé (and Príncipe).

I’m a sucker for Portuguese, but I don’t think that explains quite why I found this documentary so engrossing. It’s just seems so honest and real.

All thumbs up.

Mionga ki Ôbo: Mar e Selva. Ângelo Torres. 2005. São Tomé og Príncipe.

Cachaça Punch

4 parts cachaça
2 parts simple syrup
3 parts orange juice
sparkling wine

Pour into glass, add some slices of orange and lemon and stir. Add ice.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

WFC Congo: The Man Who Mends Women

I had to join the Urban Movie Channel on Amazon to watch this film.

It’s not a very urban film. Could there be a euphemism in play here!??!!

And apparently that channel doesn’t offer downloading films before watching them, or something? As a result, bits of this film are completely artifact-o-rama. But most bits are fine.

Man, this was hard to watch, and not because of the video quality. It’s about girls and women (in Congo) who have been raped. It’s an unflinching documentary; horrific images flutter past on the screen, which makes this film an excellent opportunity to mostly look out the window.

Hey, it’s raining again!

It’s a very good, originally told documentary, but the atrocities keep coming, verbally and visually. I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody.

(And… uhm… I think this film might be from the other Congo, and not the Brazzaville Congo that I was aiming for? This is so confusing.)

The Man Who Mends Women. Thierry Michel. 2015. Congo.

Dawa

1 tablespoon brown sugar
6 cl vodka
crushed ice
1 whole lime, quartered with skin on
1 wooden stick, twisted in honey

Put the lime and sugar into a glass. Muddle slightly. Add ice, vodka and honey stick. Swirl stick according to taste.

This post is part of the World of Films and Cocktails series. Explore the map.

WFC Niger: Cocorico! Monsieur Poulet

A rare French DVD that includes English subtitles. Which reminds me of this comment on imdb about a completely different film:

Film. It’s just a shame that the French are killing the African film industry. Why is it so hard to get copies of these films???? What acan we do to help African filmmakers break the French stranglehold on their work and distribute their films widely???

This is both completely unfair and cogent at the same time. The reason that there are so many African films available in France is that the French finance an co-produce a buttload of African films. Accusing the French of killing the African film industry is pretty absurd in that light.

But when the French duly release DVDs of these African films, they virtually never include English subtitles, which I just find very strange. Doing so might not increase the number of DVDs sold radically, because the worldwide demand for these films isn’t exactly huge. But it would make it possible for weirdos like me and the person quoted above to sample these films. And it’s not like it’s that expensive to supply subtitles: For a few of these films, after discovering that there are no subtitles, I’ve had to resort to downloading torrents of the films, and they often have user-supplied subtitles.

So the French/African film situation is frustrating for people who have some interest, but don’t know French.

Anyway! This is a very noisy and boisterous French/Niger-ian film from 1974. I think what they’re going for is a classic road movie structure where our intrepid heroes set out on a journey, and then zany, inexplicable things happen.

The problem is just… there’s so much shouting and arguing that it’s offputting. I’m guessing it’s mostly improvised, and I’m guessing the instructions from the director was “take everything to 11! drama! all the time!” And I was exhausted after ten minutes.

It settles down after a while. There are bits that are interesting, but it feels mostly pretty aimless. It reminds me a bit of The Bed Sitting Room, for some reason.