Topic: Mubi.com

[Armin Meiwes]

Cassavetes? I can't see any Cassavetes stuff on there?

[Puce Moment]

Cassavetes? I can't see any Cassavetes stuff on there?

Looks like it is archived for now! Do you use VPN to see other countries' line-up?

[Armin Meiwes]

I do!

[prwc]

Do yourselves a favour and watch Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate if you haven't. Wonderful Japanese comedy gem I'm pleased to see on there. Written by Shôhei Imamura with all the sharp black humour he's so great at.

[Keebleman]

Do yourselves a favour and watch Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate if you haven't. Wonderful Japanese comedy gem I'm pleased to see on there. Written by Shôhei Imamura with all the sharp black humour he's so great at.

I watched Our Town by th esame director the other day and enjoyed that.  A story that spanned 4 decades in less than two hours but never felt rushed.  Impressively obscure too: no Wikipedia entry and while it is on IMDb the cast are listed by name only, without their characters; no user reviews and just one external review.

[Inspector Norse]

I signed up (rejoined - I had it back in the day when they had a wide range of films) and have just watched the impressive Italian documentary Selfie; is that available in the UK? Two teens in Camorra-run Naples, handed an iPhone and asked to document their daily lives, in the aftermath of an innocent acquaintance’s fatal shooting by a policeman in a case of mistaken identity. A really interesting look at people trying to grow up and live an ordinary life in the shadow of crime, violence and death.

[Keebleman]

Anybody see Chaotic Ana?  It was taken off at midnight so you've missed it now, but I thought it was one of those rare films that got better as it went along.  It didn't make a great deal of sense and the ending was spectacularly unpleasant, but on the whole it was a movie which more or less worked for me.  The longer it went on the more I wanted to find out where it was leading.

[nugget]

I just managed to catch Le Doulos last night before it dropped off. The plot was way too confusing for me to properly enjoy it, although I did really appreciate the french noir vibe. It was the first film I've seen from Jean-Pierre Melville, so I'll try to watch a few more while they're still online.

Is there a website where you can see listings of all the films available in the different regions ?

[AllisonSays]

I had never seen anything by Jean Pierre Melville before, and I loved the ones currently up on Mubi, especially Bob le Flambeur and the one about the French resistance.

[the science eel]

Nah, it's the GFT. They've got a film festival that's coming up and looks decent and have been showing a Paul Thomas Anderson season of late as well so it does seem like I'll probably get some advantage out of it.

Come to think of it you get 4 free tickets as well so that's pretty much the cost of the membership straight away.

It is. I joined up a couple of years ago. It doesn't make sense NOT to, really, for the reason you mention.

I LOVE the GFT. One of the best cinemas in the country. Nothing in Edinburgh comes close, sadly.

[peanutbutter]

Southland Tales is on there now for anyone who hasn't seen it

[Keebleman]

Do yourselves a favour and watch Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate if you haven't. Wonderful Japanese comedy gem I'm pleased to see on there. Written by Shôhei Imamura with all the sharp black humour he's so great at.

Watched this just now and enjoyed it a lot, the performances and direction were very skilful.  It is one of that very rare breed, a farce that also works as a film.

But it is so very Japanese - as was Our Town by the same director - that throughout I was aware that I was missing huge amounts of context and nuance, and it's hard to see how that can be mitigated without an immersion in Japanese history and culture. It's a pity, but I think a full appreciation of the film will always be impossible for non-natives.

[Sin Agog]

Watched this just now and enjoyed it a lot, the performances and direction were very skilful.  It is one of that very rare breed, a farce that also works as a film.

But it is so very Japanese - as was Our Town by the same director - that throughout I was aware that I was missing huge amounts of context and nuance, and it's hard to see how that can be mitigated without an immersion in Japanese history and culture. It's a pity, but I think a full appreciation of the film will always be impossible for non-natives.

I wouldn't go that far.  The main thing to know is that the Tokugawa era the title alludes to was about 250 years in which Japan prospered but also completely and utterly isolated itself from the rest of the world.  I genuinely think all the unique Japaneseness that appeals to weeaboos today is largely a result of the way it developed by itself as the world got its freak on.  So many post-WWII Japanese movies of the '50s and late '40s were laments for a lawless Japan that was increasingly fetishizing the country which cut its balls off (Americans, appalled at the open sexuality on display throughout Japan, implemented the laws that still mean Japanese bush is blacked out).  Many of their best filmmakers felt deep sadness at seeing their country finally integrated and diluted, even if they themselves were often fans of American films.  The mise-en-scene to Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate is an open metaphor for the Japan they were losing all over again.

[Sin Agog]

By the way, as mentioned above this was co-written by later New Waver Shôhei Imamura so he's probably tearing into the Conservative Japanese old guard as much as anything.

Here's a superlative clip of the author Yukio Mishima talking about this kind of stuff in his fucking sexy English accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPAZQ6mhRcU

[Bizarro Mark Bosnich]

Here's a superlative clip of the author Yukio Mishima talking about this kind of stuff in his fucking sexy English accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPAZQ6mhRcU

I don't know how he developed a reputation for being "ugly". Seemed to be the basis for a lot of his misery, but he was a pretty good looking guy, all things considered.

[Inspector Norse]

Has anyone else watched Ema? Exclusive showings on MUBI. Might be worth its own thread?

[Sebastian Cobb]

Not yet  but I intend to.

[Armin Meiwes]

Not seen it yet but enjoyed his last 4 films so will definitely give it a watch.

[Armin Meiwes]

Just seen Fitzcarraldo, been wanting to see that for years and it didn't disappoint.

[thugler]

Has anyone else watched Ema? Exclusive showings on MUBI. Might be worth its own thread?

Watched this last night. Saw it had really good reviews. I hated it! a total mess.

[Puce Moment]

Diary of a Country Priest has been added. If you want to get your Bresson (Bress on).

[Armin Meiwes]

Thought DoaCP was ok.. kind of interesting but not particularly engaging. MUCH better priest film I watched last night currently on Mubi-USA (but only for a couple more days) is Leon Morin, Priest. Thought it was brilliant, approached all sorts of issues that I wouldn't really expect to see in a film made back then (1961).

[mjwilson]

Diary of a Country Priest has been added. If you want to get your Bresson (Bress on).

That's handy, someone recommended to me about 3 years ago but I haven't got round to watching it yet.

[Smeraldina Rima]

They also have Mouchette and Au Hasard Balthazar on the Czech and German versions if you use a VPN. Been meaning to watch those on my film bore Corona journey.

I remember you were talking about Melville being interestingly early in showing a 'decent' German in Silence of the Sea, Armin. Did you have any thoughts about him showing a similar thing in Léon Morin, Priest, with the contrast of the individual German and American soldiers? When it becomes a theme of French resistance movies I wonder if it lapses into a moral cliché of a different more careful kind. The recent TV series A French Village has a similar concern to upset relations of goodies and baddies with personal circumstances and individual conduct, which stands out as a conscientious approach in comparison with a lot of mass audience British and American television, but also as something that might have become formulaic.

When watching Léon Morin, Priest I was caught between admiring Léon Morin, Priest and thinking that he was 'leading the women on', while not appreciating all of their needs or his strong effects on them, something I couldn't resolve, which thinking about it now was just one main conflict of the film between passion and religion. I've forgotten a lot of it. I liked the music he played on the piano and the scenes on the stairway going up to his room.

[Armin Meiwes]

I remember you were talking about Melville being interestingly early in showing a 'decent' German in Silence of the Sea, Armin. Did you have any thoughts about him showing a similar thing in Léon Morin, Priest, with the contrast of the individual German and American soldiers? When it becomes a theme of French resistance movies I wonder if it lapses into a moral cliché of a different more careful kind. The recent TV series A French Village has a similar concern to upset relations of goodies and baddies with personal circumstances and individual conduct, which stands out as a conscientious approach in comparison with a lot of mass audience British and American television, but also as something that might have become formulaic.

When watching Léon Morin, Priest I was caught between admiring Léon Morin, Priest and thinking that he was 'leading the women on', while not appreciating all of their needs or his strong effects on them, something I couldn't resolve, which thinking about it now was just one main conflict of the film between passion and religion. I've forgotten a lot of it. I liked the music he played on the piano and the scenes on the stairway going up to his room.

Yeah same deal in this one i think in that Melville clearly wasnt trying to suggest that the germans were alright really or that there was something wrong with the americans BUT I think he clearly had a real problem with the obvious and binary way things were (and still are) so often presented in films, and that the obvious truth is that all of one type of person isnt always good and all of another isnt always bad. Having the friendly/helpful american soldier turn out to be a potential rapist was such an unusual take, totally did not expect it.

It was also an incredibly unjudgemental film - he didnt seem to want to really judge the "collaborator" in the office that harshly but equally he didnt have a great deal of sympathy for the other woman that was executed by partisans for helping the Nazis. He also showed a really unjudgemental view of a womans sexuality - both Barny's desire for a priest and her desire for other women were presented as just an understandable need for the comfort of a physical relationship rather than a loose woman or whatever most films of the period would have probably suggested. And then as an athiest making a film to an extent about religion you would think he might take the opportunity to have a pop at the hypocrisies of religion but that didnt seem to be the point of the story for him either.

In terms of Morin i think yeah there was definitely an underlying feeling that whilst he didnt want to do anything physical he did like the hold he had over women, but whether his reason for enticing them was to sublimate his sexual desires or just to win them over to Jesus was never really clear.

Anyway really thought this was a brilliant film, managing to deal with these issues and themes in such an interesting, intelligent and subtle way, even just the act of making a film centred around women in an era where that was not all that common, and particularly for someone who was so well known for making i guess a kind of hyper masculine film, was properly impressive.

[chveik]

When it becomes a theme of French resistance movies I wonder if it lapses into a moral cliché of a different more careful kind. The recent TV series A French Village has a similar concern to upset relations of goodies and baddies with personal circumstances and individual conduct, which stands out as a conscientious approach in comparison with a lot of mass audience British and American television, but also as something that might have become formulaic.

it's fairly obvious isn't it, since the French were occupied.

Amy of Shadows from the same Melville is another powerful resistance film. people at the time took it as a glorification of the resistance but it's more ambiguous than that.

[Smeraldina Rima]

it's fairly obvious isn't it, since the French were occupied.

I think there's been some miscommunication here. But I agree that there's a clear relation between the historical circumstances and the themes of moral relativism and moral complication in those films.

Thanks for the long reply, Armin.

[Noodle Lizard]

I signed up for a free trial after hearing it mentioned here a few times and there seems to be an extremely limited list of movies you can actually watch for the price (compared with other services). I get that their niche is "sophisticated films", but there oughtn't be a premium for that alone when plenty of other services have those too amidst all the drivel (I sometimes fancy drivel too). I've got the Criterion app which has ten times the amount of "sophisticated films" for about the same price.

Am I missing something here? What's their thing?

Incidentally, if you cancel your free trial before it ends, they offer you a 60% discount - so use that to your advantage if you're considering signing up.

[Inspector Norse]

Am I missing something here? What's their thing?

Their thing is that there are 30 films there on a rolling schedule (every film drops off after 30 days to be replaced by another).

They used to have a much wider range but I think there were a lot of rights/finance issues there hence cutting down.

The films are supposedly "handpicked" and "curated" but I'm not sure how the process works. There is generally a mixture of established classics, modern indies, interesting curios, international artwank and so on, usually with two or three small groups of films from the same director or country or studio or something.

I did cancel my subscription when they went down to the 30-at-a-time thing because at that time I wasn't really watching enough films to get much out of it, but I've got back into it recently and at any given time I find there are at least a handful of things I want to see.

[steveh]

If you subscribe to the Mubi channel on Amazon rather than the app you get a choice of over 400 films instead of just 30. You get roughly the same films from the previous year plus some others that seem to be in a tier just above Prime that Amazon makes available to several channels like the BFI one. Same monthly price as a direct yearly subscription.