Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 19, Week 9

Those who know me best know that I have more than a slight problem with the films of Steven Spielberg. The mommy/daddy issues, his cheap overuse of child-in-peril moments, and his utter lack of subtlety. (But I don't wish to open that can of worms now.) Yet his 2002 biopic, Catch Me If You Can, hit all the right notes (even if it did have its fair share of mommy/daddy issues.) This was Spielberg working in a classic-Hollywood vein, and it begins with the opening credits, which are an homage to Saul Bass, brilliantly executed by Kuntzel & Deygas.

The noise this week in film-land is of course the Cannes Film Festival, and no other film has attracted even a tenth of the attention given to Lars von Trier's Antichrist, which left viewers shocked, angry, disgusted, etc. Naturally there were the old cries of "misogynist", which, as in the past, are terribly misguided. I've been searching for an article I read some years back that filters LvT's alleged misogyny through the philosophy of Luce Irigaray -- if I find it I'll post something about it. While it's true I haven't yet seen Antichrist, I'm confident Lars' ethos has remained the same.   

This week -- something not dissimilar to Catch Me If You Can. But the question is -- original period piece, or throwback? Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!

Comments

[Noel Vera]

Another one that made a few waves in Cannes is Brillante Mendoza's Kinatay. Lacking von Trier's rep or defenders, though, he got more scorn than praise.

I think Ebert went so far as to call his film the worst ever in a Cannes competition. Whatever; not a big fan of Ebert, and I don't like everything Mendoza's done. Would very much like to see this latest.

[Steve]

Ebert called one of those two "the most despairing" film he'd ever seen. As a programmer for the Asian Film Festival of Dallas, I was sorry to hear that any one of the many Asian films on call at Cannes was so roundly slammed. But it does sound like a pretty grim trip.

I'd sell my mother to get a reply from the distributors of To's Vengeance...

Andrew, why no trip to Cannes?

[Filmbrain]

We thought about it, but realized there's not that much more at the market than there was is Berlin. Plus, we're planning a handful of future projects right now, so there was no pressing need (other than my desire to see some potentially great films) to go.