Criterion Film Club: Suggestions and General Discussion

[Mr Sausage]

Bit of a shit year so far, but maybe Criterion’s output during that time can alleviate it somewhat. Here are five titles randomly pulled from their releases during the first half of this year.

[therewillbeblus]

Solid slate of picks, my vote is going to Me and You and Everyone We Know because it’s a) my favorite, and b) incredibly inspiring and existentially contemplative regarding filling time with maximum meaning, and so especially appropriate for our current context (though to be fair it’s always timely). At the very least, direct human connections may actually feel like they are expressed in the film when this is over.

[Mr Sausage]

Er...I messed up somewhere and the poll ended yesterday instead of today. And there's a three-way tie, to cap it off. So, voting is open again until, I don't know, sometime. Maybe tomorrow night or the night after.

[domino harvey]

If Le petit soldat wins the now four-way tie, I’ll see if there’s any previously untranslated material about it from Cahiers and will share out because I need the translating practice

[Mr Sausage]

Poll closed!

[Mr Sausage]

Here are five films from the collection that the mods have decided are Sci-Fi.

[swo17]

Oh no, Jellyfish Eyes didn't make the cut

[knives]

Please don't let Brazil win. That's going to be another popular film that no one really has anything to say about because they've said it already.

[domino harvey]

I vote for we get another week of Le Petit Soldat because we lost four days of discussion time and I’m not done translating

[Mr Sausage]

I vote for we get another week of Le Petit Soldat because we lost four days of discussion time and I’m not done translating

I’ll leave it open for another week.

[therewillbeblus]

I just revisited Until the End of the World back in March and have already written several long takes on it in the dedicated thread, but if this is going to prompt others to take the time to sit down and watch the monster, I really hope it wins. I can definitely see it prompting the most interesting discussion of the bunch.

[knives]

Now if only I can find the time.

[swo17]

I watched this for the first time when the pandemic started, and it felt like that meant something

[Mr Sausage]

Here are five random films taken from the collection.

[Mr Sausage]

So...here's a situation we've never had. A three-way tie followed by a two-way tie only one point away from the "winners". So I can't remove my vote to create a winner on any level besides just choosing the winner myself, which I'm not comfortable with. I'm leaving the poll up for another day. Hopefully we can resolve this by then.

[Drucker]

Folks I pulled out Unmarried Woman last week mere days before this poll appeared. It's a sign. Vote for it!

[therewillbeblus]

At the very least it's a sign that there'll be discussion, so you've got my vote

[Drucker]

I'm 5 minutes away from turning on Unmarried Women therefore I am staging a coup and declaring it the winner.

[therewillbeblus]

Well, now we know that declaring coups works pretty quick at getting you what you want.

[Mr Sausage]

Well, now we know that declaring coups works pretty quick at getting you what you want.

It’s not much of a coup when you’re claiming power for the clear winner of a vote.

[Drucker]

Well I simultaneously believe in democracy and naked power grabs

[Mr Sausage]

The 2010s list is on, and this round is in conjunction with that.

[therewillbeblus]

Personal Shopper is easily my favorite of these and probably my second favorite Assayas, but I'm probably alone there. It's definitely the one that most stands out as ripe for discussion (though I'm a bit cooler on Cold War than most)

[knives]

While I’m in the reverse boat and couldn’t think of anything else to say about Personal Shopper.

[domino harvey]

I voted Cold War because it’s both great and short