Janus Films at SIFF Cinema (Week 2)

At SIFF Cinema, the celluloid birthday party for Janus Films 50th continues!

This week Italy, Yugoslavia and the (former) Soviet Union are represented with four classics......"The Organizer", "Ballad of a Soldier", "The Cranes are Flying" and "WR: Mysteries of the Organism".....all four of these films will get a final screening Sunday, March 11th.

This week I saw the Italian film "The Organizer" first and after having seen four French films in a row, it was only a few minutes into "The Organizer" that I realized "boy.....Italian and French cinema are drastically different from each other!!!" Especially during the scene where Marcello Mastroianni's character (Professor Sinigaglia) was talking to the guard who was protecting the freight cars full of coal. Twice during the conversation, Mastroianni had to gingerly step to the side so the guard could expectorate. Very funny. And it definitely would not have happened in a French film! I really enjoyed the film's magnificent black & white cinematography as well as the amazing cast of characters in the film (with some wonderfully real and unique faces). Mastroianni doesn't appear in the film for a little bit, but when he does appear, he owns the picture. A classic film well worth your time.

Next up was "W.R. - The Mysteries of the Organism" which one of the members of the audience described as "The weird film in this series." I agree. Wonderfully weird. Also at times very funny, clever and challenging. In 2007 this film may not be as shocking as it was when it was first released in 1971, but you can still clearly see the power this film has that caused the director Dusan Makavejev to have to flee his homeland and resulted in this film being banned for 16 years in Yugoslavia. A courageous (and quite successful) experiment in filmmaking. A perfect example of cinema as art.

Two films from the former Soviet Union are showcased this week, the first is one of my favorites, Grigori Chukhrai's 1959 classic "Ballad of a Soldier"
Don't let the title fool you....while the film is set during wartime, at it's heart, this film is a marvelous, moving love story. When I saw this film on DVD it touched my heart. When I saw this film on the SIFF Cinema big screen....it broke my heart. If this film doesn't move you to your very soul, please get some help! :-)

The second Russian film this week is "The Cranes Are Flying", Mikheil Kalatozishvili's 1957 classic that also looks at lovers torn from one another by war. With America currently at war (self-imposed) the subject of lives and love shattered by the utter insanity of war strikes very, very close to home. Tatyana Samojlova stars as Veronika (Squirrel) and gives a simply amazing performance as a woman trying to survive in impossible circumstances. The image of Boris (Aleksey Batalov) racing up the circular stairs to his fiance is beautiful. And when the image reappears later, with spinning trees joining in, it's frightening.

Once again, thanks to the wonderful folks at SIFF for working so hard to bring these amazing cinematic experiences to the lucky folks who are making regular visits to the new SIFF Cinema. If you haven't been there yet, please make a point to come join us! You won't be sorry.

PS If you miss these films, don't feel too bad, because starting Wednesday, March 14th, SIFF Cinema will begin showing Luis Bunuel's "Viridiana", Juan Antonio Bardem's "Death of a Cyclist", Jean Vigo's "Zero de Conduite" and one of the crown jewels of cinema, Federico Fellini's "La Strada".

And don't miss Jean Renoir's classic "The Rules of The Game" at the Varisty. They're showing a brand new print from......Janus!