Lukas Moodysson

Well, a charcter has had a labial trim, so the film shows closeups of that and other disgusting surgical procedures at random points throughout the film. Don't repeat my mistake and buy popcorn.

Yes, well, so my story...chose to go see this at the Prince Chaz with my friends instead of getting into to the bowels of MPC (which I sorta wanted to do) to see a free test screening of The Descent (which I couldn't have cared less about). But as Moodysson got a good reception when we showed Together at the school, I figured it was worth a try. Didn't know anything about A Hole in My Heart really before going in.

So before all this, we're out doing some miscellaneous Super 8 shooting, and I'd been digging on going to this Eritrean place that I saw a review for this week. So we go out there and order this meal for two that is huge, but great. Needless to say, I'm fairly full for a bit - a lot of air from the bubbly bread...

Anyway, we go into town and along the way, my bud briefly mentions that Moodysson's films have been getting progressively darker, and that this should be fairly gritty and intense. But I've seen a shitload of films, many gritty and intense, so whatever. He gets some Haagen Daz from the shop around the corner from the theater, and we go in. We end up getting comp'ed bc a schoolmate is working there, which is nice. But when he hears that we want to see the film, he's like, "really? Are you sure you know what you're getting into?" Yeah, whatever, let us in. I figure the least I can do for the freebie is patronize the concessions, so I order a medium sweet popcorn and a small Coke.

BIG MISTAKE.

I really was fine with the shock tactics for the most part; I enjoyed the experimentalism of it, and I think I could see what was going on and clearly there was a point. I even jumped in my seat at several points, which I rarely have occasion to do even once within a film. But as it worked its way towards the ninth circle. Yes, having anything to eat was a big mistake. You could sorta tell what was coming along, so when the moment occurred, I did something I've never once had to do before in a film - I actually looked away. I'm fairly emetophobic, so I didn't want to take a chance of going over the edge - esp. what with all I had eaten. Anyway, I looked back a bit too soon and caught a good amount of the tail end of things. Luckily I made it through fine, but at that point, I think I just disconnected with the film.

I can see the merits of it, and just because something (finally) offended and shocked me utterly doesn't mean that I'm going to dismiss it outright, but I think it's going to be difficult for me to have anything positive to say in detail.

Honestly, maybe I would have been less overwhelmed if I had had spoilers. Which would have been a good thing.

i just watched 'together' & liked it a lot. reminded me of fanny and alexander a bit

mammoth looks fucking great:

my variety twitter feed just now popped up with a notification that mammoth has been reviewed. weird.

lots of comparisons to 'babel' which makes sense.

3rd world problems (done pretty heavyhandedly) vs. 1st world ennui & lyfe/work balance (had some resonance for me)

well casted/acted as most of moodysson's stuff - the maid's son was great

michelle williams in the kitched in front of the row of knives made me think of jeanne dielman

too much ladytron & ipod playlist soundtrack generally

just finally watched show me love (after really liking together and lilya 4-ever.) it's pretty adorable, probably too adorable, buthard to resist. i'm not sure i want to see either of his two more recent movies, but i guess i will eventually. i just think he's turned toward material that's more loaded than he really needs. he's very good with family and social dynamics, i think he does his best work at small scales. but maybe that's hard for a filmmaker to accept.

sorry, i mean three most recent films (forgot about container, which i've heard nothing good about).

Wow, "Together" was so goddamned charming!

Seeing the new punk teens movie tonight, hope the good word proves true.

http://www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/we-are-the-best

Yeah, I've only heard good things from folk I trust.

cool def want to see this

screening cancelled due to DIGITAL FAILURE!!! First time for me.

I saw the punk movie a couple nights ago: http://humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2014/03/13/teenage-wasteland-we-are-the-best/

I saw it too, at a rescheduled screening. Hoping "Hate the Sport" becomes a hit.

just wait till Miley Cyrus gets it

loved lilya 4ever back in the day but i have the feeling i'd find it corny and obvious now

Hate the Sport has been a regular fixture in my head since I saw the film last year. I suspect it will take over the world.

its the best this movie

hate the sport!

https://soundcloud.com/strindberg-som-tortyr/brezhnev-reagan-fuck-off

omg

it's so catchy

excited to see this, but god knows if it'll play in my town

its so good.

i recently watched the experimental 1 he did w/ the jena malone voiceover 'container' - eh, kinda tough to engage w/ but she does get a nice trance enducing pace and tone going

hate the brody - http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2014/06/the-shiny-happy-fake-sweden-of-we-are-the-best.html

" But Moodysson doesn’t have an aesthetic principle to match: there’s no cannily retro style to his view of the past, no idea of visual composition that suggests the inner glow of halcyon reminiscences"

???

This is my favorite movie of the year by a long shot - maybe of the last couple of years.

That review is preposterous

Also would buy a soundtrack SO FAST - I guess I need to check like Amazon.swe maybe

Someone wrote that it's an adorable "puppy" of a movie in mostly good ways, that's about the size of it.

Brody is the absolute worst

Didn't realize there was a director thread, so I posted about this on a general music-film thread last week. I liked it, maybe not quite as much as a couple of you. My favourite scene was the final show--all it needed was Hedvig clubbing one of the yokels on the head with her guitar, like Sid Vicious in Texas.

We Are the Best! now watchable at home

on the flix?

beats me, I only do discs

If you don't mind living amorally it is on the torrentosphere.

I didn't know about this thread but yeah We Are the Best! is the best

Oh good I am watching it tonight.

we are the best is one of the best new movie I saw this year

moodyson rulez!

movies* (was correcting from "the best new movie", not sure if "boyhood" was better but at least it's top3)

I don't know who Rickard Brody is but I don't see what's wrong with that review lol. "cuteness as a unifying principle" seems accurate to me, and I liked the movie. The main thing it has going for it is how it's happy to just observe the kids being kids, kinda like THE GOONIES but a lot less obnoxious. I kept thinking during the movie how content it was to just be low-key and cute and there's nothing wrong with that but there's nothing wrong with wanting more too... RB is just being real about it...

I've always felt like ilx takes it easy on Moodysson when he does things they would be harsher on other directors for, if they were doing them in service of subjects u guys are less inherently sympathetic towards... Maybe I'm full of doodoo but thats just the feeling I get.................

i'd agree that the movie was a lot of fun within its (self-imposed) limitations but certainly didn't leave much to chew on.

yea i was not really into it tbh

i liked it, i think there's plenty of room for movies like that in my life, but i wouldn't begrudge anyone thinking it was complacent

Loved the movie, tried to understand Brody's objections but boy does he work himself up into a pompous lather over some weird things. "It’s a cynical sale of good feelings, a pious positivity which, with its lack of self-questioning, has the chill of propaganda." Does it really?

brody is an posuer, whose beard is but one of his affectations. he's a caricature of the smug intellectual who assumes the posture of "expertise" on matters of which he knows little. he seems to have stepped right out of woody allen movie sometimes.