Damnation. Dir. Bela Tarr. 1988.

Two musical scenes from one of the BESTest films out in the last 20 years.

If you're in LA today (FRIDAY APRIL 28th) checkout Bela Tarr's latest film The Man From London at LACMA 7:30 PM.

My Blueberry Nights. Dir. WKW. 2007.

WKW's latest opens in LA at the Landmark April 4th.

In Wong Kar Wai's debut English language feature, the internationally acclaimed director of In the Mood for Love takes his audience on a dramatic journey across the distance between heartbreak and a new beginning. After a rough break-up, Elizabeth (songstress Norah Jones in her screen debut) sets out on a journey across America, leaving behind a life of memories, a dream and a soulful new friend, a café owner (Jude Law)—all while in search of something to mend her broken heart. Waitressing her way through the country, Elizabeth befriends others whose yearnings are greater than hers, including a troubled cop (David Strathairn), his estranged wife (Rachel Weisz) and a down-on-her luck gambler (Natalie Portman). Through these individuals, Elizabeth witnesses the true depths of loneliness and emptiness, and begins to understand that her own journey is part of a greater exploration within herself.

EXTRA EXTRA!
Rotten Tomatoes Interview with Norah Jones: link

Flight of the Red Balloon. Dir. Hou Hsiao Hsien. 2007.

LACMA Screening
April 5 (7:30 PM)

Commissioned by the Musée d'Orsay, Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao Hsien's first French-language film stars Juliette Binoche, in "perhaps the best and certainly the most eccentric performance of her career" (Dennis Lim), as a single mother so absorbed in her work as a puppeteer that she hires a young film student to help care for her seven-year old son. Though partly inspired by Albert Lamorisse's 1956 short Le ballon rouge, Hou's film is an entirely original and tender reimagining infused with the lyrical humanism and casual majesty of his weightless camerawork. "A quiet, unassuming and flawless tribute to Paris, to the spirit of childhood and to the ability of art to compensate for some of the painful imperfections of life."

- A.O. Scott, The New York Times

EXTRA CLIP!:
Also inspired by The Red Balloon, is this clip with Thomas the Tank Engine.

PiKAPiKA THE MOVIE ~GO! GO! PiKAPiKA!!~. Tochka. 2008.

The latest film project from Tochka, an Osaka-based duo (Nagata Takeshi and Monno Kazue) best known for their flashlight animation aka Lightning Doodle Projects... Or the inspiration for the latest Sprint commercials.

For more light doodles. http://tochka.jp/pikapika/

There Is Only One Sun. Dir. WKW. 2007.

I'm behind on my WKW and I'm scrapping for any news besides bad reviews for My Blueberry Nights when it gets released later this year. Found a commercial that was shot for Phillips in 2007. Very reminiscent of 2046... an operatic Alphaville full of saturated colors. Here's a few stills.

Checkout the full movie at the website: www.seductionbylight.com.

Or skip the advertising and download directly here (right click and save as).

Passage. 2007. Jason Rohrer.

Jason Rohrer's gem of a game submitted for Kokoromi's Gamma 256 event explores momento mori in ways that makes me cry. Life and death told in 100 by 16 pixels, walk around find love and treasure chests too!

Here's a helpful hint, you can also move up and down. Also, the game only lasts 5 minutes, so give it a try. Here's a quote from Rohrer's statement:

[Passage] presents an entire life, from young adulthood through old age and death, in the span of five minutes. Of course, it's a game, not a painting or a film, so the choices that you make as the player are crucial. There's no "right" way to play Passage, just as there's no right way to interpret it.

Checkout Rohrer's other game, Gravitation, if you found Passage interesting.

Available for all systems, Mac/PC/Linux. Follow the links and download.

Project Website: link
Jason Rohrer's Statement: link