Cinecouch.com

On-the-Verge Top 50 Films

21

Cinecouch's Essential Films
Cinecouch's Favorite

Woman of Tokyo
(Tokyo no onna)

Yasujiro Ozu

Tokyo no onna
1933|Japan|47 min|BW|Live Action

- Small world, isn't it big enough for love?

Dramatic Realism/Romance
, by

She walks out of a clothing shop,
	After a sudden stop,
		Turns to the direction,
			Where my hat gently dropped.
No words are in the air,
	She smiles and swings her hair.
It occurs faster than a blink,
	That my head starts to wink.
Lights are still on,
	But she has already moved on,
		Before my hat could hop on.

22

Cinecouch's Favorite

The Steamroller and the Violin
(Katok i skripka)

Andrei Tarkovsky

The Steamroller and the Violin
1961|Soviet Union|46 min|Col|Live Action

- The heavyweight and the light-hearted.

Music/Romanticism
, by

The top kept on spinning,
	Where to?
		Asked the man.
	At your foot, At your wheel.
The bottom kept on rotating,
	What for?
		Asked the kid,
	On your toes, On your bow.
The noise and melody of life,
	Are such inseparable harmonies,
		From your heart, To your heart.

23

Brief Encounters
Cinecouch's Essential Films
Cinecouch's Favorite

Melody of the World
(Melodie der Welt)

Walter Ruttmann

Melodie der Welt
1929|Germany|49 min|BW|Live Action

- The connection that transcends region, religion, culture and age.

Avant-garde/Music/Documentary
, by

A wonder
ful	Move yo
ur feet		Up and Do
wn			Your body a
long				With someone a
round you				Qu
ick				The fleeting plea
sure				Of living the rhy
thm					When no
body is wat
							ching

24

Cinecouch's Essential Films

Death in the Seine

Peter Greenaway

Death in the Seine
1988|FRA/NDL|40 min|BW/Col|Live Action

- Epitaph written in water.

Avant-garde/Documentary/Horror
, by

The fish smells like dead people, expired.
	The bodies on the river, floated.
		The dog that barks at people, whipped.
			The man who stands by the water, jumped.
			The woman who screams, fainted.
			The doctor arrives, shocked.
			Man and woman, dead.
			Fish and dog, dead.
			Four bodies, canned.
		Three bodies, wrapped.
	Two bodies, burned.  One city, closed.

25

Cinecouch's Essential Films
Cinecouch's Favorite

The Old Place

Jean-Luc Godard, Anne-Marie Miéville

The Old Place
1999|France/USA|48 min|Col|Live Action

- The mist of cinema.

Documentary/Essay Film
, by

Coming home to see the ruins of childhood
	...nothing to see
	...except...
	...some scattering of blackwood
All is memory
	...wrong
	...too often...
Ask to borrow
	...a part of your own history
	...from whom...?
Oh your old place...your old place...

26

Cinecouch's Favorite

Suzanne's Career
(La carrière de Suzanne)

Eric Rohmer

Suzanne's Career
1963|France|55 min|BW|Live Action

- Never assume too much, it's life.

Romance/New Wave
, by

She is always there,
       always there,
       always on time,
       always smiling,
       always laughing,
       always looking at you,
       always keeping her lips wet,
       always wearing the dress you gave her,
       always saying she could never find someone like you,
You were slow,
					So always is just never.

27

Cinecouch's Essential Films
Cinecouch's Favorite

Aprili

Otar Iosseliani

Aprili
1961|Soviet Union|46 min|BW|Live Action

- When trees meet flowers.

Romance/Comedy
, by

Heading into the sweet season...
One
	Two
		Three
			Four
				Shhhh...
				Lovers heading into Aprils...
				On..
					Tw..
						Th..
							Fo..

28

Cinecouch's Essential Films
Cinecouch's Favorite

The Koumiko Mystery
(Le mystère Koumiko)

Chris Marker

The Koumiko Mystery
1967|France|54 min|BW|Live Action

- The marker of beauty.

Personal Documentary/Avant-garde
, by

Window shopping becomes a habit,
	that you can't get rid of at the right time.
		Shop for a kid,
		don't tell him what you did.
		Shop for a dress,
		like a game of guess.
		Shop for a leg,
		too long for a gag.
	Ah, you are tired.
		Sometimes it does pay,
			to shop for your day.

29

TSPDT 1000
Jonathan Rosenbaum 1000

Not Reconciled
(Nicht versöhnt oder Es hilft nur Gewalt wo Gewalt herrscht)

Jean-Marie Straub

Not Reconciled
1965|West Germany|55 min|BW|Liv-Ac

- The dry spell of post-war politics.

Political Drama/Memoir
, by

Dry
Blackened shrimp
Served at dinner
				Dry
				Darkened Face
				Hit the mouth with a quiver
The governor has lifted his lid
The smell of burning corpse
The lingering desire of an extinct act
				He takes a small bite
			     Then signs the bill before night

30

Jonathan Rosenbaum 1000
Cinecouch's Essential Films

Oriental Elegy
(Vostochnaya elegiya)

Aleksandr Sokurov

Vostochnaya elegiya
1996|Russia/Japan|43 min|Col|Live Action

- The taste of the seeds of happiness.

Philosophical Inquiry/Experimental
, by





I collect the sadness,

				then trade them for happiness.