Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes, by Francois Ozon? this is one bizarre film, gets slated for being a gay film, in fact its a surreal drama in which homosexuality happens to play a part. But there's some f*kt up sh*t in this film, I honestly lost track of who was who's lover or ex-lover, and i didn't see the ending coming the way it did at all. A very well made film that is superbly acted, but it's a hard film to watch, and the gay bits get a bit creepy.

if you even sort of liked it you ought to see Les Amants Criminals by the same director which is much better, takes more time and isn't as confusing.

if this sort of genre appeals to you (french neo-surrealist drama) then you should be looking out for films by Bunuel like La Fantome de Liberté or Un Chien Andalou.

Yes, I really did like the film. I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. And not just because of the nuidity.

It gave me the same feeling as eXsetanZe did when I first saw it. Messes you up in the head.

Thanks for the tip, I'll try and find Les Amants Criminals.

Life: No one gets out alive.

a similarly fascinating and beautifully shot film is The Kitchen directed by Ho Yim, it's also known under it's chinese title of Wo ai chu fang. Without giving too much away it covers the same territory of loneliness, insecurity, obsession, claustrophobic tension, and very unexpected sexuality. And it's shot hypnotically, like a dream.

Shot like a dream? How does that work?

I liked the end of "Water Drops on Burning Rocks", it was etched on my mind when it ended.

Life: No one gets out alive.



Edited by - RILMS on 1/6/2004 9:33:40 AM

its been a while since I saw Water Drops.., is the last shot when Vera can't open the window? does she do that before Franz takes the poison, or after?

btw it's based upon a play by Fassbinder, I've just found out.

"The Kitchen" is shot in a Hypnotic and languid style with no real "action" as such although the claustrophobic tension is such that you always expect something to happen, which it does eventually but not what you expect! if you liked the bizarre paradoxes and clinically clear cinematography of Water Drops i promise you'll like The Kitchen and Les Amants Criminals

Another top choice is Requiem for a Dream, directed by Darrem Aronofsky, which was recommended to me by Recusant some months ago. Superb, another bleak tragedy lit with dark humour and bizarre selfish characters unable to deal with the mundanity of their lives. Crackin' stuff!

Ya, the last scean is when Vera can't open the window. I was like, "No! Don't die, you have to protect Anne"

Whe Leopold said, "Now the bed room" and the girls screamed and jumped in joy, I was overwelled, abawled, and envious of his power over people all at once.

Many people have recomended Requiem for a Dream to me. But I have yet to see it. Once I get Alex (My PC) back, I'll download it. Along with The Kitchen and Les Amants Criminals, provided I can find them. Worst comes to worst, I'll see if I can rent them from somewhere.

I do like bizarre paradoxes and such. Thats why I liked Fight Club and eXistenZ.

Have you ever seen eXistenZ?


Life: No one gets out alive.

rilms, you named your computer?

I've seen eXistenZ several times. i have to say that much as I like Cronenberg's work, I wasn't overly impressed with it, although that's not entirely his fault. There's a lot in it to admire but it's a mess and the dialogue is dreadful, and ok I accept you're supposed to be questioning the nature of reality as it presents you with these bizarre situations but after a while they become pointless and numbing. it's a shame because with a much bigger budget and some better visualisation and a bit of style and a much better screenplay, eXistenZ could have been the Matrix before the Matrix was even shot. I really like Cronenberg too

as far as surrealism in cinema goes, few films can match Repo Man (esp the end when the car flies away into space!)

@ff,

Both my comps have names. PC = Alexandrea, Laptop = Iverness

@Taw,

I loved eXistenZ. It made my mind hurt when I finished watching it. And I agree, it could of been the Matrix before the Matrix.

I was sure that the end of the Matrix would have the Matrix inside another matrix and zion is part of that matrix.

Life: No one gets out alive.

Well of course I'm gonna say Requiem for a Dream, it's one of my favourite movies ever!

But I also highly recommend Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki. It's anime, which is not necessarily something I'm interested in at all, but I was very impressed by it. The cinema billed it as a child movie, but I'd only recommend it if you want to mess up your little kids heads! Overall its a great story about a girl discovering adventure and courage, in a wierd Japanese fantasy environment. It's so strange it's impossible to know what to expect but this ultimately works to its advantage, since it doesn't follow the constraints of similar western european style fantasy stories. Anyway, just my $0.02

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I am the signature virus! Copy me into your signature so that I can take over the world! Moohahahee!

you're bang on rec! Spirited Away is superb, Misazaki is a genius I've said it many times and I'll say it again, anything Studio Ghibli does is wonderful. My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki's Delivery service are lovely films if a bit pointless, but Laputa, Mononoke Himé and Nausicaa are just breathtaking. Spirited Away won an Oscar you know, and rightly so.

I saw the ads for Spirited Away and people told me it was breath taking. It looked very well done. I'm defently going to have to see it one day.

I just bought myself the Alien Quadrilogy, thats going to eat up abit of my time. 2 versions of each movie!

Life: No one gets out alive.

I hated existenz, I love Fight Club, but I'll pass on that movie you asked if we had seen it.

Some weird ones I enjoy City of Lost Children, Delicatessen, Brazil & Dark City.

Sir S

Brazil....man that is a weird one......I didn't think anyone else would have seen it before.......What exactly is Terry Gilliam on again? Lithium?

I can't find any video stores around me that have it in stock.....I saw it on late night something or other......it only played once....but once was really all it took.....definately the weirdest movie I've ever seen.

city of lost children was pretty good too, weirdness wise.......

I'm more a mainstream movie fan I guess though.....tragic comedies.....Like anything the coen brothers make. Big Lebowski, Fargo, that sort of stuff...

Good?....Bad?......I'm the guy with the gun.