Movie Diary 1/28/2019

The 400 Blows (Francois Truffaut, 1959). Taking a cruise through the films of 1959 over at Scarecrow Video (and you’re invited to join). Truffaut’s beautiful debut is full of memorable things, some of which (like that kid who can’t keep his ink from spilling all over his exam book) exist as though to say – why shouldn’t movies be full of things like this?

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1978). Back home after thinking about Truffaut all day, it made sense to re-visit this classic for the first time in many, many years. One revelation after all that time is how unusual its storytelling method is – the way the pieces come together, the accumulation of fragments, not unlike the way Dreyfuss keeps slapping together his mountain.

The World of Apu (Satyajit Ray, 1959). The tremendously moving third part of Ray’s trilogy, and a film that actually stands up well on its own. The story is full of strange turns of fate, but Ray’s generosity toward human vanity and frailty keeps everything beautifully grounded.