Movie Diary 11/15/2022

Vagabond (Agnes Varda, 1985). Another for this quarter’s teaching. A more remarkable film each time I watch it: exhibiting a neo-realist, quasi-documentary surface (Varda even narrates a little in the first-person at the beginning), but organized with rigorous control, including the clockwork use of lateral tracking shots every few minutes leading the main character (Sandrine Bonnaire) on her trajectory.

Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant, 1989), and GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990). Two from the other side of legality, immersing us in the hows of the lifestyle. In one, the rites are close to Buddhist, the other is more extravagantly Catholic.

The Road Warrior (George Miller, 1981). How does a boomerang work, anyway? The movie seems to embody the principle.