I'm just fine, thank you! And how are you doing? I know I've been scarce around here lately, but it's nice to be back. I've no gripping drama to relate as to why I've been gone, nor any ripping yarn designed to deflect thought away from one central fact: I've just been too damned lazy to post!
Thank you! Well, all I'll be doing tonight is watching a couple of films myself. Since films for grown-ups are no longer produced in the U.S.A., I've resorted to "foreign" films such as:
Angels of Sin, directed by Robert Bresson (1943). This French film had to pass Nazi censors, yet it's still marvelous. It's about two young gals who join a convent, encountering the various tugs-of-war which are manifest in communal living (I know about this, having lived in a monastery once myself).
Memory of Water, directed by Hector Faver (1993). It's a Spanish film about a family who survive both Stalinist and Nazi persecution. It's a beautiful "artsy" film, which doesn't incorporate any of the expected cliches. It's very moving.
Testament of Orpheus, directed by Jean Cocteau (1960). Another French film, this one is about a fellow who travels through time. I've only just begun watching it, but so far it's fascinating.
The Shop on Main Street, directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos (1965). This Czechoslovakian film won an Oscar; and I can see why. The acting, not to mention the story, is superb. It's about a fellow who is torn between his conscience and the realities of living under Nazi rule. At stake, for this man, is the life of a lovely elderly woman who owns a small shop.
Okay, that's enough for now! Anyway, I'll finish watching Testament of Orpheus and then I'll get ready to hear the local male adolescents bellow at midnight.
It's not so much that I'm a Second World War buff, but rather that I take whatever happens to be on hand at the library. It's to the point now that I've watched practically all the films for grown-ups they've got!
Indeed, I too believe the "youth culture" is what's behind the U.S.A. film industry's abdication of films for grown-ups. But, rather than during the '60s and '70s when "youth culture" meant people in their 20s, "youth culture" now means pre-teens and adolescent males.
Where, pray tell, do such young people get the money to control both the cinema and popular music in the U.S.A.? That's what mystifies me.