Peach Boy – A Folktale From Japan

by Cimaxion | 5 Comments

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In honor of the great people of Japan during a terrible crisis, I re-post this beautiful tale.

This is the story of young Momotaro, whose name literally means Peach Boy. The story is one of the most popular from Japanese folklore. Its theme of the unification of a people separated by hostility into an effective force for change resonates throughout history and applies to many different cultures.

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Read by Laral Andrews.
Duration: 00:05:57

Here’s the full audio script:

PEACH BOY

ONCE upon a time in Japan, there lived in the country an old man and his wife. They were very lonely because they had no children.

One day the old man went into the mountains to cut firewood and his wife went to the river to wash clothes.

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Downtown 81 – A Film Starring Jean Michel Basquiat

by Cimaxion

Mature Content:

This is a 1980 film starring American artist Jean Michel Basquiat. It follows him around and through the downtown New York art and music scene, presenting real people and events in a barely fictionalized semi-documentary. It’s a fascinating look into the world of 1980 New York and the quickly rising star painter who was to pass away in 1988. It’s a glimpse of a New York just a few years before it was bombed by The Gap.  It was directed by Edo Bertoglio.

You can stare straight into the open face of Basquiat and find more mystery than Banksy could conjure with a black velvet cloak, top hat and a mask.

Red Riding Hood Meets Frankenstein – A Film by Ricky Lewis Jr.

by Cimaxion

Here’s a humorous tribute to the Universal horror films of old.  It was directed by Ricky Lewis Jr. and features a forest, an inn, Frankenstein, Red Riding Hood, an invisible man, vampires, fog and various comedic chills. The production has a large cast who give themselves over entirely to the mood of the piece. There’s a nice underground vibe to the proceedings and the effects are surprisingly good.

Pixel Art Documentary

by Cimaxion

I loathe geek culture. Its practitioners and reporters consistently talk about pixel art and steampunk. But removing the pixel art from their smartypants realm and into the realm of the artist does have its merits. It seems useful to at least consider what small blocks of light have to offer.

Monologue Under White Light! – A Film by Samira Eskandarfar

by Cimaxion

A ravishing beauty from Iran! Look at this mysterious and subtle film by director Samira Eskandarfar. Her figures drift through time and space in a stage setting that seems open-ended and universal. The underlying themes and messages are probably far more complex than I can ascertain without a proper understanding of Iranian culture. But the film stands as a mysterious and slightly harrowing glimpse into the progress of attraction, love and communication between individuals.  The characters, played by Kazem Sayahi Saharkhiz and Faranak Miri, engage in mundane conversation, offer each other drinks, smoke cigarettes, make eyes at each other, play music on a tape recorder and disappoint each other in all the little ways of a normal life.  But they seem symbolic of something greater and perhaps very much to do with the filmmaker’s Iran.  There are some amazing artists working with enormous expressive power in Iran.  Samira Eskandarfar is one of them.

By the way, the filmmaker is also a painter.

Visit the filmmaker’s web site.

Ménilmontant – 1926 French Film by Dimitri Kirsanoff

by Cimaxion

The film takes its name from a neighborhood in Paris. It was directed by Dimitri Kirsanoff and is considered to be his greatest work. It moves very quickly, using a montage technique that tells the story without a single intertitle.  It’s a riveting and powerful tale of disillusionment and violence.  The lead actress is wonderful and has some of the best eyes for silent film I’ve ever seen.