Quiet Chaos (Caos Calmo)
Often a film revolves a major action or series of events, while at the centre of the Italian film Quiet Chaos, is a mammoth but not uncomfortable hole. When a TV executive’s wife suddenly dies, he takes to spending his days outside his daughters school, but instead of his life falling apart, his friends and relatives come to console him, and faced with his calm, they end up revealing their own difficulties.
His lack of grief is incomprehensible to many. However, the way he slowly deals with this trauma is an interesting meditation on some of the different ways there are to deal with loss. Based on the best-selling Italian novel by Sandro Veronesi, it’s a curious film that doesn’t come with any big hits, but lingers in the memory like a long walk through a national park that you’ll always remember — maybe for the light, the scenery or the weather, you’re not entirely sure.
Tagged: Italian film
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The plot of this Italian film might not be riveting, but the characters are lovely personal portraits, and every scene is produced with such care that the entire film feels to have been painstakingly painted. It’s a film with an individual, meandering pace, where the viewer is kept on the edge of these lives, and drawn into them for the lack of explanation. Read more
Also by XAVIER TOBY
Australian movie A Few Best Men
With all the gross out jokes and silliness of the common comedy romp, you’d think making them would be easy. Well, it’s not. It’s actually really difficult. Writing a joke is one of the hardest tasks anyone can undertake. Read more
Melancholia: a film by Lars von Trier
I wish there were a lot more of the types of films made by Lars von Trier. Each is very different but still distinctly von Trier, and each is superb. Melancholia is the follow up to the wonderfully confronting Antichrist. This is all about the end of the world, and told with an honesty and pacing that is probably much closer to the actual end of the world than all the Hollywood crap would have you believe. Read more
We Need To Talk About Kevin: based on Lionel Shriver’s novel
A delightful uncomfortable film, told from the point of view of a broken woman. Kevin’s just not right, and that’s obvious from the outset as mother Eva battles to bring him up in a world where the onus is put squarely back on the mother. The intensity is poured on throughout, as tragedy seems imminent. Read more
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The French photographer and street artist, JR, has stepped up his game in an impressive way in recent times. He does huge xerox blow-ups of his own photographs and has done stuff in New York, Paris, and London. He did some huge work on the side of London’s Tate Modern, for instance. When I met the guy in Paris in 2003, he was doing 18×24 paste ups, and now he’s doing work that’s multiple stories high. It probably helps that he’s backed by Steve Lazarides, who was Banksy’s agent for a while. He’s got a big crew and some serious financial resources now. There are two components to effective street art: accessibility and the spectacle. Does it give me pause from the monotony of my usual day? JR may not be so much about the DIY anymore, but he’s definitely all about the spectacle. Read more
Little White Lies is an excellent film magazine. In fact, it’s the best film magazine on the shelf. Back issues can be read online as digital editions.
‘Lost’ is the most recent film production in the urban art series produced by Tokyo-based art crew Rinpa Eshidan. Read more
Instead of demolishing the old Paddington Reservoir, architects TZG have incorporated into the design a new outdoor public garden in Paddington, Sydney. The results are stunning, with the nineteenth century structures providing an amazing starting point. Looking less like a garden and more like an overgrown ancient city, with the remnants of historic walls and vaults, this new public space is well worth frequent visits.
Is the soul colored or is it black and white? I find this quite confusing, since I believe that a colored soul is necessary for producing colored things. But then again, I’m sure that true color often comes from the deepest broken, damaged and divided black of one’s soul. Digital Jacklight is a mission to try and find out.
The hottest indie act around right now? Perhaps. Fullerton, California’s Cold War Kids not only have the slickest name going, but they have a batch of songs that are so good it’s frightening.
Ever get that perfect casual jumper, but wished it had a hood? Well, Coal Headwear has produced the opposite to everyone else: not a jumper without a hood, but a hood without a jumper.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Michelle Blade’s psychedelic artwork
Michelle Blade’s washed out paintings are deceptively simple, her washy acrylics creating psychedelic textures and conjuring ghostly figures from the past. Read more
Cookie Boy’s creative cookie designs
I don’t eat cookies, so good thing Cookie Boy’s cookies are little pieces of art too pretty and cute to eat. Read more
Pencils made from recycled newspaper
The problem with awesome things like these pencils made out of recycled newspaper is that you almost don’t want to use them.
Christoph Niemann illustrates a nightmare flight
New York Times illustrator Christoph Niemann has created a brilliant visual diary outlining the peril and pitfalls that beset the everyday passenger based on his recent experience flying from New York to his home town of Berlin. Read more
How ’bout this Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi guy, huh? Quite the illustrator, yessiree Bob. From Spain, too. Spain is great! Read more
This pendant by Portland designer Stephanie Stimek hangs from an eighteen inch 14 carat gold chain. Made from a Japanese quail egg, the entire shell has been coated in plastic for strength and is available for purchase through the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
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