rarefilmm | The Cave of Forgotten Films Posts

February 11, 2024 / Drama
February 11, 2024 / Experimental

One of most influential films in avant-garde cinema, this experimental film by Michael Snow was shot over a period of 24 hours using a robotic arm, and consists entirely of preprogrammed movements. Snow programmed all the robotic movements so that they never moved the same way twice, so there are differences in every motion of the camera.

February 11, 2024 / Experimental

I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like envisions an epic quest for transcendence and self-knowledge. Bill Viola describes this work as a “personal investigation of the inner states and connections to animal consciousness we all carry within.” The title is taken from the Rig-Veda, the Sanskrit spiritual text that defines a procession through birth, consciousness, primordial existence, intuition, knowledge, rational thought, and faith, to arrive at a transcendent reality “beyond the laws of physics.” Unfolding in powerful, emblematic images and allegorical passages, Viola articulates a dramatic quest for self-knowledge through an awareness of the Other, embodied here by a shamanistic vision of animal consciousness.

February 11, 2024 / Arthouse

A telling story of an unemployed Vietnam vet in Butte, Montana, whose wife leaves him after seven years when she feels there is no longer communication between them and – more painfully and pointedly – because she is unable to have a child owing to his sterility from exposure to Agent Orange. Told in a gentle style, richly emotional, Bell Diamond was made with non-professionals drawn from the community of Butte.

February 11, 2024 / Documentary

Documentary on the life and works of the 20th century Polish artist, Tadeusz Kantor. Traces his roots as a visual artist in Poland and explores his methods of designing props. Includes rare scenes of Kantor at work with the dedicated actors in his troup Teatr Cricot 2. Features extensive segments, in Polish, of his most famous works, Wielopole, Wielopole and The Dead Class.

February 11, 2024 / Animation

“Puppeteers are the nightmares of markets and stalls. They don’t ask for two kilos of beans, rather they select from 200 kg according to colour and size,” wrote the director in revealing some back-stage secrets to the filmmaking in October 1975. This brilliantly executed animation played with individual beans documents the world of this planet’s residents from the point of view of an extra-terrestrial being, who is witness to the brutal suppression of a workers’ strike by the police. The film is another stop motion object animation hallmarked by Ottó Foky and based on screenplays by József Nepp. The film was shortlisted for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1978.

February 11, 2024 / Animation
February 11, 2024 / Animation