Cinema Poetry 20 - Highlights from the 'Aughts', Part 1

Cinema Poetry is a video blog devoted to bringing you some of the most poetic scenes and sequences in the history of cinema. This episode represents my first look back at the first decade of the 21st century, the years 2000 - 2009 (yes, I suppose the decade is actually 2001 - 2010, but I'm following a common mistaken convention). The first clip is the overture to Lars von Trier's 2000 film Dancer in the Dark, and speaks for itself. The second comes from the 2008 Carlos Reygadas film Stellet Licht (Silent Light). Overall, I find the film only a better-than-average elaboration of Tarkovsky, but scene by scene it glows with poetry. I could have just as easily picked any other moment in the film as this one, but I fondly think of this scene as cinema's most glorious use of lens flare as a conscious element of mise-en-scene. (The ethos of Cinema Poetry, of course, is about fine-tuning the senses and noticing what others cannot see.) The last clip is the elegiac prologue to Andrew Dominik's 2007 film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, a film that clearly channels Malick, but does so with deference, restraint, and a spectacular eye (Roger Deakins' eye, of course).

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[amt253]

@leonardsharing Not a bad idea on those two directors. We'll see. Sorry for the long wait between parts. After two attempts at part 2 both got nuked by Youtube's content ID match system, I got frustrated and took a hiatus. Plus, other stuff. But as soon as I have time, I'll be back.

[leonardsharing]

Can't wait for Part 2, amt253. Any chance of some Alonso or some Pedro Costa?