Little Fugitive

LITTLE FUGITIVE   ***1/2

Ray Ashley, Morris Engel, and Ruth Orkin

1953

IDEA:  Tricked into thinking he's killed his brother, 7-year-old Joey runs away to Coney Island, where a life of hotdogs, cotton candy, carousels, and pony rides awaits him.

BLURB:  Without any doubt, Little Fugitive is one of the purest, most authentic evocations of a child’s-eye view ever put to screen, as well as one of the most distinctive American films of the 1950s. Independently financed and produced with a cast made up of a few children and a couple of nameless adults, this is essentially Italian neorealism transplanted to the other side of the Atlantic. Richie Andrusco, as the pint-sized lad who we follow for most of the picture, is a genuine source of wonder: watching him react to the myriad curiosities of the world, and then watching him make his own impressions on that world, is by turns hilarious, poignant, and thrilling. Engel’s camera, often concealed, picks up the boy’s actions with a documentary-like spontaneity. His frames are pure poetry, gritty street photography made rapturous. And what better place to study the head-rush of juvenile delight, awe, and vulnerability than at the buzzing carnival of Coney Island? The long, wordless sections in which we observe the boy devour a supersized slice of watermelon or hurl himself around a batting cage feel immortal even as they’re still occurring. Although the resolution to what little story there is isn’t quite satisfactory, the images and feelings of this innocent childhood sojourn are indelible – captures of a time, place, and way of being long gone, forever etched into cinematic eternity.

The Spectacular Now

THE SPECTACULAR NOW   ***

James Ponsoldt

2013

IDEA:  Sutter Keely, a popular, self-possessed high school senior with a drinking problem, falls in love with Aimee Finecky, a good-girl bookworm. Through each other, they will deal with difficult pasts and the precarious present.

BLURB:  The Spectacular Now features two warm, naturalistic performances from leads Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, who share a remarkably easygoing chemistry that carries the bulk of an understated – if somewhat dry – film. Their characters make up a relationship that always feels rooted in real teenage provinces: discomfort with school and family, reluctance towards accepting love, and most pointedly, an apprehension for the future. Ponsoldt rather refreshingly favors quiet moments of conversation over pop music montages, minor emotional beats over soaring epiphanies. Best of all, he nails the feeling of what it’s like to be a young person with a dubious grasp on time, realizing that the mantra of “living in the now” is merely a temporary respite from the knowledge that each “now” is another step into a future being constantly redefined.

My Favorite Films

Behold a list of my all-time favorite films, featuring movies that have been formative to my intellectual and aesthetic tastes (and film education) as well as those that have provided me the most bountiful and voluptuous filmgoing pleasures. I am passionate about all of the following works in one way or another and hold them dear to my heart - they exemplify what cinema means to me.

Note: order is always provisional! I still have so much to see. Although my top ten has remained nearly unchanged for close to a decade, so I feel pretty comfortable about that group.

 

80. The Apu Trilogy, Ray, 1955-1959

79. Close-Up, Kiarostami, 1990

78. Brazil, Gilliam, 1985

77. Amarcord, Fellini, 1973

76. The Seventh Seal, Bergman, 1957

75. Vive L'Amour, Tsai, 1994

74. Diamonds of the Night, Němec, 1964

73. Black Girl, Sembène, 1966
72. Pelle the Conqueror, August, 1988 

71. The Servant, Losey, 1963

 
70. Taste of Cherry, Kiarostami, 1997
69. Empire of the Sun, Spielberg, 1987
68. Mon Oncle, Tati, 1958
67. Swing Time, Stevens, 1936
66. The Blue Angel, Sternberg, 1930
65. The General, Keaton/Bruckman, 1927
64. Little Fugitive, Ashley/Engel/Orkin, 1953
63. Night of the Living Dead, Romero, 1968
62. Cléo from 5 to 7, Varda, 1962

61. Viridiana, Buñuel, 1961

 

60. Mamma Roma, Pasolini, 1962

59. A Serious Man, Coens, 2009

58. To Be or Not to Be, Lubitsch, 1942

57. Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, Murnau, 1931
56. Hour of the Wolf, Bergman, 1968

55. La Jetée, Marker, 1962

54. The Tree of Life, Malick, 2011

53. Howards End, Ivory, 1992

52. Forbidden Games, Clément, 1952   

51. The Right Stuff, Kaufman, 1983

 

50. Lost in Translation, Coppola, 2003

49. The Black Stallion, Ballard, 1979

48. Lawrence of Arabia, Lean, 1962

47. The Draughtsman's Contract, Greenaway, 1982

46. The Long Day Closes, Davies, 1992

45. News from Home, Akerman, 1977

44. The Last Picture Show, Bogdanovich, 1971

43. Vertigo, Hitchcock, 1958

42. Crimes and Misdemeanors, Allen, 1989
41. Woman in the Dunes, Teshigahara, 1964

 

40. Double Indemnity, Wilder, 1944

39. It Happened One Night, Capra, 1934

38. Medium Cool, Wexler, 1969

37. Network, Lumet, 1976

36. Taxi Driver, Scorsese, 1976

35. Il Posto, Olmi, 1961

34. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Dominik, 2007

33. Pitfall, Teshigahara, 1962

32. Ran, Kurosawa, 1985

31. Metropolis, Lang, 1927

30. Ugetsu, Mizoguchi, 1953

29. Le Samouraï, Melville, 1967

28. Hud, Ritt, 1963

27. On the Waterfront, Kazan, 1954

26. The Conversation, Coppola, 1974

25. Once Upon a Time in the West, Leone, 1968

24. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Spielberg, 1982

23. Amadeus, Forman, 1984

22. The Silence, Bergman, 1963

21. Late Spring, Ozu, 1949

20. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, Akerman, 1975

19. The Graduate, Nichols, 1967

18. City Lights, Chaplin, 1931

17. Chinatown, Polanski, 1974

16. Sunset Boulevard, Wilder, 1950

15. Au Revoir les Enfants, Malle, 1987

14. Cries and Whispers, Bergman, 1973

13. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, Murnau, 1927

12. 8 1/2, Fellini, 1963

11. The Godfather: Parts I and II, Coppola, 1972/1974

10. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick, 1968

09. The Passion of Joan of Arc, Dreyer, 1928

08. M, Lang, 1931

07. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Schrader, 1985

06. Apocalypse Now, Coppola, 1979
05. Bicycle Thieves, De Sica, 1948

04. The 400 Blows, Truffaut, 1959

03. Nights of Cabiria, Fellini, 1957

02. Persona, Bergman, 1966

01. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Jackson, 2001-2003