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Peace - Movie Club 2018
Topic Started: Jan 3 2018, 05:56 PM (178 Views)
bure420
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deadpan darling
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anyone seen PEACE?

i rewatched it, first time since i saw it in theatres. soda's camera is just so... so compassionate, so understanding. every sequence is filled to the brim with pathos and this bittersweet, almost overwhelming love for life and unspoken fear of death. this movie makes me so sad that i was born and, like the flaming lips say, that everyone i know, someday, will die. but it makes me so happy i have this brief life where i get to watch movies like this and then go pet a cat
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sad_satellites on letterboxd | ordinaryeternalmachinery on tumblr
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kanafani
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I downloaded it... Gonna watch it tomorrow.
letterboxd
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mesnalty
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Just watched it yesterday. I love the cat guy, and I love how the film complicates him with the scene where his wife complains about the mess the cats make. Scenes like that make what might otherwise been a simple-minded treatment of compassion into something a bit more prickly.
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rischka
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nazi trumps fuck off!!
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there's cats?? :O
"covfefe" -- dj cheeto

letterboxd + tumblr + twitter





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bure420
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deadpan darling
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there are a SHIT TON of cats
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josiahmorgan11
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Well I certainly agree that Soda's camera is 'compassionate,' but compassion does not a good film make.... I do like cats, and am in theory a fan of everything shown but don't think there's much development of any artistic thesis to complement the (thin) ideological one in the first place. I liked this the way I like certain self-help reality shows on TV, though this one has defined intent.
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josiahmorgan11
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Thanks for screening it tho, this is one I definitely never would have touched! :')
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kanafani
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Watched it. I did some googling and discovered that the caregiving couple are actually the director’s in-laws. That might explain why the movie’s tone and mood are a tad ... too... peaceful. I wouldn’t say that the wife complaining about the cats adds nuance to her husband’s portrait. It’s kind of more praise in the form of mild criticism.

I actually liked the movie just fine. Nothing wrong with being serene and quiet. I had no issue spending 75 minutes with those folks. There were a couple of zoom-ins on Mother Teresa portraits in the couple’s house (or some office) that grated my nerves. That was a little too much.

My favorite character is probably the 90 year old man dying of lung cancer. I liked his WW2 stories. I wish there were more of those. You know, stuff to remind us that these people live in a very particular time and place, shaped by a very particular history.

I guess the movie just lacks that extra layer of complexity that would take it from ‘it’s fine’ to ‘it’s special’. There’s a specific type of person/personality that it reminded me of: the kind of people whose deep religious faith makes them so content with their place in the universe that they don’t feel the need to torture themselves with problems they can’t solve or questions they can’t answer. Bless them, they can be the best of people, but I can’t relate at all. Sorry i’m rambling off the cuff and probably not making sense i’m going to stop now.
letterboxd
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sacmersault
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I loved this film!
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sacmersault
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I really liked the observational style of the documentary. The feel that we're just picking up random events, not just in their lives but in their surroundings. There are a lot of nuisances that tie in with the main theme and at no point did I see the main characters as the protagonists. The protagonist was rejection or lack of acknowledgement or discomfort at the different and elderly. I personally really like slice-of-life movies and this one totally worked for me.
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Lencho of the Apes
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Let's go do some crimes
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Peace is something I definitely would never have picked up on by myself, an excellent choice.

I liked the Buddhist quality of the film text, and in general there was a lot to admire;
I can't help but endorse the attention given to private-sector people doing termite work that's invisible within the broader cultural narrative... but Soda's thesis, about people acting out the practice of kindness and "doing no harm" as the only thing they hope to accomplish, Is pretty fragile, and it would fall apart if he hadn't focused so narrowly on the one little sliver of social-worker activity and pet-care. It's only by staying within a tiny little bubble that the illusion of conflict-free no-strife Buddha-nature is; if he were to iris out even a tiny bit, I bet you'd see people fussing at each other and creating unpleasantness.

I also like the way he runs a variation on the Ozu trick of showing the central conflict of the film as it affects grownups in one subplot and children in another (as for example I Was Born But) -- here in Peace, the assimilation of Gangster Cat into the local pride of felines is a metonym for everything the movie puts forward as the main character's goals and aspirations.

PS: The Mother Teresa picture as a false note? Well, maybe, but I wasn't sure it was intended to have as much weight as what kanafani saw in it, more of a glancing cross-reference, a footnote about lives spent in service. Wasn't there also a picture of some ImperialJapanese military figure on the wall of the lung cancer guy that got the same amount of attention from the camera (but we didn't focus on it because we can't identify J historical figures as quickly as pics of Mother T.) ?
Edited by Lencho of the Apes, Jan 5 2018, 11:53 PM.
"The four cardinal points of the compass? In reality, there are only three: North and South."
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kanafani
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I guess the difference is that ozu pulls the trick and you don’t even notice it, because it is so seamless and everything just fits organically (the point is made not intellectually but viscerally/emotionally), whereas here the cat dynamic was a little too telegraphed in advance and on the nose.
Edited by kanafani, Jan 5 2018, 11:44 PM.
letterboxd
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meg

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I'm watching Peace in a meditative way, and will finish soon :)

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meg

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Lame Cat had a happy life with his benefactor Toshio which was so heartening to see, love the way he makes this comment ascribing knowledge to the cat of the heart he wears

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Gangster Cat the thief (what a rogue look he has) is accommodated and fed separately, a gesture of "peace" true, but then he pushes the boundary and starts to overtake the main area so then we see the other cats being fed off to the side. Peace, yeah ok to a point, never the whole solution but hey.

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Loved this guy, cheerily enduring / accepting...what can I say, seeing him returned home until "next month" to his "garden" which Toshio kindly admires was really sad -_- .

Mr Hashimoto was worried about being a bother, smoking himself towards heaven with his Peace cigarettes. I hope someone told him before he died he was providing a very valuable service to those ruled by the "helper" archetype. When they say no bother, they really mean it. Helping gives their lives purpose obviously, and a chance to feel they're good and worthwhile.

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Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was no doubt included on purpose, an agent of change, got into some financial disgrace though and had to resign. Time mag had him at No. 6 among the 100 most influential people in the world. It said Hatoyama had "helped change his country from a de facto one-party state into a functional democracy", through the DPJ victory in the 2009 general election. Would like to see Soda's Campaign, the subject is a fascinating character.

I was pleased to see Lame Cat taken to a vet, and to hear he had the females fixed.

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meg

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I have a friend who does similar work. He rescued this poor girl in Hanoi from being tied up on a little balcony 24/7. He cased the joint for a week then stole into the building cut the rope and escaped with her in a cardboard box. this is a pic of her, he called her Freya, on her first night of freedom. It was a dangerous covert operation, he wore a black hoodie and fashioned the box like those he had seen couriers ferrying around the city in case he got sprung but I think even though he might have gotten into strife nothing was going to let him leave that cat to such a life once he'd observed her suffering.

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He then took her to a German woman at Dragon Rock and stayed there (airbnb) a few weeks with her.

This is Freya recuperating at Dragon Rock after her op.

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The German woman Sabine sent him a piccy just last week of Freya who she says is an excellent ratcatcher, she has a permanent home now with Sabine.

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He is in Sarajevo now and has recently saved this little girl from the street, Mindi, vet op just done last week.

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Last month in Belgrade he lived with these two, Oleg and Viktor (airbnb housecats)

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He made this shelter for them and left it in the freezing yard before he left.

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This is a shelter he made for some kittens in Sarajevo recently.

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He and Mindi are in the heart of Sarajevo for the next month, and in Feb he is he going back to Belgrade/ he's had Mindi vacc'd for rabies so will be able to take her with him. He will be back with Oleg and Victor so perhaps Mindi will stay there and make a long term home with them. Oleg is incredibly inquisitive and adores flushing the toilet and Victor is coldly disdainful of such antics :sly:

Edited by meg, Jan 9 2018, 02:16 AM.
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meg

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This is Oleg making himself at home :)

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(he is a writer my friend, he lives a solitary life preferably in the cold parts of the world and finds caring for cats helps him a lot with his depression)

He first fell in love with street cats in Istanbul, then he went to Sarajevo and adopted Ariel but he had to come back to Australia. He left her with an unreliable mob and she got away. He went back and looked for her for two weeks (he'd had her microchipped) but never found her.

Agree the second Mother Teresa lingering was bit heavy handed, Frederick wouldn't a done that !

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Moving how Mr Hashimoto dressed nicely for the camera (a cat tie, of course :)) I hope he died believing he was worth more than the cost of a postcard. -_-

Thanks for Peace, really loved it.

<heart>
Edited by meg, Jan 9 2018, 02:14 AM.
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Holymanm
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moats n groats
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I love Japan and cats and gently confronting mortality as much as anyone, but this did not do too much for me... a bit too slight and, as they say, observational. This was not as much fun as going to Japan...
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meg

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I guess it was (quite slight) I probably got more out of it coz of cat situation being close to home as described 😊
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Mario Gaborovic
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Holymanm
Jan 9 2018, 03:51 AM
I love Japan and cats and gently confronting mortality as much as anyone, but this did not do too much for me... a bit too slight and, as they say, observational. This was not as much fun as going to Japan...
I have to agree with this - but I see the problem of 'observation' to be the very focus; it's not everything in this world that is worth our time. That being said, cat shots were most lively part of the film, but I've got plenty of YouTube for that. Instead I had to sit through this world of kind, but mediocre characters.

Alas, Weerasethakul captures nature but Soda is more interested in bureacratic iconography.
Edited by Mario Gaborovic, Jan 12 2018, 01:15 AM.
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meg

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It's harder to discuss movies than vote on them, when all that's required is a choice and a justification if you want, of why you chose it then critical assessment is part of the deal

for this if all were agreed on wba's take that anything is ok, it is not about being good or acceptable or mediocre, critiquing or assessing value, it's just casual and a fun thing to do, and no one Said otherwise at the time when I clarified, then it's probably a good idea to avoid commentary that is of a critical nature because it sets up pressure and worry in presenters in that they are supposed to be promoting/sharing something they think is great or has to pass some sort of benchmark.

I don't say this because of self, I will be going away soon and won't be participating much I just thought it was worth mentioning.

"this did not do too much for me" eg

isn't too helpful, it's not I believe, about this or saying well i can see that on youtube etc
Edited by meg, Jan 12 2018, 04:31 AM.
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Mario Gaborovic
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Someone said we need to discuss films & not just be passive. If there was a rule that says if the comment is negative, we should keep quiet, I'd shut up. Anyway, isn't honesty is one of the noblest qualities?

Consider me not too smart or skillful to asses the true value of this film, if there is any, but one damn Ebert said "your mind may fool you, but your heart won't" so I'll just stick to that.

As a matter of fact, observational, contemplative style is something I learned to cherish through years, I just don't think there's so too much stuff to observe or contemplate about here.

(Citing Lench's commentary at Letterboxd) It's easy to be a Buddhist when you know shit about life. Or, as Chekhov line in Ward Six goes, "the more inferior organism is, the less reacts and it's less affected by the outer world".

Still maybe it doesn't have to do anything with the film itself. I just know that watching cat poop is more interesting than whatever ordinary individual has to say.
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Lencho of the Apes
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Negative comments can provoke positive counter-arguments or other peoples' agreement, I don't see any problem. The only time when I'd feel a line was being crossed is if people were posting personal attacks, stuff like "you're stupid for making us watch this shit" (or "You're shit for making us watch this stupidness," dame diff.)

If this is a topic that needs to be discussed, by all means discuss it.

PS: Did Ebert really say that? What a stupid shit! I can think of dozens of examples of movies my heart would embrace if my head didn't know better.
Edited by Lencho of the Apes, Jan 12 2018, 05:11 AM.
"The four cardinal points of the compass? In reality, there are only three: North and South."
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meg

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"It's easy to be a Buddhist when you know shit about life."

This is a good example I think of a negative comment that's about the content and promotes exchange of ideas and views

But saying well, I could watch cats on youtube is sidestepping the spirit of the film and definitely not about discussing the film

Lencho's comment was prob a review, which is different to discussing what a film is about its themes and how well or not it gives a broad rounded perspective

not sure what I'm babbling about, just think it's good to get a focus on terms of reference and all be on same page with the purpose
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sacmersault
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I guess it's just refreshing to see something that observes. There's always a big focus on drive, what is going to happen? why is it happening? what's next? what's the meaning? Sometimes time just are
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kanafani
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I would take scathing criticism over stony silence any day.
letterboxd
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Mario Gaborovic
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meg
Jan 12 2018, 05:44 AM
Lencho's comment was prob a review, which is different to discussing what a film is about its themes and how well or not it gives a broad rounded perspective
Peace is taken for granted, I guess. We need to be actively engaged in keeping it.

The "thief cat" intruder is accepted rather than pushed away. There it is, a parable with our times' migrant crisis; why is our happiness considered threatened by automatism if a person from another world comes to share it with us? If happiness and peace are divisible, does it mean there's less of them for each individual?
Edited by Mario Gaborovic, Jan 12 2018, 03:01 PM.
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meg

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but doesn't thief cat then come more into the central area scaring the others, and he's then feeding the others off to the side so they become the displaced so then what happens to peace and inclusion and compassion etc.

oh I've got nothing against scathing criticism per se, I was just wondering about the conflict between edit: THE SENTIMENT EXPRESSED ABOUT not having to worry about being too discerning IN YOUR CHOICE OF WHAT YOU PRESENT, and then getting dissed


Edited by meg, Jan 12 2018, 11:05 PM.
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javierquintero
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I watched Peace yesterday. While some characters were defenseless and lacked the means to survive by themselves, others were helpful and kind willing to assist them. I felt a lot of empathy for all characters. In regards to the film itself, I think it should had had less explanations and words, but I understand they wanted to get us to fully understand each character's condition and background and such process sometimes needs to be addressed with words. When I was watching the film I wondered how to make the audience understand that one of the cats is an intruder who steals without using any spoken word. Maybe by showing that specific cat and his badass routines in a day? But, would it be useful?
On the other hand I noticed the filmmaker was indirectly driving facts to make us understand (very clear) that the main character was not getting basically any profit from his work. In my opinion the film is fair and apparently has good intentions when showing this social problem and the government's lack of funding. However the only criticism I have is that the filmmaker could have found subtler ways to conduct us to conclusions or, better, to invite us to make our own conclusions.
Edited by javierquintero, Jan 13 2018, 07:00 PM.
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Mario Gaborovic
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meg
Jan 12 2018, 09:54 PM
but doesn't thief cat then come more into the central area scaring the others, and he's then feeding the others off to the side so they become the displaced so then what happens to peace and inclusion and compassion etc.
World doesn't make a better place if we don't accept the other, even by force. Or accept different opinions, which is same to me. But every once in a while one should TEST it, make waves in the rut (or still water) we're lulled in.

For example, tell French folks Napoleon is a bloodshedding scumbag rather than a hero. Which he is.

Aren't myths made to be destroyed? And it's a hell of fun btw.
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sacmersault
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Am I missing something or why is everyone going crazy about cats, peace, right, wrong, what someone said, what is ok to say, etc...?
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