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Thu Oct 10 2024 18:28 September Film Roundup:
- Tokyo Olympiad (1965): An incredible narrative film made from documentary footage. I did not think I would enjoy a movie about the Olympics but I saw this movie, now I'm a believer. Sumana also watched O Sport, You Are Peace! (1981) and 16 Days of Glory (1985) and I watched some of those films as well, but there's no comparison in terms of quality. Tokyo Olympiad has a continuous focus on the people at the Olympics, especially but not only the athletes. Other films document the spectacle to please the IOC and the host country; Tokyo Olympics keeps pointing out that all the spectacle is made up of individual people doing stuff.
Incidentally, I have a strong memory of my dad taking me to watch Greg Louganis compete at the 1984 Olympics, but there's footage of this in 16 Days of Glory, and it's happening in the afternoon; I remember it being dark out. Maybe we went to the qualifying heats or something?
- Being Two Isn't Easy (1962): Kon Ichikawa impressed us so much that we decided to check out this pre-Tokyo Olympiad dramedy. Not incredible, but very enjoyable, especially the wry sense of humor they give the Look Who's Talking-esque two-year-old. The parents are believably harried, obaachan is both infuriating and sympathetic, and everyone's just doing their best.
- The Hired Hand (1971): A good, lonesome western from Hollywood's all-too-brief "give the director total creative control" period. Dramatizes the west with a complete absence of glamor, but without relying too much on shock value and violence. (There is a little, but it's not, like, Unforgiven.)