Q Is For… Quattro Volte, Le (2010)

From http://www.newwavefilms.co.uk/assets/directory/49/Le_quattro_volte_quad_vs5.jpg

Dir: Michelangelo Frammartino

I have fond memories of viewing this the first time. I was lucky enough to see this at the cinema at the Showroom in Sheffield. Unfortunately my geographical location means that I have to watch most of my non-mainstream cinema at home on DVD. The availability of this sort of non-studio cinema outside of metropolitan areas or large, middle class cultural centers is disappointing. It has probably forced a lot of film viewers living out of these areas to have to find these areas through DVD, streaming, import or even illegally, thus denting the potential cinema box office for these films. And it could seem snobbish to say this, but in most cases the best films are even not the blockbusters, or even the indie American films released by the studios but the films like Le Quattro Volte, which means that unfortunately people couldn't say that their best films for that year where seen on a big screen. 

Thankfully, despite the prices and time that have to be dealt with for me to go to the Showroom for one day, I've managed to see some great films there. In fact nearly every film has been great, the rarity of going there meaning I go when I desperately want to see something, or has been a memorable moment. I saw Harmony Korine's Trash Humpers (2009) there. This has even more importance to it since, viewing it with an older brother who doesn't watch art cinema let alone knew what he was expecting, we had a lengthy debate all the way back to his apartment that, even if he was offended by the film, was constructive and led to us bonding over the idea of someone, somewhere, humping a bin in the city at the same time. I saw Uncle Boonmie Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010), the film this post is about, Holy Motors (2012), and at the beginning of this year, Bullhead (2011). Its also where I've had my only experience of a film festival, seeing two films at last year's Sheffield Documentary Festival, one of which was where I saw Planet of Snail (2011). Not only a great documentary from South Korea, but the experience taught me an important lesson, when shaking the director Yi Seung-jun's hand but baffling him with my thoughts on what I saw, that the viewer can over interpret a film or a creation when the creator's view on it was so much more upfront in it already. This causes one to ask whether film critics have the same problem, and the realization, alongside given me a hilarious anecdote I can look back on fondly, really helps with viewing cinema even as a hobby without having to write an amateur review about it. Even if all the other films I saw were terrible, this moment would make those rare trips to the Showroom completely worth it.

And with that, it adds a great deal of fondness to viewing this film over and over again. But Le Quattro Volte certainly holds up incredibly well even if these memories were separated from it.

Review Link - http://www.videotapeswapshop.co.uk/15966/q-is-for-quattro-volte-le-2010-director-michelangelo-frammartino/

From http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6dkR9rBSSdw/TaOEyB943bI/
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