the unauthorized musical biopic continues to be a genre that i find endlessly fascinating. when done poorly, it's like watching live-action slapdash fanfic and therefore a fun excuse to watch someone do an impression and embody rumored situations from a celebrity's life. when done well, they're always more interesting character studies and snapshots of a person's life than something executive produced by someone in the movie. someday i'll write a paper or something about this, but i feel like this…

i'm not a pessimist, but i do spend a lot of my time (especially lately) in this median space where i'm not feeling overjoyed or despairing. i just always feel like i'm waiting in line for something. i have a dry sense of humor. i harbor a responsible amount of skepticism. it's really rare for me to cry because of art.

for whatever reason, david byrne's earnestness causes an autonomic response in me always. it's like he's the one thing…

i was so worried about this one, mainly because in his letters truffaut talks about wanting to make this film for five years (he signed on to direct this project in either 1960 or 1962 i think, then spent such a long time working on the script while financing for the project was happening in the background, that eventually he decided to take a break to write and direct THE SOFT SKIN because the adaptation part was so exhausting to…

MANY THOUGHTS SO TIME FOR A BULLETED LIST:

- it's been a while since i saw DAY FOR NIGHT but i'm fairly certain the production of THE SOFT SKIN was one of truffaut's inspirations for that film—as soon as françoise dorléac put that tray outside the hotel door i gasped because THE CAT SCENE FROM DAY FOR NIGHT!!!!

- the production was fraught and awful. i know that jean desailly hated his character and hated truffaut (DRAMA!!!!), truffaut was stressed…

maurice is one of my favorite films because it isn't afraid to exist within duplicities. it is delicate and messy, heartbreaking and joyous, precise and passionate. i love every second.

something i noticed on this viewing is the film's theme of what is natural vs. what is unnatural. maurice is constantly surrounded by plants, greenery, and other parts of nature; for example when he and clive lie in the field together, it is a moment when both characters are doing…