Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Guess the Movie Moment #2

This week, I had a hard time pinning down a specific element of the film to reference, so instead I've written a haiku inspired by the film. Here goes:

Long car ride, short flight.
Just as I remember her.

Home again? Or not?

Have at it.

Edited 7/25 to add: What, no takers? I'm bummed out, folks. I know at least one of my readers has seen this movie fairly recently. I won't say who it is, but I'm guessing he'll probably hit himself once he sees the answer.

13 comments:

Steve C. said...

It's not The Brown Bunny, is it?

Paul C. said...

Nope, sorry. I like where your head's at though.

Steve C. said...

Damn, 'cause that would be so cool if it was.

Paul C. said...

Of course, I may write it up somewhere down the road, although all things considered I prefer Buffalo '66.

Jason_alley2 said...

"Planes, Trains and Automobiles"?

Paul C. said...

Brrr... suddenly got really cold in here.

sleeper said...

It's SOLARIS. The original Tarkovsky version. Has to be. Yes?

Paul C. said...

We got a winner. Darn, I was hoping to stump you guys, but it's looking like someone came out of nowhere and got it. Well played.

Kza said...

I was going to say Le Jetee just for the hell of it, but I'm glad I didn't.


What?

Andrew Bemis said...

Guess what? I just hit myself in the head.

Paul C. said...

Kent~

I assume the "what?" was a request for an explanation of the haiku, so here goes:

"Long car ride, short flight"- the notorious make-or-break scene in Solaris is a long (over 5 minute) car ride early in the film taken by a secondary character through Osaka, Japan. Supposedly Tarkovsky included the scene mostly to justify the visa he obtained to leave the USSR and do some shooting in Japan. By contrast, the actual flight of the main character to the distant space station takes exactly four shots.

"Just as I remember her"- when our hero encounters his dead wife after she's been reconstructed by the Solaris planet, it's not really her, but a compilation of his memories of her and nothing else.

"Home again? Or not?"- a reference to the last shot of the movie.

Andrew~

No need to inflict damage on your noggin, man. Just take your punching fist and sock yourself a few times in the opposide bicep. That would suffice, I think. I mean, it's not like I picked Blue Velvet.

Also, what did you think of Belle de Jour? Had you seen it before?

Kza said...

Actually, the "what" was something else, a kind of meme that I thought was internet-wide, but now I'm realizing might only belong to a certain forum. Insert embarrassed face here.

But the explanation was great, especially because I didn't get the "Long car ride, short flight" -- and now I'm smacking myself in the head. That shot's famous. I suck.

Andrew Bemis said...

Belle de Jour is wonderful; I go back and forth between that and The Exterminating Angel for my favorite Bunuel. It was a real pleasure showing it to my wife, as it was right up her alley (her favorite film is Eyes Wide Shut). It took a lot of persuading - a pretentious, snooty Catherine Deneuve-loving coworker made her averse to watching it after noticing the actress' top billing. But within a few minutes, she recognized Deneuve from Repulsion and perked up. As soon as the film was over, she declared it one of her very favorites.