Klara Jagovit: November 2015

Lust.Caution

Ang Lee 12:43:00

Sexuality cannot be ignored. A lot of problems with institutions, governments and schools could be solved, or at least attempted at being solved, if we didn't ignore people's basic need. Touch, sexual fulfillment, sexual fantasies are inseparably connected to our love life. The business of sex toys, pornographic materials, and erotic films is flourishing. We circulate between love, drive, attractiveness, fondness, and desire. Sometimes we need to let us forget that we are machines raised by civilization and, apart from the mind, there's also the body which needs to be caressed. This time Asia. Having in mind Japanese love hotels, there are areas where the civilization of computers and digital equipment still loses the battle with the human need for one good act of sexual intercourse. A dive between passion and politics, a clash between weaknesses of heart, and duties. Lust. Caution.

Share |

Amour/Love

death 02:40:00

Everybody now gets divorced. Be it the incompatibility of characters, cheating, irreconcilable differences, or the fact that love disappeared somewhere on the way. We stop caring about the other person or simply the idea of a stable marriage is not appealing to us at all. Maybe it's really something from the past, an outdated concept, having to do more with finances than mutual fondness. But we all know happy stories of happy couples who stayed with each other for over 30 years. Possibly we are set towards such a happy story, slowly building the relationship from scratch, this time hoping for a positive outcome. But what life spent next to each other really means? Is it all blissful happiness or is it a demanding journey keeping you in a love cage? Is it work beyond our efforts?

Share |

Fucking Amal

growing-up 10:44:00

This is one of the first films about love between girls. It's still amazing that such relations were persecuted, illegal and that in some countries you can get in jail for same-sex relations. In some, you can be even killed. To keep at bay political and global problems, let's focus on an individual. Sexuality might be the result of a lot of factors. But the process of falling in love is a complex and layered experience, especially if you have just started dating, flirting and appreciating yourself as a sexual being. A Swedish love story that some time ago broke some taboos.

Share |

Meet Joe Black

Anthony Hopkins 04:58:00

There was once a classic which showed the unquestioned handsomeness of Brad Pitt. On a more serious note, while we are still somehow attracted to the lives of rich and beautiful, we are intrigued by their romances and adventures, we also seek the second bottom. Is there anything we can call fate? Is there a higher plan for us, a bigger purpose? Do we have a guardian angel? Have you ever encountered people who turned your life upside down or made you look at things differently? Maybe you were such a person for someone else? A film with a twist, still good humor and a sense that there is something beyond our earthly day-to-day. And weren't we all in love with the childlike innocence of Brad Pitt and his unsurpassed charm? On a serious note though, weren't we?

Share |

Being Ginger

documentary 04:56:00

It seems that hair color is such a trivial thing when it comes to valuing a person. It shouldn't be an obstacle in meeting people and falling in love. Yet, it is. One man tried to find out why for him dating seems to be impossible, why women are prejudiced against ginger hair and why maintaining your self-esteem on a high level might be hard. Reminding ourselves Harry Potter series, wasn't that the case that almost all Weasley boys ended up with a girlfriend? Isn't there light at the end of the tunnel? And me being an owner of almost all hair colors due to university dying experiments, is the color of your hair really a defining factor in the creation of you as a human?

Share |

The Kings of Summer

children 04:55:00

There is a time in your life when you feel trapped. Stranded in your way among your family members, workmates, partners. Sometimes you lose yourself in the pursuit of making other people happy and you forget what makes you happy.

Some people need to be alone for a day. Others desire a year-long journey around the world. Yet others chose the life of isolation in academic pursuits, their hobbies, and passions, or, extremely, they bury themselves in a jungle, cave or another shelter difficult to specify. Sometimes you're just tired and you need to find yourself over again. For those craving an adventure. For those tired of the annoying nature of your loved ones. The Kings of Summer. It's never too late to set yourself free.

Share |

Youth

loneliness 03:51:00

I was once under the impression that adult people are wise, experienced and trustworthy. Then I grew up and I realized that age doesn't make a great difference. Your body grows old, your physical and mental functions are limited, there's less ahead of you and more memories you're willing to share with others. If you surround yourself with young people, your mental state stays young. With a twist, the life of an aging composer was placed in a resort proving that age doesn't really matter. You can be infantile as an adult, mature as a kid, develop a distance to your fate, or get stuck in one memorable/traumatic phase of life and never fully get it over. Allowing the passing of time, do you count every wrinkle and every graying hair? What makes you old: life experiences or the number of candles on the cake? And considering your mistakes can you really change, rehabilitate and improve or do you stay the same for years and years?

Share |

The Martian

experiment 03:50:00

We are fascinated with the idea of Robinson Crusoe virgin exploration of the unspoiled paradise. We make use of our inventor's instincts, survival skills and knowledge which we have accumulated for centuries. Since we cannot really discover any new lands as the era of Great Explorers has been over for centuries, we look beyond our ability of eyesight and comprehension. And since the exploration of the Earth and the Moon can be already included in the human achievement list, it's time for more distant places. A thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining mission of one man and one lonely planet. The Martian.

Share |

The Art of Getting By

art 03:49:00

Do you recall the time when with a conscious and critical eye of an adult you looked at your parents' relationship and saw the flaws and faults of people who you previously admired? You realized that half of the jobs there you'd hate deeply in your heart and the other half you are not capable of performing. The world seemed to be full of doors, either impossible to be opened, or you all of a sudden weren't the right size to fit them. At the same time you wanted to find the purpose of your life, luckily fall in love and trace the path you should follow as an adult. And looking back, I'm not really under the impression that the longer we live the easier it gets: life is more complicated, people still hurt us, parents still disappoint us, our professional life is tricky. In time, however, we gain the confidence of being ourselves and living the life we always wanted to live. We submit ourselves to a variety of stimuli and we learn what at the end of the day is best for us. The Art of Getting By is an art in every age. It never gets boring.

Share |

Only Lovers Left Alive

love 03:47:00

The idea of never-ending love makes people fall in love with high expectations. Listening to stories about marriages that lasted over 50 years makes us look with hope for our second-half. It all seems worth at the end of the day. And when lovers are lovers with the world in the background, when they clearly remember historical and political events and when they live their passion to the fullest, we tend to believe in the romantic idea of love. And who is a better lover than a creature who, apart from sensuality, desire and physical fulfillment, can last in this state for centuries?

Share |

Notes on a Scandal

Cate Blanchett 07:51:00

The news of extraordinary events hit the front pages of newspapers every day. In an ideal world, you fall in love with your childhood best friend, of similar age, interest, friends, and family. In a less ideal world you fall in love unexpectedly, either when you miss something from life, or when your life seems to be ordered and stagnant and then it's turned upside down by a lightning coming out of the blue. As a society, we try to impose rules of what is moral and considered a crime. We draw the line between right and wrong, adult and child, fidelity and infidelity. We condemn others until we find ourselves in a situation which others seem to condemn. This time a romance between a teacher and a student. What lines, if any, can you cross when you fall in love?

Share |

De Naermaste/Homesick

brothers 07:48:00

The longer we live and the more we know about the world, the less we are constrained by social norms and taboos. If you had read One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez, you definitely recall the badge of incest that went along the protagonist family's history. Moving a hundred years forward, should we be condemned for having feelings for siblings? What happens if you see a developing body of your brother or sister? Is it resentful or, quite the reverse, attractive? Should you feel sinful if you have erotic dreams including your family members? Should you acknowledge or ignore your family's sexuality? And if you're related, can you lawfully fall in love? Genes, past, mutual parents. Sometimes the closest to your heart are those who are biologically alike and who can feel what you feel in an unexplained, brother/sister-like manner. I love this kind of films, even though in reality the society's judgment might be a little bit more radical.

Share |

Pentameron/ Tale of Tales

children 07:45:00

Do you remember when you were little and your mother/father/guardian read you fairy tales to soothe you to sleep? The effect might have been opposite as fables are dense in cruelty, murder, surprising outcomes and bad family patterns. After reading some of them you might have been wide awake. Fairy tales contain wisdom very few are able to surpass, they teach you about abusive parents, silly kings, naive princesses; they highlight the importance of friendship, love, sisterhood, and brotherhood. Stories depict the tragic consequences of human fragile nature and mistakes caused by desire. Besides wisdom, they take you to the realm of magic, where mythical creatures mix with ordinary humans. There is still something so appealing in the stories that we fall for their allure again and again. This time Tale of Tales. A story definitely worth falling for.

Share |

Planeat

diet 01:29:00

It seems that nature gave us everything we need for survival. We were treated with hundreds of plants, fruits, herbs and edible roots. Yet we tend to limit ourselves to pork, beef, and poultry and concentrate our diet on simple, easily prepared dishes. We were programmed by tradition, by our grandmothers' dinners and our mothers' efforts to raise us strong and healthy. Maybe it's time to change something in our habits and set off towards a better and healthier life. Not everyone will be vegan or vegetarian. But all of us might at least change the percentage of meat and plants in our diet and reverse the way we do our shopping. Results will be visible in the near future. Maybe this time there will be fewer strokes, heart attacks, less hypertension. Maybe we will even be able to fight cancer. Planeat.

Share |

HUMAN

beauty 01:28:00

To me, there is nothing more fascinating than a human being. With flaws, fears, and fascinations we continue our day by day. We consume, shape and destroy what we had found here according to our needs. We have been welcomed to this planet, pinpointed to particular spot: the country, political situation, language, the color of the skin, religion. We carry our traumas, sexual orientation, pathological families, loves, losses, and diseases. We make other people stronger, we take and give, hurting others and being hurt on the way. We create an economic gap, where some have everything and others have nothing.

Each of us has a story to tell. A story of one's life. A story which will help other people deal with their traumas, heal their pains and come to terms with the past. We also hope for one such story for ourselves: a brick of help to make our house full. Each and every one of us is important. Each of us has a story to tell. Each story tells what it means to be human.

Share |

We Are Your Friends

Facebook 01:26:00

I remember my high school years divided between not particularly conscientious engagement into school work and a thorough exploration of YouTube which has been taking its first steps with no idea of how big it was going to be. The internet has changed everything. We conduct business online, we write blogs, we upload videos, making the world a smaller place, with every corner of earth available to the masses. With good, it also brought a lot of evil. Is there still a place for something genuine in the era of Facebook friends who like your profile picture but don't say "hello" when they pass you on the street? In times of great success stories is there a spot for failure and morals? Where is the line between right and wrong and what should we value? Friends? Love? Money? Fame? And once you stay genuine to oneself, can you have it all?