The Station Agent (2003) | Full HD Comedy/Drama movie
Finbar McBride, a quiet, unmarried man with dwarfism, deeply loves railroads and leads a solitary existence. He works in a Hoboken, New Jersey, model train hobby shop owned by his elderly and similarly taciturn friend, Henry. He keeps to himself and is uncomfortable when people react to his size. When Henry dies, Fin learns that the hobby shop is to be closed and that Henry has bequeathed him a rural property with an abandoned train depot on it. He moves into the old building hoping for a life of solitude but becomes reluctantly enmeshed in the lives of his neighbors. Cuban American Joe Oramas operates his father’s roadside snack truck while the elder man recovers from an illness, and artist Olivia Harris is trying to cope with the sudden death of her young son two years earlier and its ramifications on her marriage to David, from whom she is separated. Olivia’s initial and second meetings with Fin involve her dangerously distracted driving. Cleo is a young girl who shares Fin’s interest in trains and wants him to talk to her class about them. Emily, the local librarian, is a young woman dismayed to discover she is pregnant by her ne’er-do-well boyfriend.
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Considered one of the greatest films ever made, Floating Weeds (Japanese: 浮草, Hepburn: Ukigusa) is a 1959 Japanese drama directed by Yasujirō Ozu, starring Nakamura Ganjirō II and Machiko Kyō. it is a remake of Ozu’s own black-and-white silent film ‘A Story of Floating Weeds’ (1934).
Plot
During the summer of 1958 at a seaside town on the Inland Sea, a travelling theatre troupe arrives by ship, headed by the troupe’s lead actor and owner, Komajuro. While the rest of the troupe goes around the town to publicize their appearance, Komajuro visits his former mistress, Oyoshi, who runs a small eatery in the town. They have a grown-up son, Kiyoshi, who works at the post office as a mail clerk and is saving up to study at the university. However, he doesn’t know who Komajuro is, having been told he is his uncle. Komajuro invites Kiyoshi to go fishing at sea.
When Sumiko, the lead actress of the troupe and Komajuro’s present girlfriend, learns that Komajuro is visiting his former mistress, she becomes jealous and visits Oyoshi’s eatery. Komajuro chases her away quickly and confronts her. He tells her to back off from his son and decides to break up with her. Sumiko calls Komajuro an ingrate and reminds him of the times she has helped him out in the past.
One day, Sumiko offers Kayo, a young actress from the same troupe, some money and asks her to seduce Kiyoshi. Although Kayo is initially reluctant, she agrees after Sumiko’s insistence without being told why. However, after knowing Kiyoshi for some time, she falls for him and decides to tell Kiyoshi the truth about how their relationship started. Kiyoshi is undaunted and says it does not matter to him, and eventually their relationship is discovered by Komajuro.
Komajuro confronts Kayo, who tells him of Sumiko’s setup, but only after asserting she now loves Kiyoshi and is not doing it for money. Komajuro attacks Sumiko and tells her to disappear from his sight. She pleads for reconciliation but he is indignant.
Meanwhile, the troupe’s old-fashioned kabuki-style performances fail to attract the town’s residents; the other actors pursue their own romantic diversions at local businesses, including a brothel and a barber shop. Eventually, the manager of the troupe abandons them and a principal supporting player absconds with the remaining funds. Komajuro has no choice but to disband the troupe, and they meet for a melancholy last night together. Komajuro then goes to Oyoshi’s place and tells her of the break-up. Oyoshi persuades him to tell Kiyoshi the truth about his parenthood and then stay together with them at her place as a family. Komajuro agrees.
When Kiyoshi returns with Kayo, Komajuro becomes so enraged that he beats both of them repeatedly, leading to a tussle between Kiyoshi and him. To stifle the brawl, Oyoshi reveals to him the truth about Komajuro. Kiyoshi first responds that he had suspected it all along, but then refuses to accept Komajuro as his father, saying he has coped well without one so far and goes upstairs. Taking in Kiyoshi’s reaction, Komajuro decides to leave after all. Kayo wants to join Komajuro to help him achieve success for the family, but a chastened Komajuro asks her to stay to help make Kiyoshi a fine man, as Komajuro’s always hoped. Kiyoshi later has a change of heart and goes downstairs to look for Komajuro, but his father has already left, and Oyoshi tells Kiyoshi to let him go.
At the train station in town, Komajuro tries to light a cigarette but has no matches. Sumiko, who is sitting nearby, offers him a light. She asks where he is going and asks to accompany him since she now has no place to go. They reconcile and Sumiko decides to join Komajuro to start anew under another impresario at Kuwana.
The future was now at the 1939 World’s Fair – and it is still awesome
From the perspective of the 21st century, it’s hard to imagine what a marvel the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair would have been to its visitors. Still living in the heavy shadow of the stock market crash of 1929, the many people who flocked to the big exhibition found not only bounteous luxuries such as free Coca-Cola, but the unveiling of unthinkable new technologies that promised that a better world lay ahead. Using sparkling, rare, colour film footage – itself a brand-new technology at the time – the US director Amanda Murray mines the memories of several people who attended the New York World’s Fair in 1939. Director: Amanda Murray #1939WorldsFair#NYC#history
Two city-bred siblings are stranded in the Australian Outback, where they learn to survive with the aid of an Aboriginal boy on his “walkabout”: a ritual separation from his tribe.
Roeg’s second feature film, Walkabout was released internationally by 20th Century Fox, and was one of the first films in the Australian New Wave cinema movement. Alongside Wake in Fright, it was one of two Australian films entered in competition for the Grand Prix du Festival at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.[4] It was subsequently released in the United States in July 1971, and in Australia in December 1971.
In 2005, the British Film Institute included it in their list of the “50 films you should see by the age of 14”.
The images above were captured on a visit to Amsterdam in September of 2009 by Sparky founder Greville E
The Romance of Cities – A is for Amsterdam
The timelapse film about Amsterdam is a personal project by Albert Dros. ‘This film consists of footage shot during a 2 year period (mostly before COVID), has all different seasons transitioning into each other and even has a lunar eclipse above the city skyline.
“With this timelapse film, I wanted to create something unique. I wanted to create a visual experience with beauty, flow and emotion. I want locals to be proud of their city when they watch this film, and visitors wanting to visit (even more). I put all of this in a film packed with little details, and there’s a big ‘fun facts’ list on a dedicated page I created in the link below.”
Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful (and relatively smaller) cities in the world. Our city is not ‘spectacular’ in 21st-century terms’ as it does not have impressive skyscrapers and hyper-modern buildings. But it does have that special atmosphere with beautiful old buildings, romantic canals and everything that comes with the traditional ‘ways’ of earlier times.
“I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed creating it.” – Albert D
For more info, gear, image galleries and fun facts, please check the whole project at www.timelapseamsterdam.com Sounddesign by Alex Clement www.alexclement.at
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Sparky aims to put together an alphabetical series of picture posts celebrating cities, depicting in video, pictures and words with just some of the best aspects, traditions and special attractions of these cities. Enjoy and share at will.
A report on the situation in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, more than thirty years ago. Por aquellos tiempos, known as the Chinese neighborhood, there were evident problems of drugs, crime and social marginalization, a document of indisputable journalistic value, which we thought could not be missing from our archive.
A series of intimate vignettes are woven together by the memories and dreams of people in central Havana. Directed by Giovanni P. Autran
2016 New Orleans Film Festival – World Premiere 2017 Maryland Film Festival 2017 Marfa Film Festival 2017 Brooklyn Film Festival 2017 Boston International Film Festival 2017 Indie Grits Film Festival 2017 Mammoth Lakes Film Festival 2017 Woods Hole Film Festival 2017 New Hope Film Festival 2017 DOC LA Film Festival – Best Cinematography 2018 Picture Farm Film Festival
With ROSAURA MUÑOS KARLA BASÍLIO JULIO ALIÁGE EDEL RAMÍREZ
