The Furniture: Leering Through Querelle's Erotic Architecture

"The Furniture" is our weekly series on Production Design. You can click on the images to see them in magnified detail.

by Daniel Walber 

The films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, though they are many and varied, almost always have striking production design. The obvious examples include the ‘70s scifi chic of World on a Wire and the opulent apartment of Petra von Kant, but it's true of his whole catalogue. The design of Querelle is as bold as it is aroused. And as of this week it’s new to FilmStruck, a place where you can find tons of design classics (like La Ronde and Great Expectations, two of my favorites).

Querelle got terrible reviews when it opened in 1982. It’s often considered an oddity of excess at the end of a career built on precision, an oversexed and underwritten mess with little to say and too much to show. 

That’s nonsense. Sure, it's a lot, including the work of production designer Rolf Zehetbauer and art director Walter Richarz. But what most of the reviews seem to have missed is that Querelle isn’t just about sex. It’s about power, and the way that sex between men can be as much an exchange of control as it is an exchange of fluids.

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Naomi's Turn: Exploring Her Role on "Gypsy"

By Spencer Coile 

With many actresses making that giant leap from the large to small screen in recent years, it is not shocking that Naomi Watts has followed suit. Armed with a megawatt smile and acting chops utilized by some of the industry's most prolific directors, it almost felt like a no-brainer that Watts would eventually find herself as the glue that holds a series together.

Gypsy, unfortunately, was not met with the critical fanfare many expected, considering the quality of its leading actress. With some calling the series "boring," and others arguing that the writing does a major disservice to Watts, perhaps you are intrigued. Is it worth watching at all? In an attempt to avoid the standard "binge model" of television viewing, I only watched the first episode of Gypsy -- to guage its effectiveness as a psychosexual drama and whether or not Watts' capabilities would be better served elsewhere.  

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C O N S I D E R - Actresses of 2017, 2nd Qtr

With the year's second quarter over, here's a listicle of noteworthy performances we'll eventually compare to what's to come. These are my personal favorites from screenings and releases from April 1st through June 30th (if the film hasn't opened in theaters yet, it's marked with an asterisk). Herewith the 17 best from the year's second quarter, divvied up into three categories. (If you'd like to group them with the women from the first quarter, that list is here). Did these actresses speak to you with their turns?

Disclaimer: Key actress-focused films I missed that I'll have to catch up with later were Beatriz at Dinner, Manifesto, A Quiet Passion and Rough Night. If you've seen them give their MVPs a shout-out.

6 LEADING ACTRESSES

 

Gal Gadot as "Diana" in Wonder Woman

Nicole Kidman as "Miss Martha" in The Beguiled...

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Review: "The Little Hours"

by Chris Feil

A naughty nunnery run amok is the setting for The Little Hours, a medieval comedy by Jeff Baena. The film takes a passage of Boccacio’s The Decameron and gives it a verbally modernized flair: ancient notions of sin are reimagined through potty-mouthed contemporary delivery and hipster dryness. What makes for a unique (if obvious) take on stifled early-century femininity also becomes an entertaining satire on female rebellion and male stupidity.

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A League of Their Own, Pt. 4 - The World Series

Here is the conclusion of our 25th anniversary retrospective of A League of Their Own!

Part 1 introduced us to the team and Part 2 showed us their success and struggles on the field. In Part 3, the sibling rivalry between Dottie (Geena Davis) and Kit (Lori Petty) got Kit traded to the Racine Belles and the return of her husband from the war caused an exhausted Dottie to quit the team. Where will that leave the Rockford Peaches as they go on to the first all-women World Series?

Part 4 by Chris Feil

1:30:15 - It’s the first game of the first AAGPBL World Series and it’s our beloved Rockford Peaches against the Racine Belles. And wouldn’t you know Doris has some fawning fans in the stands (including “that guy” actor Joey Slotnick in his film debut)!

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