Killer of Sheep (1978)

There’s nothing quite like a potent debut film that seemingly comes out of nowhere, filled with possibilities and creativity and passion, but lacking in polish and movie stars. Then there’s a whole other level where it’s a student film – the work of someone literally figuring things out on screen but having the clear talent to express themselves with precision. 1978’s Killer of Sheep is one of those films, as director Charles Burnett started shooting the film in 1972 and eventually submitted it at UCLA film school as his thesis film in 1977, not really getting a proper theatrical release until 2007, and didn’t get its deserved Criterion treatment until a couple of months ago. Continue reading →

Céline and Julie Go Boating (1974)

Though I did not pick a distinct theme for my Criterion films this year, I feel like I inadvertently picked a number of films that pair nicely with each other. I had the lonely women going on vacation movies (Now, Voyager and Summertime), the bunch of dudes have to work together to pull off a job movies (Big Deal on Madonna Street and The Flight of the Phoenix), and now I have my young women getting into shenanigans movies (Daisies and today’s pick). I would say Daisies and Céline and Julie Go Boating might be good double features, but they also might not, since they have kind of the opposite approach to filmmaking. Where Daisies is kinetic and abrasive, Céline and Julie is about as loose and carefree as it gets, to the point where I sometimes had a hard time grasping what I was watching, but maybe that was the point. Continue reading →