Month: March 2018
499 – Rirkrit Tiravanija
“THE DAYS OF THIS SOCIETY IS NUMBERED”
Rirkrit Tiravanija (Thai: ฤกษ์ฤทธิ์ ตีระวนิช, pronunciation: [rɯk-rit tira-wanit] or Tea-rah-vah-nit) is a contemporary artist residing in New York City, Berlin, and Chiang Mai. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1961. His installations often take the form of stages or rooms for sharing meals, cooking, reading or playing music; architecture or structures for living and socializing are a core element in his work. (wiki)
Tiravanija’s second feature film, Lung Neaw Visits His Neighbours was released in 2011. The documentary features a retired farmer that lives in a tranquil village in Chiang Mai, far from the recent political turmoil in Bangkok. At a moment when many people are demanding equality, opportunity, and democracy, we see in Lung Neaw an existence marked by compassion for his environment and his fellow villagers. The film offers a contemplative look at one man’s humble dialogue with his surroundings.
“It is not what you see that is important but what takes place between people.”
498 – The Death of Stalin (2017)
spacetime coordinates: 1953 Moscow
The Death of Stalin is a 2017 political satire film directed and co-written by Armando Iannucci. Based on the French graphic novel La mort de Staline, it depicts the Soviet power struggles following the death of dictator Joseph Stalin in 1953.
A number of academics commented on the historical accuracy of The Death of Stalin. Historian Richard Overy noted in The Guardian that the film “is littered with historical errors”, which can be “viewed as cinematic licence“, but was most critical that the film did not appropriately honour Stalin’s victims. Director Iannucci stated that he “chose to tone down real-life absurdity” to make the work more believable. Samuel Goff, at the Department of Slavonic Studies, University of Cambridge, cited several justifiable historical inaccuracies with the ranks and roles of Stalin’s inner circle, but thought the film missed the overall point and was unable to locate any of the inherent humour contained in Stalinism.
0497 – Radio Free Albemuth (2010)
spacetime coordinates: 1985 Los Angeles
Radio Free Albemuth is a 2010 American film adaptation of the dystopian novel Radio Free Albemuth by author Philip K. Dick, which was written in 1976 and published posthumously in 1985. The film is written, directed, and produced by John Alan Simon and stars Jonathan Scarfe and Shea Whigham.
The story is set in an alternate reality 1980’s America under the authoritarian control of President Fremont. It makes liberal references to the collected works of Philip K. Dick.
496 – Outcast (2014)
spacetime coordinates: 12th-century Song dynasty China 
Outcast is a 2014 American-Chinese-Canadian action film, directed by Nick Powell in his directorial debut and written by James Dormer. It stars Nicolas Cage, Hayden Christensen, Liu Yifei, Ji Ke Jun Yi, and Andy On.
495
494 – The Breadwinner (2017)
spacetime coordinates: 2001, Taliban-era Afghanistan. 
The Breadwinner is a 2017 animated drama film by Cartoon Saloon directed by Nora Twomey and executive produced by Mimi Polk Gitlin and Angelina Jolie. Based on the best-selling novel by Deborah Ellis, the film is an international co-production between Canada, Ireland, and Luxembourg,
TimeSpace Warps 