Subject Index: Writing, music and film

4th December 2020

Butterfly Decal

Butterfly Decal on Bandcamp // 5th December 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/12/05/butterfly-decal-now-on-bandcamp/

Butterfly Decal: an introduction // 18th November 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/11/18/butterfly-decal-an-introduction/

Butterfly Decal // Berlin Suite // 1st May 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/05/01/butterfly-decal-berlin-suite/

Butterfly Decal // Berlin Suite EP on YouTube // 10th February 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/02/10/butterfly-decal-berlin-suite-online/

Butterfly Decal // Berlin Suite EP on Bandcamp // 8th February 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/02/08/butterfly-decal-berlin-suite-2/

Butterfly Decal // Cupid’s Arrow (demo) // 13th August 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/08/13/butterfly-decal-cupids-arrow-low-fi-demo-version/

Butterfly Decal // Happy Ms Huong (demo) // 11th September 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/09/11/butterfly-decal-happy-ms-huong-demo-version/

Butterfly Decal // Lavender Girl (demo) // 17th November 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/11/17/butterfly-decal-lavender-girl-demo-version/

Butterfly Decal // Miles et Juliette // 22nd April 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/04/22/love-ive-found-you-miles-davis-juliette-greco/

Butterfly Decal // Morning Lotus // 16th January 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/01/16/butterfly-decal-morning-lotus/

Butterfly Decal // Red Ribbon in Long Hair EP // 12th June 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/06/12/butterfly-decal-red-ribbon-in-long-hair-ep/

Butterfly Decal // Red Ribbon in Long Hair EP Part 2 // 5th July 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/07/05/butterfly-decal-red-ribbon-in-long-hair-ep-part-2/

Butter Decal // Roses for Daisy, daisies for Rosie // 1st December 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/12/01/butterfly-decal-roses-for-daisy-daisies-for-rosie-demo-version/

Butterfly Decal // Toulouse Street Blues // 4th March 2024: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2024/03/04/butterfly-decal-toulouse-street-blues/

Butterfly Decal // Waterlilies // 7th January 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/01/07/introducing-kit-harper-ambient-blues-jazzy-jingle-jangle/

Butterfly Decal // When in Rome (demo) // 22nd December 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/12/22/butterfly-decal-when-in-rome/

Jingo Harleyman

Jingo Harleyman // Hari Karachi & the Durango 4 OST announcement // 10th September 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/09/10/coming-soon-jingo-harleyman/

Jingo Harleyman // Hari Karachi & the Durango 4 OST Part 1 // 16th September 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/09/16/jingo-harleyman-hari-karachi-the-durango-4-ost-part-1/

Jingo Harleyman // Hari Karachi & the Durango 4 OST Part 2 // 22nd September 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/09/22/jingo-harleyman-hari-karachi-the-durango-4-ost-part-2/

Jingo Harleyman // Hari Karachi & the Durango 4 OST Part 3 // 26th September 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/09/26/jingo-harleyman-hari-karachi-the-durango-4-ost-part-3/

Jingo Harleyman // Hari Karachi & the Durango 4 OST Part 4 // 2nd October 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/10/02/jingo-harleyman-hari-karachi-the-durango-4-ost-part-4/

Jingo Harleyman on Bandcamp // 2nd December 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/12/02/jingo-harleyman-on-bandcamp-and-its-all-free/

Jingo Harleyman // Life in a Korean Movie announcement // 17th February 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/02/17/jingo-harleyman-life-in-a-korean-movie-new-ep/

Jingo Harleyman // Life in a Korean Movie. Track 1 ‘Pre-credit sequence // 19th April 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/04/19/jingo-harleyman-life-in-a-korean-movie-track-no-1/

Jingo Harleyman // Life in a Korean Movie. Track 2 ‘Samaria Girl’ // 25th April 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/04/25/jingo-harleyman-life-in-a-korean-movie-track-no-2/

Jingo Harleyman // Life in a Korean Movie. Track 3 ‘Lover’s Phobia’ // 28th April 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/04/28/jingo-harleyman-life-in-a-korean-movie-track-no-3/

Jingo Harleyman // Life in a Korean Movie. Track 4 ‘Living in a Korean Film’ // 9th May 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/05/09/jingo-harleyman-life-in-a-korean-movie-track-no-4/

Jingo Harleyman // Life in a Korean Movie. Track 5 ‘Christmas every August’ // 10th Mar 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/05/10/jingo-harleyman-life-in-a-korean-movie-track-no-5/

Jingo Harleyman // Life in a Korean Movie. Track 6 ‘We are the Cyborgs, but that’s OK’ // 17th May 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/05/17/jingo-harleyman-life-in-a-korean-movie-track-no-6/

Jingo Harleyman // Life in a Korean Movie. Track 7 ‘Ice-Cold Angels’ // 18th May 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/05/18/jingo-harleyman-life-in-a-korean-movie-track-no-7/

Jingo Harleyman // Life in a Korean Movie. Track 8 ‘Sassy Girls on the Beach’ //

Seahorse Productions: films and theatre

Ao Tuong (dreams) 2020 // short film // Seahorse Productions 30th April 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/04/30/seahorse-productions-ao-tuong-dreams-2020/

Bad Faith 2005 // short film // Seahorse Productions 6th May 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/05/06/seahorse-productions-bad-faith-berlin-germany-2005/

Inferno 2007 // short film // Seahorse Productions 25th May 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/05/24/seahorse-productions-inferno-2007/

L’ Assommoir Perdu Part 1 // Three short Berlin films 1995 // 15th June 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/06/15/l-assommoir-perdu-part-1-berlin-films-1995-1997/

Shadow Sonata 2014 // short film // Seahorse Productions 8th June 2020:https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/06/08/seahorse-productions-shadow-sonata-2014/

Steppenwolf (2008) 2014 // short film // Seahorse Productions 15th May 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/05/15/seahorse-productions-steppenwolf-berlin-2014/

Cinema

The Beatles // solo films and soundtracks, Part 1 // 31st August 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/08/31/the-beatles-solo-cinema-projects-some-not-so-fab-films-part-1/

The Beatles // solo films and soundtracks, Part 2 // 9th September 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/09/09/the-beatles-solo-cinema-projects-some-not-so-fab-films-part-2/

Jean-Paul Belmondo // R.I.P. // 8th September 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/09/08/jean-paul-belmondo-r-i-p/

Belmondo & Delon // Qu’est-ce que le cinema ? // 12th July 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/07/12/quest-ce-que-le-cinema-belmondo-delon/

Close up // Iran 1990 (Dir: Abbas Kiarostami // Cinema // 25th February 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/02/25/pessoa-and-kiarostami-the-disquiet-of-close-up/

The Cranes Are Flying // USSR, 1957 (Dir: Mikhail Kalatozov) // Cinema // 13th June 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/06/13/art-cinema-the-cranes-are-flying-1957-ussr-director-mikhail-kalatozov/

Distracted // UK, 2018 (Dir James Devereaux) // 9th August 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/08/09/f-is-for-fake-d-is-for-distracted-distracted-james-devereaux-2018-uk/

Alexander Dovzhenko Ukrainian Artists #4 // 6th March 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/03/06/ukrainian-artists-4-alexander-dovzhenko/

Makiko Esumi // 5th July 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/07/05/makiko-esumi-and-maborosi/

Olivia Hussey // R.I.P. // 17th February 2025: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2025/02/17/olivia-hussey-r-i-p/

Korean Cinema

Kim Ki-duk // Korean film director // 2nd February 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/02/02/kim-ki-duk-1960-2020/

Lee Eun-ju // A Korean Star // 3rd September 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/09/03/lee-eun-ju-a-korean-star/

Youn Yuh-jung // Congratulations ! // 28th April 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/28/youn-yuh-jung-best-supporting-actress/

Korean Cinema: Shades of a Heart 2019 // 4th February 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/02/04/korean-cinema-shades-of-a-heart-2019/

Harold Lloyd // Hooray for Harold Lloyd // 28th June 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/06/28/hooray-for-harold-lloyd/

David Lynch // R.I.P. // 19th February 2025: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2025/02/19/david-lynch-r-i-p/

Noirish Project // UK, 2018 (Dir James Devereaux) // 11th July 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/07/11/noirish-project-theatre-literature-pure-cinema/

Peter O’Toole: A legend // 24th December 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/12/24/peter-otoole-a-legend/

Paul Ritter // R.I.P / 2nd January 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/01/02/paul-ritter-r-i-p/

The Painted Bird // Czech Republic 2019 (Dir Vaclav Marhoul) // 29th July 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/07/29/book-into-film-the-painted-bird/

Star Wars – The power of one // 21st June 2024: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2024/06/21/star-wars-the-real-power-of-one/

Music

1966 Rock Classics // 23rd July 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/07/23/1966-rock-classics-and-some-soul-jazz-and-a-world-cup/

1967 Rock Classics // 1st March 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/03/01/1967-rock-classics-and-some-jazz-country-soul-easy-listening/

1968 Rock Classics // 11th July 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/07/11/1968-rock-classics-post-psychedelic-back-to-basics/

Jazz Music // 29th October 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/10/29/jazz-music/

Jazz // models, fashion and attitude // 5yh May 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/05/05/jazz-models-fashion-and-attitude/

Burt Bacharach tribute // 16th February 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/02/16/burt-bacharach-r-i-p/

Jeff Beck tribute // 12th January 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/01/12/jeff-beck-r-i-p/

Tony Bennett tribute // 8th August 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/08/08/tony-bennett-r-i-p/

David Crosby tribute // 22nd January 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/01/22/david-crosby-r-i-p/

Peter Green tribute // 18th February 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/02/18/peter-green-1946-2020/

Nanci Griffith tribute // 18th August 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/08/18/nanci-griffith-last-of-the-true-believers/

Math Rock // 16th January 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/01/16/so-what-is-math-rock/

Mike Nesmith tribute // 11th December 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/12/12/mike-nesmith-r-i-p/

Phil Ochs – Happy Birthday // 21st December 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/12/21/phil-ochs-happy-birthday/

Alice Sara Ott: Nightfall CD (Erik satie) // 30th December 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/12/30/alice-sara-ott-nightfall-french-piano-music/

Lee Scott Revelle tribute // 6th August 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/08/06/lee-scott-revelle-rip/

Andy Rourke Tribute // 19th May 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/05/19/andy-rourke-r-i-p/

Swedish Rock // 4th October 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/10/04/swedish-rock-and-hej-da-to-stella/

Charlie Watts tribute // 30th August 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/08/30/charlie-watts-r-i-p/

Brian Wilson tribute // 13th June 2025: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2025/06/13/brian-wilson-r-i-p/

Musicians we have recently lost // Dave Greenfield, Lee Konitz, Little Richard, Bill Withers // 16th May 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/05/16/musicians-we-have-recently-lost/

Writing

Greek Myths

Oedipus // The hubris of Oedipus // 16th September 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/09/16/greek-myths-the-hubris-of-oedipus/

Theseus and the Minotaur// 6th October 2019: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/10/04/young-learners-level-5-welcome-to-athens/

My ‘to read’ list // 29th August 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/08/29/my-to-read-list/

Chinese fiction // Picador Book of Contemporary Chinese Short Stories // 24th July 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/07/24/chinese-short-stories-a-recommendation/

Wyndham Lewis ‘Song of the Militant Romance’ excerpt // 25th December 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/12/25/let-me-have-silence-always-that-is-essential/

Fernando Pessoa ‘Book of Disquiet’ // Cinema // 25th February 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/02/25/pessoa-and-kiarostami-the-disquiet-of-close-up/

Poetry for pronunciation // 16th April 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/16/poems-for-pronunciation-practice/

Shakespeare – Famous Quotes // Adult Speaking Class, level 3 // 14th January 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/01/14/famous-shakespeare-quotes/

Ukrainian Artists #3: modern writers // 5th March 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/03/05/ukrainian-artists-3-modern-authors/

Ukrainian Artists #5 Taras Shevchenko // 12th March 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/03/12/ukrainian-artists-5-taras-shevchenko/

Ukrainian Artists #6 Gregory Skovoroda // 14th March 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/03/14/ukrainian-artists-6-gregory-skovoroda/

Art & Literature

Three poems and some Shakespeare // Auden, Betjeman, Larkin 19th July 2020:

https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/07/19/three-english-poems-and-some-shakespeare/fbclid=IwAR1WoY9acqpt_cOeeoXgFmYOKfJfLl73qtFO1zKJl80Luwaiop9aimgtJbo

Portrait, Landscape, Still Life (Wyndham Lewis, John Constable, Paul Cezanne) // Adult Class, Level 1 // 19th December 2018: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2018/12/19/adult-class-level-1-lessons-1-2/

Art: giving opinion // Adult Speaking Class, level 3: Art // 13th April 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/04/13/adult-speaking-class-level-3-art-what-do-you-think/

Art: DaDa & Surrealism // Adult Speaking Class, level 3: Dali, Dada & Surrealism // 23rd April 2020: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/04/23/adult-speaking-class-level-3-dali-dada-and-surrealism/

Art: types of art // Young Learners, level 4 (Dali, Alice in Wonderland) // 16th May 2019: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2019/05/16/young-learners-level-4-art-for-arts-sake/

Art: Unusual art // Adult Speaking Class ALH 8.2 // 3rd Match 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/03/08/adult-speaking-class-level-2-art-for-arts-sake/

Pieter Bruegel the Elder // Young Learners // 9th January 2023: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/01/09/young-learners-time-travellers/

Ukrainian Artists #1: Ivan Marchuk // 3rd March 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/03/03/ukrainian-artists-1-ivan-marchuk/

Ukrainian Artists #2: Tania D’Avignon // 4th march 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/03/04/ukrainian-artists-2-tania-davignon/

Seahorse Productions: theatre and writing

Takin’ Care of Business: An Elvis Comedy

Act One // 23rd April 2021: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/23/takin-care-of-business/

Act Two // https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/24/takin-care-of-business-act-two/

Act Three // https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/25/taking-care-of-business-act-three/

Waiting Fo(u)r Godard

One-actor play / Royalty-free // Seahorse Productions 5th September 2020:

https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/09/05/waiting-fo-u-r-godard-a-play-for-one-actor-two-laptops/?fbclid=IwAR3Sbi0dIZJSQGZOVB749tNA5YSE_zYzbF2UWwEhQX92IH8gvF3ep5ptvnY

Parables from the Land of the Scorpion

The All-Knowing Parent // 9th November 2022: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/11/09/parables-from-the-land-of-the-scorpion/

Love and chaos

Love and Chaos: A novel set in post-Wende Berlin of a pre-internet world. Set between the deaths of Kurt Cobain and Elliott Smith.

Title page, photo by Ana Svarz // 11th November 2020

Contents // 11th November 2020

Part One

Richard – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/11/love-and-chaos-part-1a/

Chris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/11/love-and-chaos-part-1b/

Melanie – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/11/7839/

Marina – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/13/love-and-chaos-part-1d-marina-1/

Richard – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/14/love-and-chaos-part-1e-richard-2/

Chris – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/14/love-and-chaos-part-1f-chris-2/

Claudia – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/15/love-and-chaos-part-1g-claudia/

Chris – 3 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/16/love-and-chaos-part-1h-chris-3/

Richard – 3 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/17/love-and-chaos-part-1i-richard-3/

The Divine Poet From Florence https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/17/love-and-chaos-part-1j-the-divine-poet-from-florence/

Chris – 4 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/18/love-and-chaos-part-1k-chris-4/

Shoulder – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/19/love-and-chaos-part-1l-shoulder-1/

Steffi – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/20/love-and-chaos-part-1m-steffi-1/

Part Two

Richard – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/22/love-and-chaos-part-2a-richard-1/

Chris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/23/love-and-chaos-part-2b-chris-1/

The knock on the door https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/24/love-and-chaos-part-2c-the-knock-on-the-door/

Will – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/27/love-and-chaos-part-2d-will-1/

Firefly (prologue): https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/30/love-and-chaos-part-2e-firefly-prologue/

Firefly: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/11/30/love-and-chaos-part-2f-firefly/

Nuno: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/01/love-and-chaos-part-2g-nuno-1/

Chris – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/02/love-and-chaos-part-2h-chris-2/

Richard – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/03/love-and-chaos-part-2i-richard-2/

Part Three

Richard – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/05/love-and-chaos-part-3a-richard-1/

Chris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/06/love-and-chaos-part-3b-chris-1/

Kurt C – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/06/love-and-chaos-part-3c-kurt-c-1/

Richard – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/07/love-and-chaos-part-3d-richard-2/

Hitch – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/09/love-and-chaos-part-3e-hitch-1/

Chris – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/13/love-and-chaos-part-3f-chris-2/

Part Four

Richard – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/15/love-and-chaos-part-4arichard-1/

Lorelei – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/18/love-and-chaos-part-4b-lorelei-1/

Chris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/23/love-and-chaos-part-4c-chris-1/

The Concert of Grotesques: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/28/love-and-chaos-part-4d-the-concert-of-grotesques/

Gabi – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/12/29/love-and-chaos-part-4e-gabi-1/

Chris – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/01/02/love-and-chaos-part-4f-chris-2/

Monika – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/01/09/love-and-chaos-part-4g-monika-1/

Richard – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/01/12/love-and-chaos-part-4h-richard-2/

Arizona Al – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/01/21/love-and-chaos-part-4i-arizona-al-1/

Part Five

How a coffee break started a new scientific theory https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/02/09/love-and-chaos-part-5a-how-a-coffee-break-started-a-new-scientific-theory/

Chris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/03/23/love-and-chaos-part-5b-chris-1/

Richard – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/03/29/love-and-chaos-part-5c-richard-1/

Burkhardt – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/02/love-and-chaos-part-5d-burkhard-1/

Chris – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/03/love-and-chaos-part-5e-chris-2/

Tommy – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/09/love-and-chaos-part-5f-tommy-1/

Tommy – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/22/love-and-chaos-part-5g-tommy-2/

Richard – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/04/22/love-and-chaos-part-5h-richard-2/

Chris – 3 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/03/love-and-chaos-part-5i-chris-3/

Sylvester – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/04/love-and-chaos-part-5j-sylvester-1/

Part Six

Chris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/06/love-and-chaos-part-6a-chris-1/

Monika – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/07/love-and-chaos-part-6-b-monika-1/

Richard – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/08/love-and-chaos-part-6-c-richard-1/

Three English Portraits – https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/09/love-and-chaos-part-6-d-three-english-portraits/

Arizona Al – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/10/love-and-chaos-part-6-e-arizona-al-1/

Monika – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/11/love-and-chaos-part-6-f-monika-2/

Johan – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/13/love-and-chaos-part-6-g-johan-1/

Descriptions of a Doctor – https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/14/love-and-chaos-part-6-h-descriptions-of-a-doctor/

Jake – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/19/love-and-chaos-part-6-i-jake-1/

Chris – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/22/love-and-chaos-part-6-j-chris-2/

Richard – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/23/love-and-chaos-part-6-k-richard-2/

Daniel – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/25/love-and-chaos-part-6-l-daniel-1/

Part Seven

Stefan – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/26/love-and-chaos-part-7-a-stefan-1/

Daniel – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/28/love-and-chaos-part-7b-daniel-1/

Chris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/05/30/love-and-chaos-part-7c-chris-1/

Boris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/01/love-and-chaos-part-7d-boris-1/

Ragno – Prologue https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/02/love-and-chaos-part-7e-ragno-prologue/

Ragno – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/03/love-and-chaos-part-7f-ragno-1/

Richard – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/07/love-and-chaos-part-7g-richard-1/

Daniel – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/08/love-and-chaos-part-7h-daniel-2/

Monika – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/08/love-and-chaos-part-7i-monika-1/

Alan – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/11/love-and-chaos-part-7j-alan-1/

Eric – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/12/love-and-chaos-part-7k-eric-1/

Part Eight

Alan – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/14/love-and-chaos-part-8a-alan-1/

Call me Herman https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/16/love-and-chaos-part-8b-call-me-herman/

Chris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/17/love-and-chaos-part-8c-chris-1/

Richard – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/21/love-and-chaos-part-8d-richard-1/

Julie – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/24/love-and-chaos-part-8e-julie-1/

Chris – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/06/29/love-and-chaos-part-8f-chris-2/

Daniel – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/07/02/love-and-chaos-part-8g-daniel-1/

Alan – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/07/06/love-and-chaos-part-8h-alan-2/

Part Nine

Daniel – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/07/11/love-and-chaos-part-9a-daniel-1/

Johanna – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/07/19/love-and-chaos-part-9b-johanna-1/

Sergei – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/07/26/love-and-chaos-part-9c-sergei-1/

Julie – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/07/30/love-and-chaos-part-9d-julie-1/

Chris – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/08/07/love-and-chaos-part-9e-chris-1/

Richard – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/08/14/love-and-chaos-part-nine-f-richard-1/

A Christmas Miscellany https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/09/24/love-and-chaos-part-9-g-a-christmas-miscellany/

Jake – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/09/27/love-and-chaos-part-nineg-jake-1/

Richard – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/09/30/love-and-chaos-part-9i-richard-2/

Enrique Granados – The Last Romantic https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/10/01/love-and-chaos-part-9j-enrique-granados-the-last-romantic/

Chris – 2 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2021/10/13/love-and-chaos-part-9k-chris-2/

Part Ten

Vincent – 1 https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/09/01/love-chaos-part-tena-vincent-1/

Art Cinema: The Cranes Are Flying 1957, USSR. Director : Mikhail Kalatozov

13th June 2020

The Cranes Are Flying | Jerusalem Film Festival
Looking up to see the cranes, flying

First, a thank you to Darrel over at ‘A World Of Films’:

https://aworldoffilm.com/2019/05/11/my-current-favourite-films/

Darrel lists his (current) top ten films, and topping the list was this Soviet film which I hadn’t seen. So I started searching online, and the clips I saw were so mesmerising, so dazzling, the reviews so laudatory, I had to see it. I began with a review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCDHExdjO0M&t=6s

This introduction gives context and commentary on the film, as well as placing the film in relation to other noteworthy examples of Russian or Soviet cinema.

Despite only finding short, two-minute excepts with English text, I wasn’t going to be deterred. Instead, I decided to read the synopsis on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cranes_Are_Flying

and then watch the original Russian version sans subtitles. I’ve recently been considering how cinema should (could) be told, and how so much exposition text is actually needed, how much text, in fact, is needed. As F.W. Murnau has beautifully shown in ‘The Last Laugh’ (1924), a film, a great film can be told without any need for dialogue or title cards. But that, as they say, is for another blog …

I will briefly relate the plot, then what attracted me to the film.

SPOILER ALERT: in order to highlight the creative camerawork and staging, the plot details need to be mentioned.

Boris and Veronika are young sweethearts, staying out late and risking family censure by sneaking home, trying not to wake their parents.

Film Reviews: The Cranes Are Flying
Happy in love, the sun reflecting off the water, life is a dance

However, when the Germans invade Russia, Boris, along with his close friend Stepan, join up. Boris has to catch a train to get to his battalion and Veronika rushes to say goodbye, but the crowds are so thick, she has no hope of seeing him. In vain, she throws her gift, but it falls and breaks on the ground. This clearly foreshadows the fate of their romance; they will never meet again.

Meanwhile, the War comes to the city, and Veronika’s parents are killed during an air raid. With nowhere else to go, Boris’ family take her in and during another air raid, with the living room symbolically shaken, glass shattered, Boris’ younger brother, Mark, sexually assaults Veronika. Her shame compels her to marry Mark, to the disdain and contempt of the family.

With the German advance, the Russians are moved eastwards. We see both the mounting Russian casualties and the sorry sordid state of the sham marriage.

Veronika is told that Boris is dead and runs frantically, racing a train under which she plans to throw herself … yet a young boy, who we later learn is also called Boris, diverts her attention, and she takes him home.

The film ends with Veronika waiting at the train station for the victorious Soviet soldiers to return. Amidst all the tearful reunions, Veronika meets Stephan; he confirms that Boris is indeed dead. Veronika is again denied any further contact by the sheer force of the crowd, her tears of heartbreak juxtaposed against the tears of happiness. As at the beginning, she looks up and sees, in a V-formation, the cranes flying.

I love the idea of the camera-stylo – the camera being able to move as freely as a pen, the director (and cinematographer, art-director, the whole team) being able to put their personalities on to the film so that by a mere shot or two we can detect a Hitchcock from a Hawks, a Kurosawa from an Ozu, a Godard from a Truffaut. Naturally, this will later clash with Roland Barthes’ essay, ‘The Death of the Author’ (1967) … again, for another blog.

I love the idea of a camera being free, released from the constrains of the studio, allowed to move and as it were, to breathe. From an actor’s point of view, it could be different, with concerns about hitting exact marks at exact times, instead of focusing purely on the performance (yes, another blog), but as a viewer, as a lover of cinema, ‘The Cranes Are Flying’ features some breathe-taking shots and said shots add meaning to the film … they are not mere decoration. Take this shot:

The Cranes Are Flying | Pima County Public Library

Veronika is so close to her goal yet blocked … and she had no where to turn, she is trapped, confined. This next still can’t capture the circular spinning of the camera, whirling up the stairs, as their hearts whirl with love, happiness and hope … none of which will last.

Russian Film Trailer: "The cranes are flying" 1957 - YouTube

Then we have the crowd scenes … and what scenes … the camera is like a character, bustling and elbowing its way through, between people, around vehicles, forcing its way off buses or onto trains.

The Cranes Are Flying - YouTube
The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
Marx and Matryoshka · The Cranes are Flying
Flowers for the lover destined never to return
The Cranes Are Flying: A Free Camera | The Current | The Criterion ...

I hope you enjoy it

Allez, ciao !

quote movie quotes talking jean-luc godard Vivre Sa Vie ...
Vivra Sa Vie – Jean-Luc Godard 1962