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For this Friday Movie Night, we’re starting off with Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974), the magnum opus of surrealist auteur Shuji Terayama, who is pretty much Japan’s answer to Alejando Jodorowsky. A director tries to make a film about his youth, but finds himself increasingly making it into an absurd spectacle. We see the end result on the screen, with the teenaged protagonist coming of age in a dreamlike village while the circus is in town. The performers are a bunch of strange folk. Weird stuff happens from there. Rave reviews everywhere for this one; it is one of the highest-rated Japanese films on Letterboxd. This film is often compared to its contemporary The Holy Mountain (1973), which was a hit on Hextube, so let’s try out another piece of 70s surrealism. After that, we’re continuing our journey through this year’s award-season darlings with The Iron Claw (2023), the based-on-a-true-story drama about the three Von Erich brothers in the 1980s as they try to rise through the ranks of the cutthroat world of professional wrestling. Ex-teen-heartthrob Zac Efron stars, and Sean Durkin directs, in what is by far his most popular and most well-regarded film to date. Critics and viewers have fawned over this one, so let’s give it a whirl.

We’ll start at 9PM EST on Hextube, right here:

https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

  • Pastoral: To Die in the Country: https://letterboxd.com/film/pastoral-to-die-in-the-country/
  • The Iron Claw: https://letterboxd.com/film/pastoral-to-die-in-the-country/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

  • Pastoral: To Die in the Country: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071406/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg
  • The Iron Claw: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/906376

CWs for Pastoral: To Die in the Country:

  • Okay, the big one: although the movie is PG-13 for the first 90% of the runtime, the climax is about 3 minutes of the protagonist losing his virginity to a nude older woman who forcefully undresses him, in what I can only assume was the director's wet dream. This is the only real edgy content in the movie, but it’s a doozy, and right at the end. We can skip this scene if need be, since you’ll get the point pretty fast.
  • A woman is inflated with air.
  • Smoking.
  • Death of dog.
  • Death of baby.

CWs for The Iron Claw:

  • Suicide.
  • Someone leaves without saying goodbye.
  • Abusive parents.
  • Domestic abuse.
  • Drug use.
  • Alcoholism.
  • Drug addiction.
  • Someone is physically restrained.
  • Shaving.
  • Hand damage.
  • Dislocations.
  • Broken bones.
  • Someone struggles to breathe.
  • Choking.
  • Amputation.
  • Blood.
  • Unconsciousness.
  • Groin injury.
  • Death of child.
  • Disabled character played by abled person.
  • Drug overdose.
  • Death of family member.
  • Ghosts.
  • Natural bodies of water.
  • Shower scene.
  • Vomiting.
  • Spitting.
  • Needles.
  • Hospital scene.
  • PTSD.
  • Mental illness.
  • Violent mentally-ill person.
  • Meltdowns.
  • Suicidal ideation.
  • Sudden loud noises.
  • Crying baby.
  • Shaky cam.
  • Screaming.
  • Profanity.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Ableism.
  • Discusson of religion.
  • Masturbation. No genitals depicted, though.
  • Sounds of sex.
  • Nudity.
  • Someone loses their virginity.
  • Male character ridiculed for crying.
  • Motorcycle crash.
  • Honking horns.
  • Gun violence.

Links to movies:

  • Pastoral: To Die in the Country: https://vimeo.com/913728201
  • The Iron Claw https://vimeo.com/913757080