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