quarta-feira, 9 de novembro de 2011

Documentário - Prisoneiros Russos e suas Tatuagens


O sistema prisonal russo e suas dores eternizadas na pele.


The Mark of Cain. Produtor: Alix Lambert

The Mark of Cain documents the fading art form and language of Russian criminal tattoos, formerly a forbidden topic in Russia. The now vanishing practice is seen as reflecting the transition of the broader Russian society. Filmed in some of Russia;s most notorious prisons, including the fabled White Swan, the interviews with prisoners, guards, and criminologists reveal the secret language of The Zone and The Code of Thieve.

The prisoners of the Stalinist Gulag, or "Zone," as it is called, developed a complex social structure (documented as early as the 1920s) that incorporated highly symbolic tattooing as a mark of rank. The existence of these inmates at prisons and forced labor camps was treated by the state as a deeply-kept secret. In the 1990s, Russia's prison population exploded, with overcrowding among the worst in the world. Some estimates suggest that in the last generation over thirty million of Russia's inmates have had tattoos even though the process is illegal inside Russian prisons.

The Mark of Cain examines every aspect of the tattooing, from the actual creation of the tattoo ink, interviews with the tattooers and soberly looks at the double-edged sword of prison tattoos. In many ways, they were needed to survive brutal Russian prisons, but mark the prisoner for life, which complicates any readmission to normal society they may have. Tattoos expressly identify what the convict has been convicted of, how many prisons he;s been in and what kind of criminal he is. Tattoos, essentially, tell you everything you need to know about that person without ever asking. Each tattoo represents a variety of things; cupolas on churches represent the number of convictions a convict has, epaulets tattooed on shoulders represent the rank of the individual in the crime world and so on and so forth.

The unflinching look at the Russian prison system is slowly woven into the film. Cells meant to hold 15 hold 35 to 45 men. Drug resistant tuberculosis runs rampant through the prison populations and prisoners are served three meals a day of watery slop. There are allegations of brutality by the guards. As these men deal with pestilence, violence and grossly substandard living conditions, the prison guards and administration put on a talent show.

The film served as source material for David Cronenberg's 2007 dramatic movie, Eastern Promises. He commented, "This is a very courageous documentary on the tattooing subculture in Russian prisons. I don't know how it ever got made, but it's beautiful, scary, and heartbreaking."

quarta-feira, 26 de outubro de 2011

Guerra / War

We are the unwilling
Led by the unqualified
Doing the unnecessary
For the ungrateful.

domingo, 7 de agosto de 2011

Grandes Vilões do Cinema

Lista completa, em ordem de aparecimento:
Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men)
Don Logan (Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast)

Max Cady (Robert De Niro in Cape Fear)
Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York)
Drexl Spivey (Gary Oldman in True Romance)
Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare in Fargo)

Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith in Robocop)

John Ryder (Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher)
Captain Vidal (Sergi López in Pan's Labyrinth)
Dr. Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man)

Alonzo (Denzel Washington in Training Day)
Mr Blonde (Michael Madsen in Resevoir Dogs)
Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now)
Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, Wrath of God)

Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo in Apocalypto)
Kit (Martin Sheen in Badlands)
Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins in Psycho)

Michael Myers (Halloween)
Ray (Ray Winstone in Nil by Mouth)

Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale in American Psycho)
Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron in Monster)

Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee in The Wicker Man)

Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen in Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Frank Booth (Dennis Hooper in Blue Velvet)
Paul (Arno Frisch in Funny Games)

Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter)

Snoop (Felicia Pearson in The Wire)
Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell in Death Proof)

Hans Grueber (Alan Rickman in Die Hard)
Mr Blonde (2nd appearance-Michael Madsen in Resevoir Dogs)
Aaron (Edward Norton in Primal Fear)
Tony Montana (Al Pacino in Scarface)

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell in Saw)

Alex Forrest (Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction)
Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci in Casino)

Baby Jane Hudson (Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?)

Harry Lime (Orson Welles in The Third Man)
Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)

The Joker (Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight)

Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in Misery)

John Doe (Kevin Spacey in Seven)

Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs)

Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson in The Shining)
Alex (Malcom McDowell in A Clockwork Orange)

Música: 'East Hastings' - Godspeed You! Black Emperor

terça-feira, 21 de junho de 2011

sexta-feira, 17 de junho de 2011