CINEMATHEQUE 5-7-5

How to entertain yourself while waiting for appointments or sitting in traffic: reduce the plots of movies into haikus.

La Dolce Vita

Blonde in the fountain.

Paparazzi. Orgies. Death.

Stare of a dead fish.

Seven Samurai

Village hires warriors

to defend them from bandits

for handfuls of rice.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

Everyone gets dressed

and goes out to dinner, but

no one gets to eat.

The Exterminating Angel

Everyone gets dressed

and goes to the party, but

no one gets to leave.

Band of Outsiders

Race across the Louvre.

Dance in a cafe. Plan a heist.

Live in a movie.

Vertigo

He falls in love once

He falls in love twice, and each

time the woman falls.

Breathless

Stolen car. Dead cop.

“Run away with me.” Jump cut.

She turns him in. Bitch.

The Great Escape

Steve McQueen captured

by Nazis. Escapes. Gets caught.

Escapes. Caught. Repeat.

My Life To Live

Pluck out the feathers.

Beneath it, skin. Take it off.

Beneath is the soul.

Andrei Rublev

Andrei paints icons.

The Tatars invade Russia.

A boy casts a bell.

The Last Temptation of Christ

On the cross he has

a vision that enrages

the Holy Roman Church.

The House of Games

Shrink meets charming con.

Shrink is uncharmingly conned.

Don’t mess with a shrink.

Weekend

Traffic, accidents,

Revolutions, abductions,

And then cannibals.

Written On The Wind

Nympho loves brother’s

Best bud Rock Hudson. Hon, he’s

so not into you.

What Time Is It There?

She buys his watch, goes

to Paris. He sets all clocks

to Parisian time.

Temptation Island

Four babes and a queen,

The maid, three hunks, an island.

Let there be catfights.

The Reader

Let’s pretend common

Germans had no idea

What the Nazis did.

The Sorrow and The Pity

Contrary to the

movies, the French were not all

in the Resistance.

Psycho

Knife in the shower.

Blood in the drain. Stuffed birds. A

boy loves his mummy.

Star Wars

Help me, Obi-wan.

Destroy Death Star. Use the Force.

Luke, I’m your father.

The Godfather

The bloody horse head

Is only the beginning.

Sleep with the fishes.

Blue Velvet

Under clear blue skies,

Inside white picket fences,

An ear in the grass.

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