Give me your best ones!
It's too easy, but Boogie Nights beautifully captures the vibe of the Valley back in the late 70s-early 80s. I was just a little older than Dirk when the film starts (24 to his 17)--and my first apartment (with my first girlfriend) was literally down the street from Hot Traxx. I'm sure it's one of the reasons the movie resonates so deeply for me.
I'll bet Soggy--regardless of it's merits as a film--will at least have that same powerful resonance for me.
Two top-of-my head ones from two cities close to me:
Oslo, August 31st
Victoria
Quote from: Just Withnail on September 01, 2021, 05:43:43 PM
Victoria
I only expected american cities in this thread, but no, that one I can actually relate to :pp
Christiane F too, maybe
The Mighty Ducks and Jingle All The Way do a surprisingly good job of capturing the Twin Cities suburbs in the winter.
Fargo the film is the obvious example, but that's more about rural Minnesota and North Dakota. Which is less and less relevant as the suburbs continue to sprawl and overtake rural areas you never thought they'd reach. (Seems like there will eventually be one big splotch of suburb stretching from Minneapolis to St. Cloud.)
It's hard to find depictions of Minneapolis in the summer, which is when the city really shines. Purple Rain, I guess, although shamefully I haven't seen it.
Amores Perros - totally gets at the endless barrage of energy, culture, grime and class schism you feel all over what was then el "DF"
Rudo y Cursi - Cihuatlán & Toluca de Lerdo
Gummo - Xenia, Ohio...I presume - I've never actually been there (ps it was shot in Nashville)
The movie I see in my mind when I read A Confederacy of Dunces is a perfect emotional (and geographically accurate) encapsulation of life in The Big Easy
Pixote seems (and I've read is) utterly evocative of a certain kind of life of a certain kind of class back in a certain kind of time in Sao Paulo.
Quote from: eward on September 01, 2021, 09:06:42 PM
Pixote seems (and I've read is) utterly evocative of a certain kind of life of a certain kind of class back in a certain kind of time in Sao Paulo.
Will check this one out. Looks good!
Mi Vida Loca is La Parque circa early 90s.
... oh shit, Full movie's on youtube! Orale!
Here's (https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2012/cteq/the-docks-of-new-york/) an article on The Docks of New York, which inspired me to create this thread.
QuoteThere is a great tradition of films wherein the actual setting of New York becomes a key character. New York is a melting pot and it represents many different classes, ethnicities, ages, cultures and traditions. There has been an evolution in the New York film, and The Docks of New York is a formative link in this chain. From its smoky harbours to its rowdy gin-mills, from its flophouses to its back-alleys, The Docks of New York presents the working class of the New York waterfront through vivid imagery.
Quote from: Robyn on September 01, 2021, 09:14:05 PM
Quote from: eward on September 01, 2021, 09:06:42 PM
Pixote seems (and I've read is) utterly evocative of a certain kind of life of a certain kind of class back in a certain kind of time in Sao Paulo.
Will check this one out. Looks good!
It's incredible. Devastating. Bit of trivia: Nick Cave/Bad Seeds classic Tender Prey is dedicated to the lead actor, who was killed in 87 by police.
Quote from: PinkTeeth on September 01, 2021, 09:20:22 PM
Mi Vida Loca is La Parque circa early 90s.
... oh shit, Full movie's on youtube! Orale!
The Bev iz doing a screening with Allison Anders --- gah I want to see this film but not on youtube. Will watch soon.
On the Bowery!
wings of desire
the third man
mystery train
happy together
la dolce vita
anything by jia zhangke
manhattan
vertigo
mulholland drive
death in venice
Before Sunrise (Vienna)
Don't Look Now (Venice)
There are only three films I can think of that are set in my hometown of Seattle that actually feel like Seattle, and those are: Singles, Humpday, and Laggies. Basically, with Cameron Crowe bad now and Lynn Shelton dead, the future of Seattle on film is dire. Just drone shots past the Space Needle and interstitials of Pike Place Market over and over for eternity.
Great thread!
I love the feeling of Chicago in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
And San Francisco in Dirty Harry
Los Angeles in Repo Man
Manhattan ( Hell's Kitchen ) in Bringing out The Dead
St. Petersburg in Spring Breakers
Orlando in The Florida Project
Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in Do The Right Thing
Quote from: Reelist on September 05, 2021, 02:06:27 PM
Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in Do The Right Thing
Oh how Bed-Stuy has changed, and not changed, since 89.
I should add Fucking Åmål (which is small town in Sweden, and not a film about fucking someone called Åmål)
Not because I ever visited Åmål, but because it capture the feeling of growing up in that type of small town at a certain time in Sweden. It capture it so well that it has become one of my fav films ever over the years.
Oh cool, I've been to all the cities I listed except for the California ones, albeit briefly. I mention them because they capture a really specific vibe of the cities, not that I know them so well.
The best film shot in my city of Syracuse is "Adult World" with John Cusack and Emma Roberts. It captures some pretty great winter scenery. If there's anything we're known for, it's our winters.
Before Sunset. But it feels like cheating with these movies.
Quote from: Robyn on September 06, 2021, 10:02:37 PM
I should add Fucking Åmål (which is small town in Sweden, and not a film about fucking someone called Åmål)
Not because I ever visited Åmål, but because it capture the feeling of growing up in that type of small town at a certain time in Sweden. It capture it so well that it has become one of my fav films ever over the years.
Also has one of the best "first kiss" scenes of any movie, imo.
Quote from: Robyn on September 06, 2021, 10:02:37 PM
Not because I ever visited Åmål, but because it capture the feeling of growing up in that type of small town at a certain time in Sweden.
Oh hell yes, that goes for Norway as well.