I’ve been a bit obsessed with primary sources the last few years. It’s a cool way to learn the facts of the matter. You can see the other people (sometimes few) who cared to do the extra digging. Those sources show how boring or restrained their repo is compared to all of the remixing that happens elsewhere. On the fun side, this digging led me to learn that a movie I enjoy deeply, A Most Violent Year, is titled American Dreamer by its Japanese distributor. A link and more below.
It’s a bit ridiculous, with how connected our times are, that even the most well-funded outlets don’t provide the direct references to subjects they discuss. You’ll also be surprised at the lengths to which some of our institutions go to provide primary sources even when they may not be viewed. Incredulity and hope. The times.
An example of my contribution is the Local LMs topic on OBJECTS Forum, where you can share direct links to the local LMs emerging almost every day. Hopefully I save you some scrolling and wishing to the algo.
The latest fun primary source dig was looking for trailers for A Most Violent Year directly from its production companies and distributors. This movie was released in the American market through a younger and hungrier A24 that was mostly doing distribution deals at the time. In Japan, it was distributed by GAGA, which titled it American Dreamer; this makes sense to me and is probably no small part of why I like it. You couldn’t tell me Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac weren’t two of the best to do it at that time, and it seems like they continue living up to that expectation of them over a decade later.
Here’s to seeing how films are showcased directly by those bringing them to a foreign market. You can also see what each of those companies is up to today and yesterday.
from Montez ★