Cinematic Distractions...

[dulcedemon]

Devil Got My Woman: Blues at Newport (1966):
Skip James
Bukka White
Son House
Howling Wolf
Reverend Pearly Brown
This is some precious old performance footage. I rented this for the first time back in 2005 or 2006. I was feeling nostalgic and decided I needed to watch it again. Several songs are performed by Howling Wolf, one by Son House, and a few each by Skip James, Bukka White, and Reverend Pearly Brown. At one point, Howling Wolf and a very intoxicated Son House get into a heckling match while Howling Wolf is trying to perform.
It can be found here at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/Devil_Got_My_Woman_Blues_At_Newport_1966_1996_Vestapol_Producations_Tape

Journey to Kafirstan (Die Reise nach Kafiristan - 2001):
This is based on a true story. Ella Maillart and Annemarie Schwarzenbach were real people, and I recommend looking them up. Reading a little about them goes a long way in understanding this movie.
In short, it's a lesbian road trip movie. It's quite a road trip at that, crossing the whole of Europe and going all the way to Kabul, Afghanistan. It was no minor feat for two women in 1939.
They aren't exactly ordinary women. Both are writers, Swiss, and married to wealthy, powerful men who are largely absent from their lives save for their money and influence which allows for this trip. The threat of war looms as their journey begins. Their journey and partnership end shortly after Great Britain declares war on Germany.
When they set out, it's all dreamy eyes, sighs, hearts and flowers. They talk like they are going on their honeymoon. Along the way, they use one or other's spouse's diplomatic connections to help them cross borders and secure places to stay. Most of the stays are with friends or colleagues of Ella Maillart's husband. Most if not all of them appear to be Nazis or Nazi sympathizers. Annemarie Schwarzenbach loathes Nazis and anyone who has anything to do with them. Ella Maillart, on the other hand, seems ambivalent at best. This causes considerable friction between them.
As they draw nearer to their destination, Annemarie Schwarzenbach seduces the wife of a diplomat at a dinner party. The two do a very sensual dance together that turns every head in the room before ending with the diplomat's wife swooning in a tubercular coughing fit. It's one of the best scenes in the movie. Sex is implied but never explicitly shown. There is a glimpse of bare breasts and a henna-tattooed foot being kissed.
By the end of the journey, Maillart is tired of Schwarzenbach's relapsed morphine habit and her tendency to seduce another woman at every stop along the way, and Schwarzenbach is tired of Maillart's ambivalence if not sympathy toward the Nazis. Nina Petri plays Ella Maillart. Jeanette Hain plays Annemarie Schwarzenbach. The latter has the best wardrobe.
For a travel movie, the cinematography could have been better. I expected more sweeping vistas. Many of the shots are cropped. There could have been more scenic grandeur with these women in their Ford swallowed by the vastness. It's not bad, but apart from the dance scene, it's as dry as the desert it's set in.

Mr. Freedom (1968):
What the red, white and blue fuck?! He's big. He's loud. He's racist. He's sexist. He's gratuitously violent, and he's on his way to save France from communists. Heaven help them.
This farce might have been uproarious in 1968, but it hits too close to reality in 2022. It deserves to be ranked above Journey to Kafirstan, but I put it at the bottom due to its frequent use of racial slurs. It's more than offensive language, but it's not easy to explain to a modern and enlightened audience.
My spouse watched it with me and later described it as The Peacemaker but with the philosophy and talking points of the current GOP. I haven't seen The Suicide Squad or the spin-off series, so I had to look that character up. The description contained the phrase "jingoistic killer". Yes, Mr. Freedom is a jingoistic killer. Another way to describe him is the Anti-Captain America.
John Abbey plays the hyper-destructive hero who will stop at nothing to save France from communist infiltration. If I had to choose a present-day swaggering GOP loudmouth to cast in the role, Matt Gaetz would be a good fit or maybe Madison Cawthorn. Mr. Freedom is a bad cop by day and an even worse superhero by night. He seems like an unhinged vigilante, but he actually works for a secret government organization. His equivalent in France, Captain Formidable, has just been bumped off by the commies. He is sent to France where he teams up with Captain Formidable's widow, Marie-Madeleine (Delphine Seyrig). There he confronts the dreaded red-commie duo of Moujik Man (Philippe Noiret) and Red China Man (a large, inflatable dragon voiced by an uncredited actor with two more uncredited actors making snow angel motions inside its front paws). While in France, Mr. Freedom reports to the U.S. Embassy, which is a supermarket staffed by a squad of identical looking blondes that wear skimpy clothing and jump up and down a lot.
Speaking of clothing, all the costumes are very creative. The superhero gear is largely comprised of various types of sports padding and flight helmets. Moujik Man wears an oversized red foam suit. Marie-Madeleine wears a blue and white sequined bathing suit. There are some really unique outfits and bizarre headgear worn by the supporting cast. This movie is no award winner, but Janine Klein deserves at least an honorable mention for the brilliantly ridiculous costumes. There is some stunning art used in the set design and also the opening and closing credits, but I couldn't find the name(s) of the artist(s).
Jesus Christ and Mary make a brief appearance. They read from the sacred articles of Geneva Convention during Mr. Freedom's first engagement with Moujik Man. Donald Pleasence plays Dr. Freedom, Mr. Freedom's boss who appears only on television screens including the one worn on Mr. Freedom's wrist.
I rented this for Delphine Seyrig. I wasn't prepared for it to say the least. It's got something to offend just about everyone. It's a lampoon of American imperialism, drawing inspiration from the current events at the time, specifically the 1968 Washington D.C. riots, and the Vietnam War.
I've seen some really wild movies but this one stands out. That's both a compliment and an insult.