World Cup, Season 3, Match 1D: France vs India vs Serbia vs Mali

[RogerTheMovieManiac88]

Probably the closest round out of those I've voted on so far.

1. 'Une si jolie petite plage' - 9/10
2. 'Yeelen' - 8.5 or 9/10
3. 'The Lunchbox' - 7.5/10
4. 'Paviljon VI' - 7/10

I loved the downbeat melancholia and memorable use of seaside setting of the Allégret. The Cissé is just so special in terms of lensing, palette and compositions. I liked the locales and the female lead, in particular, of the Indian entry. Pintilie is a masterful director but his Chekhov adaptation didn't fully grab. I did like the ochres of the surrounds and the ending is certainly rather hauntingly memorable.

Nice choices by the managers!

[Mate_cosido]

1. Yeelen
2. Paviljon VI
3. Dabba
4. Une si jolie petite plage

[funkybusiness]

1. Une si jolie petite plage
2. Yeelen
3. Paviljon broj VI
4. Dabba

[Armoreska]

Yeelen needs only 4 points more. Although statistically unlikely 2 more people will vote for it after such a strong recent performance without counter support

[funkybusiness]

They should remake Dabba starring Will Smith so he can have one his Oscar bait movies actually get nominated.

[PeacefulAnarchy]

1. Une si jolie petite plage: Noirish despair with beautiful cinematography and great pacing, so glad I got around to this
2. Dabba: A bit one note and gimmicky but much better than I expected. The sentimentality feels genuine and the characterizations are interesting even if they're not as deep as they could be.
3. Yeelen: Watched this a few years ago, I liked it but was never fully engaged.
4. Paviljon VI: Ugh, that thumping mechanical soundtrack. Reading that it was talky and philosophical I really thought I'd be bucking the trend here, but it really doesn't work on screen. Visually it's lacking a bit at times, but it's the monotone performances and the lack of engagement with its own ideas that really hold this back. I can see all the reasons why this could be great, but it keeps missing the mark with its annoying soundtrack and the stop/start nature of the dialogue that feels hesitant and detached.

2 and 3 were neck and neck.

[mjf314]

1. Dabba
2. Une si jolie petite plage
3. Yeelen
4. Paviljon VI

[RogerTheMovieManiac88]

Sad that 'Yeelen' appears to have been nudged out. I think it's a pretty remarkable film. The performances though fine aren't really what stays with me from this one. The shades and textures of landscapes and the subtle yet delineated hues of browns, oranges and yellows imbue the tale with a mystical quality that captivated and fascinated. I almost gave it my top spot but I certainly think it should be in the top two out of this group.

[Gershwin]

(...)
Serbia - Ward Six - I fell asleep thrice in the first 30 minutes. This is not a film for me. Maybe an interesting concept to read about in the original short story (key word: short), but utterly boring for a 90-minute filmed conversation on philosophical chatter. I get the point of the film; I'm simply disinterested in it.

Haha, sums it up pretty well.

Pitiful is a person who ranks Splash Splash Love ahead of Ward Six.

Would you call 12 Angry Men to be nothing more than a philosophical chatter? As I recall there isn't much beyond that.

Fair enough, 'philosophical chatter' might not be a very apt description. I'm primarily hinting at this part:

Maybe an interesting concept to read about in the original short story (key word: short), but utterly boring for a 90-minute filmed conversation (...)

You can name as many examples as you'd like, but I just couldn't be bothered by Ward Six at all. The story felt constructed and artificial, the acting wasn't convincing at all, and the film looked too much like filmed theatre indeed: there wasn't much to please my eye. 12 Angry Men on the other hand is never boring and never let me loose my attention. I'm not sure what exactly causes that, I'd have to do a rewatch for that, but it simply felt overlong.

I wonder what I'd think about the Chekhov short story. I've loved all I've read by Chekhov so far, so I think the problem lies in the adaptation. But you never know.

[Fergenaprido]

Dabba and Yeelen are 9 wins apart now. Would be hard for Yeelen to catch up in the last half a day. 40 voters now, so there are probably be a few more voters coming up (other matches had 47, 43 and 42 voters).

[Fergenaprido]

4. Paviljon VI: Ugh, that thumping mechanical soundtrack.

Was that the soundtrack? It only came in at certain times, so I thought maybe it was atmospheric noises, like the daily grind of a nearby mill or something.

[Mario Gaborović]

4. Paviljon VI: Ugh, that thumping mechanical soundtrack.

Was that the soundtrack? It only came in at certain times, so I thought maybe it was atmospheric noises, like the daily grind of a nearby mill or something.

There isn't any soundtrack, only the pounding sound of a factory outside the walls.

[Fergenaprido]

Haha, sums it up pretty well.

Pitiful is a person who ranks Splash Splash Love ahead of Ward Six.

Would you call 12 Angry Men to be nothing more than a philosophical chatter? As I recall there isn't much beyond that.

Fair enough, 'philosophical chatter' might not be a very apt description. I'm primarily hinting at this part:

Maybe an interesting concept to read about in the original short story (key word: short), but utterly boring for a 90-minute filmed conversation (...)

You can name as many examples as you'd like, but I just couldn't be bothered by Ward Six at all. The story felt constructed and artificial, the acting wasn't convincing at all, and the film looked too much like filmed theatre indeed: there wasn't much to please my eye. 12 Angry Men on the other hand is never boring and never let me loose my attention. I'm not sure what exactly causes that, I'd have to do a rewatch for that, but it simply felt overlong.

I wonder what I'd think about the Chekhov short story. I've loved all I've read by Chekhov so far, so I think the problem lies in the adaptation. But you never know.

Thanks Gersh

Mario, please stop trying to bait me (or Gert). I neither disparaged you, your character, or your taste in film. I simply did not connect with the film you selected; there's no need to attempt to insult or belittle anyone simply for having different cinematic preferences. Also, I haven't rated Ward Six yet so you don't know which one I would rank higher (Though Splash will probably win out in the end, yes).

As to 12 Angry Men, that film is engaging. It's not just spewing philosophical thoughts, it's thoughtfully provoking philosophies. The staging, the tension, and flow... all of it contribute to it being (for me) a highly entertaining and engaging film. It doesn't hurt that the source material for that was a full-length stage play, so there's more material to work with.

[Fergenaprido]

4. Paviljon VI: Ugh, that thumping mechanical soundtrack.

Was that the soundtrack? It only came in at certain times, so I thought maybe it was atmospheric noises, like the daily grind of a nearby mill or something.

There isn't any soundtrack, only the pounding sound of a factory outside the walls.

That makes sense. I actually didn't mind the pounding and the way it created an oppressive atmosphere. One of the few things that worked in the film, for me.

[Mario Gaborović]

I guess JT is busy hitting naughty children's palms with a stick, so I'll post the final results of this group:

Une si jolie petite plage: 90-45
Dabba: 73-62
Yeelen: 66-69
Paviljon VI: 41-94

France and India advance.

[Armoreska]

I think this is the first group with no big country upsets, although the most prominent movie lost.

[Mario Gaborović]

I think this is the first group with no big country upsets, although the most prominent movie lost.

It's also the first time - believe it or not - that France is advancing the first stage in three WC attempts.

[joachimt]

I guess JT is busy hitting naughty children's palms with a stick, so I'll post the final results of this group:

Une si jolie petite plage: 90-45
Dabba: 73-62
Yeelen: 66-69
Paviljon VI: 41-94

France and India advance.

Indeed, I was working. Then family time. Then being a referee at a sports match. Just got home.

Confirmation of the final score:

Une si jolie petite plage: 2 (90-45)
Dabba: 2.378 (73-62)
Yeelen: 2.533 (66-69)
Paviljon VI: 3.089 (41-94)

France and India proceed. Congratulations, klaus78 and tommy_leazaq!
Also thanks to Mario Gaborović and Fergenaprido for their picks and to the 45 people who voted this round.

[Nathan Treadway]

Still 41 with perfect attendance?

[joachimt]

Still 41 with perfect attendance?

Did I say 41 last time? It's 40 now, but the two users with 3 votes (RBG and PA) did vote this round.

40 voters with 4/4

72allinncallme
Angel Glez
Armoreska
beavis
burneyfan
clemmetarey
Cocoa
Daviddoes
edward5
Fergenaprido
Film Junkie
filmbantha
funkybusiness
Gershwin
Gorro
hurluberlu
jdidaco
joachimt
jvv
klaus78
Lilarcor
Mario Gaborović
Mate_cosido
metaller
mjf314
Mochard
Muellwind
Nathan Treadway
Nopros
sacmersault
sebby
Smoover
tarr
tommy_leazaq
toro913
wasabi
weirdboy
XxXApathy420XxX
zhangalan
zuma

3/4

PeacefulAnarchy
RBG

2/4

cayado-coro
connordenney
RogerTheMovieManiac88

1/4

blocho
Cynical Cinephile
musikurt
nimimerkillinen
sortile9io

[joachimt]

40 people voted in all three matches so far. That's quite a lot considering a participation of 47, 43 and 42 per match. Most voters seem to play the whole game completely.

It was 40 already last time.

[sacmersault]

Just to be a contrarian, I propose a play-off for smaller countries. Either to qualify to the WC or as an alternative tournament. So that non-historic big countries don't participate. Who agrees?

[Angel Glez]

Don't wanna sound arrogant, but the D group, where I'm manager myself, seems to be the strongest one.

A French classic, a Chekhov adaptation, and best-known African film. I think India seems a bit weaker, but its ratings on IMDb are 7.8 so I wouldn't write it off too early.

I LOVE The Lunchbox so I guess it has very little chance.

I didn't see this coming. Congrats, Tommy!

[Mario Gaborović]

Just to be a contrarian, I propose a play-off for smaller countries. Either to qualify to the WC or as an alternative tournament. So that non-historic big countries don't participate. Who agrees?

Bad decision for so many reasons.

First, what's big and what's small country - the limits are murky. Second, it would be dumb for big countries not to participate at all, while on the other hand, if they'd do, play-offs for "smaller" countries would be discriminating as they first need to break the first barrier among themselves, and ONLY THEN they could face "big" countries. For instance, Bolivia would eliminate Latvia with Ukamau easily but ended up weakened when against the Czech Republic since they'd have to choose another film.

I'm interested where do you see problem with the present system as upsets are more frequent than you think. (for example, France advanced to the second stage only in the 3rd attempt, Germany is yet to do it - we'll see about this season, etc).

[Nathan Treadway]

I'd be extremely surprised if Germany doesn't get out of the first round with the film chosen. (But that's a few months away, yet.)

[Nathan Treadway]

40 people voted in all three matches so far. That's quite a lot considering a participation of 47, 43 and 42 per match. Most voters seem to play the whole game completely.

It was 40 already last time.

So far, 80% of the people have played the entire game. Hopefully the only cause for decrease will be new participants!

[tommy_leazaq]

Don't wanna sound arrogant, but the D group, where I'm manager myself, seems to be the strongest one.

A French classic, a Chekhov adaptation, and best-known African film. I think India seems a bit weaker, but its ratings on IMDb are 7.8 so I wouldn't write it off too early.

I LOVE The Lunchbox so I guess it has very little chance.

I didn't see this coming. Congrats, Tommy!

Yeah, its really tough group and Im happy to see India made it. Kudos to all the other managers as well for choosing very good films.

[Gershwin]

Just to be a contrarian, I propose a play-off for smaller countries. Either to qualify to the WC or as an alternative tournament. So that non-historic big countries don't participate. Who agrees?

Bad decision for so many reasons.

First, what's big and what's small country - the limits are murky. Second, it would be dumb for big countries not to participate at all, while on the other hand, if they'd do, play-offs for "smaller" countries would be discriminating as they first need to break the first barrier among themselves, and ONLY THEN they could face "big" countries. For instance, Bolivia would eliminate Latvia with Ukamau easily but ended up weakened when against the Czech Republic since they'd have to choose another film.

I'm interested where do you see problem with the present system as upsets are more frequent than you think. (for example, France advanced to the second stage only in the 3rd attempt, Germany is yet to do it - we'll see about this season, etc).

Well, I've been seeing way too many mediocre films from small-output countries during this WC. I wouldn't mind a solution to that, although I doubt a play-off for smaller countries is the best one thinkable. But basically there are just too many countries participating.