Portland Movie Club

Political Films Meet-Up: “SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D'ETAT”

Let’s talk about movies! Join movie club member Clay Vaughn for the next film in our Political Films series with Johan Grimonprez's "Soundtrack to a Coup D'etat" (2024), a film about the 1960s Congo Crisis which received critical acclaim and was nominated at the Oscars for Best Documentary Feature.

Here’s how The Portland Movie Club meet-ups work:
Just like a book club, we watch the movie on our own time before we meet.

We'll meet at Lucky Lab on SE Hawthorne at 4pm on the scheduled date.

We'll typically have a sign at our table(s) but at least we'll try to be obvious and identifiable.

Grab some food and drinks to support our generous hosts and spend some time socializing and discussing this movie with us.

A Few Notes about the film:
Johan Grimonprez is a Belgian multimedia artist, curator, and filmmaker. The genesis of the project was Grimonprez's fascination with Nikita Khrushchev's alleged shoe-banging incident at the UN. The film is unconventional in that it consists entirely of archival footage, and relies upon music, newsreels, and other sources to narrate the story. It features excerpts from books by African writers Andrée Blouin and In Koli Jean Bofane, and from the audio memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev.

Viewing Options for the film:
For streaming, the film is available for free on Kanopy (if you have a library card, you can access it). It's also available via rental or subscription on YouTube, Amazon, Apple TV, The Roku Channel, or Fandango at Home. There is also a Bluray of the film available to rent at Movie Madness.

About Political Films:
This series is based on the New Republic article, "The 100 Most Significant Political Films of All Time" ([https://newrepublic.com/article/173376/100-political-films-new-republic-list] published in June 2023 and is a comprehensive list of films that speak to our relationships with government, war, bureaucracy, politics and politicians, crime, propaganda, classism, and more. The list is not intended to be a collection of the 'best' films, but the most significant (although many of them are also very good). Some of these films can be a challenging watch, I'd suggest www.doesthedogdie.com for content warnings.

Tips:
Once again, we do not watch the movie at the meet-up. All members watch the movie on their own time before we meet to discuss it. You don't have to watch the movie to join us, but it'll be more fun if you do.

Some people like to take notes or find books and articles related to the film and its subject matter, feel free to bring those things along if there's something you'd like to share with the group.

At the end of the discussion we'll pass around a ballot where we can vote on a slate of options for the next discussion. Lately we've been alternating documentaries and fiction films. So if you come to a meet-up to discuss a documentary, you'll vote on a ballot of fiction films for next time, and vice versa.

Previous films viewed by “Political Films” Meet-up members for group discussion have included: "The Conformist," "The Fog of War," "The Zone of Interest," "Harlan County USA," "Judas And The Black Messiah," "Medium Cool," "The President’s Analyst," "Marat / Sade," "On The Waterfront," "The Great McGinty," "Seven Days In May," "The Candidate," "The Act of Killing," "The Battle Of Algiers," "All The President’s Men," "How To Blow Up A Pipeline," "Do The Right Thing," "Malcolm X," "A Face In The Crowd," and "Dr. Strangelove."

Portland Movie Club Cult Films Meet-Up - Spotlight on TITANE
Let's talk about movies! Join Movie Club Members David J. and Victoria G. forTitane, Julia Ducournau's disturbing and provocative international sensation of 2021.

## Details

Join Movie Club Member Kyle C. for the next movie in his giallo series.
Here's how it works:

1. We will be meeting at Dot's Cafe, 2521 SE Clinton St., on Sunday, October 5 from 4-6pm
2. Grab some food and drinks and we'll spend some time discussing this masterpiece. (NOTE: Just like a book club, we watch the movie before we meet, streaming links below).

Movie Spotlight:
Set against the moody backdrop of Rome, "The Girl Who Knew Too Much" is stylish thriller that follows Nora Davis, a young American tourist whose vacation takes a dark turn after she witnesses a violent crime. As she tries to convince the authorities of what she saw, she’s drawn into a chilling mystery involving a string of alphabetically targeted murders. With no one believing her story, Nora must navigate a web of suspicion, danger, and psychological intrigue—questioning what’s real and who she can trust.

Often credited as the first true giallo film, the direction by Mario Bava blends noir aesthetics with suspense, laying the groundwork for a genre that would later explode in Italian cinema. The film balances eerie atmosphere, romantic tension, and a touch of dark humor, all while keeping viewers guessing.

Tips:

The Camera Eye discussion: Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Join Movie Club member Jake Brown for the next film in his series highlighting great cinematography in motion pictures: 1927's twisting tale of deception and forgiveness, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. Directed by renowned silent film legend F.W. Murnau and written for the screen by Carl Mayer from the 1917 story, The Excursion to Tilsit, by Hermann Sudermann, the film stars George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor, who delivers an Academy Award-winning performance. Sunrise also showcases Academy Award-winning cinematography from the talents of Charles Rosher and Karl Struss, who capture every moment on 35mm film in William Fox's (of Fox Film Corporation) new Movietone aspect ratio of 1.19:1, resulting from the image frame squeezed in slightly to fit in optical sound. Through this revolutionary Movietone system, Sunrise is arguably the very first professionally produced, feature-length film to incorporate an optical, synchronized soundtrack.

About Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
From Letterboxd: "A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife."

Viewing Options for Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Streaming options include Archive.org (cleanest, clearest, best option), Tubi (slightly cropped/lower quality), and Plex (slightly cropped/lower quality/fuzzy audio), with an additional for-purchase/rental option at Apple TV (cleanest, clearest, best option as well).

“The Camera Eye” Portland Movie Club Meet-Up Series
Whether 35mm film, 70mm, 16, Super 8, or digital, we want to celebrate the greatest shots in cinema history. This isn’t just about cameras and lenses, though. It’s framing, lighting, blocking, acting, makeup, costumes, location, set design, and so much more. Of course, cinematography is just a jumping-off point. What about sound design, characters, and most important of all, the story? Let’s discuss!

Here's how the Portland Movie Club Meet-Ups work