Queen of Diamonds

will love and cherish this forever. The jackpot hanging over my head and trying to pinpoint how to get to it feels pointless. Sometimes you should light your cigarette and bet the last chips without counting

will love and cherish this forever. The jackpot hanging over my head and trying to pinpoint how to get to it feels pointless. Sometimes you should light your cigarette and bet the last chips without counting

If Old Joy is an ambient snapshot of Pacific Northwest Americana, then Queen of Diamonds is its Vegas counterpart. Vérité style framing, slow and meandering camerawork, sleaze and excess everywhere, Nina Menkes aims to capture the malaise of people living just on the periphery of a society that doesn't want them. A little too stripped back and unfocused for my taste but its isolated desert town aesthetic proved to be an enjoyable landscape to gaze upon over the course of 75 minutes.

If Old Joy is an ambient snapshot of Pacific Northwest Americana, then Queen of Diamonds is its Vegas counterpart. Vérité style framing, slow and meandering camerawork, sleaze and excess everywhere, Nina Menkes aims to capture the malaise of people living just on the periphery of a society that doesn't want them. A little too stripped back and unfocused for my taste but its isolated desert town aesthetic proved to be an enjoyable landscape to gaze upon over the course of 75 minutes.

As someone who can’t stand when the shot is cut too soon, this was lovely. I felt like I was watching someone’s collection of photographs. Great use of contrast. I loved her geisha white makeup and cherry red claws 💅🏻

As someone who can’t stand when the shot is cut too soon, this was lovely. I felt like I was watching someone’s collection of photographs. Great use of contrast. I loved her geisha white makeup and cherry red claws 💅🏻

Gosh, I love how Nina Menkes captures a feeling of malaise! The shot of Firdaus staring at a burning palm tree in an empty field will sit with me forever.

Every slow, empty moment says a lot more about the state of the nature of living and the anguish of it all a whole lot better than Magdalena Viraga did with its near-constant theatrical monologuing. The drudgery of it all will feel familiar to those familiar with the works of, say, Chantal Akerman or Clair Denis, but the way Menkes uses the framing of each shot to draw away from spectacle rather than towards it is honestly incredible. There’s a certain kind of numbness to it all, a purposeful paralyzation of the self, in order for the small cast of characters to make it through the day, especially Firdaus, played by Tina Menkes. Shots of her working in the casino, dealing cards, manning the wheel, etc. all make the glitz and glamour and excitement of Las Vegas feel like a prison in of itself. This nonchalant attitude, the sheer boredom by which exciting things are met with, is so oddly engaging. I am just in awe.

I’m going to have to revisit this film later after I watch the rest of the films in the Arbellos release of her works.

Gosh, I love how Nina Menkes captures a feeling of malaise! The shot of Firdaus staring at a burning palm tree in an empty field will sit with me forever.

Every slow, empty moment says a lot more about the state of the nature of living and the anguish of it all a whole lot better than Magdalena Viraga did with its near-constant theatrical monologuing. The drudgery of it all will feel familiar to those familiar with the works of, say, Chantal Akerman or Clair Denis, but the way Menkes uses the framing of each shot to draw away from spectacle rather than towards it is honestly incredible. There’s a certain kind of numbness to it all, a purposeful paralyzation of the self, in order for the small cast of characters to make it through the day, especially Firdaus, played by Tina Menkes. Shots of her working in the casino, dealing cards, manning the wheel, etc. all make the glitz and glamour and excitement of Las Vegas feel like a prison in of itself. This nonchalant attitude, the sheer boredom by which exciting things are met with, is so oddly engaging. I am just in awe.

I’m going to have to revisit this film later after I watch the rest of the films in the Arbellos release of her works.