This week on The Movie Gourmet – the Slamdance film festival is under way right now:
Note: Two highly recommended movies – both Oscar-nominated – The Secret Agent and Mr. Nobody Against Putin are now available to stream at home.
REMEMBRANCES
Here’s my farewell to Robert Duvall, one of the essential figures in cinema in my lifetime.
Director Frederick Wiseman was one of the most influential documentarians; he didn’t invent cinéma vérité, but he was one of its most famous practitioners, beginning with his first film, the disturbing psychiatric prison exposé Titicut Follies in 1967. Some of his best work came when Wiseman was in his 80s: Boxing Gym, In Jackson Heights and Monrovia, Indiana.
CURRENT MOVIES
- The Secret Agent: we’re all back in 1977, and he’s running for his life. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- No Other Choice: keeping up with the Parks. In theaters
- A Private Life: a shrink and her own issues. In theaters.
- Hamnet: a grieving couple finally aligned. In theaters.
- It Was Just an Accident: trauma, justice and complications. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- Mr. Nobody Against Putin: The first casualty of war is truth. Amazon, AppleTV.
- Train Dreams: quietly thinking and quietly feeling. Netflix.
- Marty Supreme: a portrait of chutzpah. In theaters.
- Sentimental Value: generational healing. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
- Jay Kelly: finding that the ship has sailed. Netflix.
- The Testament of Ann Lee: dreary, self-important and odd, In theaters.
ON TV
On February 21, Turner Classic Movies presents the one non-depressing Ingmar Bergman film, Wild Strawberries. There’s no denying that Bergman is a film genius, and he’s influenced the likes of Scorsese, Coppola, Altman, Kieślowski and basically much of the last two generations of filmmakers. But I don’t recommend that casual movie fans watch Bergman’s gloomiest movies just because they “are good for you” – I want you to have a good time at the movies.
Wild Strawberries is the story of an accomplished but cranky geezer. His indifferent daughter-in-law is taking him to be honored at his college. On their road trip, they pick up some young hitch-hikers and then a stranded couple. Each encounter reminds the old doctor of an episode in his youth. As he reminisces, he can finally emotionally process the experiences that had troubled him, helping him finally achieve an inner peace. It’s a wonderful film.