Weekly Movie Recommendations

Movies to See Right Now

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Delroy Lindo in DA 5 BLOODS. Photo courtesy of Netflix.

This week: an absurdist comedy from Korea, a doc that gives voice to trans creatives, an insightful jazz biodoc, a movie about a really bad movie and Spike Lee’s latest.

REMEMBRANCE

Ian Holm in THE SWEET HEREAFTER

The 5’5″ Ian Holm was a giant of the stage, where he created a definitive King Lear, and is most well-known in movies for playing Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings franchise. I remember Holm’s heartrending performance in Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter, my choice as the most profoundly sad movie ever. He also appeared in supporting roles in some of my favorite movies: Young Winston, Jesus of Nazareth and the Branagh Henry V.

ON VIDEO

YOURSELF AND YOURS. Photo courtesy of SFFILM.

Yourself and Yours: The absurdism of Luis Buñuel meets the social awkwardness of Seinfeld in Hong Sang-soo’s Korean comedy. During its Bay Area virtual run at the Roxie, you can stream Yourself and Yours at Roxie Virtual Cinema.

Disclosure: This insightful (and even revelatory) documentary about the depiction of trans people on screen is moving and thought-provoking. Disclosure is streaming on Netflix.

Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things: A Must See for jazz fans, this well-sourced biodoc brings insights into the juvenile delinquent who became an innovative genius, Includes a never-broadcast interview in which Ella makes clear her views on race. It opens today in the Roxie Virtual Cinema.

Da 5 Bloods: Spike Lee’s latest features a great performance by Delroy Lindo and a couple other compelling elements, but it’s too long and drags. How Spike reflects on the Vietnam War and on the Black experience in America is far more evocative than is the story itself. Da 5 Bloods is streaming on Netflix.

You Don’t Nomi: A deep dive into the making and cult film aftermath of a terrible big Hollywood movie, Showgirls. I don’t find Showgirls, campy as it is, that entertaining on a so-bad-it’s-good basis, but You Don’t Nomi does contain many of its funniest, most awful clips. I watched it on Roxie Virtual Cinema, but it’s available to stream on all major platforms. There are much better movies about bad movies: Ed Wood (about Plan 9 from Outer Space), The Disaster Artist (about The Room), Best Bad Movie (about Troll 2)

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Edward Andrews and John McIntyre in THE PHENIX CITY STORY

On June 30, Turner Classic Movies will broadcast The Phenix City Story; gritty, crisp and unvarnished, it’s a jarring contrast to 1950s Ozzie and Harriett American culture. It’s impossible to imagine a film noir that is more “ripped from the headlines”. The Phenix City Story is one of my Overlooked Noir; it’s hard to find to stream, so set your DVR for TCM this week.

John Larch in THE PHENIX CITY STORY

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Julia Garner in ELECTRICK CHILDREN

This week: The most original teen coming of age movie you’ll ever see, and a historical documentary with insights on two forgotten years of MLK’s life. Plus the most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find anywhere.

ON VIDEO

Electrick Children: A female filmmaker, in her first faeture, has created an entirely unique teen coming of age story – a magical tale of Mormon runaways in Vegas. Julia Garner, currently the best thing about the Netflix series show Ozark, stars. Electrick Children can be streamed from Amazon (included in Amazon Prime) and can be purchased from several other VOD platforms.

King in the Wilderness: This superb documentary follows Martin Luther King, Jr., through his turbulent final two years, when he was facing a big fat case of What Have You Done For Me Lately? It originally aired on HBO and won an Emmy for best historical documentary. King in the Wilderness is now widely available on streaming platforms.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Stokely Carmichael in KING IN THE WILDERNESS. Photo by Flip Schulke Archives – ©. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

Hong Chau in DRIVEWAYS
  • Driveways: I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than this charming, character-driven indie.
  • The Lovebirds: A rom com with a playful plot and a truthful relationship.
  • The Bandit: A Hollywood buddy documentary that features some amazing movie stunts.
  • Wind River: “This isn’t the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of you’re on your own.”
  • Unfriended: Teenagers find horror on their own webcams.
  • Touching the Void: the gripping true life story of a mountaineer who had to cut his climbing partner’s rope.
  • Searching: A ticking clock thriller that captures the Silicon Valley vibe.
  • Outside In: A story of self-discovery with an astonishing performance by Edie Falco.
  • The T.A.M.I. Show: The first concert film, featuring eight future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.
  • Cold Case Hammarskjöld: An investigatory documentary that sends-up the genre.
  • Spaceship Earth: A visionary scientific experiment, unraveled from human foibles.
  • Night on Earth: This indie has the funniest vignette and the saddest – all in one movie.
  • Very Semi-Serious: glorious The New Yorker cartoons.
  • The Whistlers: a shady cop and a mysterious woman walk a tightrope of treachery.
  • The Wild Goose Lake: vivid nights in the Chinese underworld.
  • The Handmaiden: gorgeous, erotic and a helluva plot.
  • Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project: it seemed crazy at the time…
  • Radio Dreams: stranger in a strange and funny land.

ON TV

David Hemmings in BLOW-UP

On June 22, Turner Classic Movies will air one of my personal favorites from the 1960s, Blow-up. Set in the Mod London of the mid-60s, a fashion photographer (David Hemmings) is living a fun, but shallow, life filled with sports cars, discos and scoring with supermodels (think Jane Birkin, Sarah Miles and Verushka). Then he discovers that his random photograph of a landscape may contain a clue in a murder and meets a mystery woman (Vanessa Redgrave). After taking us into a vivid depiction of the Mod world, director Michelangelo Antonioni brilliantly turns the story into a suspenseful story of spiraling obsession. His L’Avventura, La Notte and L’Eclisse made Antonioni an icon of cinema, but Blow-up is his most accessible and enjoyable masterwork. There’s also a cameo performance by the Jeff Beck/Jimmy Page version of the Yardbirds and a quick sighting of Monty Python’s Michael Palin in a nightclub.

BLOW-UP

ELECTRICK CHILDREN – magical Mormon runaways in Vegas

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Julia Garner in ELECTRICK CHILDREN

With Electrick Children, a first-time feature filmmaker has created an entirely unique teen coming of age story. Electrick Children employs an element of magical realism that requires the audience to accept a premise which cannot be real. The result is a highly original success.

A 15-year-old Utah girl has been raised in a remote fundamentalist Mormon enclave where everyone dresses as 19th century pioneers. She has been immersed in Bible stories, but hasn’t been exposed to any modern culture or to the facts of life. She happens upon a hidden cassette tape and finds her first rock and roll song revelatory – so revelatory that she thinks that the song has moved her to pregnancy. Here comes the magical realism – she really is a virgin, and she really is pregnant.

Because of her faith, she doesn’t find immaculate conception to be the least bit implausible. Not so with her parents, who wrongly blame her 17-year-old brother. Their answer is to kick the boy out of the home and to marry off the girl to a neighboring fundamentalist. Facing the unwanted shotgun wedding, the girl commandeers the family pickup and flees; her brother, seeking a way to prove his innocence, stows away.

The kids surface in Las Vegas, where they fall in with a band of runaway teens. Of course the Mormon kids are completely unprepared to navigate any modern city, let alone Vegas. Their guides, the more streetwise kids, are more comfortable with the glitz and sleaze of Vegas, but are just as untethered. The Mormon kids and the suburban runaways have life-altering adventures on the streets.

The girl embarks on a quest to find the singer who she thinks has fathered her child through song, not understanding that there is more than one rock band in the world (or that Blondie’s Hanging on the Telephone has not made her pregnant.) Central to the film’s success is that the girl is naive but never silly. The young actress Julia Garner shines in a performance that is never ironic and always completely sincere. The girl is determined and devout, seeking teen independence in ways that are logical for someone with her isolated upbringing.  Garner is currently the best thing about the Netflix series show Ozark.

As good as Garner is, the real talent here is writer-director Rebecca Thomas, who went from growing up in Mormon in Nevada to earning an MFA from Columbia. This is her first feature film, and I can’t wait for her next one. 

Electrick Children can be streamed from Amazon (included in Amazon Prime) and can be purchased from several other VOD platforms.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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THE LOVEBIRDS

This week: a Hollywood buddy documentary, an all-on-screens horror film, a current Netflix rom com and a sweet, heartfelt indie. Plus the most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find anywhere.

ON VIDEO

Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham in THE BANDIT. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Film Society.

The Bandit: The buddies in this buddy documentary are mega-star Burt Reynolds and his stuntman/friend/roommate Hal Needham, who directed the enormously successful Smokey and the Bandit franchise. The Bandit is a hoot, and features some amazing movie stunts., Stream it from Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Unfriended: Teenagers convene via webcams on social media. But their computers are hijacked by an Unknown Force who starts wreaking revenge. It’s a perfect little horror film for a time when we are living our lives on Zoom. Unfriended is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and to stream from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.

The Lovebirds: Issa Rae (Insecure) and Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Big Sick) star in this rom com. The plot is playful, but the relationship is truthful. It’s streaming on Netflix.

Driveways: I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than this charming, character-driven indie. The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

On June 18, Turner Classic Movies will air the hard-to-find Pale Flower, one of my Overlooked Noir This Japanese neo-noir is a slow burn that erupts into thrilling set pieces. Writer-director Masahiro Shinoda’s masterpiece is pioneering neo-noir. Don’t miss it.

PALE FLOWER

UNFRIENDED – run from your webcams!!!

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UNFRIENDED

In the very satisfying horror film Unfriended, it’s the one-year anniversary of a teenage girl’s suicide, and her bullying peers convene via webcams on social media. But their computers are hijacked by an Unknown Force who starts wreaking revenge. The kids become annoyed, then worried and, finally, panicked for their lives.

Here’s something I had never seen before this 2015 film: the entire movie is compiled of the characters’ screenshots. The critic Christy Lemire says that “Unfriended is a gimmick with a ridiculous premise, but damned if it doesn’t work”, and she’s right. Writer Nelson Greaves and Director Levan Gabriadze came up with this device, and their originality pays off with a fun and effective movie.

And, just like all-on-screens Searching, it’s perfect for a time when we are living our lives on Zoom.

It’s on both my 2015 lists of I Hadn’t Seen This Before and Low Budget, High Quality Horror. Unfriended is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and Redbox and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play and Flixster.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Lucas Jaye and Brian Dennehy in DRIVEWAYS

The best 2020 movie I’ve seen is the profoundly authentic Driveways. Yes, The Movie Gourmet is finally recommending a movie that can be described as “heartfelt”.

ON VIDEO

Driveways: I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than this charming, character-driven indie. The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.

The Lovebirds: Issa Rae (Insecure) and Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Big Sick) star in this rom com. The plot is playful, but the relationship is truthful. It’s streaming on Netflix.

Wind River: a smart, layered and intelligent thriller and another success from one of America’s fastest-rising filmmakers, Taylor Sheridan. “This isn’t the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of you’re on your own.” It’s available to stream from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Jeremy Renner and Gil Birmingham in WIND RIVER

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

John Cho in SEARCHING

ON TV

On June 9, Turner Classic Movies presents the character-driven thriller Woman on the Run (1950). This film is notable for its San Francisco locations, making it a veritable time capsule of the post-war City By The Bay. It’s a taut 77 minutes of an insolent, mouthy Ann Sheridan, the life-or-death manhunt and stellar period San Francisco. Woman on the Run is on my list of Overlooked Noir.

Deenis O’Keefe and Ann Sheridan in WOMAN ON THE RUN

WIND RIVER – another masterpiece from Taylor Sheridan

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Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner in WIND RIVER

With the contemporary Western thriller Wind River, screenwriter Taylor Sheridan has delivered another masterpiece, this time in his first effort as director. Wind River was probably my most anticipated film of that year because I pegged Sheridan’s previous movie Hell or High Water as the best movie of 2016. Wind River doesn’t disappoint and was one of the best movies of 2017.

The story is set in and around Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation. Cory (Jeremy Renner) is a professional hunter who finds the body of a native American teenage girl. To find out what happened to her and who is responsible, the tribal police chief Ben (Graham Greene) calls for help from the feds. That assistance arrives in the form of FBI agent Jane (Elizabeth Olsen), an inexperienced city slicker who has no clue how to survive in the lethal elements of the wild country. She is canny enough to understand that she needs the help of Cory, who knows every inch of the back country. He has his own reason – very important to the story – to solve the mystery, and the unlikely duo embark on a dangerous investigation, which they know will end in a man hunt.

The man hunt leads to a violent set piece that Sheridan directs masterfully. There’s a sudden escalation of tension, then apparent relief and then an explosion of action. Deadly chaos envelops several characters, but we’re able to follow it all clearly, while we’re on the edges of our seats.

Jeremy Renner’s performance as Cory is brilliant. Cory is a man whose life has been redirected by a family tragedy. He’s a Western stoic of few words, but – unusual for his type – an individual who deals with his grief in a very specific and self-aware way. Playing a character who reloads his own rounds, Renner is able to deliver hard-ass, determined efficiency along with some unexpected tenderness.

Olsen is also very good as Jane who understands that she may appear to be the bottom of the FBI’s barrel because she is a woman and very green and tiny. Resolute and spunky, she moves past what others might take as a slight because no unaided outsider is going to be able to navigate the harsh environment and the culture of the reservation. She isn’t trying to make a name for herself, but just to take responsibility in the old-fashioned way that we would expect from characters played by Glenn Ford, Gregory Peck, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. She’s got to do the right thing.

As Martin, the dead girl’s father, Gil Birmingham (Hell or High Water) has two unforgettable scenes. His first scene is phenomenal, as he processes the worst possible news with an outsider, Jane, and then with his friend, Cory. Graham Greene and Tantoo Cardinal are also excellent. Kelsey Asbille and Jon Bernthal are also stellar in a flashback of the crime.

Sheridan and cinematographer Ben Richardson (Beasts of the Southern Wild) make great use of the Big Sky country, with the jagged topography of its mountains and the feral frigidity of its forests. Wind River opens as Cory hunts in spectacular postcard scenery; when we first see the reservation, we are jarred – this is a very bad place.

Taylor Sheridan has a gift for writing great, great movie dialogue:

      “Who’s the victim today? Looks like it’s gonna be me.”

and

     “This isn’t the land of backup, Jane. This is the land of you’re on your own.”

When Cory says, “This isn’t about Emily”, we know that this is precisely about Emily. When Cory says, “I’m a hunter”, we know exactly what his intentions are – and so does Martin.

Sheridan hates that, in much of our society, people are disposable. He has explored that theme in Sicario, Hell or High Water and now Wind River. Wind River begins with a title explaining that the story is inspired by actual events, and ends with a particularly horrifying non-statistic.  I’ve also written an essay on Sheridan’s filmmaking signatures, the films of Tayler Sheridan.

Smart, layered and intelligent, Wind River is another success from one of America’s fastest-rising filmmakers. It’s available to stream from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to Watch Right Now (at home)

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Lucas Jaye and Brian Dennehy in DRIVEWAYS

I can’t think of a more authentic movie about intergenerational relationships than the charming, character-driven Driveways . The more I think about Driveways, the more I admire it – it’s one of the Best Movies of 2020 – So Far. It also features the final performance – so genuine and subtle – by Brian Dennehy.

Moment after moment of authenticity keeps Driveways from being corny. There’s not a hint of manipulation from director Andrew Ahn. That’s why Driveways is that rarity, a recommendation from The Movie Gourmet that can be described as”heartfelt”. Driveways is available to stream on all the major platforms.

ON VIDEO

TOUCHING the VOID

The gripping documentary Touching the Void the worst quandary a mountain climber can face – what happens if you must cut your partner’s line to survive yourself? Touching the Void can be streamed from Amazon and iTunes.

The excellent ticking clock thriller Searching captures the Silicon Valley vibe. And, perfect for a time when we are living our lives on Zoom, the movie is entirely on the character’s screens – those of his computers, but also on smartphones, television, a security video and a live funeral cam.  Searching can be streamed from Amazon (Starz channel), iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

RADIO DREAMS

ON TV

On June 3, Turner Classic Movies presents the documentary Peckinpah Suite (which I haven’t seen), followed by the Sam Peckinpah movies, Ride the High County, The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and The Getaway. You can’t go wrong with any of these, but the best is the iconic and influential The Wild Bunch, with stellar performances by William Holden, Robert Ryan and Ernest Borgnine.  Watch for two of my favorite character actors, Warren Oates and Ben Johnson, as the Gorch brothers.  Other beloved members of Peckinpah’s repertory company in The Wild Bunch include L.Q. Jones, Dub Taylor and Strother Martin. The great Mexican director Emilio Fernández plays the villain con mucha fuerza.

Peckinpah tells the story of men who have outlived their time, as the Old West gives way to the 20th Century. These are men who Lived By A Code, which leads to the finale, featuring the slow motion bloodletting for which Peckinpah was renowned.

Ben Johnson, Warren Oates, William Holden and Ernest Borgnine in THE WILD BUNCH

SEARCHING: more than a gimmick

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John Cho in SEARCHING

In the thriller Searching, a Silicon Valley engineer David (Jon Cho) has been single-parenting his daughter since the death of his wife. The daughter, now sixteen, doesn’t come home.  Has she run away?  He she been abducted?  Is she even still alive?  Searching is a ticking clock thriller as David and the investigating police detective Vick (Debra Messing) race against time to solve the case.  There are several red herrings, a couple major plot twists and one mega-surprise.

Here’s what is really different about Searching – the movie is entirely on the character’s screens – those of his computers, but also on smartphones, television, a security video and a live funeral cam.  The sixteen year-old flashbacks are shown on a sixteen-year-old version of Windows desktop.

This is NOT a “gimmick movie”. It is a complete movie that writer-director Aneesh Chaganty has chosen to tell through this device. For example, Chaganty barely gives a glimpse of the comments on on-line news reports – and no character comments on them – but the audience finds them maddening and suffers the indignities along with David. In the same vein, I also enjoyed the recent teen horror Unfriended, also told on a computer screen, and the claustrophobic drama Locke, set in the driver’s seat of an auto.

Detective Vick asks David, “Who is your daughter and who does she talk with?”, which puts the spotlight on the movie’s theme.  He’s her dad, and he was certain that he knows his daughter – but he finds out that, as a teenager, she has developed into an entirely new and unrecognizable person.  Obviously, that revelation brings him enormous guilt to go along with the shock, but he throws himself into the search by grabbing her laptop and hacking her social media.  As any good Silicon Valley parent, he opens a spreadsheet and starts filling it with what he finds out from the trail she has left online.

John Cho’s performance is pretty much perfect.  Of course, he’s already achieved popular success in two movie franchises – as Harold in the Harold and Kumar stoner series and Sulu in Star Wars.  Here, he gets a full-out, adult dramatic role and knocks it out of the park.  Cho modulates David’s increasing tension and desperation through the story, and he is perfect in the flashback scenes, too.

Aneesh Chaganty is a San Jose native.  Although he says that only two percent of the movie was actually filmed in San Jose, Searching really nails the vibe of Silicon Valley in 2018.  Locals will unmask the very slight name changes to recognize the Sharks, the SJPD, Oakridge Mall, Evergreen/Silver Creek Highs and more.  (The only egregious misstep is one character referencing Highway “101” in LA-speak as “the 101” .)

Searching can be streamed from Amazon (Starz channel), iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Movies to Watch Right Now (at home)

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Edie Falco in OUTSIDE IN

Honor the late indie director Lynne Shelton by watching a great Edie Falco performance in Shelton’s Outside In. I also have remembrances of Fred Willard, who, as much as anyone, invented the deadpan mockumentary, and actor Michel Piccoli, a stalwart of French cinema.

Coming up this weekend – a 2020 indie gem about inter-generational friendships – one of those rare heartwarming movie recommendations from the Movie Gourmet.

ON VIDEO

Outside In is a superb indie drama by director Lynne Shelton, who died this week. It’s a story of self-discovery with an astonishing performance by Edie Falco.  Outside In can be streamed on Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

The T.A.M.I. Show is the first concert film as we understand the genre today and features eight future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. It’s very easy to find the full one hour, 52 minute, version for free on YouTube, along with clips of each of the acts.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

SPACESHIP EARTH

ON TV

Harold Russell, Dana Andrews and Frederic Mrch in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

Turner Classic Movies is running their usual war movie marathon on Memorial Day Weekend. But my choice, on Monday, May 25, is a movie that evokes our experience today. The Best Years of Our Lives is about people yearning to Get On With It after their lives were consumed by an upheaval they all shared. In their case it was WW II. In our case, it’s COVID-19.

One of the greatest movies of all time, The Best Years of Our Lives, is an exceptionally well-crafted, contemporary snapshot of post WW II American society adapting to the challenges of peacetime. It justifiably won seven Oscars. And it’s still a great and moving film.

When Frederic March, immediately back from overseas, sneaks back into his apartment where Myrna Loy is washing the dishes, I dare you not to shed tears at her reaction.

REMEMBRANCES

Fred Willard (left) in BEST IN SHOW

Fred Willard, as much as anyone, invented the deadpan mockumentary, starting with his talk show sidekick, Jerry Hubbard character in 1977’s Fernwood 2 Night with Martin Mull. Willard’s zenith was in This Is Spinal Tap and the Christopher Guest ensemble mockumentaries that followed: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, For Your Consideration, A Mighty Wind and Mascots. He finished up by playing yet another uncontrollable character, Phil Dunphy’s dad on Modern Family.

Here are some tidbits from Willard’s unashamedly unprepared dog show commentator Buck Laughlin in Best in Show:

  • If you put them in a race, who would come in first? You know if you had a little jockey on them, going like this [imitates jockeys hitting the side of the horse]. 
  • And to think that in some countries these dogs are eaten.
  • I went to one of those obedience places once… it was all going well until they spilled hot candle wax on my private parts.
  • [sees the trophy]  I’ve taken a sponge bath in smaller bowls than that.

Lynne Shelton in SWORD OF TRUST

Director Lynne Shelton was the best of the mumblecore directors with Your Sister’s Sister, Touchy Feely, Laggies, Outside In and Sword of Trust. Between her uncompromisingly authentic and goofy indies, she was sought out to direct mainstream TV like Mad Men and GLOW. She got in front of her own camera in Sword of Trust and delivered one of last year’s best performances.

Michel Piccoli in LA BELLE NOISEUSE

When I think of actor Michel Piccoli, I think of his simmering performance in La Belle Noiseuse; Jacques Rivette’s masterpiece has a run time of three hours and 58 minutes, and it’s gripping throughout because of the tension between Piccoli and Emmanuele Beart. He also appeared in Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Doulos, Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt and Luis Bunuel’s Belle du Jour, Diary of a Chambermaid and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. At age 85, he was very funny as a reluctant pope paralyzed by panic attacks in We Have a Pope.