Movies in 2026 148

 

Detour (Edgar Ulmer, 1945)

It was definitely Old School night at the cabin last night. After watching silent shorts from Chaplin and Keaton, Janet joined me to re-watch Edgar Ulmer's utterly classic 1945 film noir Detour. It's a film that we both absolutely love, and compete to jump in with the lines as they're spoken.  Ulmer is sometimes referred to as the King of the Bs, as in he's always associated with B movies, but that's pretty unfair. He ended up in that niche and could never quite climb out of it, but he directed the hell out of what he was given and his budgetary restraints. After it was over we started watching a related documentary on Ulmer (the documentary was two and half hours, while Detour is an hour). Ulmer's filmography is amazing, including a series of tuberculous informal films (he was a working director, and he took what was available). Ann Savage completely steals the show as the vindictive, psychopathic Vera - it's an absolutely stunning performance. The movie has aged remarkably well and is now considered a classic, and Savage's performance is the stuff of legend; it's the reason why Guy Maddin cast her as his mother in his docu-fantasia My Winnipeg. This is beyond highly recommended, it is required viewing. I've used it over the years in my Japanese film noir class (as we started the classes by discussing foundational aspects of film noir) and even my students loved it.

Movies in 2026 147

 

Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924)

I'm becoming quite the Buster Keaton fan, and it's about time. I've always liked Keaton, but never really watched enough of his films in a row to truly get an appreciation of him. He's wonderful, and it's hard to imagine a filmmaker who more consistently makes me laugh and gasp than him (while watching, I'm often amazed that he didn't kill himself). Last night I watched his 1924 film Sherlock Jr., which, in addition to some utterly crazy physical stunts, included some truly meta film mischief (his character, who shows movies, walks into the movie he's showing - which has been copied endlessly throughout the years). Highly recommended.

Movies in 2026 146

 

A Day's Pleasure (Charlie Chaplin, 1919)

I'm continuing my exploration of short and silent films, and this included last night's viewing of Charlie Chaplin's 1919 A Day's Pleasure. A good family man takes his wife and kids out for a boat ride, which leads to some inspired shenanigans. It's not the best Chaplin, but it's still awfully good, and you should check it out. 

Movies in 2026 145

 

Anatomy of Hell (Catherine Breillat, 2004)

It does seem like I'm re-watching several films (although I've also watched a lot of new ones, obviously), and one of them is Catherine Breillat's 2004 film Anatomy of Hell. I watched it for the first time a couple years ago and didn't like it, and decided to give it another watch and confirmed my initial opinion (although I think I liked it more this time). That said, I don't think it's a film that is meant to be liked, but rather a film that is meant to be experienced, and which is meant to make you uncomfortable. Amira Casar (in a very great and brave performance) plays a woman who tries to slit her wrists in a gay nightclub. She's saved by a gay man, which leads to the first words in the film: Man: "Why did you do that?" Woman: "Because I'm a woman." So, yeah, you know you're in for a bumpy night. The woman hires the gay man (played by Rocco Siffredi, an actual famous porn actor) to watch her for four nights and tell her what he sees. It's very graphic, which I guess explains why Breillat hired an actual porn actor for the role. Actually, I was less put off by the graphic nature of the scenes than by much of the pretty leaden dialogue, especially from the character of the man. Sort of like Belle de Jour, at the end you're not quite certain of what happens, that is, does the man commit an act or imagine that he'd like to commit an act. I can't recommend it, although I've also watched it twice, so clearly I see something there. I think I like the idea of Catherine Breillat making films more than her actual films, to which she'd no doubt say, quite rightly, "who cares?" Maybe I'll check back here later when I inevitably watch it again in three years.

Movies in 2026 144

 

Belle de Jour (Luis Bunuel, 1967)

My latest Luis Bunuel film is one I've actually seen several times: his 1967 masterpiece Belle de Jour. As I've stated previously, I go back and forth on Bunuel, but Belle de Jour is a film I've always liked, and tend to like more upon every new viewing. Catherine Deneuve plays Severine, a bored and sexually frustrated or frigid wealthy woman, who has elaborate sadomasochistic fantasies. At times it's difficult to tell what's reality and what are her fantasies, especially at the end, which can be read different ways. She grows bored and begins working at a brothel in the afternoon, which opens her up sexually, but also leads to disaster (if that's not simply another fantasy). This time the scene that jumped out at me was her killing time in between tricks. Another prostitute is working on a crossword puzzle, and asks, "Carries his father, six letters?" The well-educated Severine replies, "Aeneas, A-E-N-E-A-S." The other woman replies that it makes sense, since the third letter is an N, causing Severine to have a pained expression at the ignorance of her friend, although they are both working at a brothel. It instantly found its way into my book on the Epics. Recommended - that is, Belle de Jour, and not by book, although it would be nice if you bought it if it's ever published.

Sono In Pensione

 Recently I signed up for an online Italian class, because, well, it's time to get serious about beginning to learn Italian.  It's time partially because we'll (if the Italian government and court system play nice, which is probably a big if) be in Italy in a few months, but also because I'm now retired and am more in control of my time from now on (although I have lots of projects lined up, although I guess they're more my personal projects, and I will doubtless prove to be a more harsh tyrant than Champlain). I've tinkered with Duolingo, but I don't think it's really a system that's going to effectively teach you a foreign language, but it's OK for those stretches of five or ten minutes when you have some free time and you want to do something other than doom scroll. Over the last year or so I've also paid for Pimsleur, which I like and don't like. I certainly get more out of it than Duolingo, which may only partially relate to the fact that I'm paying for it, and it has less video game content. What I don't like about it is that you have to listen to a half-hour discussion all the another language before you can begin to get text. I understand that it's just a different way to approach learning a foreign language, but it just doesn't seem to fit with how I learn. Essentially, I need to see the text earlier, which relates to simply not being very good at foreign languages, but also because I'm increasingly hard of hearing. So, if I just listen to it the first time without having access to the text, I simply don't pick up the words. I'm going to keep it, at least through the end of the current term, because it might be useful to hear a different approach, especially during down times in my Italian course. My first course in the online class starts on Monday, and I need to get used to the idea of sitting in a chatroom, and this fills me with dread. It's exactly what I need to do, but I know I'm going to hate it at the beginning because it's going to inspire a ton of embarrassment. That said, I'm not going to survive in Italy by just reading text, I need to be able to chat, so I'll just have to plow ahead. I was watching a video today and how to prepare for our first chatroom discussion, and one of the first important phrases was "sono in pensione" or "I'm retired."

Movies in 2026 143

 

I Am Not a Witch (Rungano Nyoni, 2017)

One of the corners on the Criterion Channel website (which, again, offers me more films than I can ever watch) is the section on Films Leaving This Month. I don't want to be that idiot who had the chance to watch a classic film and somehow missed the opportunity because I didn't get around to it. It also foregrounds films or directors that may have gotten lost in the shuffle, and also puts me on the clock. And I'm glad the Criterion Channel put me on the clock, because this morning I watched one of the best films I've seen in years: Rungano Nyoni's 2017 film I Am Not a Witch. It's a Zambian film that focuses on a nine year old girl who is accused of being a witch, but it's really much more broadly about misogyny and corruption in Africa. Shula(Maggie Mulubwa) ends up accused of being a witch, and ends up being sent to a camp for witches, which is one part tourist trap of one part source for slave labor. Mr. Banda (Henry B.J. Phiri) plays the government official is charged with looking after Shula, but in the end exploits her. The film gets its point across, but it's never clumsy or preachy, and it's both funny and also heartbreaking. I suppose all the time I've spent in Africa, including far too briefly in Zambia, help me appreciate some of the more subtle points, but I think anyone would love this film. Highly, highly recommended.