Movies in 2026 30

 

Louder Than Bombs, (Joachim Trier, 2025)

It's only lately that I've discovered the Danish-Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier (thanks, Criterion, as always). This morning I watched his Louder Than Bombs, which I liked but didn't love (although it had some wonderful moments). It was chock full of fine performances, and Isabelle Huppert (not surprisingly) was transcendent. Sometimes I tell my students that their papers were not fully realized, after explaining that I swiped the phrase from movies. With that in mind, I guess my critique of Louder Than Bombs was that it wasn't fully realized. I found myself thinking that it would have made a better novel, mainly because there were clearly worlds within worlds beneath the surface of four very complex characters, and only so much time to explore cinematically. I liked his earlier Reprise, Oslo 31 August, and Thelma quite a bit, but unfortunately haven't been able to see his The Worst Person in the World or his current Sentimental Value yet. 

Movies in 2026 29

 

Vivre sa vie, (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962)

I've made the point along the way that I like Czech New Wave better than French New Wave, although that certainly doesn't mean that I don't like the latter. I think after making that bold point the other night I'm being drawn back to watching some of the best films of Godard and Truffaut and Varda, etc., so expect a number to appear. Last night I watched Godard's Vivre sa vie, starring Anna Karina (his definitive muse). She plays a would be actress, who, after leaving her husband and infant, tries to make it in Paris. Her job in a record story doesn't pay the bills and in the end she becomes a prostitute. Despite a tragic ending, she lives her life unapologetically. Karina's performance is wonderful, and the film includes some of those odd but brilliant moments (such as Karina's character discussing life with Godard's actual professor) that you'd expect from one of his films. The end will stay with you. Highly recommended.

25

 

Daniel Adeboboye is another native Canadian, born in Mississauga, Ontario, which is right next to two CFL cities, Toronto and Hamilton (it's essentially a suburb of the former). He attended Bryant University, and then played for hometown Toronto Argonauts, winning a Grey Cup along the way. He was traded to the REDBLACKS last season. Ottawa was the worst team in the league last year, but they just spirited Ryan Dinwiddie away from the Argonauts so I suspect better times are on the way.

I had just switched the weekly countdown number over to 25 days left until retirement, as signified by Daniel Adeboboye, currently of the Ottawa REDBLACKS, when my friend Erik caught the change on the door. He asked if that was the right number, and when I answered yes, he pointed out that it's not many days left. I think it's starting to hit all of us. 

Movies in 2026 28

 

Youth in Fury, (Masahiro Shinoda, 1960)

Here's a film, Youth in Fury, that I was considering using in my Images of Fascism class this spring as a Finals Week assignment, although I think I may have backed away from it. I'm not a huge fan of Masahiro Shinoda, although his Pale Flower is my favorite Japanese film noir. The film is about a university student who is drawn towards right wing terror as part of his and Japan's turmoil, which would have potentially made for a perfect fit for my Fascism class, but in the end I don't know if we get into his mind enough to allow my students to tackle with his motives in relation to the readings we've done on authoritarianism, especially the appeal of authoritarianism to the young. It's a good movie, and the ending is beautifully evocative of the age, so I may give it another consideration. Either way, it's definitely recommended.

Movies in 2026 27

 

Bitter Rice, (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949)

I literally stumbled across Giuseppe De Santis's 1949 film Bitter Rice. I was searching for another film in Criterion and this one popped up, and, well, you can imagine that I always wander down all those avenues. It's somewhere between a neo-realist exploration of social issues and a film noir. I didn't realize that even today half of the EU's rice comes from Italy, although I'm assuming the conditions are not as grim as they were in 1949. Recommended.

Sweet Birthday Gifts

 Beyond the Ottawa REDBLACKS jersey which is making its way south, Janet also bought me a couple highly entertaining (and informative) books on the CFL.

Steve O'Brien's book is very interesting, and gives you a clear sense of how close they always are to shutting down, but also their plucky refusal to surrender.

Stephen Drake's book is quite entertaining. I've just started and I'm already amazed at how many times the Grey Cup Trophy has been dropped, smashed, burnt, lost, and kidnapped for random.

Aveiro

 I was culling out material from my phone and came across a bunch of pictures from last June's trip to Portugal that I never did anything with (for who knows what reason - probably the demands of blogging about all of last year's reading). Anyway, I came across some nice shots of a lovely day that I spent, taking the long way from Coimbra back to Lisbon. Clearly, that's not a straight shot, but on each trip to Portugal I want to cover different corners of that marvelous country. It's kind of painful to think of it now, mainly because Sicily has taken center-stage in our plans, at least for the next few years. Still, even if we end of settling in Sicily forever, I'm sure we'll make it back to Portugal. Aveiro is often portrayed as Portugal's Venice because of its canals, although they are more artificial and much newer than their much more famous cousins in northern Italy. Still, it's a beautiful place and I could definitely see it as a possible relocation alternative, although I suspect it must get awfully crowded during the high tourist season.

The canal boats are called barcos moliceiros, which are modelled on the traditional boats used to harvest seaweed.

The canals come together as part of a larger, Venice-like (or Venice-light) lagoon.

It's a very charming town, and I'm definitely hoping to return.