1

 Yes, 1, not 54. The last week has begun. As I was saying earlier, I was very touched by the sign with the player wearing 54 yesterday. Erik, the culprit, promised as a last week gift to not complain about Champlain or students, although we both know that I grouse about both far more than he ever does. My students were great on Monday, which may relate to a wonderful job by their professor, but I suspect only reflects either their being able to see the end of the semester - or some grudging happiness for their professor.

Thanks to Warren Moon for loaning me his #1 for the penultimate Countdown post. What can one say about Moon that hasn't already been said? He's the only player who appears in both the CFL and NFL Hall of Fame (the only other double occupants are coaches: Bud Grant and Marv Levy). He was born in Los Angeles, California, and played college ball first at West Los Angeles Community College and then more famously at Washington. Despite a stellar career at Washington, Moon went undrafted (I suspect he was a victim of the then long-lingering suspicion of Black quarterbacks, which seems insane now, but what fairly common until not that long ago). He signed with the Edmonton Eskimos, playing for six seasons, along the way winning five Grey Ciups, and winning the Most Outstanding Player Award in 1983. In 1982 he became the first quarterback in either league to throw for 5000 yards in a season. He then made his long-awaited arrival in the NFL, playing for the Houston Oilers for a decade, before brief stops with the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs. I will be sporting his jersey on Thursday, the last active class day of my teaching career.

East Calais Posh

 There are many things about Vermont that I will not miss, but there are other things that I'll miss quite a bit. Some of the smaller, more obscure, things are what I'll miss the most. For example, I'll miss my Saturday morning routine of making the dump to the local dump transit station on Moscow Woods Road in East Calais. I get to check out the local smart set (the dump is also where people running for office often hang out on Saturday morning, because it's the one place where you are guaranteed to see a lot of people). While there, as I've celebrated elsewhere on this blog, I get to deliver dog treats to Willow (now, sadly, on the disabled list with knee surgery) and Misty as they hang out in their truck. Then I head around the corner to visit the East Calais General Store, which is a great store - and Jen, who runs it, is really great and always happy to help out with things. Inevitably, I grab a breakfast sandwich to supercharge for my next stop - the gym in Berlin for my Saturday morning workout (since it's a half-hour drive to Planet Fitness it's OK to wait to grab brekkie at the store). Since the weather has broken (a bit, it snowed on Sunday - and I drove through a whiteout on the way to school yesterday), I sat outside to revel in the nice weather and scenery.

You can't get more posh than a sausage and egg sandwich and a chocolate milk.

54?

 Apparently there is a movement (conspiracy?) to convince me to put off my retirement and stick around at Champlain for another year. I found this photo on my door this morning, covering up the picture of Davis Sanchez's #2. The logic is that with my diva twice a week schedule I only have classes 27 days a semester, so 54 would be my year. No one has admitted to this chicanery so far, but, truthfully, I was sincerely touched by it. Maybe they will remember me past June.

Thanks to Justin Lawrence for unofficially loaning me his #54 as for the Unofficial Countdown as part of the scheme to convince me to hang around for another year. Lawrence was born in Edmonton, Alberta, (and thus he is a National player) and played college ball at the University of Alberta before being a 5th round pick in the 2018 draft. Over the years he's played for the Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts, and currently for our hometown Montreal Alouettes. He's a three time Grey Cup champion, once each for the three clubs - which would inspire me to sign him, because he's both a good player and also clearly good luck.

Movies in 2026 123

 

The Ghost Breakers (George Marshall, 1940)

After the relative disappointment of Phantom Thread I decided not to think, and instead simply watch a movie that I loved from childhood: The Ghost Breakers. It stars Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard (who I obviously have such a cinematic crush on) in one of the first horror comedies, which have been a staple of Hollywood for decades. Is it a great movie, of course not, nor even a good one, but it's also a film that I'd watch every time it popped up on the TV, and I eventually just my own copy. It also stars Willie Best, in one of those demeaning roles that black actors had to play for decades, as Hope's (Larry Lawrence) valet Alex. Apparently Hope said that he thought Best was one of the best actors he ever worked with, and other actors over the years said similar things, but Best was stuck playing certain roles. Later in his life he had pot and heroin busts, and the bad publicity brought an early end to his career. It makes me wonder if someone has written his biography, if so, I may track it down. The other interesting black actor in the film was Noble Johnson, who faced many of the same obstacles. Because of his imposing size, Johnson played a greater variety of roles, although none of them that gave him many opportunties: a zombie in The Ghost Breakers, a native in King Kong , an Indian chief in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, etc. What I didn't know, and which is very interesting, is that Johnson founded the Lincoln Motion Picture Company, an African American film company that made, what at the time were called "race films." The challenges of keeping the company afloat proved to much and Johnson eventually closed it down and went back to character roles. Again, I need to track down a biography.

Movies in 2026 122

 

Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017)

I'm always beating the Paul Thomas Anderson drum, as compared to the Wes Anderson drum (as I've lamented in the past, my students love the latter's quirkiness and are put off by the former's complexity). I should point out that neither of them are close to being my favorite directors, I just tend to like PTA a lot more than WA. Having said that, last night I watched a Paul Thomas Anderson film that I simply thought was over-praised: Phantom Thread. It's odd, because when I break it down I like all the component parts: great performances by Vicky Krieps (as Alma Elson), Daniel Day-Lewis (as Reynolds Woodcock), and especially Lesley Manville (as Cyril Woodcock); beautifully filmed; a haunting soundtrack. I found the characters completely unlikeable, and not unlikeable in a way that would teach a valuable lesson. Instead, they were simply vaguely unlikeable, and not interesting enough to make me want to dig deeper into personalities. I'm clearly in the minority here because it's considered one of the great films over the last couple decades, but I just never warmed to it. Obviously, I'll give it another try at a later date, and it may simply be that I wasn't in the right mood at the right time. 

In the Feline Orbit

 Whenever Janet is out of town I, naturally, get a lot more attention from the cats. Mollie will usually track me down at some point, mainly because I'm a warm lap, but Cici may completely disappear unless she's bugging me to eat or she wants to climb on top of me at bed time as I read (standing in for Janet). However, when Janet is out of town they are a little more present. 

This is pretty normal, as Mollie follows me downstairs to watch movies. Cici has her own chair over by the pellet stove, if she deigns to come spend time with us. Oddly, neither of them came down last night at all, which may mean they didn't like the movie offerings.

This is the more traditional morning lineup, at least for Mollie, who, after an exhausting night of guarding the cabin, melts on me right after her breakfast. Cici is always keeping Janet company in bed, but, lacking company, she suffered the humiliation of joining us out in the living room (you can barely see her hidden away on the loveseat. 

Movies in 2026 121

 

Grand Illusion (Jan Renoir, 1937)

So, Friday night turned out to be quite a doubleheader: Emily Atef's More Than Ever and Jean Renoir's classic Grand Illusion.  It was a first viewing for More Than Ever, but I've seen Grand Illusion many times (and can't imagine a universe where I didn't want to watch it again). The other night I think the inspiration for Grand Illusion was that I'm considering films to show as part of the final exam for my Images of Fascism class, but I never need much inspiration to watch Renoir's classic. It's one of the great anti-war movies, which made it's release only two years before the outbreak of World War II all more emotionally jarring. Jean Gabin was great (I mean, he's Jean Gabin, FFS) as Lieutenant Marechal. If you've seen a great film several times you always find yourself noticing different things and reflecting upon different performances or aspects of the film. Dita Parlo gives an underappreciated performance as Elsa, the German farmwife, who is herself a widow of the war, and who takes in Marechal and Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio). I've always had this odd cinematic category of women in movies who play a character that I imagine myself cinematically living with: such as Stella (Jennifer Black) in Local Hero or Kate (Karen Silas) in Simple Men. I think that living with Elsa in the mountains is now part of that collection. As I was watching the film I began to consider the career of Marcel Dalio, who lived through the war and relocation, and eventually transitioning from leading roles to supporting roles, and the crazy variety of movies he's in: Grand Illusion, Casablanca, One Night in Lisbon, Flesh and Fantasy, Wilson, The Damned, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Flight to Tangier, Sabrina, Anything Goes, Pillow Talk, Donovan's Reef, Catch-22, etc. Most of these you wouldn't know he was there, but he's essentially ubiquitous. You know me, I'm never guilty of hyperbole, but if you haven't seen Grand Illusion, you can't be considered a civilized, let alone a sophisticated or educated, person. 

Movies in 2026 120

 

More Than Ever (Emily Atef, 2022)

In addition to their other rotating monthly collections, the Criterion Channel often has one that focuses on a particular actor. This month it is Vicky Krieps. She such a fine actor, so it's nice to see more of her movies. I think the only one of her films I had seen previously is Bergman Island, which I'll definitely be watching again (so prepare for that addition). The other night I watched her in Emily Atef's 2022 film More Than Ever. Krieps plays Helene, a woman who is dying from a rare lung condition, and also stars Gaspard Ulliel, in one of his last roles, as her husband Matthieu, who is trying to help/understand. She decides to head off to Norway to stay at the cottage of a stranger, Mister (Bjorn Floberg), that she met online. Matthieu eventually tracks her down there, trying to convince her to come back home for treatment, and she has other ideas. I found it very impactful, and not simply because of the fine performances and the stunning scenery. There are times when I think I'm, in addition to many other perfectly valid reasons, going to Europe to just fade away on my own terms. I think that Cary Grant and Great Garbo stopped acting and giving interviews because they wanted their fans to remember them as they were and not what age was turning them into. I'm "slightly" less famous and beloved than Grant or Garbo, but maybe I'd just like my friends to remember me as I was and not this increasingly crippled wreck (this also explains why I don't want any public celebrations of my retirement, obviously). The Italians or Portuguese will only know me as this, and will simply abide me and not pity me. There are times when I think I won't come back at all, but instead send plane tickets to Gary and Ali to come visit. I doubt it it will reach that level, but it is something I think about. I'm not going to go kill myself or anything that self-absorbed, because, despite the constant pain, I love life too much and am looking forward to what comes next, but I completely understood Helene's desire to be left in Norway to face her end on her terms. Anyway, More Than Ever is heartily recommended.

2

 Well, here we go. One week left in my long career. My friend Kevin scolded me, quite rightly, for presenting a flawed countdown. That is, I'm only counting my teaching days, and I didn't include the days I have to be on campus for giving my Final Exams. This is, of course, a Point of Excellence, and I am guilty as charged. My only defense is that my spring schedule changed very late, and thus last December i didn't now if I was going to have final exams on two or three days during the Final Exam week, and thus it seemed safer to tie the Countdown to actual teaching days. Plus, there is no active teaching during Final Exams (although I've had students say things like, "wait, are you introducing new material during the Final Exam period? - to which I usually answer something like, "well, duh," and "expect an email from me this summer with new things to consider"). Finally, I suppose I could have tied the Countdown to my actual days left on the payroll of Champlain College, but that would have made this whole thing seem like it was a job, which I completely reject. Essentially, as with most things, I am unrepentent.

Thanks to Davis Sanchez for loaning me his #2 for the Countdown. Sanchez was bon in Delta, British Columbia, and played his college ball south of the border at Oregon. Unlike a lot of CFL players, who ended up spending their time in the NFL on the practice squad, Sanchez was on the active roster of the San Diego Chargers for a couple season. However, his greatest success was in the far superior CFL (as all right-thinking individuals know), and over the years he played for the Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Eskimos, BC Lions, and three different stints with the Montreal Alouettes. Along the way he was on three different Grey Cup winning teams. Since his retirement he's played a very active role in the broadcast booth for CFL games.

Movies in 2026 119

 

Rango (Gore Vervinski, 2011)

As you might guess, I give my students a lot of film recommendations, none of which they take - and they, in turn, sometimes give me film recommendations, which I occasionally take. Lately one of my favorite students from this semester has been hectoring me to watch the animated feature Rango, which I did the other morning. It was OK, and I certainly smiled at a few of the film references. Over the years my friend Erik and I have hosted a number of film screenings in an effort to introduce the students the better films, but they inevitably led to the two of sitting alone in the Alumni Auditorium watching together - and there are far worse things than that. I always thought that if I watched enough student-suggested films I'd eventually discovered a hidden gem, but in the end retirement arrived first. 

Movies in 2026 118

 

The Hand of God (Paolo Sorrentino, 2021)

Paolo Sorrentino was one of my great discoveries last year, and, again, why am I so poorly educated? The Criterion Channel exhausts itself trying to get me caught up (will I ever recover from growing up in Indiana?). His film The Great Beauty blew me away and quickly became an all-time favorite, and I'll doubtless be watching it again soon and thus it will make this year's list. The other night Janet and I watched his semi-autobiographical film The Hand of God, which was also very good. Like most Italian filmmakers, they're cursed/blessed to always be associated with Fellini. I read where one film critic had proposed that if The Great Beauty was Sorrentino's La Dolce Vita, then The Hand of God is his Amorcord. There is some definite truth to that comment. The great Toni Servillo (and Sorrentino regular) plays the father of Fabietto Schisa (played by Filippo Scotti) as he grows up in Naples, surrounded by his extended family, and focused on the possibility of the local Naples team potentially signing the legendary Diego Maradona. Teresa Saponangelo gives a wonderful performance as Fabietto's mother, while Luisa Ranieri (as his aunt, and object of lust) Patrizia and Betti Pedrazzi (as Baronnessa Focale, who gives him a tremendous gift) compete to steal scenes. Like all Sorrentino film, The Hand of God is required viewing.

Movies in 2026 117

 

Still Processing (Sophy Romvari, 2020)

And continuing along the short film path, I then watched Sophy Romvari's Still Processing. Last post I made the point that paying closer attention to short films would also introduce me to up and coming filmmakers who might soon be releasing feature length films (although, truthfully, I just want to watch quality movies, of any length, as compared to the utter dross that Hollywood produces). Sophy Romvari, a Canadian filmmaker, released her first feature length effort, Blue Heron, last year, although I don't think it made an appearance at a theater here in Vermont, sadly. Still Processing tells the story of Romvari looking through previously unseen pictures and movies from her childhood, which she had never seen because her father had hidden them away in the wake of the death of her two oldest brothers. Their cause of death is not revealed, although we learn at the end that they died as adults, on different dates, so you are forced to assume it was suicide (which would also explain why her father might have hidden the pictures in the first place). It's a haunting film, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her work in the future.

Movies in 2026 116

 

The Water Murmurs (Story Chen, 2022)

I don't know why I don't watch more short films. The Criterion Channel offers a wealth of them, but for some reason I don't go out of my way to watch them. Part of this might relate to availability, but the Criterion Channel helps solve that problem. Maybe, and this shows how dumb I am, I think of them as somehow "lesser" than a full length feature. Now, following that logic, I should never read short stories and only read full length novels (including coming up with some numerical boundary line of page numbers). Obviously, this is all stupid. Just as last year's effort to read things I don't normally read led me to some very interesting authors, but also made me rethink why I read certain writers and don't read others, this year's emphasis on film is both leading me to new directors but also making me rethink how I view film. Just as sometimes a short story is the best way to tell a story, as compared to a lengthy novel, then some times a short film is the best way to tell a fascinating story. Plus, I'm introduced to directors I didn't know about - and, it's going to put new directors, still honing their craft, on my radar. Anyway, one of my goals for the rest of the year is to watch more short films. With all of that in mind, last night I watched Story Chen's The Water Murmurs. As one might expect from a short feature, the story is more evocative as compared to definitive, and thus arguably more powerful and memorable since the audience is forced/allowed to "complete" the story in our minds. A young woman, Nian (Annabel Yao), visits her hometown, which is soon going to be underwater because of a mysterious asteroid collision. However, it's really much more a story about memory and loss than any sort of science fiction tale. It reminds me, sort of, of Jia Zhangke's Still Life, with a little Gi Ban thrown in. Story Chen received well-deserved recognition at Cannes for this effort. Definitely recommended.

3

 And we've entered the penultimate week, as we close down my four plus decade teaching career. Classes were good yesterday. In my COR 303 classes I taught the students a bit of paleography, to let them know in addition to understanding how historians approach their decisions-making process, they should also understand what we do on a day to day basis. It's one of my odder assignments, but one which has always proved popular with the students. And last night we watched Terrestrial Verses, and then I'd declared it Champlain College If Day - in honor of Winnipeg If Day - and asked the students how they would express the danger of creeping authoritarianism (like Winnipeg's 1942 If Day, I told the students to imagine that they took over the campus and show people what it would actually mean if we fully passed into an authoritarianism regime). They didn't do an extraordinary job, but they came up with some interesting ideas. I have come up with so many odd assignments over the years, most of which worked better than the ones that I had devoted more time to planning. I will miss that creative process after I shut it down.

Thanks to Vernon Adams, Jr. for loaning me his number 3 for the Countdown. I've actually seen Adams play a couple times, which, considering that I've attended over twenty CFL games I suppose that shouldn't be too surprising. Adams was born in Pasadena, California and played college ball at Eastern Washington and Oregon. He went undrafted by the NFL and attended rookie mini-camps with the Seattle Seahawks and Washington (at the time) Redskins, but never received an offer. He headed north, and began a peripatetic career with stops at the Montreal Alouettes, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes (again), BC Lions, and Calgary Stampeders. I've seen him have some great games. He was the starting QB in last June's freeze bowl game in Calgary that Kevin and I barely survived. Adams did not have a great day that day, but nobody did, including us.

Movies in 2026 115

 

Terrestrial Verses (Ali Asgari & Alireza Khatami, 2023)

Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami's Terrestrial Verses is yet another film that the Criterion Channel, in its infinite compassion, introduced to me. It quickly found its way into my film classes, and is a natural fit for this semester's Images of Fascism class. It almost makes me sad I won't be able to share it with students anymore. Last night, one of my students told me that we had finally watched a film that he was excited to show to his friends. I'm a little disappointed in regards to the other dozen films I showed along the way, but I'll take any and all small victories. It's a series of short vignettes, all featuring one camera shot, with a different person suffering through a variety of micro-aggressions from from nameless, faceless authority figures. My favorites were Selena, the little girl who wants to dance while her mom drapes dehumanizing layers of burqas on her, and Aram, the teenage girl who shows her high school  vice principle that the system has taught her a thing or two along the way. Terrestrial Verses is required viewing.

Movies in 2026 114

 

Daybreak (Marcel Carne, 1938)

I made the point a few days ago that I thought that Marcel Carne may actually be my favorite French director (I don't now if I can say that definitely, because there are so many great French directors and I'd have to brood over it - but I do really like his early films). Apparently Godard and Truffaut just brutalized Carne at the height of the French New Wave (I think they hated everyone, eventually including each other), so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they included Carne in their spleen. Last night as I was driving home from my night class I began reflecting upon this fact (it's an hour drive from Burlington to Calais, so I have plenty of time to ruminate). Godard and Truffaut were brilliant filmmakers who changed cinema forever, but I think I can say that I never cared anything about any of the characters in any of their movies, and I don't think I was supposed to. I cannot make the same statement about characters in Carne films. Sometimes it seems that our desire to be deconstructive replaces our desire to construct a narrative that tells a story that the audience cares about. Or maybe I'm being as unfair to Godard and Truffaut as they were to Carne? Anyway, I re-watched Carne's 1938 classic Daybreak, starring Jean Gabin, Arletty, and Jules Berry. I remember the first time I saw the film I was more than a little stunned to see Arletty in a brief nude scene, but then, she's Arletty, and they're the French, so I shouldn't have been. Gabin is, per usual, great, with that roguish tough guy persona. Highly recommended (no matter what the ghosts of Godard and Truffaut might tell you).

BOE Temporary Relocation

 On Friday we had a glitch in our usual Breakfast of Excellence schedule. As is well-documented, we always meet for breakfast at 8:00 at the TASTee Grill, but when we arrived all four tables are spoken for. We waited for a bit, but eventually had to track down an alternative option. This made us all sad, because we love to give the TASTee Grill as much business (and love) as we can (plus, they have great food). We settled at some new place, which exists, along with a bank, in the skeleton of the old Pizzeria Uno. It was a bit off-setting because it's right on the edge of the neighborhood where I lived when Jen and I were together, and we ate dozens of meals there over the years. However, it was more bittersweet because I'm going to miss these guys so much. I will definitely not be counting down the diminishing BOEs with CFL players, as I'm in a state of denial about the passing of this most beloved of traditions.

From left to right: John, Sandy, Kevin, Erik, and Kelly. It was a nice meal, although paying two separate times for a refill on coffee ensures that we will not return (truthfully, what variety of savagery is making someone pay twice for coffee?; I mean, if you order two lattes, then I think the separate cost is justified, but paying separately for a second coffee?). 

Movies in 2026 113

 

Dune (Denis Villeneuve, 2021)

The 113th film of the year was an unexpected treat, not simply because it wasn't a film that I was planning to watch, but, more importantly, because my son asked me I wanted to come down to his and Ali's place to watch Denis Villeneuve's Dune. Last year, as part of my year of reading things I don't normally read, I knocked off the first two novels Frank Herbert's Dune series. I remember liking the first one a fair bit, and the second one much less (at least not enough to inspire me to continue in the series). I thought Villeneuve's effort was a worthy one, and we're already making plans for watch the second installment soon. We had this passing but also tangible moment when we realized that it would be impossible for us to watch the third film in the theaters next December. Highly recommended - that is, spending as much time as possible with your son at every age.

Movies in 2026 112

 

Return to Reason (Man Ray, 2023)

Yesterday, thanks to the Criterion Channel, I watched Man Ray's Return to Reason, which is actually a compilation of four of his short surrealist pieces from the 1920s. The 2023 version was a product of Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan, both big fans of the original works, and this includes a new soundtrack. I enjoyed the four films, although I was also thinking that surrealism is one of those things that, here we are a century out from Man's work, would not have the same impact for the new viewer. It's not simply because surrealism has been so immersed (and in the process cheapened) into popular culture, but also because life itself in the age of the internet and smart phones and AI has simply become surreal. You should definitely check it out.

4

 Another week gone, and only two more weeks of the regular semester to go. I've officially lost the battle of the No Going Away Parties campaign, as two parties are now on the agenda. It's strange to think that by the end of this month I will be done with teaching - and my book will be finished (being published, obviously, will remain an ongoing mission, but having the great mass of it complete is going to feel wonderful/strange) - and then the summer and a very different life opens up. My main two goals, once May rolls around, are to devote hours a day to Italian - and to get back to the gym and the pool and long walks - as I begin to refashion myself into a new entity.

Thanks to Keon Hatcher for loaning me his #4 for the Countdown. In many ways his story is also a classic CFL story. Hatcher was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and played at Arkansas, but went undrafted by any NFL team. As an undrafted free agent, he spent a few years bouncing back and forth between the Oakland Raiders (twice), Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers (twice), and New York Jets. His career NFL statistics: 1 catch for 8 yards. In 2021 he headed north, and has been with the BC Lions ever since, including being a CFL All-Star in 2023 and 2025. Now, he's playing all the time, catching passes from the CFL's best QB (Nathan Roarke), and enjoying a lot of success. You have to love his story.

Oh, and I love the metaphor of this picture - 4 days left, but zero closing in fast.

Movies in 2026 111

 

RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987)

One of the many wonderful things about the Criterion Channel is when they go rogue - or bonkers - and have unexpected (inexplicable) collections (1970s drive-in horror, snow westerns, etc.). Currently they are featuring a collection of films that they, back in the early days, that is, when they were only the Criterion Collection and before the advent of the Criterion Channel, had permission to print DVDs with cool extra features and commentaries (they created the commentary track on DVDs). One of them is, again unexpectedly and inexplicably, Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop. I always forget how subversive RoboCop is, as are many of Verhoeven's movies. I didn't realize that Peter Weller, who plays the titular character, later earned his PhD in Renaissance art. I had forgotten that Ray Wise, who would shortly after this achieve lasting cultural fame as Laura Palmer's father Leland in Twin Peaks. I also had this memory that my son, when he was a wee lad, had a RoboCop video game (maybe just a handheld? - where maybe he was fighting Aliens?), although he has no memory of it. 

Movies in 2026 110

 

Pictures of Ghosts, (Kleber Mendonca Filho, 2023)

Recently I watched Kleber Mendonca Filho's Bacurau (2019) and Neighboring Sounds (2012) - thank you to the Criterion Channel for both. What I had not realized is that I had previous watched another of his films, Aquarius (2016), but it was several years ago and I hadn't put the pieces together yet. So far I've really liked every one of his films, including the one I just watched the other night: the documentary Pictures of Ghosts (2023). The documentary focuses on his hometown of Recife, so I guess this fits in well with one of this week's other films, My Winnipeg (although it was not part of a grand design). I think it was called Pictures of Ghosts for a couple reasons, the first being a spectral image that he inadvertently captured on film. The film opens with a reflection on the history of his mother's apartment, which I recognized from Neighboring Sounds (and he slides in scenes from that film, and others, into more personal shots - including the ghost. The rest of the film is dedicated to a heartfelt and poignant reflection on three movie houses from Recife and their eventual passing. Highly recommended. Hopefully his latest film, 2025's The Secret Agent, eventually makes its way to Criterion, although I suppose I could track it down on Prime.

Movies in 2026 109

 

Resurrection, (Bi Gan, 2025)

Guy Maddin's Only Dream Things oddly works very well as a precursor for the next film, although clearly that was not my plan. I just finished Bi Gan's 2025 film Resurrection. The Criterion Channel has started featuring films fresh out of the theaters (not Vermont theaters, sadly, but theaters in larger and more intellectually vibrant markets in New York and LA). They always start off with a specific date and time when you can begin to stream it, almost giving it a feeling of being in the theater with thousands of other film nerds across the world. However, after that you can watch it at any time. I've done both, although I have to admit that I really like syncing up that first viewing when I can. I discovered Bi Gan late last year, on the Criterion Channel, not surprisingly, and absolutely loved his first two films: Kaili Blues (2015) and Long Day's Journey Into Night (2018). He's known for including an extended - literally somewhere between forty-five minutes and an hour - single, uninterrupted take, which dominates the second half of his movies. It's extraordinary, and speaks to his incredible imagination and cinematic chops. Having said all that, I definitely did not like Resurrection as much as his earlier two full-length films. It's staggeringly brilliant filmmaking, and features another long sequence at the end which beggars the imagination. However, the central theme is so opaquely delivered - or Bi Gan didn't feel that it needed one (which is fine, obviously) - that the film ends up depending entirely upon the cinematography. You end up not caring about the characters at all because you simply don't know anything about the characters. It's extremist instrumentalist filmmaking, which tends to work well in short art installations like Maddin's piece, but which borders on tedium in a two and a half hour movie. I'll definitely watch anything from Bi Gan, and I need to track down his earlier work, but in the end, while I was impressed by the technical wizardry of Resurrection, it simply left me cold. I absolutely felt a connection to the characters in his first two films, but every actor in Resurrection simply felt like prop to anchor a camera shot.

Movies in 2026 108

 

Only Dream Things, (Guy Maddin, 2012)

After watching My Winnipeg, I'll doubtless, and predictably, going through all the Guy Maddin films on the Criterion Channel. I started off with a very short film, Only Dream Things, which Maddin filmed as a museum installation piece. It's all based on his own home movies from his childhood, which were heavily manipulated to give it a very eerie, Lynchian, feel. I can clearly see myself plopped down on a bench in a museum, watching it all the way through three times.

My Life

 The news is so routinely horrible - and my students are so overpoweringly disinterested - that even writing seems like fun by comparison. Actually, one of the things that is making the transition to retirement easier is how much I'm enjoying writing.

As my project is coming to an end, no matter what form, if any, that it takes, sometimes I sit back and think about all the work that I've done - and, more importantly, all that I've learned - and it's kind of staggering. And, really, that ziggurat of books is only a small part of the process, simply the primary texts that drove everything else. 

Movies in 2026 107

 

My Winnipeg, (Guy Maddin, 2007)

By way of preparation for July's CFL Trip of Excellence to Winnipeg/Saskatchewan, it's not surprising that I felt moved to watch Guy Maddin's beautiful/disturbing/funny/sad film, My Winnipeg. I'd heard about Guy Maddin for years, but for some reason I had never managed to watch any of his work. I'm definitely going to make up for that cultural/cinematic shortcoming. I saw My Winnipeg described as a "docu-fantasia," which, even though I've never seen the term before, seems to fit beautifully. It's a very personal reflection on growing up/getting away from/going back to Winnipeg. It's almost indescribable, but in a wonderful way. It also features Ann Savage (who we all remember from the definitive film noir Detour) as Maddin's mother. Essential viewing, and not simply for those attending a Blue Bombers game in July.

Movies in 2026 106

 

Hotel du Nord, (Marcel Carne, 1938)

Last year the Criterion Channel introduced a Poetic Realism collection, which introduced me to the work of Marcel Carne. Somehow I was completely unfamiliar with the work of Carne, which is pretty inexcusable since he's one of France's most famous and beloved directors. I ended up admitting to my friend Erik that Carne had become my favorite French director, which is a bit of an odd statement considering how many great directors were/are French (although I don't think it's just me being a contrarian). This morning I re-watched his 1938 film Hotel du Nord, which I think I liked even more than the first time. The film itself if often overlooked because it's falls in between two of his much more famous films, which I'll hold off discussing until the inevitable re-viewing of them. It focuses around a cast of characters who work at or frequent the fairly rundown Hotel du Nord. We're supposed to care about the star-crossed young lovers Renee (Annabella) and Pierre (Jean-Pierre Aumont) - they make a suicide pact which is based on Pierre shooting Renee in the heart and then killing himself - somehow he shoots her, it doesn't kill her, he runs away, and somehow they end up together at the end (it makes more sense in the movie). However, the film is completely stolen by Arletty, who plays the prostitute Raymonde, and her tortured relationship with her lover and procurer Edmond (Louis Jouvet). If you don't know the story of Arletty you should check it out. Beyond being a big star, she's also famous/infamous for having an affair with a German general during World War II in occupied Paris. After the war she was accused of treason, had her head shaved to be publicly humiliated, but then continued her acting career (it's the French, you know). As she brilliantly explained: "My heart may be French, but my ass is global." Recommended.

5

 Monday, day number six of the Great Countdown, started out fine but then ended in a discouraging fashion. Both of my COR 303 classes did a nice job on the morning's assignment. I gave them three anonymous accounts of the birth of Jesus, #1 (from Mathew), #2 (from Luke), and #3 (from Surah Mary in the Qur'an). It's one of my favorite mad Scudder assignments. It makes them address the notion of what constitutes a religious/sacred text, and what would be the challenges in treating it like a historical text. Later, my COR 204 section of Images of Fascism was depressing. We had a great section from Snyder's book, and then followed it up by watching Jafar Panahi's wonderful film The Circle. Half of the students were on their phones or laptops during the movies, not taking notes, but playing games. If a class dealing with Fascism tied to a class on Iran - at this specific moment in time - doesn't grab your attention, you really shouldn't be in college. It's hard to imagine that this generation is going to put up much of a fight as the US finally slides into a full blown authoritarian regime.

Thanks to Justin Rankin for loaning me his number 5 as part of the Great Countdown. He's quickly become one of my favorite CFL players, and not simply because I saw him play last year in Edmonton and that he became my go-to running back in my CFL fantasy team. Rankin was born in Oberlin, Ohio, and played college ball at Kent State and Northwest Missouri State. After going undrafted by an NFL team (the classic first stop on a CFL career), he played three years in the Indoor Football League (IFL), for the Bismarck Bucks, Frisco Fighters, and Bay Area Panthers (winning an IFL championship with the Panthers). After that he moved north and signed with the Edmonton Elks. After a slow start he hit his stride, rushing last year for 1013 yards and catching 56 passed for another 713 yards. I really need to get one of his jerseys.

Movies in 2026 105

 

The Circle, (Jafar Panahi, 2000)

As we enter the last three weeks of my Images of Fascism class we've passed out of the Czechoslovakian film unit (all late 1960's movies) and are entering the Iranian unit. I'm starting off with Jafar Panahi's brilliant 2000 film The Circle, which, happily, my officemate Erik loaned to me. I'm a huge Panahi fan, and I was positive that I had already seen The Circle. I did a preparatory watch last night, and obviously I hadn't seen it before - it's not a film that you would forget. I knew about it, which is why I decided to start our last section with it, but apparently I hadn't seen it. I cannot recommend it too highly. It's devastating, and even my students should be profoundly moved by it. The film focuses on a number of women trying, and failing, to survive the crushing patriarchal nature of the Iranian theocratic state. 

Movies in 2026 104

 

High Noon, (Fred Zinnemann, 1952)

I had not watched High Noon in several years, so the other day I was happy to see that it had popped up as a Criterion Channel option for April. I ended up streaming the first half of it on my phone Thursday night, and finished it on Friday morning. Obviously, I'd rather watch a movie on the big screen, but I sometimes end up watching movies that way on Thursday/Friday. I usually crash at Kevin's place after my night class, to avoid the long drive back, and also to set up Friday morning's BOE. After a long day, featuring the drive-in and three classes, I tend to crash pretty early (my legs are very demanding), and often start a film that night and finish it in the morning. Every time I watch High Noon I'm struck by what a cynical/realistic film it is. Apparently John Wayne thought that High Noon was one of the most un-American films he had ever seen, which probably actually makes me like it more. Actually, mainly I think that Wayne (and apparently Howard Hawkes) read the film the wrong way. It's our insistence on films that promote surface-level, almost innate patriotism, is one of the reasons why we're in the mess we're in now. It's like the talk I gave last year on the essential lie of American Exceptionalism. Similarly, I don't think that Michael Cimino's absolutely brilliant The Deer Hunter is an anti-American film. Rather, I think it's a film that deals with some bad things about America, but which in the process also say something good about America. In the end, everybody in the town, with the exception of his wife (Grace Kelley), abandoned Gary Cooper, but he did what he felt was the right thing, even though in the process he risked almost certain death. High Noon is definitely recommended.

6

 Another week has passed, and Thursday turned out to be a good day, mainly because all three of my classes were good that day. Teachers are simple people: if our classes are good, we're mainly happy. Even my 8:30 class was energetic and engaged, which hopefully had nothing to do with my having thrown them out halfway through Monday's class because they were neither energetic or engaged. The only problem with the week is that I learned that my goal of avoiding a retirement plan is failing - twice. There's a brief gettogether in Wick on my last class day - and apparently some off-campus soiree a couple weeks later (which my wife has been secretly involved in, which I guess shows that you can't trust anyone). I have separately thanked Janet - and Kevin - and Erik - (among the chief conspirators) for helping me to understand that it won't be the worst thing in the world that we have these parties. I will miss all my friends, which I understand, but apparently they're also going to miss me, which I guess I can't understand.

Thanks to Tyson Philpot for loaning me his #6 for the Countdown. Tyson is a National (meaning, Canadian) player for our hometown Montreal Alouettes (our closest CFL team, and thus we've seen more games there - it must be around twenty - and I've taken the most friends there, the official Alouettes friend total is nineteen). Tyson was born in Delta, British Columbia, before playing at the university of Calgary. His played for the Alouettes for four seasons, along the way winning a Grey Cup in 2023, and being named the Most Valuable Canadian in the game. I often chose him for my Canadian fantasy football team last year. Tyson has a twin brother, Jalen, who is seven minutes older, and who currently plays for the Calgary Stampeders.

Movies in 2026 103

 

Aliens, (James Cameron, 1986)

Following up on watching the original Alien, the next night we watched James Cameron's 1986 sequel Aliens. I've always considered the time I saw Aliens in the theater to be one of my favorite in-theater film memories, mainly because I think we arrived late, thus the theater was dark, and that then slid right into the beginning of the film where Sigourney Weaver's Ripley character is found in space. It gave the film an even more visceral feel. I've never been a huge Cameron fan, and I'll never get the three hours back that I wasted watching Titanic. Still, Aliens is certainly a fun ride, although I think it's clearly inferior to its predecessor (although you could also make the same comment in regards to the long-delayed sequels/prequels that Ridley Scott himself made). Mainly, as I re-watched it the other night I thought of the answers to one of my favorite trivia questions: What actors were killed by an Alien, Predator, and Terminator?

Answer: Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton (that said, I don't know if I agree with the premise, since Henricksen's Bishop was torn in half, but, as an android, he "lived" on to say the little girl from being sucked out into space)

Movies in 2026 102

 

Footprints, (Jaromil Jires, 1960)

Well, my break from Czech New Wave didn't take long. This afternoon I took a break after lunch and watched Jaromil Jires's 1960 short film, Footprints. This film definitely had a different feel than The Hall of Lost Footsteps, the other Jires's short from 1960 that I watched the other day. The Hall of Lost Footprints was more of a warning for the future, in the shadow of nuclear proliferation and the recent memory of the Holocaust, whereas Footprints possessed a more tangible central narrative that followed an event in a Czech village during World War II (although, to be fair, every lesson from the past is really a lesson about the future. I really need to take greater advantage of all the shorts that the Criterion Channel provides.

Movies in 2026 101

 

Alien, (Ridley Scott, 1979)

I took a break from Czech New Wave last night and we watched Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien, the one that began a never-ending franchise (one in which even Scott revisited decades later). The inspiration was an odd one. After a gym trip yesterday I popped into Shaw's and saw the ABC book A is for Alien in the grocery store's tiny magazine/book section. Of course, I had to purchase it (I think this has belated birthday gift for my son written all over it). Anyway, Janet and I read it and it inspired her to go back and watch the original, which led to me digging out my massive Alien boxed set (I think I also have a copy of Alien vs Predator somewhere). I suspect we'll be watching all of them. I think the original Alien holds up really well, certainly better than Star Wars. A couple of the special effects now look a little clumsy, but I also had to remind myself that the film is almost fifty years old (which made me feel even older than I already feel).

This is really the sort of writing that I should devote myself to during my retirement. The fact that this exists is both pretty funny but also subversive and more than a little perverse, but at least it's not that woman reading "children's books" that are thinly veiled and cringe-worthy wink-wink porn that YouTube thinks I should watch.

7

 I've now officially entered the last four weeks of my four-plus decade teaching career. I keep waiting for the nostalgia and bittersweet feelings to emerge. Mainly, I just want it over. Part of it is my own personality. As anyone who knows me will testify, I brood over things, but once I make a decision then the decision is made. I brooded over retiring for a couple years, and then, for several reasons, decided to retire, and after that there was no true regret, just a desire to get on to retirement and a different lifestyle. I'm still grinding away, including throwing my early morning Monday class out for not doing any work - and considering doing the same thing that night in my Fascism class. Maybe I'm just grouchy, but I guess I'm also just refusing to quit trying to teach these lunkheads something.

Thanks for Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback and Grey Cup champion Trevor Harris for loaning me his number 7 this week. It was hard to not feel happy for him winning the Grey Cup last year as a starting quarterback (he had been on two Grey Cup winning teams in the past as a backup QB) because his career is a classic CFL story. Harris was born in Waldo, Ohio, and played his college ball at Division II Edinboro. And then his odyssey began, which began with not being drafted by an NFL team. He signed with the NFL Jackson Jaguars, but was then cut after the preseason. He then signed with the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League and then the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League the next year. In 2011 he signed with the NFL Buffalo Bills, but for labor reasons (not the only time in his career) his contract was rescinded after, literally, a day and a half. After that he signed with the Sacramento Mountain Lions, although the league folded before he could get into a game. Later in 2011 he signed with the AFL's Orlando Predators, but the entire roster was let go (another labor problem) and replaced with, well, replacement players. Finally, in 2012, he turned his attention northward to the far superior (as all right-thinking individuals know) Canadian Football League (and this was usually interrupted with Harris getting into the dynamics of the team having an older and established veteran QB who was on his last legs), and played for the Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Redblacks, Edmonton Eskimos/Elks (and, of course, this would be the time when Edmonton would change team names), Montreal Alouettes, and finally the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Hopefully, we'll see him play this summer as part of July's Trip of Excellence.