Movies in 2026 14

 

Simple Men, (Hal Hartley, 1992)

I have this suspicion that I probably re-watch Hal Hartley's Simple Men, the final film in the Long Island trilogy, on every birthday. Certainly, I would never argue that it's one of the best five movies every made, but it is doubtless securely positioned in my top five favorite movies of all time. To me, it's Hartley's best, although there are many of his other films that I love. We just need to remember: "There's no such thing as adventure. There's no such thing as romance. There's only trouble and desire." I used to propose that one of my mythical cinematic/literary relationship/locations was to help Kate run Homer's Oyster Bar and plant trees - essentially, I think that's where I've ended up. I cannot recommend this movie too highly. 

Movies in 2026 13

 

Barbary Coast, (Howard Hawks, 1935)

I got an early start for my birthday morning by watching Howard Hawks's 1935 film Barbary Coast. It starred Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson, Joel McCrea, and Walter Brennen. There was no great logic to this particular selection. Mainly, I'm still feeding off of the Criterion Channel's Howard Hawks collection. It's OK, and how could you ever go wrong with a Howard Hawks movie? I didn't know that Howard Hawks was born in Goshen, Indiana, although, like most Hoosiers who amounted to anything, he bolted pretty quickly.

Oh, and apropos of nothing, I just finished a re-read (for the first time in almost fifty years) of Booth Tarkinton's (a Hoosier who never left the state) The Magnificent Ambersons. What a great novel. It's so odd to think that Tarkinton won the Pulitzer twice (one of only four writers to do so) but is essentially forgotten today. If not for the Indiana connection I guess I wouldn't remember him either, which is a pity because he was a truly great writer.

La Befana

 La Befana snuck over from Italy to surprise Janet with presents yesterday. That witch is such a scoundrel, but she's obviously dedicated to her job of providing presents for all boys and girls.

La Befana is the Christmas witch - or just an old woman - who flies on her broom to give presents to boys and girls in Italy on Epiphany (6 January), which marks the official end of the holiday season. You get a couple smaller personal gifts on Christmas, but more tend to show up on Epiphany, along with a hearty Buona Befana!  She looks very comfortable on our Christmas tree, but she'll be packing up to head to Sicily soon.

Boys in Toronto

 Andy sent this picture along the other day, which was a very pleasant surprise. It's Kevin, Andy, and I in Toronto on our truly excellent Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts doubleheader from a couple years ago. We (that is, mainly, Kevin) had mastered the Toronto mass transit system, and thus getting to the Argonauts game was a lot easier than my last traffic-stalled visit to the stadium.

It's really difficult to express how joyous that trip was, although the looks on our faces might give you some indication. Getting away with such great friends is such an extraordinary gift. As I get older, and, well, I'm already like a thousand year old, I appreciate these adventures more and more.

Movies in 2026 12

 

Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami, 1996)

One of the things that's great about teaching - or writing - is that it keeps your brain working because you're always forced (encouraged) to go into new areas of thought. I think this was why I was always so worried about retiring, because my brain would turn to mush very quickly. My growing interest in writing has somewhat lessened that fear, that and the reality of being in pain every day has made me be more honest with myself. Anyway, I guess this is an intro into the movie I finished this morning: Abbas Kiarostami's film Taste of Cherry. It was probably only six or eight months ago that I watched it previously, but I was thinking that it might be a good fit for my Fascism class (I'm being fairly flexible in my use of the word, although we'll be doing out best to reach a cleaner definition, and focusing more generally on authoritarianism). My goal for the second half of the class is to finish with three Czechoslovakian New Wave films and three Iranian films, with Taste of Cherry being the last movie in the regular semester. By then I'm hoping that their understanding of film and authoritarianism will be subtle enough to allow them to delve into this complex film. Apparently Roger Ebert gave Taste of Cherry one out of four stars, and it made his list of most hated movies. It makes you wonder how he ever fabricated a career as a successful film critic because his take on this film is so woefully misguided (and trying to avoid the word moronic: he described it as boring, which is a criticism worthy of my students). It's an extraordinary film - and is highly recommended.

Movies in 2026 11

 

Hidden in the Fog (Lars-Eric Kjellgren, 1953)

Last night we watched Lars-Eric Kjellgren's 1953 film Hidden in the Fog, the final movie that is featured in the Criterion Channel's Nordic Noir collection. It starred Eva Henning, who was so good in Hasse Ekman's Girl with Hyacinths. I liked the film, although I thought it was the weakest of those featured in the collection, mainly because it never could seem to figure out what it wanted to be. Was it a psychological drama? Was it a true film noir? Was it a big country house murder mystery? It wasted time that could have been better devoted to fleshing out the motives of the main characters, and even the last scene, which ends with Henning framed (in classic film noir fashion) by her window, seen from the outside through fog, simply felt like an add-on as compared to a true reveal that maybe she was the murderer after all. I don't think I'd recommend it, although it had some nice moments. 

Movies in 2026 10

 

Death Is a Caress (Edith Carlmar, 1949)

Seriously, it's difficult to imagine a better title for a film noir than Edith  Carlmar's Death Is a Caress (with the possible exception of Takashi Nomura's 1967 Joe Shishido vehicle, A Colt Is My Passport). Not only is Death Is a Caress the first Norwegian film directed by a woman, it's also considered the first Norway's first film noir. The pervasive sexuality reminds me of Marlene Dietrich's famous observation that, "In America sex is an obsession, while in Europe it's a reality." It feels more like a character study of two obsessive, tortured souls than a true crime-driven film noir, although there is a murder at the end, but there is so much about the film that would genuinely qualify it for that vague category of film noir. It stars Bjorg Riiser-Larsen (who is wonderful) as a tortured rich woman and Claus Wiese as her younger mechanic lover, and their passionate and destructive relationship drives the narrative. Riiser-Larsen is considered one of the greatest Norwegian actresses of all time, while Wiese, oddly, ended up moving to the US and working in local TV stations and owning the Norseman Inn in Bethel, Maine. Carlmar directed ten films in a ten year period, and then retired as a director (introducing Liv Ullmann to the world in her last movie). Recommended. It's playing on the Criterion Channel right now as part of the Nordic Noir collection (and why don't you have the Criterion Channel?).