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.