Movies in 2026 135

 

The Hedonists (Jia Zhangke, 2016)

I've talked about making a more concerted effort to acquaint myself with short films, and obviously I've already watched several. What's easy to forget is that short films are not simply early efforts as a director is learning her or his craft and trying to get noticed, but also options that they'll pursue later when it seems like the best approach for a particular idea. With that in mind, the other night I watched Jia Zhangke's 2016 film The Hedonists, a short film that he directed years after he was already the best director in the world (you know me, I'm never guilty of hyperbole, although I do think he's the best director currently making films). It was very much a Jia Zhengke project, cleverly commenting and critiquing the strange transitional world that China finds itself in. The Hedonists felt like an embryonic cross between his Still Life (2006) and The World (2004). Recommended (keeping in mind that he's my favorite current director).

And That's That

 So here's a picture that I snapped on Thursday night after the students in my last final have shuffled out of the room. I just felt I should record the moment, even if I couldn't quite capture the emotion of that moment (although, as my friend Sheila opined, there's no place lonelier than an empty class room at the end of a class). I sat there for a little bit and soaked up the moment, and cried a few tears. It's been a long run, that began in October, 1982 when I gave my first college lecture. I was TA'ing for a professor and he headed out of town, leaving me to give a lecture on Sparta to a class of 130 students, who were essentially my age (twenty-two). Later I'll have more to say about my feelings as I process this transition, and also my reflections on the state of academia and our students.

And that's that.