In these days of social-distancing, even the chastest caress sends a chill down our spines. If you can’t touch your date or even talk face to face, you can still get your thrills vicariously. Nothing like some old-fashioned romance to get our minds off grim reality. Today’s Comfort Cinema recommendations are all about love.
When I was a kid, my abuela often exclaimed that all she wanted to see was a “nice, sweet movie.” (One time she went to see a movie whose title in Spanish sounded promising: “The Sweet Cousins”. Unfortunately, it turned out to be French soft core porn.) Anyway, whenever she said that, I’d think, “Ay, abuela, how corny and boring!” As I recover from what appears to be a mild case of the virus, I’m beginning to see her point. I’ve tried to keep up to date with the news, but there’s only so much distressing information I can take, especially when all I want to do is sleep. So I decided to compile a list of movies that provide much-needed escape. I’ve tried to come up with titles the whole family can watch, regardless of age, but I’ve noted where there’s nudity or violence that might disturb young kids. One more thing: I enjoy watching Robert Osborne’s TCM intros before a flick, so I’ve included them where available.
Continue reading Comfort Cinema
In the face of current events, many writers, artists and filmmakers feel a sense of inadequacy. “What good is my work in times like these?” they ask themselves. We’re not doctors or scientists. We’re not saving lives, like they are. It might even feel that telling stories and entertaining people are irresponsible endeavors, akin to playing the fiddle while Rome burns. I see it differently, having survived a difficult childhood thanks to the necessary escape that books and movies provided. When I felt lonely and powerless in those years that I still remember as the worst of my life, Fred and Ginger saved my life as they waltzed in luminous black and white. Rita Moreno expressed some of my own disappointment with America in a swish of skirts in West Side Story. I learned about surviving much bigger disasters than verbal abuse and mental cruelty thanks to For Whom the Bell Tolls. Cervantes made me laugh. Gogol and Chekhov took me to the Russian countryside.
I was stuck in a painful reality and all I wanted was to be transported to another time, another era, another place, and into someone else’s experience, someone else’s joy. So, don’t take lightly the ability to entertain and provide a rest stop, an imaginary shelter from life’s inescapably painful and terrifying moments. In the words of Joel McCrea in Preston Sturges’ Sullivan’s Travels, “There’s a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that’s all some people have? It isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan.”
Voted #1 in the Writers Guild of America list of the 101 Greatest Screenplays, Casablanca is a classic that’s still as entertaining and moving as when it debuted in 1942. What can one possibly say about this beloved film that hasn’t been said already?
Continue reading “Casablanca” RevisitedPerpetually middle-aged, tart-tongued, and pragmatic, New York-born character actress, Thelma Ritter was the voice of reason in many movies of the 40s and 50s. Whatever the genre, be it comedy, film noir or melodrama, Ritter was always a breath of fresh air and enjoyable to watch. I’m sharing a few clips of her work in honor of her birthday on Valentine’s Day.
Continue reading Happy Birthday, Thelma Ritter!