The defiance of difficult art

Today's NYT has a feature on my beloved Letterboxd that opens with an anecdote that could easily describe me — I've always loved movies, but Letterboxd turned me into a cinephile. One line in particular jumped out, that the site "encourages people to engage with demanding art." How wonderful is that? And how increasingly rare. As American society careens towards idiocracy, merely consuming challenging art seems a daring feat.

If you don't live in certain bubbles, you may not have heard of the abysmal decision by Sony to move to mobile ordering at Alamo Drafthouse. Alamo has long been notable and unique among movie theaters in its strict policy of No Talking, No Texting, No Late Arrivals. Combined with its stellar lineup of classics in constant rotation, the policy made Alamo a cinephile's dream. That dream is now over.

Requiring people to pull out their phones mid-movie to order food or drinks is anathema to everything Alamo represents. Tons of people (no one can find numbers) are cancelling their Alamo Season Pass subscription, including me. I'm only half-joking when I say it's affected me more than my mother's death. A large, very enjoyable, part of my life is gone, because some soulless corporate shitheel doesn't want to pay human employees. But I think what bothers me most is his insistence on interrupting our consumption of art. It's akin to going to see a play and having someone pop up in front of your seat intermittently. "Hey! Wouldn't you rather look over here now?"

Our systems of power want us dumb. They want us glued to our phones, endlessly scrolling through influencers peddling shit we don't need. They don't want us to congregate or commune around shared experiences. Show them the middle finger by refusing to play along. Here are some movies to challenge you.

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (HBO)
Rose Byrne knocks it the hell out of the park in this one, but it's not exactly a joyride. If you're in the midst of caring for very needy children, maybe skip it for now. But everyone else can enjoy Conan O'Brien as a really bad therapist and A$AP Rocky being his usual gorgeous self for 2 hours.

Phoenix (Criterion, Tubi)
A slow burn of a movie with fantastic performances and one hell of an ending. It's easier to leave the plot description up to Letterboxd: "German-Jewish cabaret singer Nelly survived Auschwitz but had to undergo reconstructive surgery as her face was disfigured. Without recognizing Nelly, her former husband Johnny asks her to help him claim his wife’s inheritance. To see if he betrayed her, she agrees, becoming her own doppelganger."

And Life Goes On (Criterion)
Who's interested in watching something from one Iran's most notable directors? You are! Part documentary, part road trip movie, the film follows a director and his son as they travel through the country after a devastating earthquake (that really happened). The cinematography is gor-geous and you can't help but be wistful about the simplicity of their lives, even amidst destruction.

Phew. That's a lot for a Sunday. Hope you have plans today that involve hugging someone.

xoxo,
Carla