It Follows (2014): I can’t say for sure what draws me so much to this tale of inevitability and irreversibility. There’s definitely a certain aesthetic to the movie that I like and I’m also very drawn to the way in which David Mitchell manages to define the timeless contour of events – which, while seemingly set in the 80s, ebb into the past and the present. It emphasizes the inescapable nature of events, no matter how hard our protagonists try to shed “the curse”. The recently released Smile draws on It Follows, but it doesn’t reach the same sense of dread, compensating with scares and violence. It Follows is, ultimately, a romantic story about the loss of innocence, where romance turns in on itself and consumes everything it touches. 9
Rimini (2020): Ulrich Seidl proposes a darker, less optimistic version of Toni Erdman (RIP Peter Simonischek), as aging Schlager-star Richie Bravo begins his off-season performance series in Rimini. The usually glowing sea-side resort is cold, foggy and littered with homeless immigrants as Bravo enchants septuagenarians in the evening, while cashing in on sexual services for his fans at night. It’s all profoundly unromantic, as is the relationship Bravo has with his daughter, all pieces in a cycle of materialistic abuse and misuse. Seidl walks the fine line between disgust and sympathy for his lead, in an ultimately uncompromising story that dwells on the weaknesses of the human spirit. 8
Timbuktu (2014): Staying on the topic of religious extremism and its fallout, we change continents to Africa. A little over a decade ago, a jihadist group occupied Timbuktu, Mali, and aggressively attempted to enforce sharia, religious law. This movie is a snapshot of that time, it tells of pain and tragedy, but it really stands out in how it portrays the vagueries of sharia application, according to individual interpretation (and knowledge). The beautiful vistas make for a haunting backdrop to this hard-hitting movie, that feels restrained and extreme at the same time. 8
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023): After Selma Blair, it was time to turn to a more well-known case of a neurological disorder, that of MJ Fox. The Parkinson’s diagnosis, which he received before turning 30 and made public nearly a decade later, has changed his career and his life completely. With a series of clever recreations, the documentary sheds a light on how Fox has made sense of his fate, avoiding cliches and finding whatever makes life worth living. It’s never good to have a debilitating disease, but it’s definitely better to be rich if you have it, with society far from willing to create the required safety net for people afflicted with such tragedy. Both Fox and Blair look to help people believe, while lobbying and being philanthropic, but it’s the human side (who these people are and how we relate to them) that both documentaries manage to reach which makes them stand out. 8
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (2023): An atypical fare from Guy Ritchie, with toned down eccentricities and a focus on a tale of combat survival, The Covenant proves a solid genre flick. Featuring two strong leads, in Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim, who play a US sergeant and an Afghani interpreter, we tread the familiar terrain of family, brotherhood and loyalty, punctuated by engaging warfare and dramatic turnarounds. There’s not much else to say, it’s all fairly neat and provides what it says on the box. 7
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