Movie Watching in Quarantine Times
Thursday, March 26, 2020 at 1:00PM
With all of us self isolating in quarantine the daily question of what to watch gains even more importance. Not only do you want to watch something good and entertaining but also something that will engross and really distract and take you away from the reality of the grave situation we are living in. Something soothing and comforting above all, however you never know where comfort might come from.
Last night I thought a comedy was in order and based on Wes Anderson’s recommendation in a sweet email to The Criterion Channel I chose Arthur Hiller’s The-Out-of-Towners (1970) with Jack Lemmon and Sandy Denis. However I turned it off 15 minutes into the film. Lemmon constantly yelling his entitlement was not comforting nor funny. The rants were well written and the situations would have probably been funny in another context. But not at this time.
Last week the movie was Francois Trauffaut’s The Last Metro (1980)...
It was a major blind spot in my viewing as someone who loves Catherine Deneuve and Trauffaut and that is why I chose it. I wasn’t looking for comfort or laughter with that film just trying to fill a gap in my viewing history. Yet surprisingly it was the one that gave me the most comfort and I came out of it energized to persevere no matter what.
The Last Metro takes place in Nazi occupied Paris during the second world war. Similar to Trauffaut’s Day For Night it grapples with how a group of people come together and make art. In this story it’s a theater troupe that has to deal with not just the occupation but censorship as well as their artistic director - Lucas Steiner played by Heinz Bennett - being forced to hide from the Nazis because he's Jewish. The trick is that he’s hiding in the basement of the theater and only his wife and the star of the play Marion Steiner (Deneuve) knows he’s there. He finds a way to listen in to the rehearsals and gives notes through his wife, while everyone thinks he has escaped Paris.
The film is about the artistic process and how personality clashes make great art even in trying times. However I found it oddly comforting to watch a story about a guy spending years in a room hiding while in self isolation. His circumstances are different from ours during this pandemic and the risk in going out was much more serious for him, and yet I couldn't help but relate. These characters take it in day by day, just trying to survive. By the end there is no big liberation or change, it’s just another day when Lucas is finally able to go out because the forces that could harm him have been defeated. This is how I hope we could all feel after this crisis is over, wake up one day and be able to go outside without any fear.
Which movies have you found comforting during this time?
Reader Comments (23)
The recent Deneuve coverage is appreciated. You can't but be reminded of what an incredible filmography she has.
The Out of Towners is hysterical. What the hell are you talking about?
I'm not a quarantine yet because of job items but I wanted to recomend a movie that I watched a little time before this happend and I think is the perfect moment to do it.
Maquinaria Panamericana (2017) is a story about a company in wich one morning the employees discover that the owner is passed and the company is in bankrupt, so they decide to hide the notice of the dead of the boss and they lock themselves in the place trying to find a way to rescue their jobs creating many troubles.
I find it very accurate to this moment not only for the decision of the characters to stay lock but also for the fear of truth and the denial mecanisms to confront a change. Is a dark comedy with a slow and aesthetic narrative and I'm sure many will love this movie as much as I do
Will likely marathon Angels in America this weekend. The angel’s message of “Stasis” and to “stop moving” seem especially relevant these days. Of course, in that piece, that mandate is wholesale ignored (“the world only spins forward”), versus now when it’s only partially ignored.
brandz: I mean, "Lemmon constantly yelling his entitlements was not comforting nor funny" is...yeah, an angry entitled white dude as anything but villain is not the right thing to watch right now as escapism when the president is... exactly that? And it's going to kill A LOT of people? Or, to quote a great movie that SHOULD have won Best Picture, "Then who killed the world!?"
I was watching "Some Like It Hot" on TCM it never gets old- what a funny funny movie
I haven't seen a new movie that I loved for awhile, but I've enjoyed revisiting many favorites. I've found the best movies are those that are plot heavy, because they are easy distractions from the current environment. Goodfellas and Rear Window especially were pleasurable rewatches - I did not think about coronavirus at all while I was watching them.
Sandy Dennis gets more mileage out of saying "Omigod" in various hilarious ways, Lemmon plays a jerk, but her response is what made the film for me.
Very pleased you liked "The Last Metro".
Try "Hope and Glory", watching people survive "The Blitz" puts our pandemic into perspective.
The Last Metro I think is one of Truffaut's great films but also it is one of the best films to feature both Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu. I love it.
I've been rewatching films of the MCU as they've been a great comfort as of late.
I can understand the reticence to dig into THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS right now, but it's one of my favorites. So, so funny, and so unlike the rest of Neil Simon's work for me. Sandy Dennis is also such a treasure.
I've been using this time to cross off Best Picture blindspots. Tom Jones and Driving Miss Daisy were dreadful. Ordinary People completely overwhelmed me. Really wonderful and a total surprise. So many modern indies owe a debt to it.
Notes on a Scandal gave me a lot of joy- such a hoot and so much actressing.
Honestly, I'm having a lot of fun with CATS (2019). It's a disaster, but it's so singular and batshit. I feel my love of it becoming less ironic.
Maybe a good time for smackdowns???
I have this great Blu-ray collection at home but all I could bring myself to watch the other day was Joe Dante's THE HOWLING, which I'd picked up on a double feature Blu-ray in a bargain bin for 5 bucks a while back. It reminded me of when I was sixteen and my mother, a closeted horror film fan, took me to see it, covering my eyes during the sex scene--I peeked through her fingers and saw my first frontally nude woman in a movie. Freud would have something to say about this whole scenario. I hadn't remembered it very well, but it was quite good, not up there with today's best horror films like GET OUT or HEREDITY, but much better than early eighties schlock like FRIDAY THE 13TH. I have to say, I miss practical effects and frontal nudity in horror films.
@LadyEdith: Hope & Glory is one of my faves! Really hard to find, though. Don’t believe it’s streaming anywhere, and I had problems finding a DVD for sale too. That said: it’s worth the effort.
Thanks James, I tried "Angels of America", but then switched to "Death of Stalin" - I just needed to laugh at a 'Dear Leader'.
15 minutes of the Out Of Towners is our equivalent of two paragraphs of (recent) Murtada articles. It doesn't have to be a complete meritocracy on the site(otherwise we would have The Claudio Experience), but if the question to the readers at the end of an article is by far the most interesting piece, then be fair and hand it off to an Eric or Glenn who could run with the task. Still love y'all, but with all this time on your hands you can do better.
Context please. Out of Towners was a 1970 comedy. You cannot compared it to what's going on in these dark days. Why would anybody compare this film with today? Don't get that at all. Context please.
And yes, Sandy Dennis is just wonderful in the film.
@brandz. Murtada was *very* clear about context, saying this was not a good film to watch RIGHT NOW. "The situations would have probably been funny in another context. But not at this time." How could you miss that??? Jesus.
Sandy: You say you love the site but you leave such an unnecessarily snarky comment?
TFE has the potential to reach, or for some, relive the heights and the glory days. Wanting the best out people isn't bad. Please when the Peggy Sue crowd post nasty things call them out, or else this is simple virtue signaling from a hippocrite. Even with your passive aggressive nastiness on equal or higher level than mine, I still hope you stay safe and well during this time Edward L.
I agree with jules that plot heavy films are relaxing at this time. Also star laden with beautiful scenery!
We just finished watching the 1970’s Agatha Christie adaptations of “Murder on the Orient Express” (Albert Finney as Poirot) and “Death on the Nile” (Peter Ustinov as Poirot).
Plus, then you can spend frivolous time fishing for trivia. Did you know that Angela Lansbury was Peter Ustinov’s sister-in-law?
I hope you stay safe and well too, Sandy.
I do call out other nasty stuff I see in the comments here, but there's been so much of it lately, I can't call out every instance of it.
I agree that wanting the best out of people isn't bad. I'm not sure that the glory days on this site are in the past, though. I've been coming here since 2001 and the posts are consistently good.
But anyway, peace to you - and do take care in these difficult times.
I'm surprised at the vehement defense of THE OUT OF TOWNERS. Admittedly, I've never seen it, but when I used to suggest watching it with my mom, she always refused, saying it was one of the most annoying film she'd ever seen. And my late great mom had great taste in movies.