I am Cuba (1964)
Split into four separate stories joined only by a female narrator known as the “Voice of Cuba,” this film offers a dizzying portrait of Cuba during the Castro Revolution.
In the first story, Maria works as a dancer in a Havana bar and lives an idyllic existence with her boyfriend, Rene, until he comes home one morning to find a wealthy American businessman dressing, cavalierly tossing money at Maria on his way out.
In the second story, Pedro learns he must move after his landlord sells his property to a conglomerate. Bitter, he burns the land and inadvertently dies of smoke inhalation.
In the third story, a demonstrator is killed during a clash with police. In a transcendent scene, the camera follows the coffin of the martyred protester through the streets.
In the final story, a small farmer is reluctant to join the revolution, but changes his mind after witnessing the violence forced upon his homeland.
Mikhail Kalatoz’s film about revolutionary Cuba was financed as communist propaganda, but immediately suppressed by dissatisfied Soviet and Cuban officials. It was unknown in the western world until 1995, twenty years after his death.
It’s a little too sympathetic to the communist cause, but watching this beautiful film demonstrates why the promises of socialism were so appealing to the Cuban people.
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Inspired by a patriotic teacher, Paul Baumer enlists in the first World War, but quickly finds the reality of the fighting much less glamorous than he was promised.
Thirty years before Eisenhower warned of the dangers of embracing the military industrial complex, this film asked many of the same questions and openly questioned the legitimacy of sending young men to die in trenches for esoteric squabbles between aristocrats safely ensconced hundreds of miles away.
Over a decade before the world was once again embroiled in a globe spanning conflict, this film attempted to warn us, but we failed to heed that warning. Nearly ninety years later, this warning is no less striking.
A Flirt’s Mistake (1914)
Things go awry when a flirtatious husband (Fatty Arbuckle) mistakes a bearded raja for a woman.
This quaint film is a great showcase for Arbuckle’s immense charisma. Now primarily remembered for the sordid trial which ruined his reputation and career, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was a formidable silent screen star in the early twenty century, before he was surpassed by Charlie Chaplin and his former protegee Buster Keaton.
Annie Hall (1977)
After two failed marriages, Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) meets Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) while playing tennis and, after an awkward beginning, the two begin seeing each other. They fall in love and move in together, but, for no discernible reason, they drift apart and their relationship deteriorates.
The six movies Woody Allen directed before Annie Hall are among the zaniest, silliest, and funniest movies of all time, but didn’t prepare audiences for this brilliant fusion of Allen’s comic persona with a heart-felt reflection on the ups and downs of a relationship.
The amazing cast of supporting players includes Paul Simon, Shelley Duvall, Carol Kane, Christopher Walken, and famed theorist Marshall McLuhan.
Allen has spent forty years trying to recapture the magic of this film. He’s never quite achieved the same pinnacle again, but the movie launched an unparalleled fifteen year streak of excellent movies, only broken by the bitterness of his relationship with Mia Farrow.
A Cure for Pokeritis (1912)
After substantial losses, Mr. Sharpe (John Bunny) swears off gambling, until a friend convinces him to attend a poker game without his wife’s knowledge.
After Mrs. Sharpe (Flora Finch) deduces what’s really happening, she stages a fake police raid to punish her husband, and he once again swears off gambling forever.
Now largely forgotten, John Bunny and Flora Finch formed a hugely popular comedic duo for Vitagraph Studios in cinema’s early days, making over one hundred shorts together until Bunny died unexpectedly in 1915 at the age of 51. After his death, their fame was soon eclipsed by the next generation of comedic performers like Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle, and Buster Keaton.
The humor hasn’t aged well, but this is an important window into the mindset of America at the dawn of the twentieth century and a bridge between vaudeville and the slapstick style which dominated American cinemas in the 1920s.
The Wings of the Dove (1997)
Kate (Helena Bonham Carter) is dependent on her Aunt Maude to support her and her drug addicted father (Michael Gambon). Maude wants her to marry for money, but Kate’s in love with a poor journalist, Merton Densher. She befriends a dying American heiress, Milly (Elizabeth McGovern), and schemes to have Merton woo Milly and inherit her fortune; heartbreak and anguish follow.
This film reminds us Helena Bonham Carter was a fine actress before Tim Burton turned her into a permanent weirdo.
Elizabeth McGovern is perfectly cast as the dying Milly. I’m happy to see her belatedly getting deserved recognition for her recent work in Downton Abbey,
Based on a Henry James novel, this is the sort of lush, morally complex, melodrama I imagine when I think of romance.
Traffic in Souls (1913)
Because they didn’t understand the language and had no support system, immigrants coming to America in the early twentieth century were a prime target for exploitation.
This silent film dramatizes the experience of two young Swedish women forced into prostitution upon their arrival in the land of opportunity. Considering our current obsession with immigration levels, this is a stark a reminder it has been a problematic issue in America for over a century.
The Big Swallow (1901)
Annoyed by a photographer, a man walks towards the camera and swallows the cameraman.
Directed by James Williamson, this absurd film reminds us there was a time when simple camera tricks were cutting edge.
The film’s final shots, featuring the offending cameraman falling into a black hole and the unknown man backing away as he smugly eats his antagonist, turn an extreme close up into a coherent narrative.
Contemporary audiences can make logical connections between film images because people like James Williamson did the hard work of establishing those expectations, laying the groundwork for a cinematic language.
Explosion of a Motor Car (1900)
A car explodes for no apparent reason, and the body parts of its passengers slowly fall to earth.
This short film, directed by Cecil Hepworth, illustrates fear of technology was as prevalent one hundred years ago as it is today and stands as a stark reminder Tarantino and Saw are merely the latest manifestations in cinema’s long fascination with the macabre.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967)
Joanna Drayton comes home unexpectedly to announce to her parents, publisher Matt (Spencer Tracy) and art gallery owner Christina (Katharine Hepburn) she’s getting married to John (Syndey Poitier). Joanna’s progressive parents have taught her race shouldn’t be a determinate in how you treat other people, but their theoretical posturing is put to the test when they realize their little girl is going to marry a black man.
In 1967, this was cutting edge, but now it seems dated. However, it remains important as a reminder there was a time when serious, fair-minded people had reservations about interracial relationships.
But I don’t love this movie because of its importance to the history of race relations in America, I love it because it’s the last film to feature Spencer Tracy who died less than a month after filming ended. You can sense his struggle with mortality in his performance; you can feel Katharine Hepburn’s pride and sadness. The pain of the two leads creates a beautiful film about dying and grief underneath the surface of this film about the travails of racism in late 1960s America.
I Never Sang for My Father (1970)
Gene Garrison (Gene Hackman) plans to marry and move across the country with his girlfriend. His mother, Margaret, gives him her blessing, but his father, Tom (Melvyn Douglas) is hostile towards the union, preferring Gene stay in New York.
Tom has already disowned his daughter Alice (Estelle Parsons) for marrying a Jewish man and threatens to do the same to Gene if he leaves.
After Margaret dies, a guilty Gene postpones his plans, but as his relationship with Tom deteriorates, he must choose between duty to his dad and his own happiness.
Hackman is one of my favorite actors and, in this early appearance, he demonstrates a rare vulnerability.
Melvyn Douglas is heartbreaking as the bitter, selfish old man who refuses to consider the needs of others.
Estelle Parsons, best known as Beverly Harris is good in a minor, unheralded role.
As baby boomers retire and medical advances lead to longer lives, this brutally honest film becomes ever more poignant. Finding a balance between self-determination and the need to support and nurture our family is difficult, doing it without hurt feelings is almost impossible.
A Small Light (2023)
Centering the familiar story of Anne Frank on the brave work of the people who hid her and her family, this miniseries reminds us of the unsung heroes who courageously fight against evil and make it possible for the heroes we remember. Without Miep Gies, Anne Frank and her family would have died much earlier in the war, and we certainly wouldn’t have read Anne’s diary.
Miep’s decision to do the right thing was not born out of a sense of grandeur, but from a simple desire to do the right thing, to be a small light in a dark room. We can learn much from her example: behind every hero charging into battle to slay the dragon is the person who crafted their sword.
NYAD (2023)
At the age of 64, after several aborted attempts, Diana Nyad became only the third person to swim from Florida to Cuba. This film highlights the dedication and the setbacks, the confidence and the self-doubt which defined her journey.
It’s an inspiring story of what it takes to be an elite athlete. Annette Benning knocks it out of the park and Jodie Foster is excellent as the friend who gives everything to help in achieving her goals.