I really enjoyed the "grand revue" format I used in May to make up for the depressing lack of content during the last few months. It seems so much more useful to provide little summaries of the movies I've seen instead of simply presenting the list each month and leaving it at that, so I'm a little surprised it didn't occur to me to do that earlier.
Before I proceed, however, a brief grad school update: I'm technically completing my first externship next week. I say "technically" because I'll be staying on one day a week for the short-term foreseeable future, since I'm at a stage of therapy with two clients that would make immediate termination inappropriate. Also I'm apparently a sucker for punishment who loves my 3 hour round-trip commute.
As you might expect, it feels weird kind of ending and kind of not. This year, in spite of its immense difficulty, has also brought immense growth. I've managed to get (mostly) comfortable in what has been a pretty hostile environment, and I've been proud of myself for rising to that challenge. I've managed to give myself a temporary out from having to work through my feelings in wrapping up this chapter of my training and my life, but obviously I'll have to deal with them eventually.
Should be interesting.
In the meantime, I have a week-long training at my new externship during the last week in June. I'm expecting my next placement to be dramatically different from my current one, which I think will be a significant relief so long as I don't get the bends from the insane culture shock (for example: they have FREE COFFEE--that's right, FREE!). I'm pretty sure I'll be okay, but again, it should be interesting. Transitions always are, I suppose.
Finally: I've begun writing my dissertation proposal, and the IRB application for the project has been submitted. I'm spooked by how easy I'm finding the writing process this time around, but if struggling agonizingly through my thesis taught me anything, it's how to make this shit less painful.
Pro tip:
Don't read your huge mountain of literature and then start writing. Write a bit after you finish each article. Cramming all that stuff into your brain only to let it all fall out before you can make use of it is a great recipe for a case of staggering avoidance of writing induced by irritation overdose. Nothing is more annoying than trying to find that one useful quote somewhere in 45 articles, only to discover that it actually doesn't say exactly what you need it to, after all gahhhhhh.
I'm sure I'll feel differently in August and September when I'm frantically trying to finish up in preparation for my proposal defense, but in the meantime it's nice feeling productive without the panic that has accompanied so much of my work in grad school.
Now, without further ado: the movies I watched in May.
15. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (4.5)
I'm getting an upset stomach just thinking about this movie--it's gutwrenching. That being said, I think it's very special and powerful, and overall a very interesting application of documentary filmmaking. Definitely see it, but on a day when it'll be okay to feel like crap afterward.
16. Sun Don't Shine (3)
This kicks off the segment of movies on this list that I watched at my very most favorite film festival ever, which I was able to attend because it was the same weekend as my fifth reunion, so I was totally coincidentally in town for it.
This was an interesting film, but I found the characters kind of grating and therefore had a hard time really caring what happened to them. However, the director spoke after the screening and pointed out that this movie is special in that it captures the disorienting, surreal limbo between the perpetration of a crime and facing punishment for that crime. So there's that.
17. The Patron Saints (2)
This documentary is a study of the occupants of a facility that cares for elderly and disabled people. Unfortunately, due to the non-directive nature of the interviews of each subject, it seems like the opportunity to explore really compelling questions of mortality and end-of-life care went unexploited. There was little depth where there could have been considerable profundity.
18. Porfirio (4)
This is a pretty singular film, not just because it's beautifully and intimately shot, but because it can't be neatly categorized as either documentary or fiction. It recreates the true story of a paraplegic Colombian man named Porfirio Ramirez, with Mr. Ramirez playing himself. As the Film Fest summary suggested, I would recommend watching the movie before doing any googling so as not to ruin the pretty shocking twist at the end. In spite of (or really, in part because of) its ultimate moral ambiguity, this is a really special movie.
19. God Bless America (2)
I feel a bit ungrateful giving this movie such a low rating, because a) director Bobcat Goldthwait was smart, hilarious, and self-deprecating after the screening, b) Goldthwait described the movie as "liberal revenge porn," which kind of makes me feel like I'm obligated to like it, and c) I met John motherfucking Waters after the screening and he was a DELIGHT and I almost swooned. However, despite the fun casting (OMG it's Freddie Rumsen!!) and some genuinely funny moments, it felt a little stilted, ham-fisted, and preachy, and Bobcat can do so, so much better than that.
This film concludes the Film Fest portion of the revue.
20. The Avengers (2)
Meh. For all the excitement, I found this movie completely forgettable. However, it gets one point each for 1) Robert Downey, Jr., obvi, and 2) now I finally understand why people like the Hulk (also <3 Mark Ruffalo).
21. Into the Abyss (3)
A deeply contemplative, sobering documentary (what else do you expect from the brilliant and slightly strange Werner Herzog?) on the aftermath of a triple murder in Texas, including the death of one of the perpetrators by lethal injection. In addition to the bracing human touch of each of the film's subjects, this film is a staid yet haunting consideration of the death penalty.
22. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (3.5)
A perfectly delightful documentary about the proprietor and chef of the first Michelin three star rated sushi restaurant, located in Tokyo. I hoped to enjoy it more, but it was so emotionally restrained that I found myself feeling uninvested in the story. However, there is a stunning montage of gorgeous, glistening fish set to Mozart that makes the movie worth seeing.
23. Moonrise Kingdom (5)
Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend!
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