Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, directed by Pedro Almodóvar (1988)
This is a really fun and completely absurd early-ish Almodóvar film—a paragon of the beginning of a spectacular career. The story follows Pepa, an actor grappling with the aftermath of a breakup with lover and fellow actor Ivan. Over the course of the two days the film covers, Pepa encounters Ivan’s son, Ivan’s wife, Ivan’s wife’s lawyer-turned-Ivan’s girlfriend just a few members of the film’s whacky ensemble. Pepa’s adventure includes a friend who has accidentally become involved with a terrorist group, a spiked gazpacho (quick aside: this is one of the best soups), and a frequently broken telephone, all stunningly shown in Almodóvar’s signature bright colors and loud costuming.
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, directed by F. W. Murnau (1927)
I saw this at a Yale Film Archive screening in 35mm with live accompaniment, a pretty unique experience and an attempt to recreate pre-sound movie-watching experiences. Sunrise is a silent film about an unnamed man who cheats on his unnamed wife with an unnamed woman, who is vacationing in their rural village from the city. The city woman tells the man to murder his wife and move to the city with her, but his wife catches on. The man and his wife end up in the city, where they spend a whirlwind day together and rekindle their love, only to find themselves caught in a storm on their way back during which the wife goes missing. Watching this film with a pianist and a vocalist/sound effect creator was such a fun sensory experience, and the quality of the print was also fantastic. I liked this movie a lot, and Janet Gaynor, who plays the wife, is great—which makes sense, given that she won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Sunrise. The ending of the film, however, struck me as a little too pleasant—the cheating husband ends up finding his wife and they live happily ever after. He deserves worse. It’s a great silent film, but I’ve enjoyed others more—unfortunately, the husband’s ability to get back together with his wife whom he initially was ready to murder, maybe does not translate well to a modern audience (me).
My Brilliant Friend (2018-present), Season 4, Episode 2 Speaking of cheaters, I also watched this episode of My Brilliant Friend in which Nino, Elena’s boyfriend whom she’s pined over since childhood, continues to pull her around, hoping to continue dating her while staying with his wife. For those who are late—My Brilliant Friend is an Italian TV show based on the Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante. What’s great about watching this show is that I haven’t read the books in six years, but because the show really covers everything in the books, I’m remembering all sorts of subplots from the work. This episode was a little slower than the first, but as with last week, I highly recommend this show as well as the books. Watching them in tandem could be fun.
