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Surprisingly, modern for its time, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes subverts the traditions of romantic comedies by focusing on the friendship of two women, over their love interests. Monroe and her co-star Jane Russell share wonderful chemistry, as girlfriends always looking out for each other.

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Every year since 2010, Turner Classic Movies transports their catalogue of iconic classics and forgotten gems from our TVs to the big screen at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre and Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. Despite the pandemic halting the festival for two years and the uncertainty the network has faced under the hands of different corporate leaders, the TCM Classic Film Festival remains strong and continues to attract audiences from every generation to celebrate not only the diverse history of film but also the magic of the movie-going experience. A dream for any cinephile, the festival features over 100 films shown in a variety of forms with special Q&As and introductions from actors, directors, and film historians.

As an attendee since 2017, I highly anticipate unpacking the festival schedule every year and creating a game plan to watch as many movies as possible with my brother while navigating the chaos that is Hollywood Blvd. From comparing schedules with other attendees as we wait in line to breaking into applause for every single actor and filmmaker that appears in the opening credits, the TCM Classic Film Festival, more than anything else, spotlights how the movies have the power to build community and connection.

With TCM playing such a big influence on my love for film history and inspiring me to create Films in Conversation, I had the great opportunity to cover the festival specifically for this newsletter. Watching a grand total of eight films, with titles ranging from the 1930s to the 1990s, I made countless memories discovering new classics and revisiting old favorites with the most enthusiastic crowds. Here’s a rundown of all the films I watched at the festival:

Thursday, April 30th:

Out of the Past (1947)

This year, the festival’s theme focused on celebrating the legacy of the immigrants who shaped the foundation of Hollywood. I kickstarted my movie marathon with a bang, attending the premier 4K restoration screening of the classic film noir Out of the Past, which is the product of two talented émigré filmmakers. French director Jacques Tourneur and Italian cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca both immigrated to Los Angeles in the early 1910s and worked their way into B-pictures. Through Out of the Past, Tourneur and Musuraca not only elevated their status as filmmakers but also defined Hollywood’s most iconic genre, the film noir.

Out of the Past is often heralded as one of the best film noirs of the 1940s because of its visual mastery, breakout performances from Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer, and sharp yet poetic dialogue. As a fan of the genre, I was excited to see how it would rank among the league of my favorite noirs, such as Double Indemnity (1944) and The Maltese Falcon (1941). Based on the novel Build My Gallows High, the film follows a former private detective Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum), who escaped his dark past in the big city to lead a quaint life in a small rural town. When a former colleague finds him, he must return to his old gang boss, Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), to settle some unfinished business. Discovering that Bailey had an affair with his mistress, Kathie Motaff (Jane Greer), Sterling wants Bailey to a pay a deadly price for his betrayal.

Although the film is remembered for its famous lines (“Baby, I don’t care,” or “We live by the night.”), film noir czar Eddie Muller and actress Dana Delany discussed during a pre-screening conversation how the script remained a work in progress throughout most of the production. While this screenplay in the hands of lesser actors might have fallen short, actor Robert Mitchum captures the complex inner emotional life of this hard-boiled detective, looking for nothing but peace of mind. Meanwhile, Greer brings a deep sense of vulnerability to Kathie’s character, who is often cited as the quintessential femme fatale.

What further enhances the film is Tourneur and Musuraca’s ability to visually represent the push and pull of the light and dark in Bailey’s life. From the opening scene, we enter an atypical setting for a noir, a rural town filled with nature and daylight. As the film flashes back to Bailey’s past, Musuraca immerses the audience into a mysterious city landscape, dominated by deep shadows, high contrast, and ambiguity. Inspired by German Expressionism, Musuraca helped define the look of the noir film through his distinctive cinematography. As I exited The Egyptian Theatre into the darkness of Hollywood Blvd., the daze of Bailey’s haunting past seemed to linger in the air.

The Fortune Cookie (1966)

To end the evening on lighter note, we headed to a screening of Billy Wilder’s comedy The Fortune Cookie, which paired the hilarious duo of Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon for the first time. The Fortune Cookie brought Wilder back onto the map after a string of commercial failures, following the success of The Apartment (1960). Witnessing a football player knock over a spectator during a game, Wilder originated the idea for a comedy about a lawyer named “Whiplash Willie,” who attempts to scam the NFL and broadcaster CBS into a major settlement after his brother-in-law, Harry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon), is hit by a famous quarterback while on the job as a cameraman. To win the case, Willie forces Harry to feign paralysis, despite only suffering a concussion. In Wilder fashion, the film is filled with entertainingly flawed characters, witty dialogue, and subtle social critiques of capitalism and greed.

Wilder and his collaborator I.A.L Diamond specifically wrote the magnetic and chaotic role of Whiplash Willie for Walter Matthu, who despite his extensive career in Hollywood, never had a leading role. Since Whiplash Willie is an opportunistic, manipulative, and sleazy lawyer, Wilder knew that Matthau could balance his unlikeable qualities with a captivating humor and conniving wit that would charm the audience – and Matthau does not disappoint. He steals the show through his fast-talking quips and exaggerated gestures. Matthau’s memorable performance landed him his first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

However, the production and the road to the Oscar was no easy feat. In a conversation with Charles Matthau and TCM host Alicia Malone before the film, Matthau shared how his father almost had to step away from acting because of a heart attack he had during filming which shut down production for several months. Luckily, through his resilience, Matthau returned and finished the film. Matthau’s road to the Academy Awards was similarly rocky – a few days before the ceremony, he badly injured himself while driving his bicycle on the Pacific Coast Highway. Nonetheless, he made it to the show and received his Oscar smiling with a broken arm!

While the chemistry between Lemmon and Matthau defines the film, Wilder introduces a team of lively side characters which make the film a touchdown. The star supporting character is “Boom Boom” Jackson, played by Ron Rich, who was present in the audience for this retrospective screening. Jackson brings an emotional layer to the script, as he spirals into depression after blaming himself for “paralyzing” Hank. Ultimately, Boom Boom becomes the real victim of the scheme and serves as the catalyst for Hank to finally uncover their con.

One of my favorite parts of the festival is finding underrated gems, like The Fortune Cookie, which I would never have discovered without TCM.

Friday, May 1st:

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

For the second day of the festival, we traveled to 17^th century France in the deliciously extravagant period drama Dangerous Liaisons. Commemorating the career of Academy-Award nominated actress Glenn Close, who received a hand and footprint ceremony at the Chinese Theatre, Dangerous Liaisons spotlights Close’s prowess as a versatile actress in the scheming role of Marquise de Merteuil. In an interview with TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, Close reflected on the film as one of her favorites because of Christopher Hampton’s timeless script and the opportunity to work with a wonderful cast of actors on a gorgeous production.

Adapted from 1787 French novel, Dangerous Liaisons revolves around two ex-lovers Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich), who play a dangerous game of seduction as they challenge each other to lure innocent people into their world of sex and amorality. However, soon, they fall into their own traps, as their schemes unveil their repressed desire for true love and companionship. Both Close and Malkovich play equally conniving and distasteful characters who are irresistible to watch, as they not only taint others but also destroy themselves. Close and Malkovich lead a cast of new young actors, including Uma Thurman, Keanu Reeves, and Michelle Pfeiffer, who play the victims of Merteuil and Vicomte’s schemes.

While many categorize Merteuil as a villainous character, Close described how she viewed her as a powerful woman simply using the only means she possess to assert control over a society of men who want to exploit her. Close unveils Merteuil’s inner psychology through an intense monologue detailing how she gained her influence over society through simply observing and learning how to put on a façade. Self-protective and cynical, Merteuil places an iron barricade over her heart that prevents her from embracing any true love.

Filmed all on location in the French region Île-de-France, the production design and costumes immediately transport the audience into the lush era of pre-revolutionary France, where the aristocrats were at the peak of their wealth and luxury. Depicting these self-destructive and vulgar characters occupying a beautiful world filled with majestic mansions and artwork, the film reveals how the French aristocrats used their riches to mask the ugliness and emptiness of their lives.

That Thing You Do! (1996)

From pre-revolutionary France, we fast-forwarded to 1960s Americana with Tom Hanks’s crowd-pleasing directorial debut That Thing You Do! A musical comedy inspired by Beatlemania, Hanks wanted to capture the cultural phenomenon in America defined by music, hope, and youth before the country grappled with the Vietnam War. While Hanks originally asked director Johnthan Demme to take on the film, Demme decided to produce and convinced Hank to direct instead.

Set in a small town in Pennsylvania, the film follows a young aspiring drummer Guy Peterson, who has to sideline his love for music to work for his dad’s appliance shop. However, when his friends lose their lead drummer, Guy steps in and soon becomes a catalyst in launching their band The Wonders (originally the One-ders) to new heights. Actor Tom Evrett Scott, who looks uncannily like a young Tom Hanks, brings an unbridled passion for music that carries throughout the entire film. After performing their single “That Thing You Do!,” the band catches the eye of a music manager, who helps them sign with a big label Playtone (which is also the name of Hank’s production company). Casting director Howard Feuer and Hanks chose a wonderful ensemble for the band members, who captured the youthful energy of the era. In a post-screening interview with Dave Karger, actor Johnathon Schaech, who plays the lead singer of the band Jimmy (careful, girls, he’s engaged!), shared how the boys practiced for months so that by the time the production started, they felt like a real band.

The story takes us through the ups and downs of this one hit-wonder band, as they navigate the sacrifices and compromises, they need to make to keep their dream alive. While The Wonders reach the top charts and air on national television, Hanks shows how the band’s earliest successes carried the most joy and happiness for the teenagers. One of the most endearing scenes of the film occurs when all the band members obsessively listen to the radio to hear when they will play their song. When their song finally comes on, they all frantically run through the streets screaming with ecstatic joy to find each other and celebrate this milestone.

Watching this film with the TCM crowd only heightened the experience. The audience cheered and applauded the band with every performance, as if we were right at their concerts. The ultimate feel-good movie, That Thing You Do! washes you over with gleeful energy and bittersweet nostalgia for an era of long gone.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Finally, to cap off the day, we traveled right into the 1980s to watch one of my all-time favorite films, John Hughes’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Staring young Matthew Broderick as the incredibly charming Ferris Bueller, the film follows the sly teenager as he fakes an illness to skip school and instead enjoy the day roaming Chicago with his best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) and girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara). While I have seen this classic teen comedy countless times, I had never experienced the film on the big screen. In honor of the film’s 40^th anniversary, TCM invited Ruck and Ben Stein, who plays the famously dull economic teacher, for a conversation about the film’s legacy with TCM host and Chicago native Jacqueline Stewart.

While the film is filled with countless memorable scenes, one of its defining moments comes from Ben Stein’s performance, which aptly captures the painful boredom of sitting in class all day with a dead-pan teacher. Stein canonized the scene with his iconic roll-call attendance, where he calls out in the most monotone voice possible “Bueller…Bueller” to a room filled with zoned-out teenagers. After all the extras in the classroom burst out laughing and applauding Stein’s performance behind-the-scenes, Hughes gave Stein the freedom to improvise the entire lecture on the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act of 1930, a lesson he taught in his real-life classrooms in college. The dreary faces of the students as they listen to their teacher serves as the perfect contrast to the fun Ferris and his friend experience on their “day off.”

Everyone in the world wants to be like Ferris: carefree, charming, and confident. From tricking his way into a fancy restaurant to taking over an entire parade, Ferris always lives in the present and approaches life with a lightness and humor. However, revisiting the film now in my early 20s, I realize how Cameron serves as the emotional core of the film because his insecurities and anxieties provide a more realistic representation of how many of us feel growing up. In my favorite sequence of the film, where the three friends walk into Chicago’s annual Von Steuben Parade, Hughes captures a moment of intimacy and vulnerability between Cameron and Sloane before Ferris’s big performance. As they search for Ferris in the crowds, Cameron and Sloane share a similar sense of uncertainty about their futures. However, instead of worrying, Ferris catapults them back into the present, as he turns the parade into a massive dance party with his performance of “Twist and Shout.’ After a full day of movies, Ferris Bueller was the perfect cherry on top.

Saturday, May 2nd:

Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)

Kicking off the third day of the festival, we watched Edward G. Robinson star in the first major studio film to explicitly denounce Nazism, Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939). Produced by Warner Bros, which had established a reputation for its social critique and gritty films, Confessions of Nazi Spy played a pivotal role in shifting Hollywood’s approach towards addressing World War II. Inspired by a series of newspaper articles, the film centers around the FBI agent Ed Renard’s (Edward G. Robinson) attempt to unravel the schemes of German American citizens, who work as undercover spies for Nazi Germany and steal classified information from the U.S. government. Integrating actual news reel footage from Europe, the film serves a semi-documentary with the clear intent to rally the American public to action.

The film does not shy away from depicting how Nazism blatantly existed in American society. Director Anatole Litvak specifically demonstrates how organizations, like the German American Bund, tried to recruit disgruntled World War I veterans for their cause. While the film’s critiques of Nazism might seem unsurprising (given the sheer amount of propaganda the U.S. would produce in the coming years against Germany), Confessions of a Nazi Spy faced significant pushback and censorship from the Hays Code and audience members. The backlash encouraged Congressmembers to conflate Hollywood’s opposition to Germany as a sign of communism. However, the intense criticism Warner Bros received only proved the film’s point that Nazism was being defended and protected over democratic ideals in America.

Confessions of a Nazi Spy laid the foundation for filmmakers to take a risk and grapple with the reality of World War II in the 1940s. This groundbreaking film stands as a testament to how movies have the power to awaken political consciousness and challenge the status quo.

Nights of Cabiria (1957)

From pre-war America to post-war Italy, we head to the Egyptian Theatre for a special screening of Federico Fellini’s neorealistic drama about the life of a prostitute in Rome, Nights of Cabiria (1957). Before the screening, TCM honored film programmer Bruce Goldstein with the annual Robert Osborne Award for his contributions to film preservation. The founder of Rialto Pictures and Film Forum in New York City, Goldstein has dedicated his life to introducing film history to new generations and bringing classic film back to theatres. Goldstein played an immense role in specifically reviving and preserving the original format of Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria. Despite receiving the Oscar for Best International Film, Nights of Cabiria was neglected and at risk of being forgotten. Through Rialto Pictures, Goldstein and his team remastered the classic and reintegrated an influential deleted scene that Fellini’s producer had cut out. Actor John Turturro presented Goldstein with his award and shared immense gratitude for the countless number of films he exposed him to through his film programs, including the Nights of Cabiria.

Fellini’s style significantly transforms from the traditional neorealism of the 1950s to a more experimental and modernist approach in the 1960s. Existing in between Fellini’s stylistic transitions, Nights of Cabiria stands as one of his most fascinating films, as it combines the gritty reality of post-war Italy with illusions and fantasies of people who desperately need hope as they struggle through poverty. The film centers around Cabiria, a cynical yet romantic prostitute, who wanders through Rome trying to find a meaning in her life. Actress Guillette Mansina balances Cabiria’s tough exterior with a quiet sensitivity and humanity. One of the few prostitutes to have her own home, Cabiria is fiercely protective and independent. She constantly reminds her friends that she already has everything she needs. Nonetheless, a creeping sense of loneliness and sadness hides behind her jovial façade. The scene that was shockingly deleted from the film’s original release, referred to as “The Man with a Sack,” serves as one of the most important moments in Cabiria’s journey. Miles away from her home after a job, Cabiria bumps into a mysterious man walking along the desolate area. She follows the man and sees him handing blankets and sweets to the impoverished people living in literal holes in the ground, including one of Cabiria’s old friends. Witnessing the man’s generosity awakens Cabiria’s desire to find a stronger force of stability in her life, like love or religion. Cabiria desperately searches for meaning so she can uncover what makes life worth living.

Through the lens of Cabiria, Fellini explores the meaning of resilience in a world often filled with moral decay, betrayal, and corruption.

Sunday, May 3^rd

Ishtar (1987)

I couldn’t think of a better way to officially end the festival than with a niche absurd comedy from director Elaine May. May’s fifth and final directorial film, Ishtar follows two quirky middle-aged men Chuck Rogers (Dustin Hoffman) and Lyle Clark (Warren Beatty), who dream of becoming successful singer-songwriters, like Simon & Garfunkel. The only problem is their songs are horrible. After pulling some strings, their agent books them a gig in Morocco, where they suddenly become entangled in massive CIA scheme and responsible for the fate of the Middle East. More than the movie itself, Ishtar is infamously remembered as a massive critical and commercial failure, which unjustly ended May’s directing career. Despite being dismissed for years, today, the film has found a second life with new audiences and critics, who recognize the charm, wit, and heart of May’s screenplay.

From the opening scene, the whole theatre burst out laughing, as Chuck and Lyle sit in front of a piano struggling to write lyrics for their next single. Painfully unaware of their lack of talent, Chuck and Lyle approach their craft with such passion and enthusiasm that even the audience starts to grow on their bad lyrics, like “If you admit that you can play the accordion. No one’ll hire you in a rock ‘n’ roll band.” Facing a mid-life crisis, the musical duo decides to take a random gig in Ishtar, Morocco. No matter what danger the pair faces, with both the CIA and left-wing operatives trying to hunt them down, they keep writing songs and believing in their dream. Hoffman and Beatty bring an endearing charm to these oddball characters. Despite Chuck and Lyle being completely clueless and dimwitted, May treats their unwillingness to give up, even when the whole world wants them to stop, as admirable and heroic.

One of the hardest tasks of making the film was in the hands of acclaimed singer songwriter Paul Williams, who had to sideline his natural instincts of writing hit songs, like “The Rainbow Connection” and “Evergreen,” and create over 100 “bad” songs for this fictional band instead. In an interview with host Dave Karger before the screening, Williams described how writing bad songs proved a harder task than he thought, as May had a specific ridiculous tone she wanted represented in the lyrics. They would spend hours together writing and rewriting terrible rhymes to capture the absurdity of Rogers and Clark.

As we exited the theatre humming some of the Rogers and Clark’s silly tunes, we made one last stop to Ghirardelli’s Ice Cream Shop on Hollywood Blvd to officially conclude our grand weekend of movies with the perfect ice cream sundae. I can’t wait to return to the TCM Classic Film Festival next year to share the joy of watching classic movies in the theatres with people all over the world!

“What we professional liars hope to serve is truth. I’m afraid the pompous word for that is ‘art.’ Picasso himself said it. Art is a lie. A lie that makes us realize the truth.”

-Orson Welles

In a way, all filmmakers act as con artists. Through their elaborate schemes and chicanery, con artists mold and bend society’s expectations to their advantage. Similarly, filmmakers reconstruct reality through sets, actors, editing, and countless techniques to emotionally invest the audience into a fictional story, which unveils a deeper truth. The self-awareness, charisma, and underdog quality of con artists have made them the ideal subject of filmmakers. Films about cons give directors the freedom to devise stories that play with irony and comedy. Let’s take a look at some of Hollywood’s iconic con artists, grifters, and pranksters who have defined the genre of con comedies.

Paper Moon (1973)

Say, it’s only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn’t be make-believe
If you believed in me

The best con artists are often the most unassuming. In Peter Bogdanovich’s caper comedy Paper Moon, a witty and sly nine-year-old girl Addie (played by Tatum O’Neal) transforms from a lonely orphan into a talented con artist. Most con artists pursue their careers for financial satisfaction. Others plan grand schemes just for the thrill of it. For Addie, she uses her skills in deception to make her partner in crime and supposed father Moses (played by Tatum’s real life father Ryan O’Neal) proud. After losing her mother, Addie puts herself under the care of the only person who shows up to her mother’s funeral, Moses. A charlatan bible salesman, Moses begrudgingly agrees to take Addie to her aunt in Missouri. An observant and smart young girl. Addie immediately sees through Moses’s schemes and helps him make more money than before. Tatum steals the show through her tomboy charm and went onto become the youngest Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner at only the age of ten. Two lonely drifters, Moses and Addie soon form a close bond, as they trick and cheat their way through the Midwest.

Through this film, Bogdanovich strips away the glitz and glamour often associated with the lives of con artists. Set in the middle of the Great Depression, Bogdanovich creates a baren, gritty, and dusty landscape, as Moses and Addie travel through the endless roads of the Midwest. Unlike his other films, Bogdanovich veers away from nostalgia and instead paints a realistic portrait of poverty and hopelessness in the 1930s. Out of desperation and necessity, Moses and Addie target the humble and poor widows they encounter on the road. However, over the course of their road trip, they realize that everyone is playing their own scheme to survive. From bootleggers to “exotic dancers,” Bogdanovich demonstrates how the dire circumstances of the world push everyone to cheat and lie in order to survive.

The reason why Paper Moon stands as one of the greatest caper films is because the con scheme does not serve as the spectacle of the film, but instead, unlocks the inner lives of these lonely characters. The lyrics of the titular song capture the core of Moses and Addie’s journey in the film. In a world filled with artificiality and lies, Moses and Addie find a true sense of companionship and love that gives them hope for the future.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

FRANK ABAGNALE JR.

“Dear Dad, you always told me that an honest man has nothing to fear, so I’m trying my best not to be afraid.”

A pilot, an E.R. doctor, and a lawyer. This was Frank’s Abagnale Jr.’s impressive resume all by the age of nineteen. Frank cemented himself as one of America’s most impressive con artists, as he schemed, cheated, and lied his way into acquiring millions of dollars using nothing but his wit and confidence. Fascinated by Frank’s whirlwind life, director Steven Spielberg adapted his story into his action-comedy Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank and Tom Hanks as FBI Agent Carl Hanratty.

After discovering that his mother is having an affair, Frank runs away from his home, as the illusion of his parents’ fairytale relationship shatters. In need of money, Frank turns to forging checks. As he succeeds with his short cons, his ambitions lead him to orchestrate bigger schemes. Reinventing himself every few months with a new identity, Frank continuously escapes the grasps of the FBI. Through DiCaprio’s charisma and Spielberg’s Old Hollywood style, the film depicts the glamour and thrill of Frank’s life, as he enters high power roles by following the adage “fake it, till you make it.” The most iconic moment of the film occurs when Frank walks out in his pilot uniform with a group of airplane stewardess fawning over him and once again evading the detection of Agent Hanratty. Frank’s ability to lie his way to the top sends a larger message about the deceitful illusion of the American Dream. With no degree, no expertise, and no background, Frank cheats the system and shows how all of society’s rules are as flimsy as a paper moon. Nonetheless, the more Frank reinvites himself, the more fragmented his identity becomes, leaving him with nothing real to grasp onto.

The emotional core of the film appears in the cat and mouse relationship between Frank and Agent Hanratty. Similar to Addie in Paper Moon, one of the driving forces of Frank’s con life is his loneliness and dream to create better reality for himself. Frank’s crumbling family life leaves him isolated and unsure about how to face the complexities of the real world. Instead, he runs away and creates a make-believe life for himself. Attracting the attention of Agent Hanratty, Frank teases and tricks Hanratty to always fall one step behind him. Frank finds Hanratty’s determination to catch him as sign that someone cares about his existence. Facing family troubles himself, Hanratty feels a close affinity to Frank, as he recognizes their shared loneliness. Through the lens of Frank Abagnale Jr. shapeshifting life, Spielberg delves into a larger conversation about the truths and illusions of American society.

The Producers (1967)

BIALYSTOCK

“How could this happen? I was so careful. I picked the wrong play, the wrong director, the wrong cast. Where did I go right?”

Con artists are experts in finding shortcuts in a system which rewards those who bend the rules rather than abide by them. The thrill of undermining the rules and running away scot-free creates a sense of power and appeal. In Mel Brooks’s The Producers, broke and depressed Broadaway producer Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) has fallen from his glory days and left with nothing but a series of flops. When a young nervous accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) comes to audit his accounts, he explains how Bialystock can make a fortune through a loophole in the IRS. The unlikely duo team up and craft their grand scheme. By convincing investors to place millions of dollars into a flop show, Bialystok and Bloom can keep the invested money without the IRS tracking them down. However, if the show succeeds, they will have to pay back all their investors, leaving them bankrupt. Bialystock and Bloom take the risk and devise the ultimate flop show: Springtime for Hitler.

On the surface, the musical, written by a deranged ex-Nazi, seems like the perfect candidate for a flop. In addition to being absurd and offensive, Bialystock and Bloom double down by casting the worst actors, including a hippie to play the lead role of Hitler, memorably portrayed by Dick Shawn. However, to their dismay, the audience buys into the musical as a satire. Ironically, the show becomes Bialystock’s first hit in years but leaves him broke. Ultimately, Bialystok and Bloom become trapped in their scheme.

Known for his loud, absurd, and fearless comedies, Mel Brooks blends within his humor a critical reflection of the greed and superficiality of American culture. Through his performance of Bialystock, Mostel paints the caricature of sleazy scam artist, whose inability to keep up with changing times has left him obsolete. Measuring his success through his wealth, Bialystock wants the comfort and attention he tasted when he achieved his American Dream as a top-notch producer. On the other hand, Wilder captures the gullible and insecure personality of Bloom, leading him to believe in Bialystock’s fantasy. Bloom believes that money will give him the confidence to move past his anxieties. Despite the envious and exploitative behaviors of Bialystock and Bloom, their confidence and risk make the audience invested in the success of their scheme. As he makes the audience fall for two morally questionable grifters, Brooks demonstrates that the charm and appeal of con artists (despite their inconsiderate and selfish behavior) come from their relentless determination and underdog quality.

Tootsie (1982)

RON CARLISLE

“Take ten, Tootsie.”

DOROTHY MICHAELS

“Ron? I have a name it’s Dorothy. It’s not Tootsie or Toots or Sweetie or Honey or Doll.”

A common plot device in many con films is cross-dressing. Whether the con artists try to pass themselves off as wealthy aristocrats or subverting gender norms by dressing as the opposite sex, disguises not only create comedic confusion but also undermine the rigidity of societal standards. The tradition of cross-dressing dates to Shakespeare, when male actors played female roles on stage. Building off the legacy of screwball comedies, such as Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959), Tootsie is a Hollywood classic that upends gender norms through the lens of comedy and deception. The film follows a New York actor, Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman), who struggles to book an acting gig because of his ego-centric and obnoxious personality. Desperate to work and prove his worth, Michael dresses up as a woman to audition for the role on a soap opera show. Transforming from Michael Dorsey to Dorthy Michaels, he lands the role and becomes the star of the show, fooling not only his co-workers but the entire nation. However, as Michael falls in love with co-star Julie Nichols (Jessica Lange) while his male co-star falls in love with him, the pressure to uphold the charade causes Michael to crack.

After winning Best Actor at the Oscars for his performance in Kramer v. Kramer (1979), Dustin Hoffman took a 360-degree turn with this comedic role in Tootsie. A key scene where Hoffman’s comedic sensibilities shine is when he first introduces his new persona as Dorthy Michael to his agent George Fields, (played by the director of the film Sydney Pollack) who had lost all hope for Michael’s career. Fields does not even recognize Michael as he sits down at his table in a floral dress and full-on makeup. Once he changes the pitch of his voice, he leaves Field completely shocked. As he switches from his voice to Dorthy’s nasally pitch, Hoffman masterfully juggles both personas at once.

A lesser film would simply repeat the same gags of a man struggling to follow a woman’s routine; however, the film moves beyond the joke and instead examines how Michael’s experience being viewed as a woman by society significantly changes his inner perspective as a man. In transforming into Dorthy, Michael becomes a more sympathetic, caring, and engaging character. Instead of dismissing the women in his life, he uplifts and supports them, as Dorothy. Strong headed, courageous, and funny, Dorthy contrasts Michael’s pessimistic and whiny behavior. As Dorthy challenges the treatment of women on set and asks for rewrites of the script to change the submissive representations of the female characters on the show, Pollack illustrates how the gender-switch spotlights the inequality women face, as Michael would never be treated in the same way as Dorothy. In changing his perspective and upending his routine to become a woman, Michael comes to realize how ego-centric and emotionally disconnected he has acted most of his life. Michael’s con becomes bigger than himself – what started as a scheme to cheat the system launches Michael into a larger reflection on how he sees himself as a man.

MRS. DE WINTER

“Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again…”

In the opening of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 gothic thriller Rebecca, the second Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine) introduces us to the quiet and invisible main character of the film: the Manderley estate. Mrs. de Winter takes the audience into her dream, where she sees the hollow Manderley, abandoned and crumbling. Appearing as a phantom covered in dense haze, the grand estate stands tall and majestic, despite its desolate walls overcrowded with growing vines. Shrouded in mystery and isolated along the coast of Cornwall, Manderley, the once-esteemed home of Max de Winter (Laurence Olivier), holds the whispers and secrets of a dark past under its facade.

Almost 350 kilometers away in London, Paul Thomas Anderson takes us into the House of Woodcock, the office and home of the prestigious fashion designer, Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis), during the opening of his romantic drama Phantom Thread (2017). In a similar fashion, the lady of the house, Alma (Vicky Krieps), introduces Woodcock to the audience through a voice-over narration, reminiscing about its quiet elegance. Minimalist in design yet adorned with regal flowers and artwork, the House of Woodcock stands as a pristine chapel to Reynolds and his work. In contrast to Manderley, the House of Woodcock is filled with natural light and people quietly bustling day and night to make high-end dresses. At the same time, a sense of stillness and rigidness consumes the designer’s house, as Reynolds upholds a standard of utmost focus in his work.

Despite the different architecture style of these two British houses, Manderley and House of Woodcock open the door into the psyche of their owners, who hide their trauma and secrets under their self-assured and composed veneers. Their wives, Mrs. de Winter and Alma, are left to unlock the mysteries surrounding these two vulnerable men while upholding the illusion of a loving relationship. Although Max and Reynolds seem to dominate and control their relationships through their ego-drive and toxic behaviors, Hitchcock and Anderson gradually reveal the quiet power the women hold over these men.

While romantic comedies beam with a heartwarming belief in sentimentality and fairytale endings, Hitchcock and Anderson explore the dark hidden corners of love that reveal the underlying complexities of humans. On the page, Hitchcock and Anderson could not be any more different. A British filmmaker, who emigrated to Hollywood, Hitchcock established himself as the master of suspense and defined Hollywood cinema throughout the 20^th century. Meanwhile, Anderson grew up in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles during the 1970s and became leading face of contemporary cinema with his sprawling films, which capture niche pockets of American life. Nonetheless, both filmmakers share a visual and thematic connection which reveals itself in Rebecca and Phantom Thread.

Based on Daphne du Maurier’s Gothic novel, Rebecca follows a timid young woman as she navigates her marriage with a mysterious wealthy widower and the haunting memory of his first wife Rebecca. Within a similar British environment, Phantom Thread revolves around Reynolds, a renowned and meticulous dressmaker in 1950s London, and his volatile relationship with his muse and lover, Alma, who challenges his limited perspective. Hitchcock and Anderson upend the tropes of the romantic melodrama by dissecting each relationship through the lens of a psychological thriller.

During the release of Phantom Thread, Anderson revealed how classic gothic romances, specifically Rebecca, inspired the creation of his film. The twisted relationship between Mrs. de Winter and Max left Anderson fascinated with the question of why a couple would stay together even if they were incompatible and manipulative. Anderson’s exploration of love’s complexities and the power dynamics in a relationship led to the creation of this unusual and intense romance between Reynolds and Alma. Paying homage to Hitchcock’s visual storytelling while integrating his own distinctive perspective, Anderson delves into a conversation on how love becomes intertangled with obsession, control, and insecurity, yet it continues to survive through a mutual desire to numb the pain of loneliness.

“It’s not your standard love story. It’s more peculiar for sure. A lot of directors have tried and failed to make Rebecca. I’m a large aficionado of those large Gothic romance movies as the old masters might do them. What I like about those kinds of love stories is that they’re very suspenseful. A good dollop of suspense with a love story is a nice combination.”

- Paul Thomas Anderson

Both Hitchcock and Anderson rely on the convention of the meet-cute to lure the audience into a whirlwind romance. However, these romantic introductions come with unsettling undertones, which foreshadow the tensions the couple will face. When we first meet the soon-to-become Mrs. de Winter, who remains nameless throughout the movie, she works as a paid companion for a rich lady, Mrs. Van Hopper (Florence Bates), vacationing in Monte Carlo. Shy, soft-spoken, and awkward, the unnamed protagonist (brought to life with an Oscar-nominated performance by Joan Fontaine, who perfectly captures the insecurity of this character) lives in her own world and keeps to herself. One day, as she walks alone along the coast, she witnesses Max contemplating suicide by the cliffs. Before he jumps, she yells and prevents him from killing himself. Later in the evening back at the hotel, Max bumps into his savior and Mrs. Van Hooper, who immediately recognizes Max as heir of the de Winter estate. Embarrassed and avoiding eye contact, Fontaine’s character shares a strange sense of intimacy with Max.

Despite their significant class and age difference, Max shows interest in the young woman and consistently invites her to dinners and drives by the coast. However, from the beginning of their relationship, Max treats her as a child, condescending and reprimanding her nervous behavior. Max and Fontaine’s character represent completely two ends of the spectrum. While Max is cynical and aloof, the young woman wears her heart on her sleeve. Even when Max mysteriously refuses to share any information about his first wife Rebecca and avoids any topic that reveal his vulnerabilities, the young woman holds a naïvely optimistic image of him. Nonetheless, the two share a common desire and need for escape – Max wants a new wife to forget his past and Fontaine’s character falls in love with the notion of abandoning her pedestrian life. Although Mrs. Van Hopper warns the young woman that Max is simply using her as a distraction, she does not listen and marries Max without any qualms, even when he asks for her hand in the most unromantic way possible:

MAX

“I am asking you to marry me, you little fool.”

In contrast to the macabre first meeting between Max and the second Mrs. de Winter, Reynolds and Alma experience a more picturesque and romantic encounter. A waitress in a small-town restaurant, Alma catches the eye of Reynolds sitting alone. She clumsily stumbles and turns red, as she notices his gaze. When Alma approaches, Reynolds already puts her to the test. In a flirtatious manner, Reynolds makes Alma remember his massive breakfast order without her notes. As Alma perfectly aces Reynolds’s order, Anderson paints a beautiful and intimate frame: the ocean waves softly crashing from the window, Oscar Peterson’s “My Foolish Heart” humming in the background, and two strangers enjoying each other’s company.

Later in the evening, Reynolds invites Alma to his cottage house, where they sit beside the fire staring at each other with curiosity. The only time Reynolds shows any sign of intimacy or vulnerability is when he talks about his mother, whose lock of hair he has sown directly into his coat. Reynolds’s obsession and spiritual connection to his mother reveal his deeper desire and yearning to be nurtured. When Alma attempts to ask Reynolds about his love life, he immediately shifts in his seat and ends the conversation to take her into the sewing room, where he can maintain control. As Alma undresses and Reynolds takes measurements of her body, her discomfort and vulnerability become apparent. When Reynolds comments on Alma’s lack of breasts, he immediately adds “It’s perfect. It’s my job to give you some. If I choose to.” Reynolds views Alma as a blank canvas and muse to help bring his creative visions to life. From this first date, Anderson foreshadows how Reynolds’s domineering and insecure personality will isolate Alma from his inner world.

REYNOLDS

“When I was a boy, I started to hide things in the lining of the garments. Things only I knew were there. Secrets.”

Despite the “apparent” red flags among these two men, both Mrs. de Winter and Alma look past these issues and allow themselves to fall in love. In meeting Max and Reynolds, Mrs. de Winter and Alma both feel a sense of acceptance that does not require them to hide their natural selves. Both women communicate an insecurity about not fitting into societal beauty standards. However, Max and Reynolds embrace these women and instead encourage them not to change themselves. While this initially confuses Mrs. de Winter and Alma, who view themselves as awkward and unattractive, this embrace makes them feel seen. For instance, on their first date, Reynolds tells Alma to take off her lipstick to show her natural beauty rather than hiding it away. Similarly, Max tells Mrs. de Winter never to change herself or “wear black satin or pearls” to impress him. Both men seem to indicate their desire to find someone who will not distract or threaten them but rather fit into their worlds.

MRS. DE WINTER

“Would you please tell me, Mr. de Winter, why you asked me to come out with you? Oh, it’s obvious that you want to be kind, but why do you choose me for your charity?”

ALMA

“In his work, I become perfect - and I feel just right.”

Mrs. de Witner and Alma embark deeper into their relationships with the hope they can become closer to their partners. Everything changes when they enter the cold, elite, and unforgiving worlds of Manderley and the House of Woodcock. To survive and keep themselves in the lives of their lovers, they are forced to either adapt or leave. Focused on their work, both men isolate their partners and treat them as companions that they can use whenever they need or ignore whenever they want – nothing more than set dressing for Manderley and the House of Woodcock. Ironically, although Mrs. de Winter and Alma finally live under the same roofs as their lovers, they feel more distant from them than ever before. More walls and boundaries barricade these women, making it difficult for them to achieve any sense of intimacy. Left alone in these massive and intimidating houses, Mrs. de Winter and Alma question the foundations of their relationships and realize how they have become a pawn in these men’s worlds. The more they wait for the men to emotionally commit, the more these women turn into ghost-like figures, simply wandering through the halls of a house shrouded in memories and secrets.

CYRIL

“Well, if you are going to make her ghost, go ahead and do it, but please don’t let her sit around waiting for you.”

On top of navigating the erratic behavior of their partners, Mrs. de Winter and Alma face a sense of pressure and constant supervision, especially from the other domineering women of their respective households. Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), the lead housemaid of Manderley, and Cyril, Reynolds’s sister (Lesley Manville), have learned how to manage the mood swings of these sensitive men and are unwilling to let any other women mess with their status quos. Both Anderson and Manville were Oscar-nominated for their supporting performances, as they chew up every scene and intimidate not only Mrs. de Winter and Alma but also the audience.

From the first moment Mrs. de Winter enters Manderley, she falls into the shadow of Rebecca, who died tragically in a mysterious accident deemed a suicide. Mrs. Danvers’s manic obsession with maintaining Manderley just as Rebecca wanted, like placing her embroidered “R.W.” napkins throughout the house, keeps her spirit alive. Unaccustomed to all the responsibilities and rules she must follow, Mrs. de Winter clumsily navigates the house all alone, as Max constantly leaves for business trips. When the couple reunites for dinner, they have little to no conversation and barely see each other’s faces. The loneliness drives Mrs. de Winter stir-crazy, as she spends all day comparing herself to Rebecca and trying to understand if Max ever even loved her. In these moments, Hitchcock transforms this romance into a psychological thriller. Cinematographer George Barnes helps enhance the haunting and dark presence that slowly creeps over the story. Through a focus on developing an eerie gothic environment without veering into fantasy, Barnes specifically uses the subtle movement of the lighting to represent the misty clouds shrouding and isolating the home into a hazy abyss.

MRS. DANVERS

“Sometimes, when I walk along the corridor, I fancy I hear her just behind me. That quick light step, I couldn’t mistake it anywhere. It’s not only in this room, it’s in all the rooms in the house. I can almost hear it. Do you think the dead come back and watch the living?”

As the honeymoon phase of their relationship fades, Reynolds ignores Alma and prioritizes his work. During breakfast, Anderson demonstrates the shift in their relationship and the walls Reynolds puts between himself and the rest of the world. The entire House of Woodcock revolves around Reynolds’s work and does not leave any space for anything else to breathe. In contrast to the romantic breakfast during their first meeting, Reynolds, engrossed in his work, barely even notices Alma when she enters. As Alma starts to butter her toast and pour her tea, Reynolds annoyingly acknowledges her loud presence (with the sound design exaggerating each scrape of Alma’s butter knife). Unlike Mrs. de Witner, Alma is fierce-spirited and does not allow Reynolds to disrespect her. She defends herself and pushes back against Reynolds, only further irking him. When Alma complains to Cyril about Reynolds’s “fussy” behavior, Cyril justifies the need to adhere to Reynolds’s moods to not distract him from his costumes. Working alongside a talented camera team, Anderson creates an almost uncomfortable sense of intimacy and ambiguity through tight close-up shots and the haziness of the film stock to reflect the claustrophobic and dreamlike environment of Reynolds’s world. Living to please their partners and obsessively decoding their pasts strips both women of their sense of identity and leaves them with no connection to the real world.

CYRIL

“His routine, when he's in it, is best not shaken. This is a quiet time. Not to be misused. If breakfast isn't right, it's very hard for him to recover for the rest of the day.”

In an attempt to save their relationships, Mrs. de Winter and Alma decide to surprise their partners with a show of intimacy and care. Hosting a masquerade ball to reopen Manderley and distract Max from his woes, Mrs. de Winter sees the party as her way to finally assert herself as the mistress of the house. However, the entire ball backfires the moment Mrs. de Winter steps down to greet the guests, unaware that she is wearing the exact same costume Rebecca wore a year ago. Following the suggestion of Mrs. Danvers to use the dress, Mrs. de Winter did not see through her scheme to humiliate her. Haunted by the memory of Rebecca, Max immediately lashes out on Mrs. de Winter, leaving her in tears and convinced she has no place in his life.

MRS. DE WINTER

“You knew it! You knew that she wore it, and yet you deliberately suggested I wear it. Why do you hate me? What have I done to you that you should ever hate me so?”

MRS. DANVERS

“You tried to take her place. You let him marry you.”

Cyril wisely advises Alma not to throw a surprise dinner, but to no avail. As predicted, Reynolds does not show one ounce of appreciation for Alma’s dinner and instead feels agitated by her efforts to upend his routine. Reynolds sees Alma’s signs of affection as foolish distractions that do not contribute to his work. At the end of the dinner, he throws the most painful dagger at Alma, claiming that he does not need her anymore. Reynolds’s inability to pressure Alma into subservience challenges his authority and desire to control everything and everyone. These desperate attempts to connect with the emotionally distanced men in their lives ends in a massive failure that further diminishes the foundation of their relationships. The intense reaction of both men only reveals their fragility and fear, as they try to protect themselves through their anger and temper.

REYNOLDS

“What the hell is it about? Are you a special agent sent here to ruin my evening and possibly my entire life?”

ALMA

“Why are you so rude to me? Why are you talking to me like this?”

REYNOLDS

“Is this my house? This is my house isn’t it! Is this my house?”

While Mrs. de Winter and Alma seem like passive characters, Hitchcock and Anderson reveal how both women take the wheel and eventually reassert their power in their own manipulative ways. When Max confesses that he killed Rebecca during an argument and never truly loved her, Mrs. de Winter sighs a breath of relief, revealing an unsettling side to her character. More at ease with Max than ever before, Mrs. de Winter proves that her desire to feel loved matters more than her qualms about his murderous behavior. Recognizing Max’s need for her support, Mrs. de Winter unlocks a new sense of self-confidence and composure. Although Mrs. de Winter becomes complicit in Max’s attempt to hide Rebecca’s death, she simultaneously gains an upper hand in their relationship, as Max relies on her to protect him. In a twisted way, Max and Mrs. de Winter grow more intimate and closer through Rebecca’s death.

MRS. DE WINTER

“We can’t lose each other now. We must be together always, with no secrets, no shadows.”

Conversely, Alma takes matters into her own hands. To teach Reynolds a lesson, she decides to poison him with mushrooms, enough to make him sick for a couple of days. Taking a nod from other Hitchcock films, where poison comes into play, such as Notorious (1946), Anderson uses the mushrooms to symbolize Reynolds’s toxicity and how he can only change once he gets a taste of his own medicine. In his delirium, Reynolds loses all control of his body and mind. The only two people he sees through this illness are the ghost of his mother, wearing the wedding dress he sewed for her, and Alma. In that moment, weak and unable to take care of himself, Reynolds realizes his lifelong need for Alma and marries her after recovering. Alma resets the balance of their relationship by showing Reynolds how he cannot survive life all alone. Similar to Max and Mrs. de Winter, Alma and Reynolds find a morally questionable understanding that enables them to maintain their relationship, even if it involves hurting one another.

Once settled into married life, Reynolds eventually returns to his selfish ways. However, when Alma tries to poison him with mushrooms again, Reynolds voluntarily ingests the toxins because he realizes his need to surrender to his vulnerabilities to save not only his marriage but himself.

ALMA

“I want to you flat on your back. Helpless, tender, open with only me to help. And then I want you strong again. You are not going to die. You might wish you’re going to die, but you’re not going to. You need to settle down a little.”

REYNOLDS

“Kiss me, my girl, before I’m sick.”

Rebecca and Phantom Thread explore the unsettling and fever-driven power dynamics that hide behind any romantic relationship. The need for love can create not only extreme selflessness but also self-destruction. Leaning into the confusing psychology of these lovers, Hitchcock and Anderson bring a nuanced perspective on how the success of romance rests in the mutual understanding of one’s power over the other.

ALMA

“You see, to be in love with him makes life no great mystery.”

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CAPTAIN CHARLIE QUEENAN

We deal with deception here. What we don’t deal with is self-deception.

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The art of filmmaking dates back to the late nineteenth century when footage of a train arriving at a station mystified audiences and changed how humans tell stories forever. While The Arrival of a Train (1896) might not impress anybody with an iPhone today, this silent short film has served as the building block for filmmakers to later craft their own stories, as the technology improved and the medium expanded. With every film, a director introduces their own perspective and builds upon what past filmmakers have established in their works. In bringing films from different decades together, we witness an indirect dialogue between two artists trying to boil down the moral and ethical questions life throws at us. In this first installation of Films in Conversation, we will explore how filmmakers Edward Berger and Alan J. Pakula engage in a dialogue about faith, doubt, and power all through the framework of a political thriller in their respective films Conclave (2024) and All the President’s Men (1976).

On the surface, a fictional story about a cardinal leading the election of a new pope in the Vatican City and the real-life story of two rookie journalists tackling corruption within the White House seem to be worlds apart. The job of a cardinal is to have faith in the face of uncertainty while the job of a journalist is to doubt in the face of certainty. But what happens when a cardinal is overwhelmed with doubt and a journalist’s investigations are dismissed? Berger and Pakula show us how a reluctant cardinal and a pair of naïve journalists have more in common than meets the eye. Approaching their films through the lens of realism, Berger and Pakula are cinematic companions, as they transform two stories about ordinary individuals into thrilling dramas.

Despite their different backgrounds, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), the leader of a fictional conclave to choose a new pope, and journalists Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), find themselves in the middle of the intense elections of the two most powerful institutions: the Catholic Church and the American government. Fortified by myth and history, Vatican City and Washington D.C. represent the impenetrable faith and power placed within the hands of the men who run these cities. Integrating wide shots of the grand and imposing architecture and statues, Berger and Pakula purposely highlight how these cities make the audience feel small and powerless. However, the foundations of these cities are threatened when Cardinal Lawrence and the journalistic pair start to uncover the secrets that lie behind the city walls.

In challenging the authority of these massive institutions, Cardinal Lawrence and the “Woodstein” team struggle to find a balance between embracing their doubts and finding faith in themselves. While Woodward and Bernstein see their seeds of doubt as an opportunity for a groundbreaking story, Cardinal Lawrence views his skepticism towards the church as a sign of defeat and guilt. As a result, Cardinal Lawrence tries to avoid the whispers of corruption in his conclave, until he realizes how embracing his doubt and investigating the misdeeds of the church can help him redefine his faith and find the right person to lead the institution.

CARDINAL BELLINI (STANELY TUCCI)

“I could never become Pope on those circumstances. A stolen document, the smearing of a brother cardinal. I’d be the Richard Nixon of Popes.”

In contrast to Cardinal Lawrence’s reluctance, Woodward and Bernstein are ambitious and hungry to unveil the corruption of the government, even with only a few clues. Instead, Woodward’s and Bernstein’s main challenge is earning the faith of their peers and empowering witnesses to speak up. Despite the White House’s efforts to dismiss their credibility and deny their accusations, Woodward and Bernstein remain resilient in their efforts and continue pursuing the story until they convince others to trust them and put faith in their work.

BEN BRADLEE (JASON ROBARDS)

“I can’t do the reporting for my reporters, which means I have to trust them. And I hate trusting anybody.”

In spite of facing hostility and being gaslighted, Cardinal Lawrence and “Woodstein” demonstrate, through their persistence, how the power of faith does not come from blind acceptance but rather from doubt. Doubt encourages reflection and introspection, which in effect leads to a stronger understanding of what one believes in. As Cardinal Lawrence aptly explains to his conclave, faith “walks hand-in-hand with doubt,” and without doubt, there would be “no mystery and no need for faith.”

CARDINAL LAWERENCE

“Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts. And let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks for forgiveness and who carries on.”

The parallels between these two films go beyond their themes. Throughout the process of making Conclave, Berger cited Pakula’s realist approach to All the President’s Men as an inspiration. Both Berger and Pakula walk the fine line of grounding their stories in realism while also creating an engaging narrative. The detailed production design of the newsroom and the meticulous representation of even the mundane elements of journalism, such as making phone calls and reviewing government documents, help Pakula portray the events of the Watergate investigation as accurately as possible. Conclave follows suit with a focus on capturing the everyday routine and life of cardinals and nuns. From showing the cardinals scrolling on their phones to using Nespresso machines to even “hitting” a vape, Berger tries to humanize them, as such men are often put on a pedestal.

However, through subtle techniques, Berger and Pakula find ways to intensify the emotional tensions and symbolic layers of their films. For instance, both filmmakers pay specific attention to the use of sound design. One of the most famous uses of sound design in All the President’s Men comes in the opening scene when every click of a typewriter comes with the sound of a jarring gunshot. This stylistic choice immediately communicates how the words Woodward and Bernstein publish are as impactful and destructive as a gun.

Conclave opens similarly with unconventional sound design, as the audience hears the intense heavy breathing of Cardinal Lawrence, who walks through the streets of Rome to reach the dying pope. This breathing puts the audience in the skin of Cardinal Lawrence and also shows the level of loss this creates for not only him but also the future of the Church. In the next scene, Berger heightens the sound of the cardinals removing the ring from the finger of the dead pope, highlighting how, despite their omnipotence, these religious figures are as humans as the rest of us.

The minimalistic editing style of both films also serves their realistic yet riveting approach. By holding cuts and leaving long takes untouched, editors Nick Emerson for Conclave and Robert Wolfe for All the President’s Men allow the emotions of each scene to simmer under the surface while steadily foreshadowing important clues within every scene. From a six-minute take of Woodward jumping through phone calls, as he pieces information together, to the precise and still shots of Cardinal Lawrence and his peers discussing the state of the election in an empty dim-lighted theater, these films give the audience time to observe the behaviors and underlying motives of each character.

With an almost fifty-year gap between these two films, Berger and Pakula surprisingly share a similar dialogue about the abuse of power and faith, albeit through completely different perspectives and characters. Both these films exhibit a specific cultural importance to the moment in time they were released. All the President’s Men connected to the disillusionment and loss of faith in the American government in the 1970s while Conclave serves as a fictional story illustrating the ego-driven and misleading nature of modern-day politics. Nonetheless, the themes tackled within these two films cross the boundaries of time and culture. At the core, each film reflects upon how men have built up these powerful institutions to protect themselves and their egos rather than serve the people who look up to them. The universal resonance of these films gives them a timeless quality that will continue to foster new perspectives and conversations on the topic of faith and power for audiences to ponder.

Yesterday, I shared my first six favorite watches from last year. Now, let’s dive into the latter half of the year and wrap up 2025!

July: The Little Mermaid (1989)

Continuing with Disney, I revisited a childhood favorite The Little Mermaid for a special screening at The Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Blvd. Released in 1989 after Disney faced several difficult years with leadership changes and box office struggles, The Little Mermaid kickstarted an era known as “The Disney Renaissance,” where the company released a series of critically and commercially successful animated movies. Although initially rejected by the studio, directing and screenwriting duo John Musker and Ron Clements convinced the company to adapt Hans Christan Andersen’s story after not producing a fairytale film in 30 years. Deviating from the darker themes of the original story, Musker and Clements brought a Disney spin to the script and transformed it into a lively and vibrant musical. From “Poor Unfortunate Souls” to “Part of Your World,” the iconic songs written by the legendary Howard Ashman and Alan Menken defined the key moments of the film and heightened the simple love story. The film went onto to receive Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Under the Sea” at the Oscars.

Watching the film at the beautifully restored Egyptian Theater was a nostalgic treat. I loved The Little Mermaid so much as a kid that I would mimic Ariel’s behavior, even brushing my hair with a fork. The screening was preceded by a Q&A with Musker and Clements, who talked about the difficult development and production process of the film, all with a great sense of humor. Working with each other for decades, Musker and Clements shared a heartwarming friendship and a strong love for the art and magic of animation.

Other Notable Watches:

• The Green Ray (1986)

• Sorry, Baby (2025)

• There Will Be Blood (2007)

August: The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)

After a long day of sightseeing in a new city, I love to wind down in my hotel room with a film that’s set in the same place. Visting France for the first time this year, my family and I decided to watch Jacques Demy’s magical musical The Young Girls of Rochefort. While we did not stop by Rochefort, Demy’s colorful movie captures the spirit of summer in France. The light-hearted sister to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), this film bursts with joy, romance, and comedy. The vibrant musical follows fraternal twin sisters Delphine (Catherine Deneuve) and Solange (Deneuve’s real-life sister, Françoise Dorléac), as they pursue their dream of becoming dancers and musicians in Paris while searching for true love. In addition to the musical sisters, the film features a lively cast, including the twin’s single mother (Danielle Darrieux), who runs a café in town, a pair of carnival workers in town for a show (George Chakiris and Grover Dale), a stationed sailor (Jacques Perrin), and an American composer (Gene Kelly). Casting Academy Award-winner Geroge Chakiris and the king of musicals Gene Kelly, Demy pays homage to his love for Hollywood musicals with his own distinctive style. At age 55, Gene Kelly dances as light as a feather through the streets of Rochefort and brings a romantic charm to his role.

No bleak or dull color exists in the film. All the town members are dressed in a rainbow of warm pastels and bright pinks and oranges – a visual feast for your eyes. The meticulous cohesiveness of all the colors in the costume and production design adds a level of fantasy and awe only Demy could conjure. For the film’s music, Michel Legrand, Demy’s longtime friend and collaborator, crafted a vibrant jazz-infused score with piano solos and big band arrangements, combining American and French traditions of jazz. The next day, I ventured into the magical city of Paris with a kick to my step.

Other Notable Watches:

• Jaws (1975)

• The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

• Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix (2007)

September: One Battle After Another (2025)

Opening night, I headed to Universal CityWalk for a Dolby Vision screening of Paul Thomas Anderson’s highly anticipated new film One Battle After Another. As a native Angelino, I admire PTA as someone who has constantly represented his love for his hometown of the San Fernando Valley. PTA’s ability to tackle any genre while always having something unique to say about American culture proves his talent as a filmmaker and screenwriter.

Unsure what to expect, I was immediately immersed in the chaotic, suspenseful, and grounded world PTA created. In the first 30 minutes, Teyana Taylor steals the show as the fiery and unapologetic revolutionary and leader of French 75, Perfidia Beverly Hills, whose actions impacts the rest of the film. After Perifida is caught by Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), her boyfriend and their baby daughter take on new identities, Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Willa (Chase Infiniti). Hiding in small Central California town for 16 years, Bob has forgotten his revolutionary roots and transformed into paranoid stoner, always afraid the military will track him and his daughter down. DiCaprio gives a delightfully comedic and tender performance as father desperate to keep his daughter safe.

Bob’s worst dreams come to fruition when Colonel Lockjaw, under the guise of an immigration enforcement, comes to their town to kidnap Willa. Frantic and spiraling, Bob relies on his neighborhood, specifically Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio del Toro), Willa’s sensi and community leader, to help him find his daughter. At the core, the film is about parenthood and the power of community. PTA navigates how times of crisis bring out both the best and worst of humanity. Inspired by films, like The French Connection (1971) and The Battle of Algiers (1966), PTA applied the gritty realism of classic conspiracy thrillers into a modern-day story.

Watching the ending chase sequence on the California highway was an unforgettable experience, as PTA’s direction, Michael Bauman’s dizzying cinematography, and Johnny Greenwood’s edgy score reached a crescendo. When I exited the theater, the lobby was bursting with excited chatter from the audience. One Battle After Another marked one of my favorite moviegoing experiences of the year.

Other Notable Watches:

• La Piscine (1969)

• My Favorite Wife (1940)

• Toy Story (1995)

October: My Armenian Phantoms (2025)

Every October, the American Film Institute hosts a film festival where many independent Hollywood and international movies premiere. Located in the Chinese Theater multiplex on Hollywood Blvd., the film festival often attracts big stars. However, what I love most about this festival is how they highlight international and documentary features that often do not have wide distribution. This year, I was excited to see my own culture represented in the documentary section with director Tamara Stepanyan’s film My Armenian Phantoms.

As an Armenian American, I grew up with limited exposure to Armenian cinema because of its inaccessibility and lack of preservation. Instead, I only heard my parents and grandparents share their favorite quotes and scenes from these lost Armenian films they watched as children. Stepanyan crafted a love letter to her father, a prominent Armenian actor, through the lens of the Armenian films that shaped her. Armenian cinema was heavily influenced by a struggle to both appease the Soviet Union censors and represent their cultural heritage. Stepanyan narrates the history of Armenian cinema and her fond relationship to these historic films, starting from the 1920s to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Intertwining archival film clips, interviews with her father, and personal reflections, Stepanyan takes the audience on a poetic journey into the buried history of Armenian cinema. In a theater filled with the members of the Armenian diaspora, I felt inspired by the film’s ability to unite a community and preserve its cultural heritage.

Other Notable Watches:

• It Was Just an Accident (2025)

• Bugonia (2025)

• Michael Clayton (2007)

November: Annie Hall (1977)

With the passing of Diane Keaton in October, I revisited her standout performance in Annie Hall, which earned her Best Actress at the Oscars. Annie Hall broke the boundaries of the romantic comedy through its nonlinear storytelling, meta commentary, and quirky characters. It also serves as a beautiful time-capsule of New York City in the 1970s. Keaton plays the charmingly shy and flustered Annie Hall, who, upon moving to NYC from the Midwest, embarks on a relationship with writer Alvy (Woody Allen). Slightly based on Keaton herself, Annie Hall has a kind-hearted and welcoming presence in any room she enters. The first time Alvy meets Annie at the tennis club, we are immediately drawn to her. From her polka-dot tie to her giddy way of talking (“La-dee-da”), she does not hide her awkwardness but rather wears it with loveable charm.

A foil to Alvy’s cynical and anxiety-inducing point of view, Annie approaches life with an open curiosity and liveliness that make her stand out from the crowd. She is not afraid to take risks and make her own mistakes. As Annie finds her footing and gains self-confidence, she pursues her singing career in Los Angeles and drifts away from Alvy, who seems stuck in life. Eventually, Annie’s need for independence and Alvy’s desire for control leave them on different pages, ending their relationship. While originally puzzled as to why many considered Annie Hall one of the greatest films of all time, this rewatch cemented the fact that Diane Keaton is what makes this movie work. Annie Hall stands as a beautiful portrait of Diane Keaton’s spirit.

Other Notable Watches:

• The Departed (2006)

• Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

• Sentimental Value (2025)

December: House of Strangers (1949)

To end the year, I headed back to the Academy Museum, which as you can tell, is one of my favorite theaters, for a 4K restoration premiere of Joseph Mankiewicz’s House of Strangers. With an impressive filmography, including All About Eve (1950) and Letter to Three Wives (which was also released in 1949), House of Strangers is often overlooked in Mankiewicz’s career.

Based on Jerome Weidman’s novel, House of Strangers focuses on a wealthy Italian American immigrant family made up of four brothers and their patriarch Gino Monetti (Edward G. Robinson). Gino, a rag-to-riches businessman, owns and runs a successful bank with his three sons in the immigrant boroughs of New York City. Only his second eldest son Max (Richard Conte) works independently as a lawyer. While he does not get involved in the family business, he has no choice but to help his father when he faces criminal charges. In a desperate attempt to save his father, Max ends up in jail. Unwilling to help either Max or his father, the brothers take over the business, which plants a seed of anger and hatred in Max. The movie follows Max’s memories, as he remembers his late father through flashbacks and contemplates seeking revenge on his brothers

The sharp dialogue, complicated characters, and familial tension elevate a script that easily could have fallen into the category of melodrama. Mankiewicz masterfully uses these characters to explore the dilemma of the American Dream and the price many immigrant families pay to climb up the social ladder. Famous cinematographer Milton Krasner gave the movie its dark and moody aesthetic of a film noir. With innovative tracking shots and angles, Krasner captures the power dynamics in the family and the push and pull between the Old and New World.

Later in his career, actor Richard Conte played the head of the Barzini family in The Godfather (1972). Reflecting on both films, it is clear that House of Strangers laid an important thematic and visual foundation for Coppola.

Other Notable Watches:

• The Preacher’s Wife (1996)

• The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

• Moonstruck (1987)

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Reviewing all that I watched in 2025, I realize how each film has developed and shaped my perspective and understanding of our complex world. In the new year, I hope to continue finding films from both classic and contemporary directors that surprise, challenge, and introduce me to new characters and ideas.

Thank you to all the readers who have joined me on this journey! To another year at the movies!

One of the highlights of January is finally having the opportunity to slow down after the holidays and reflect on all the movies I watched over the course of the previous year. Whether I saw them in a theater or at home, alone or with friends and family, each film created wonderful memories and taught me something new about myself and the world around me.

Last year, I watched a total of 133 movies – the most in one year since the pandemic. For the past couple of years, my brother and I have started a tradition, where we create a collage capturing our favorite moments from every single movie we have seen throughout the year. In addition to sharing my collage, I have spotlighted my most memorable watches from every month to celebrate a year of Films in Conversation!

Since I will highlight 12 films, this listicle will be split into two parts! Look out for Part 2 soon.

January: Selma (2014)

The beginning of the new year often brings a sense of hope and optimism. Unfortunately, 2025 started off on a dark note, as my hometown of Los Angeles suffered through one of the most destructive fires in its history. While the Altadena and Palisades fires revealed the volatile and destructive nature of L.A.’s climate, the community displayed the city’s unwavering strength and resilience.

One of the first films I saw in theaters after the fires was Ava DuVernay’s Selma. In celebration of its 10^th anniversary, the Academy Museum hosted a screening of the film, followed by a Q&A and reunion with DuVernay and most of the cast. Rather than following a traditional biopic, DuVernay and screenwriter Paul Webb focus on the external pressure and inner turmoil Martin Luther King Jr. faced leading up to the legendary 1965 Voting Rights Marches in Selma, Alabama. David Oyelowo’s vulnerable performance helps demystify the legend and portray King as a complex human, who dealt with his own doubts. DuVernay also depicts the lives of other civil rights heroes, such as John Lewis and Hosea Williams. In a powerful recreation of the Selma marches, showing King hand in hand with his friends, family, and strangers, we realize that King’s strength was built upon the faith and dedication of his community.

Celebrating the groundbreaking film, which made DuVernay the first African American woman to a direct a film nominated for Best Picture, the Academy hosted a conversation with the cast and crew, moderated by film critic Elvis Mitchell. The most emotional moment of the conversation occurred when DuVernay talked about oldest cast member Henry G. Sanders, who survived the Vietnam War, prostate cancer, triple bypass surgery, and the L.A fires that destroyed his home. The crowd burst out with applause and gave a standing ovation for Sanders’s phenomenal courage. The inspirational screening served as an apt reminder of the importance of community and hope in the face of loss.

Other Notable Watches:

• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

• Georgie Girl (1966)

• The Room Next Door (2024)

February: The Third Man (1949)

SPOILERS INCLUDED

When I want to watch a film at home, I often spend hours trying to choose the “right” movie. However, in a rare instance, I opened my streaming service and immediately pressed on The Third Man with no context other than an image of Orson Welles smiling mischievously.

Set in Vienna right after WWII, the film follows American author Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton), who arrives in Austria to search for his childhood friend Harry Lime. Unlike most noirs that follow a hard-boiled detective, the film focuses on the naïve and optimistic perspective of Holly. The author enters Vienna with a clear-cut sense of good and evil; however, thrown into Lime’s world of con artists and thieves, he becomes disillusioned. Lime, played charmingly by Orson Welles, bursts Holly’s bubble and reveals his deadly black-market schemes. The masterful expressionistic cinematography with its Dutch angles and chiaroscuro lighting, the ruined postwar landscape, and the eerily discordant score all bring to life director Carol Reed’s portrait of a fragmented, paranoid, and morally ambiguous world.

While the film has many iconic scenes, one of my favorite moments occurs when Lime (who faked his own death to escape the police) threatens Holly to keep quiet about his whereabouts on Vienna’s famous Ferris Wheel. On the top of the wheel, Harry looks down towards the city and delivers his cold-hearted speech, where he justifies his heinous crimes and views people as nothing but dollar signs. The camera tilts and turns with the Ferris Wheel, as the men’s friendship swings from friendly to deadly.

The visual mastery alongside the witty and morally gray characters have quickly made The Third Man a new favorite that I look forward to revisiting every year.

Other Notable Watches:

• Soundtrack to a Coup d’etat (2024)

• Umberto D. (1952)

• I’m Still Here (2024)

March: The Fugitive (1993)

One of my most beloved genres is Harrison Ford. With the success of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Star Wars, Ford’s career rose to new heights, cementing him as a leading man throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In The Fugitive, Harrison Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimble, who is wrongly accused of murdering his wife. Kimble escapes from the prison convoy and chases down his wife’s killer while simultaneously being pursued by Detective Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones). As Kimble follows the clues left by the murderer, he discovers a darker web of corruption and lies that led to his wife’s murder.

The intertwined cat and mouse chases between Kimble, Gerard, and the real murderer heighten the suspense and action of the film. Similar in many ways to Hitchcock’s thrillers, like North by Northwest (1959), director Andrew Davis alongside cinematographer Michael Chapman choreograph complicated and nail-biting action sequences. Davis even took inspiration from The Third Man, as Gerard runs after Kimble through the Illinois drainage tunnel, mirroring the final chase sequence in the underground tunnels of Vienna. Unlike other action films, The Fugitive is not filled with massive explosions or special effects. Instead, the film stands out because of its riveting screenplay, strong leading characters, and grounded performance.

The Fugitive also serves as the perfect movie to watch on St. Patrick’s Day, as it contains a memorable chase sequence that occurs right in the middle of a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Chicago.

Other Notable Watches:

• A Woman is a Woman (1961)

• After Hours (1985)

• Ghost (1990)

April: A Man and a Woman (1966)

Last year, the Cannes Film Festival commemorated the 60^th anniversary of Claude Lelouch’s romance A Man and a Woman with a 4K restoration. The restoration was quietly released in North America in only a few theaters throughout Los Angeles. My brother and I headed to Laemmle Royal for a Friday afternoon screening (with just maybe a handful of other audience members) to revel in the melancholic beauty of this simple love story between a widowed mother and father. Although the film won the Palm d’Or and Best Actor for both Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant at Cannes, many critics dismissed the film as “banal” and “commonplace” for its lack of drama and action. However, what makes the film stand out all these years later is Lelouch’s ability to bring out the poetic beauty of everyday life. The slow pacing of the story not only allows Anne Gauthier and Jean-Louis Duroc to develop their love overtime but also shows how grief lingers even as life moves forward.

With minimal dialogue, Lelouch focuses on unearthing the inner thoughts of the two lovers, through cinematography and music. Blending different stocks of film, Lelouch gave the film its hazy aesthetic that blurs memories, nostalgia, and our perception of reality all into one. Although Lelouch later admitted that he mixed film stocks to save money, he found a creative solution that visually represented the ebbs and flows of Anne’s and Jean-Louis’s love. Lelouch’s directing shines in the film most iconic moment when Anne reunites with Jean-Louis on the beach. As the camera spins around their embrace, Francis Lai’s sentimental score plays in the background, heightening the rare beauty of two people finding love and companionship in each other.

Other Notable Watches:

• The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025)

• Central Station (1998)

• TCM Film Festival (April 2025)

May: The Phoenician Scheme (2025)

In the last few years, the world has seen a rapid rise of millionaire oligarchs entering the spotlight and meddling in foreign affairs with no purpose other than to serve themselves. A film that surprisingly brings forth a searing critique of the ultra-wealthy through comedy is Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme.

In comparison to Anderson’s recent releases, The Phoenician Scheme follows a simpler framework as it centers around one character: Zsa-Zsa Korda, a self-assured and indulgent oligarch played by Benicio del Toro. Based on 20^th century influential tycoons, specifically Calouste Gulbenkian, Zsa-Zsa is a cold-hearted millionaire, who has built himself a hollow fortress of wealth. Zsa-Zsa tracks down his convent daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton) to preserve his fortune and complete his deal to build the city of Phoenicia through slave labor. However, as he faces an existential crisis about the meaning of his life, he shifts his focus towards reconciling relationship with Liesl. Despite Zsa-Zsa’s inconsiderate and outlandish behavior, he slips in and out of a religious reflection, leading him to realize that all the money in world means nothing if he has no one by his side.

Working close with his production designer Adam Stockhausen, Anderson explored mid-century European furniture and opulent artwork mixed with Middle Eastern and Egyptian tilework to establish Zsa-Zsa as a powerful and cultured industrialist. The defining image of the film is an overhead shoot of Zsa-Zsa’s majestic bathroom with Victorian geometric tiles and a staff serving the millionaire as he takes a bath.

The Phoenician Scheme is a sentimental, yet comically dark and relevant story wrapped in Anderson’s iconic visionary style.

Other Notable Screenings:

• Friendship (2025)

• The Straight Story (1999)

• The Sugarland Express (1974)

June: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

In June, I returned to the Academy Museum for a screening for Disney’s screwball noir comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Blending animation with live-action, Disney brought back the visionary technology previously used in films like Mary Poppins (1964) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

Structured as a half-pastiche, half-satire of noirs, the film takes place in a fantasy version of 1947 Los Angeles, where cartoons and humans live side by side. The cartoons reside in a neighboring metropolis called Toontown, where everyone from Mickey Mouse to Bugs Bunny live together (the first time the two famous cartoons were seen on the same screen). The story follows a hardboiled alcoholic detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins), who is hired to uncover an affair between Jessica Rabbit, the singer wife of cartoon character Rober Rabbit, and Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), the owner of Toontown. As Eddie investigates, he realizes that the case is a set-up to frame Roger Rabbit and erase Toontown off the map to develop freeways. The cynical Valiant and the hyper Roger Rabbit team up together to save Toontown.

As a child, I loved the film for its slapstick comedy and cartoonish banter. Upon rewatch, I gained a stronger appreciation of its witty humor and representation of Los Angeles. The film depicts L.A. at its peak: a bustling Hollywood landscape with studios on the rise, a functioning public transportation system, and a sense of architecture and history. At the same time, it surprisingly acts as an urban critique of the city. The real-life conspiracy, where automative companies disrupted L.A.’s public transportation systems and destroyed marginalized communities to create freeways, inspired the script. In many ways, the film serves as a companion to Polanski’s Chinatown (1974), minus the cartoon characters running around the city.

Before the screening, the Academy hosted stunt coordinator Rocky Capella, who presented behind-the-scenes photos and stories about how the team choregraphed the films’ iconic stunts and paid homage to old cartoons. Hearing the amount of detail the team dedicated to crafting this cartoonish world only heightened my love and admiration for this film.

Other Notable Watches:

• Lost in Translation (2003)

• Gold Rush (1925)

• The Apartment (1960)

To be continued in Part 2…

As a child, he always had an affinity for storytelling. Whether he was drawing cartoons or staging puppet shows, Fellini loved to conjure his imagination. Starting out as a writer in the industry, Fellini received mentorship and guidance from notable neorealist filmmakers, who shaped his perspective. As he embarked on his own directing career, he established his magical touch, which combined fantasy, spectacle, and satire with ordinary life. Today, Fellini’s films continue to inspire and shape directors by encouraging them to challenge and upend narrative and technical conventions.

Read more about the film below:

Before the chaotic rush of the holiday season, autumn weather gives us a chance to slow down and reflect on the year fading away, like the brown leaves drifting in the wind. The fall season brings an unusual sense of being stuck in between the past and the future. One moment you feel the remnants of the golden sun, reminding you of summer days. The next moment you feel the cold wind of winter pushing you into the new year. The stunning nature of the season holds a melancholic beauty that reminds us of the world’s temporality. Over the decades, filmmakers have contributed to this fascination with the harvest season, using it as not only an aesthetic backdrop but also a powerful thematic device.

One of the best ways to spend a chilly autumn day is watching classic films that capture the nostalgic and tranquil feelings of the season. Here are some films from murder mysteries to romantic comedies to celebrate the misty weather:

1. The Trouble with Harry (1955)

JENNIFER ROGERS

“I’ve never been to a home-made funeral before.”

CAPTAIN WILES

“I have… it’s my third. All in one day..”

The cornerstone qualities of any Hitchcock film are suspense, darkness, and murder. With its quiet Vermont town filled with vibrant fall foliage and seemingly ordinary characters, The Trouble with Harry stands as anomaly in Hitchcock’s filmography. After a string of successes in the 1940s with noirs and murder mysteries, Hitchcock took a risk by tackling a pure absurdist comedy.

The film opens to a bright and almost surreal landscape filled with red and gold autumn trees. We follow a young boy innocently playing in the forest, when, in Hitchcock fashion, he stumbles upon Harry, lying dead in a perfectly tailored suit among the rotting leaves (it wouldn’t be a Hitchcock film without at least one murder). The suspects of the murder include an elderly hunter (Edmund Gwenn), Harry’s estranged wife (Shirely MacLaine), a lonely maiden (Mildred Natwick), and a charismatic painter (John Forsythe). While most murder mysteries follow an inspector tracking down the killer, Hitchcock completely reverts the genre. Instead of worrying about who killed Harry, the quirky town members find themselves more concerned about how to get rid of the body. The unusual nonchalance and borderline amorality of the town members come off as both eerie and hilarious. Rather than creating tension, the dead body ironically brings the neighbors closer together. The movie often plays more like a romantic comedy than a crime thriller, as the town members start to fall in love with one another.

In his famous interviews with François Truffaut, Hitchcock noted that he wanted to transport “the melodrama out of the pitch-black night and out into the sunshine.” Hitchcock masterfully uses the gorgeous fall foliage to create a stark contrast between the idyllic American town and the darkness that lies underneath. Initially, a commercial and critical failure, the film has now become a fall cult classic for its seasonal aesthetic and macabre yet silly narrative.

2. Knives Out (2019)

DETECTIVE BENOIT BLANC

“But the complexity and the gray lie not in the truth but what you do with the truth once you have it.”

Taking inspiration from the murder mysteries of Agatha Christie, Rian Johnson developed his own modern spin on the classic genre through Knives Out, which has since become a successful franchise. Johnson perfectly encapsulates the not-so-fun family tensions that arise during the fall season.

This colorful murder mystery centers around the death of wealthy novelist Harlan Thrombey, played by the late great Christopher Plummer. The morning after Harlan’s birthday celebration at his estate, his faithful maid and companion Fran (Ana de Armas), finds him dead. While the police deem the death a suicide, Detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig who adopts an impeccable Southern accent, comes to investigate what he suspects is foul play. In a “whodunnit” fashion, Blanc sequesters the entire family to the estate, which rekindles old tensions. With stellar performances from Jamie Lee Curtis to Toni Collette, the film represents the claustrophobic and strained environment often seen during holiday dinners, especially Thanksgiving. Even Johnson described that his inspiration for the film was to capture “what politics does to your Thanksgiving dinner.”

Similar to The Trouble with Harry, Knives Out is set in the East Coast during the autumn months. However, instead of bold and vibrant foliage, Johnson paints a gloomier and muted portrait of fall with brown leaves and misty fog covering the mysterious Harlan estate. More than just an excuse to dress Chris Evans in a handsome cable-knit sweater, the fall aesthetic emphasizes the thematic beats of the script. The barren trees, the dead leaves, and the gothic mansion all contribute to a sense of uneasiness brought by Harlan’s death. In addition, the dense overcast surrounding the mansion symbolizes the dark secrets each family member keeps hidden. Johnson effectively utilizes the autumn season to heighten the mood and suspense of his murder mystery.

3. Ordinary People (1980)

DR. BERGER

“You’re here, and you’re alive. And don’t tell me you don’t feel that.”

CONRAD

“It doesn’t feel good.”

DR. BERGER

“It is good. Believe me.”

Continuing on the topic of family strife, Robert Redford’s Ordinary People is a riveting drama that portrays the emotional decay of a family after the death of their eldest son, Buck (Scott Doebler). While not a conventional cozy fall film, Redford uses autumn as a symbolic representation of grief and death. The stagnation of the season and the lingering cold pushes the characters into state of self-reflection and growth.

The film centers on the aftermath of a tragic accident that has undermined the foundations of a wealthy family living in the suburbs of Chicago. After a boating accident killed Buck, his younger brother, Conrad (played by Timothy Hutton, who won Best Supporting Actor for his performance), blames himself for his brother’s death and attempts suicide. To add salt to the wound, his mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore), ignores and blames Conrad for the death of her favorite son. While Conrad’s therapist (Judd Hirsch) helps the teenage boy come out of his depression, his father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland), tries to keep the family from falling apart. Although Beth and Calvin pretend everything can reset back to normal, the anger, pain, and guilt simmering beneath the surface eventually overflows. The family must decide if they want to work through the mess together or continue living under an illusion of normalcy.

The bare and cold fall backdrop visually represents Conrad’s inability to move past his grief. Left numb and depressed after the tragedy, Conrad feels as frozen as the world around him. However, with the help of his therapist, Conrad takes the moment to process and confront his trauma. The naked trees, frigid cold air, and dead leaves shroud the film in quiet sadness.

The vulnerable performances of the talented actors and tender direction of Redford all help create a heartbreaking picture of a family haunted by the past. Although Ordinary People is not a breezy watch, the film reminds us of the importance of reflecting and tackling our emotions rather than simply pushing them under the rug. The fall season is the perfect time to slip into introspection and use our learnings to guide us in the new year.

4. The Remains of the Day (1993)

MISS KENTON

“Why, Mr. Stevens, why do you always have to hide what you feel?”

Based on the critically acclaimed novel by British Japanese writer Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day tells the poignant and wistful story of Mr. Stevens, a dignified and somber butler, grappling with lost love, regret, and nostalgia. Anthony Hopkins brings an emotional vulnerability and hidden sadness to Mr. Stevens, who shields his feelings under his butler suit. The only person who slightly cracks Mr. Stevens’s seemingly cold façade is the lively maid, Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson). The film brings the audience on an introspective journey with Mr. Stevens, as he takes a holiday to reunite with his lost love Miss Kenton. Throughout his trip, the script flashbacks to Mr. Stevens’s service under his original master, a secret Nazi, during World War II. Traveling in and out of memories, Mr. Stevens reflects on whether his years of service held any significance or were they simply wasted?

Set in the English countryside during the autumn season, the grand landscape and manor have lost their opulence and decadence. The cold England weather, overwhelmed with fog and rain, reflects Mr. Stevens’s inner sadness and turmoil. The interplay of light and shadows helps indicate the butler’s attempts to step out of the darkness and enjoy life. One of the most heartbreaking scenes of the film occurs when Miss Kenton finds Mr. Stevens secretly reading a book. As Miss Kenton teases Mr. Stevens on the contents of the book, he tenses up and steps into the shadowy corner of the room. As she gently rips the book out of his hands, a light comes onto his face. He was reading a sentimental love story, revealing his inner desire for connection.

The Remains of the Day is achingly tender film that touches upon the overwhelming sense of loneliness the fall season brings with its dark and slow days.

5. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

POOH

“Oh the wind is lashing lustily, and the trees are thrashing thrustily, and the leaves are rustling gustily. So it’s rather safe to say… it looks like a rather blustery day today.”

While the marvelous golden leaves and the warm spices ease us into comfort, the bitter winds and incessant rainy days can make you miss the bright summer sun. One of my favorite films to watch when the world feels miserable and gloomy is The Many of Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This Disney classic filled with the most adorable stuffed-animal characters instantly warms you up like a nice cup of hot apple cider. The story-book illustrations, witty dialogue, and heartwarming friendships make this anthology film one for all ages. From Pooh’s silly yet wise observations to Tiger’s contagious energy, the film reminds us to embrace our inner child.

Divided into three short sections, the film follows Christopher Robin and his fellow friends of the Hundred Acre Woods, where they learn meaningful lessons about friendship. The star chapter of the narrative is “The Blustery Day,” where a stormy day interrupts the daily lives of the Hundred Acre Wood neighbors. The section opens with Pooh bear wearing a little blue scarf and happily frolicking in the windy autumn weather. However, what starts off as a beautiful day transforms into a turbulent thunderstorm that floods the Hundred Acre Woods. Both Pooh and Piglet get washed away by the storm, Owl loses his home, and Eeyore gets lost trying to find a new home for Owl. Despite being separated by the storm, the friends eventually all band together and help one another out. Once the rain passes, Christopher Robin throws a party to celebrate the selflessness and bravery of all his friends.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh shows us how the power of friendship and connection can help us overcome our feelings of loneliness, fear, and sadness. This charming film envelopes you like a warm comforting hug.

6. When Harry Met Sally…(1989)

HARRY

“The first time we met, we hated each other.”

SALLY

“No, you didn’t hate me, I hated you. The second time we met, you didn’t even remember me.”

HARRY

“I did too, I remembered you. The third time we met, we became friends.”

To bookend this list, we’ll ironically end with another movie involving a character named Harry. Considered one of the most iconic autumn films, When Harry Met Sally… epitomizes the cozy and comforting feeling we all search for during the fall season. With a soundtrack filled with jazz standards, a breathtaking portrait of New York City, and two charming characters, this romantic comedy hypnotizes you with its charm, romance, and hope. While many revisit this classic for its famous Central Park scene or Harry’s and Sally’s chic fall fashion, the reason why it stands as the perfect movie for the season is because it captures our yearning to find a timeless and meaningful connection.

Directed by Rob Reiner and written by Nora Ephron, the film never indulges in the overly artificial tropes of the romantic comedy. Instead, Reiner and Ephron develop two flawed yet lovable characters, whose friendship naturally evolves into a beautiful love. Over the course of twelve years, the audience witnesses the ebbs and flows of the relationship between Harry (Billy Crystal), and Sally, (Meg Ryan), as they experience heartbreak and loneliness together. Intertwining the narrative with real-life couples recounting their love stories, the film becomes bigger than Harry and Sally. Reiner and Ephron tell a universal story about what it means to find a forever companion. Although the movie begins with Harry’s cheeky statement that men and women can never be friends, it ultimately concludes that true love is based on true friendship, as Harry and Sally realize their need for each other.

While the film passes through various seasons, the fall section stands out as the emotional cornerstone of the pair’s story. By the end, Harry and Sally come to understand that, even as the seasons pass, their love is here to stay.

Read more about the film below: