Travel Through the Celluloid: Summer Films

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures.

Greetings from the dumpster fire that is the United States! Throw some shimmering sunscreen on that baby and you will absorb my summer Look. We’re not allowed to come to you and you’re too smart to come to us. Soon, I won’t even be able to cross the border into the next state over to buy tax-free alcohol without having to quarantine for two weeks again. The virus (i.e. the lack of visible interest our leadership has in actually controlling this outbreak) is taking everything! The best comfort I can offer to you and myself is a summer film list to help your mind escape for a little while, at least fifteen minutes of Vitamin D a day, and some kind of refreshing beverage. Cheers.

Black Orpheus (1959)

Samba your way to 1950s Rio, or at least Marcel Camus’s fantastical version of it. Black Orpheus, filmed entirely on location in Brazil, is a contemporary retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice during Carnival week. This Palme d’Or winner was the first internationally acclaimed film to feature an all-black Brazilian cast, and has every vibrant color you can imagine besides. It’s on many Essential Art House lists, and yet this dress is somehow not ranked alongside Marilyn Monroe’s in The Seven Year Itch as one of the best dresses ever filmed. Injustice is everywhere.

The Day of the Jackal (1973)

Get in loser, we’re going from Paris to Nice and back in a 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider. And we’re going to assassinate the president. I mean, what? The Day of the Jackal is based on Frederick Forsyth’s novel of the same name; both are surprisingly timeless examples of no-frills writing and directing that engage the viewer through action and visual precision. Following the eponymous assassin and Charles de Gaulle’s secret service on his tail, the film gives a sweeping view of various French locations as well as a legendary wardrobe that will have you rethinking summer suiting and ascots.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

Summertime can be spooky, too! Picnic at Hanging Rock is an Australian classic film with the overarching message of, “Maybe we shouldn’t have colonized this continent!” Also a good Valentine’s Day film, a group of schoolgirls and their teacher set off on a picnic in a sacred mountain range to celebrate the holiday. The teacher and three students disappear without a trace, leaving behind a scandal that touches every person in the school. As unsettling as it is aesthetically geared towards Attic on Eighth readers, the mystery is even more beguiling than the nightmarish 1900 production design.

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Set in the late Muromachi period (approximately 1336 to 1573) of Japan, the fantasy elements of Princess Mononoke almost entirely remove the viewer from time and space. An anime masterpiece, it tells the story of a young man cursed by a demon whose fate becomes entangled with a princess raised by wolves. Its intensity and scale continues to impress those apprehensive or uninitiated into the genre, with a pace and plot structure intentionally set like a modern Western. Filled with commentary on the relationship between humanity and the natural world, this film becomes more relevant with each passing year.

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019) *spoilers

Quentin Tarantino is a jerk. I know it, and so does everyone else who feels guilty about still enjoying his work. Instead of singing the praises of his latest and most restrained film, I’ll share the experience of last summer’s screening during its opening weekend at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, one of Boston’s oldest independent cinemas. There’s nothing quite like sitting in a full house with two old friends and cheering with the rest of the audience when Leonardo DiCaprio, half drunk and a cigarette clenched in his mouth, fries a member of the Manson family with a flame thrower in his pool. One of the many summer events I miss is the blockbuster. If you can, please consider supporting one or a few independent theaters by attending a virtual screening or even making a one-time donation. It’s not the same experience, but it will distract you from the tragic comedy of our current reality.

All poster images courtesy of Posteritati.

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Zoë G. Burnett is a writer, film enthusiast, and ad woman based in Massachusetts. A lover of all things spooky and sparkly, she is currently working on her first book about witchcraft and classic style. Zoë is a Contributing Editor and The Attic on Eighth’s Film Columnist.