So...
One of my favorite holiday movies (or movies anytime) is Metropolitan (1990).
[Link to a review, about its popularity, 25 years on: "Writer-director Whit Stillman was so green that he brought a copy of the book How to Direct a Movie to the set with him".]
It's set at Christmastime, when middle-class (but Ivy League) college student Tom (redhead, below, in yellow hat) accidentally falls in with a group of UHB ("urban haute bourgeoisie") Manhattanites on winter break.
It's funny, and it includes references to obscure stuff, like Brook Farm and Lionel Trilling.
Just yesterday bink and I were talking about her ongoing graphic novel about Camino and about whether a writer should include obscure information readers might not know. Metropolitan is a reminder that if you do it well, it works.
(Though it depends on your audience too---like, who watches this movie?)
Anyway, a viewer/reader like me might look up the unknown-thing and get that extra layer of pleasure. (Brook Farm is a comic tragic tale of mismanaged hopes of its own.)
So--here's a movie moment, How to Insert Esoteric Knowledge: Tom (right) talking to Charlie about his political philosophy.
It's set at Christmastime, when middle-class (but Ivy League) college student Tom (redhead, below, in yellow hat) accidentally falls in with a group of UHB ("urban haute bourgeoisie") Manhattanites on winter break.
It's funny, and it includes references to obscure stuff, like Brook Farm and Lionel Trilling.
Just yesterday bink and I were talking about her ongoing graphic novel about Camino and about whether a writer should include obscure information readers might not know. Metropolitan is a reminder that if you do it well, it works.
(Though it depends on your audience too---like, who watches this movie?)
Anyway, a viewer/reader like me might look up the unknown-thing and get that extra layer of pleasure. (Brook Farm is a comic tragic tale of mismanaged hopes of its own.)
So--here's a movie moment, How to Insert Esoteric Knowledge: Tom (right) talking to Charlie about his political philosophy.
Charlie: You’re a Marxist?
Tom: No. I’m a committed socialist, but not a Marxist. I favor the socialist model developed by the 19th century French social critic Fourier.
Charlie: You’re a Fourierist?!
Tom: Yes.
Charlie: Fourierism was tried in the 19th century and failed. Wasn’t Brook Farm Fourierist? It failed.
Tom: That’s debatable.
Charlie: That Brook Farm failed?
Tom: That it ceased to exist, I’ll grant you. Whether it was really a failure, I don’t think can be definitively said.
Charlie: For me, ceasing to exist is failure. That’s pretty definitive.
Tom: Everyone ceases to exist. That doesn’t mean everyone’s a failure.
That is a great movie!
ReplyDeleteAnd I was awake half the night mulling over our conversation... I hope I can manage some interesting yet informative dialogue too.
BINK: I really liked the reminder that Stillman didn't know what he was doing---and he's never made a better film!
ReplyDelete