I Saw It at the Movies: History and Film on #MicroblogMonday

Meryl Streep and Robert deNiro, Best Picture for 1978
Meryl Streep and Robert deNiro, Best Picture for 1978

I saw The Normal Heart, then Love is Strange — with no premeditation, both in the same week.

Each is a great document of a time in our history.  I began thinking about the power of these films and how valuable they would be as teaching tools.  With that in mind, I hereby initiate the “films to teach American history by” list.  Here are some more of mine; please add your own in the comments.

Kramer v Kramer      Hair     Do the Right Thing     The Deerhunter

Bullworth     Dead Man Walking     Valley of Decision     Gentleman’s Agreement

Good Night and Good Luck     The Green Berets     Get on the Bus     The Pawnbroker

 

 

 

 

Love IS Strange and the Film is Beautiful

Love is Strange Dinner Charlie cropped

Today’s lesson: When Rick Atkins picks a movie that ISN’T American Pie, go. Tonight we saw Love Is Strange – a warm, loving, measured story beautifully built and executed.  I am still reeling from The Normal Heart, as I wrote here  and I hadn’t wanted another sad tale in the same week.

SO when I heard what this film was about, I balked. No More Sad. I ended up agreeing to go though, and am so very glad I did.

In most cases with “small” films like this people say they’ll wait for Netflix; there are no special effects or broad vistas that require the big screen. In this case though, Manhattan was such a part of the story that it was worth seeing it in all its glory.

It wasn’t even sad.  Sad things happened but there was so much love and humor, Charlie Tahan, the young man in this photo, was so wonderful and Lithgow and Molina‘s couple was so much like any couple who’d been together a long time that there was also a deep familiarity that was a great part of the pleasure on the journey we took with them all.

No big conclusions here.  We just got home and these are my first reactions but I doubt they will change; go and see for yourself and comment here if you have thoughts to share.