ISSUE #12
BEAM FROM THE BOOTH | GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY
[EDITED BY: GRIFFIN SHERIDAN]
Welcome to an all-new installment of BEAM FROM THE BOOTH, brought to you by GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY!
Last week, we gave you a peek at our upcoming May programming (Lady Snowblood! Tampopo! Info and ticket links further down). Now, we would like to take this time to remind you all of our second FILM SOCIETY ROUNDTABLE social event, which will be taking place THURSDAY, MAY 11th. We had such an incredible turnout for our first Roundtable and are very excited to welcome everyone back for another evening of discussion and mingling.
We will be doing things just slightly different this time around. If you are interested, we strongly encourage you to RSVP, as capacity for the event will be limited. Likewise, when you RSVP, you will have the opportunity to let us know what topic you are most interested in. This does not restrict you to ONLY engaging with the groups discussing the topic you selected, it is just so we can better prepare our moderators based on which topics will likely have the most people involved with them. Whatever topic you choose, however, we know it’s going to be a fun evening and we hope all those interested can join us, especially if you missed the first event. Just be sure to RSVP!
Now, enjoy another collection of columns from your friends at GRFS…
MOVIES ON A PLANE
[BY: LAUREN PATCHETT]
I wouldn’t consider myself a world traveler, but since I joined Letterboxd in 2021, I have seen eight movies on planes. They are tagged as “on a plane” in my Diary.
I just returned from a trip to Alaska which entailed two different 6.5. hour flights.
With some movies, I have a mental block. I know they’ve been rated well, and I know I will probably like them…but sometimes I don’t know how to spend time watching it! Especially in my own home where I have things to do, like laundry!
So…to state it plainly, I had the time AND the resources to knock out some of my watchlist on this last trip. On my way there, I was able to watch Bodies Bodies Bodies and Babylon. On the way back’s overnight flight, after sleeping, I watched Decision to Leave.
Naturally, upon my return I decided to bring up my recent watches to my friends on the GRFS team. I mentioned these movies, and the reactions were big and polarizing; not to the movies themselves but towards the way I had experienced them for the first time. Some even felt that it was completely unacceptable. Spencer turned his laptop to show me the infamous David Lynch interview where he says “If you’re playing the movie on a telephone, you will never in a trillion years experience the film. You’ll think you have experienced it, but you’ll be cheated. It’s such a sadness, that you think you’ve seen a film…on your fucking telephone. Get real.”
(I regret to mention that the first time I watched Mulholland Drive, it was on my phone. My apologies to Mr. Lynch…it’s in my Top 3 movies, I hope you can forgive me.)
***
This conversation made me reflect on the flights I’ve taken and the movies I’ve watched on them. How was my viewing experience with each? After reviewing my movies tagged “on a plane” — here are my thoughts on six of them:
Babylon (Chazelle, 2022) [First Viewing]
They blurred out all the nudity in this movie. So if you’re a prude…this is the best way you could watch it! With such a long runtime (3 hours and 15 minutes!), this is arguably a perfect movie to knock out on a plane. As long as you’re relatively comfortable, you can lose yourself in the chaos and decadence of it all. I will say, with so many themes about the world of cinema and moviemaking, is it wrong that I watched this one on a plane? Did I really feel the ‘power of cinema’ in that final montage?
I can state for a fact that I would’ve felt it more at a theatre. But, now that I’ve seen it once, I am eager to revisit it (yes, on a bigger screen).
Bodies Bodies Bodies (Reijn, 2022) [First Viewing]
I started this movie on the seat screen in front of me, but with a make out scene as the opening and a child near me, I promptly switched to the United Airlines app to continue watching - juuuust to be safe; didn’t know how many of these bodies (bodies bodies) would be on display!
I can now conclude that a comedy/thriller is a great option for plane viewing. It’s not too long, and the themes aren’t too serious. I was able to laugh a lot, and it put me into movie mode…primed and ready for more watching.
C’mon C’mon (Mills, 2021)
The reason I rewatched this on a flight was to show it to a friend I was traveling with.
I mean, a heartwarming movie that’s largely made so good by its rich dialogue and beautiful score? C’mon, it’s perfect anywhere, so yes - great plane material.
Since it’s black and white, the matte screens they provide are a great way to watch a movie with so much darkness. No reflections to distract.
Pro tip: Bring your noise cancelling headphones…and tissues, this one will make you cry no matter where you are.
Coraline (Selick, 2009)
I have seen this movie more times than I can even count. I could maybe even quote the whole thing as it plays. This movie provides me with a familiar plot, so when I am watching it now, I am noticing parts of the visuals I maybe hadn’t appreciated as fully before.
Also, you know that type of calm sleep you could get as a kid when your parent was awake in the other room watching TV? If I turn this movie down, its familiarity gives me that same kind of feeling to fall asleep to…at least until Coraline begins to defeat the Other Mother. That gets a bit loud.
Decision to Leave (Chan-wook, 2022) [First Viewing]
I went into this movie completely blind. That’s part of what’s good about plane movies. The airline only provides so many, and sometimes it could be a title you’ve heard of but haven’t looked much into.
By my definition, this is a mystery/thriller mixed up with some scandalous romance and well-placed comedy. The visuals are gorgeous, the acting is top notch, and the complexities of the plot carry it all beautifully.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie - to the point where I honestly kind of forgot that I saw it on a plane. If I’d had more time away from it, you might have been able to trick my memory into thinking I saw it at a theatre.
Lost in Translation (Coppola, 2003)
A+ plane movie. I would imagine especially so if you’re going to Japan…especially so if you’re a believer in serendipity…even more so if you are open to meeting someone to spark a friendship (romance?) with on your trip.
Definitely would not recommend watching en route to home if you’re returning to a less-than-ideal family life…with a wife that can’t stop sending you faxes about the smallest unimportant things, for example.
Great movie, big feelings. Big feelings mix well with trips for me.
***
So I guess, for me, traveling gives me more perspective, and hey, movies do too.
Maybe the takeaway is that if the movie is solid, it doesn’t really matter where you watch it. You can get different things out of it with different viewing experiences, of course. But if you’re in the mental space to watch something, go for it. If it also holds up, even better.
SHORT FILM REVIEW
[BY: JACKSON EZINGA]
The Event (Mosley & De Sousa, 2022)
For context and to avoid spoilers, watch The Event on Vimeo:
When I was younger, maybe 10 or 11, my parents made me realize that watching a movie is an event. The event would start when we left our home to go to the movie theater or the neighborhood video store, and it didn’t always end when the credits began to roll. The memories we make when we watch a movie whether it’s where or when we see them, who we see them with, a scene, a shot, a line of dialog, or an emotional beat, can stay with us for years - maybe even forever.
There was one movie night I’ll never forget when my parents converted our “TV room” into a movie theater to show me and my siblings a movie they remembered and loved from their childhood. They blacked out the windows to keep the light pollution from the summer sun off the screen. They popped popcorn and put it in bags. They brought comfy couch cushions and pillows for us to sit on. My dad dressed as an usher by putting on a suit coat and a flat cap. They made handmade tickets which my dad took and ripped at the door before escorting us to our seats for a screening of the 1972 Disney movie Snowball Express. We sat in the dark and watched and laughed as the Baxter family inherited a ski resort and all the hijinx that ensued as they tried to keep it afloat.
I loved going to the movies from a very young age, but taking a whole family of seven to the movies in the late 90s and early 2000s was expensive (and even more so now!), but my parents knew we loved going to the movies. That screening made a big impression on me. My parents put in the effort to share a movie that they loved as children with their own kids and wanted to make an event out of it. They created a DIY cinematic setting and replicated all the hallmarks that makes ‘going to the movies’ an event - an event that filmmakers like myself sometimes don’t understand why some people don’t share our enthusiasm for. This feeling is the premise for the Frank Mosely and Hugo De Sousa short film The Event (2022).
Jack, played by Mosely, wakes up one night to his friend Vince (De Sousa) crouched by his bedside and whispering to him about pasta. As the monologue continues, it’s revealed that all this pasta talk is a metaphor for filmmaking and is Vince’s way of asking Jack why he hasn’t watched Vince’s new short film yet. This leads to a confrontation that wakes up Jack’s girlfriend and leads to an uncomfortably honest conversation in the hallway in which Jack reveals why he hasn’t watched Vince’s film yet.
This short really stood out to me because I feel like I’ve been all the characters in this film at some point in my life. I’ve been Vince, the filmmaker who tries desperately to get his friends (or anybody!) to watch their short film. I’ve been Jack, someone who’s been asked by a friend or colleague to watch their work and not being able or willing to set aside the time to do so. And I’ve been Beatrice (Jennifer Kim), the friend who has watched another friend’s work and liked it, which is sometimes enough to get a friend who’s been holding out to finally sit down and watch it.
I met Frank Mosely at SXSW in 2018. In addition to being a fantastic actor and director, he’s also a kind and down-to-earth guy that I had a nice lunch with. We’ve kept in touch over social media, and in January of last year I started to see him promoting his new film that would be premiering at Slamdance. I hoped I would have time to watch the film, but I was going to be traveling and on a shoot during the festival dates. After we wrapped shooting one night, I bought a pass to the Virtual Slamdance and queued up The Event on my laptop. I’ve snobbishly never liked watching movies on a laptop because it’s “not cinema,” but I was willing to make an exception. I put in my headphones, wrapped myself in a blanket and began to watch. As the last shot of The Event appeared, I saw myself. The blue light of his laptop illuminates Jack in a dark room, he has headphones in, he’s wrapped in a blanket, and is fully focused on the screen in front of him. Vince walks in, and they make eye contact. Even though Jack isn’t sitting in a movie theater, or a DIY home cinema, he is taking the time to watch his friend’s short film on a laptop, and that is an event in and of itself.
ECHOES
[BY: SPENCER EVERHART]
Echoes is an exclusively-visual column based on the MUBI Notebook series of the same name - a fun way to find the repetitions, reverberations, and recapitulations in images throughout cinema history.
Bastards (Claire Denis, 2013)
Thief (Michael Mann, 1981)
Plus, check out these tracks for audio accompaniment…
Tindersticks - "Put Your Love in Me"
Tangerine Dream - "Diamond Diary"
UPCOMING EVENTS
LADY SNOWBLOOD (Toshiya Fujita, 1973)
WHAT: Based on the manga of the same name, this Japanese classic was the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL films! Don’t miss it on the big screen!
WHEN: Monday, May 8th, 8:00pm
WHERE: The Wealthy Theatre
FILM SOCIETY ROUNDTABLE
WHAT: Want to get more involved in the Grand Rapids film community? Want to meet other local cinephiles and filmmakers? Join us for another GRFS social event!
WHEN: Thursday, May 11th, 7:00pm
WHERE: The Front Studio of Wealthy Theatre
TAMPOPO (Jûzô Itami, 1985)
WHAT: A band of ramen ronin who guide the widow of a noodle shop owner on her quest for the perfect recipe. An all-new 4K restoration of this classic example of food on film!
WHEN: Monday, May 15th, 8:00pm
WHERE: The Wealthy Theatre
And so we’ve arrived at the end of another BEAM FROM THE BOOTH! We appreciate you taking the time to read it and truly hope you’ll continue to do so. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to get each issue in your inbox every FRIDAY and stay up-to-date on all things GRFS!
Plus, join us on social media! We’d love to chat with everyone and hear YOUR OWN thoughts on everything above (you can also hop in the comments section below).
Know someone you think will dig BEAM FROM THE BOOTH? Send them our way!
Look for ISSUE #13 in your inbox NEXT FRIDAY, 5/5!
Until then, friends…
I'll be sure to refer to Lauren's column when I finally ride a plane.