Pat Taub
Many of us are feeling like we’ve been plunged into a spiral of dark news. Daily we are deluged with stories of large-scale migrant deportations, abduction of students who peacefully protested for Gaza, mean-spirited cuts in critical social programs, like Head-Start. At the same time Congress has allotted the defense department a record 3 trillion dollar budget!
A big thanks to everyone who has been on the streets protesting, challenging elected officials at town hall meetings, and doing what you can to raise your voice. As a token of gratitude to you and to all who are struggling, I’ve compiled a list of movies with a humanistic theme to lift your spirits as reminders of the inherent good in people.
Perfect Days (Amazon Prime)
A film by acclaimed director, Win Wenders, set in Japan. It focuses on Hirayama, a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, content with his simple life. His days are devoted to his job, listening to music on cassette tapes, reading and taking photos. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.
Amelie ( Netflix)
Young Amélie Poulain works in a Paris café, lives alone, and in an impish spirit, sets out to brighten the lives of her neighbors. Among her surreptitious acts are returning the childhood treasures of a middle-aged man and matchmaking for the lovelorn. Charming from beginning to end.
The Lunchbox (Amazon Prime)
A delightful Indian film featuring a lonely housewife, Ila, who decides to add some spice to her stale marriage by preparing a special lunch for her neglectful husband. The delivery goes astray. The lunchbox winds up in the hands of an irritable widower. Curious about her husband’s lack of response, Ila adds a note to the next day’s lunchbox. Thus begins a tender friendship in which the widower and Ila exchange notes about their joys and sorrows without ever meeting in person.
The Shape of Water (Amazon Prime)
A romantic fantasy film by celebrated Mexican director, Guillermo del Toro staring Sally Hawkins as a mute janitor working in a secret government lab in Baltimore where a captured humanoid amphibian is imprisoned in an enormous water tank. After Hawkins’ character befriends him by feeding him hardboiled eggs and playing jazz music, they fall in love. When she decides to free him, the suspense builds. The New York Times pronounced this movie, “altogether wonderful.”
Hidden Figures (Netflix)
A story of three female African American mathematicians at NASA — Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson — who played a pivotal role in astronaut John Glenn’s launch into space. Though they did the same work as the white women hired at the time, they were cloistered away in their own segregated office. Despite the hardships of working under Virginia’s Jim Crow laws, these women preserved, becoming a legend in American space history.
All We Imagine As Light ( Amazon Prime)
The story of three nurses in modern day Mumbai. Each has come to the big city from smaller hometowns. Each woman has a burden to bear: one has a secret Muslim boyfriend, another is embarrassed by a husband that deserted her, and another is a recent widow, threatened with eviction. The women form a bond, resulting in a film the Guardian pronounced, “full of humanity.”
The Intouchables (Amazon Prime)
The true story of a Parisian aristocrat, quadriplegic since a paragliding accident. He hires a young good-humored, black Muslim ex-con man to be his live-in caretaker. The two men develop a close bond that overrides social and economic differences. The ex-con is played by Omar Sy, familiar to many as the lead in the popular French TV series, “Lupin.”
Faces/Places: a Documentary (Netflix)
The late legendary French director, Agnes Varda teams up with photographer, JR. The camera follows them on a road trip in JR’s photo booth truck. They travel though French villages, taking photos of locals, which they enlarge into massive images and plastered on building fronts. Small town residents who have lived simple, quiet lives are pleasantly surprised to see their images projected. I smiled throughout this heart-warming treat.
