The last of these editions before I hit my 28th birthday. I haven’t exactly felt like I have been in my most productive phase, but I’m trying to push myself back into it soon. With TIFF being around the corner, I feel like this might be the perfect chance to show myself once again. I know some of you have been waiting to see more from me especially after a slow period these past weeks, and I’m sorry to disappoint. But I’ll get back into it sooner.
Without further ado, these are Friday’s Five Films. If you like what you’re seeing here, remember to subscribe for a whole lot more.
#1: All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001, Shunji Iwai)
I think I first saw this movie in the midst of a J-pop phase I went through in high school. Looking back at All About Lily Chou-Chou now, I can’t think of many other films that have nailed down what the internet has done to our perception of reality quite like this. And perhaps there’s a prophetic feeling to it all, especially when this movie was made before the social media age – and supposedly, we’re seeing a sense of unity coming through a shared love of one relic. It also makes me a bit mad that I held off buying the limited edition slipcase for this once Vinegar Syndrome announced that Film Movement would be a partner label of theirs. Still, I’m happily adding it to my collection as soon as I can.
#2: The Counterfeit Coin (1955, Yorgos Tzavellas)
I’ve been trying to fix how little Greek cinema I’ve seen lately. I blind bought the Radiance Blu-ray for The Ogre of Athens in a previous entry (which made one of my five selections that time), and it reminded me to watch this after a friend’s enthusiastic recommendation. The least I can say is not only that both these films exist beautifully in conversation with one another, but The Counterfeit Coin paints a picture of humanity and the dangers of material wealth. All of which is attributed to a fake coin, because we place so much value on top of something that ultimately, might be meaningless.
#3: Eureka (2000, Shinji Aoyama)
This movie is a massive undertaking for most, but that might be key to why it works so beautifully. The wounds from PTSD don’t quickly heal, especially when we don’t know how to piece together a tragedy – even being around people who went through the same can’t give all the answers. At three and a half hours, there’s not a single second of the movie that feels wasted, because we’re occupying the same space, in which everything seems to be a blur. Though that also might be the perfect chance to re-examine such circumstances, so you can start seeing things more clearly.
#4: Interstellar (2014, Christopher Nolan)
I never saw Interstellar on 70mm back when it came out. That all changed thanks to this Christopher Nolan retrospective at TIFF, and I think that it made all the difference for me. Sure, it’s essentially Christopher Nolan showing the painstaking details of astrophysics, but it’s also a plea for humanity to band together in times of distress. Nolan’s obsessions all come together here, but I think there’s something beautiful out of what he’s able to mine in Interstellar. It’s a movie that feels the anxiety of the human race in the midst of an ongoing climate crisis, so that we don’t have to meet a death knell so soon.
#5: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026, Jane Schoenbrun)
Jane Schoenbrun’s particular brand of queer cinema is one that leaves us re-examining our own relationship with media we have nostalgia for. It’s something that was utilized to great effect in the brilliant I Saw the TV Glow from 2024, and here, it’s pointed back at the filmmakers who are hired to revive old franchises in a more “conscious” manner. Except that’s not really what Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is; it’s a rom-com between an upcoming filmmaker and a reclusive movie star, and how their visions between generations become one. Another win for Schoenbrun.
The Complete Day-by-Day Log
First time watches are denoted with bold text. Scores are on a ½ to ✯✯✯✯✯ basis.
Friday
Cure (1997, Kiyoshi Kurosawa) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Interstellar (2014, Christopher Nolan) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 70mm
Eureka (2000, Shinji Aoyama) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Saturday
Rubber’s Lover (1996, Shozin Fukui) - ✯✯✯✯½
Sheep in the Box (2026, Hirokazu Kore-eda) - ✯✯✯
The Hole (1998, Tsai Ming-liang) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Ice Cream Man (1995, Norm Apstein) - ✯✯
Sunday
Four Murders Are Enough, Darling (1971, Oldřich Lipský) - ✯✯✯✯½
Carita de cielo (1947, José Díaz Morales) - ✯✯✯
All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001, Shunji Iwai) - ✯✯✯✯✯
A New Love in Tokyo (1994, Banmei Takahashi) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Monday
Undercurrent (1956, Kōzaburō Yoshimura) - ✯✯✯✯½
The Counterfeit Coin (1955, Yorgos Tzavellas) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Céline and Julie Go Boating (1974, Jacques Rivette) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Infested (2023, Sébastien Vaniček) - ✯✯✯
Tuesday
The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981, Oldřich Lipský) - ✯✯✯✯½
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026, Jane Schoenbrun) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Primate (2025, Johannes Roberts) - ✯✯✯½
Wednesday
The Fifth Horseman Is Fear (1965, Zbyněk Brynych) - ✯✯✯✯½
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (2003, Kim Ki-duk) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The End of Oak Street (2026, David Robert Mitchell) - ✯✯✯½
Blue Velvet (1986, David Lynch) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Thursday
Actual People (2021, Kit Zauhar) - ✯✯✯½
36 Fillette (1988, Catherine Breillat) - ✯✯✯✯½
American Dharma (2018, Errol Morris) - ✯✯✯½
Wobble Palace (2018, Eugene Kotlyarenko) - ✯✯✯½
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