I went with a Sam Neill photo to start things off, because we lost one of the great screen actors earlier in the week in his passing. When talking about how he could command the screen, you simply need to see a film like Jurassic Park to understand how he brought such energy forth. And it only goes without saying he’ll be missed dearly by many cinephiles. Just something that remained on my mind the whole week, as I could have easily highlighted many of his movies – but I chose an unconventional one deliberately. You’ll see soon enough.
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: Funny Girl (1968, William Wyler)
I feel that, at this rate, this is one of a handful of musicals where I know the lyrics to most, if not all the songs. Maybe it’s because William Wyler does everything he can to make sure you feel the height of the emotions at play, but also where it speaks for the artists performing them. Barbra Streisand’s portrait of Fanny Brice screams “movie star” on every frame, but it’s also as perfect a movie about the pursuit of fame as one can get. The title Funny Girl feels apt, not just because it’s a movie about wanting to entertain, but also our releationship to the entertainer. We see an artist, but they see suffering – and even those songs reflect such hardship. I love this movie dearly.
#2: A History of Violence (2005, David Cronenberg)
This is one David Cronenberg film that I find only grows in esteem for me over the years. This isn’t the first time I’ve highlighted A History of Violence here, but I find that it’s always rewarding to come back to this one. It’s rewarding because it feels like Cronenberg understands where this need to build a “hero” narrative comes forth in the United States, but also how these acts of violence just hint at something more fractured. Everything we’re seeing in A History of Violence presents itself ordinarily, but that’s where Cronenberg breaks through a façade of a perfect American family. And when we see those uncomfortable layers broken through, it’s a fundamentally devastating work.
#3: Macho Dancer (1988, Lino Brocka)
I’d been waiting for the perfect opportunity to watch this Lino Brocka classic, and thankfully a new restoration courtesy of Kani means more eyes on the great Filipino auteur. That said, it’s hard not to sense that Macho Dancer feels like it stands for everything that Lino Brocka believes in, first as an antifascist storyteller during the height of the Marcos dictatorship, but also as a gay man. It’s a film that shows you everything he stands for, but as we navigate through the seedy nightlife of Manila, we’re also seeing a film about the necessity to survive. Just deeply tragic, and vital filmmaking. No one did it out there like Brocka.
#4: Memento (2000, Christopher Nolan)
With Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey opening in this summer, TIFF has also scheduled a complete retrospective dedicated to his work for the occasion. For me, that felt like the perfect opportunity to revisit these on film, and I think I understand why Nolan was a filmmaker I found myself attached to in high school. Memento is my favourite of his works, at least because the nonlinear storytelling gives us a glimpse into a fractured mind for his protagonist, but it also points to something bleaker. It’s bleak in the sense that we’re following a path of violence meant to satisfy revenge, but where Nolan takes you with the reverse storytelling is some place discomforting. And in that moment, he confronts the basic psychology of revenge, especially as it is an easy narrative framework. Memento is anything but.
#5: The Piano (1993, Jane Campion)
For the late, great Sam Neill. I could have easily chosen to rewatch Jurassic Park or Possession, but I opted for something less conventional – only because I had not seen this film in a while. Jane Campion has long been a favourite filmmaker of mine, but I think what really gets me about The Piano is how her protagonist’s deliberate silence comes as a response to patriarchal norms, often found in period pieces. It’s not really a romance, as much as it gets seen as one because of the template, but a movie about survival – an instinct that Campion understands thoroughly in her filmography. To me, this is her best film, though I understand that is the popular belief of many others.
The Complete Day-by-Day Log
First time watches are denoted with bold text. Scores are on a ½ to ✯✯✯✯✯ basis.
Friday
The Crazy Family (1984, Gakuryu Ishii) - ✯✯✯✯
A History of Violence (2005, David Cronenberg) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Nobody Waved Goodbye (1964, Don Owen) - ✯✯✯✯½
The Pied Piper (1986, Jiří Barta) - ✯✯✯½
Memento (2000, Christopher Nolan) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Tinsman Road (2025, Robbie Banfitch) - ✯✯✯
Saturday
Cannibal Girls (1973, Ivan Reitman) - ✯✯✯
The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022, Loren Bouchard) - ✯✯✯½
Following (1998, Christopher Nolan) - ✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Macho Dancer (1988, Lino Brocka) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Her Body (2023, Natálie Císařovská) - ✯✯✯
Sunday
The Dead (1987, John Huston) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Romería (2025, Carla Simón) - ✯✯✯✯½
Gendernauts: A Journey Through Shifting Identities (1999, Monika Treut) - ✯✯✯✯
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025, Matt Johnson) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Monday
Cairo Station (1958, Youssef Chahine) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The Long, Hot Summer (1958, Martin Ritt) - ✯✯✯
The Piano (1993, Jane Campion) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The Sea Hawk (1940, Michael Curtiz) - ✯✯✯✯½
CAMP (2025, Avalon Fast) - ✯✯✯✯
Sweetness (2025, Emma Higgins) - ✯✯✯½
Tuesday
Perfect Blue (1997, Satoshi Kon) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The Big Heat (1953, Fritz Lang) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019, Lee Won-tae) - ✯✯✯✯
Wednesday
Daniel Isn’t Real (2019, Adam Egypt Mortimer) - ✯✯✯
Funny Girl (1968, William Wyler) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Redline (2009, Takashi Koike) - ✯✯✯✯½
Stake Land (2010, Jim Mickle) - ✯✯✯½
Thursday
Daybreakers (2009, Michael and Peter Spierig) - ✯✯✯
Girls Like Girls (2026, Hayley Kiyoko) - ✯✯✯
Fires on the Plain (1959, Kon Ichikawa) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The Prestige (2006, Christopher Nolan) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 1 (1974, Kinji Fukasaku) - ✯✯✯✯
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