An Ode to my comfort movies
I have two comfort movies that I watch no more than once a year, for fear of consuming them in my mind, and they are Weekend by Andrew Haigh and God's Own Country by Francis Lee. They mean a lot to me, because they're universal in representing the burning desire for human closeness. They're not just universal: for me, these are the two movies that better than any other have managed to synthesize such a vast and profound concept.
I search all the time for movies and stories capable of touching every chord of tenderness within me. Abandonment and human closeness are concepts that seem to exclude each other, but are complementary: I do nothing but vivisect them, when I write.
In my humble attempt to pay homage to such concepts (and therefore these two movies), I self-published a little story for italian readers two days ago, on the first day of spring. It has nothing to do with these movies and it has a lot to do with them. Inspiration is such a blessed thing.
I specifically owe a lot to Andrew Haigh, as a director and writer, because he entrusts writing with the task of making his characters re/live. It's not as obvious as I make it seem. You should watch Weekend and All Of Us Strangers to understand what I'm talking about: you feel the care for his characters, as if they were real. Again, it's not as trivial as it sounds. Maybe what I mean is that I feel cared for, when I watch them.
The story I wrote it's about someone who probably, in my knowledge, never got to experience care as in human closeness. I won't elaborate, but it's something that has always broken my fucking heart.
Andrew Haigh also has what I consider the greatest talent of all: he brings to life male characters that feel like they were written by women. Oh my God, it's such an absolute pleasure to experience male protagonists who are built to be so open in considering others, in listening, in choosing the right word to say.
Yes, both these movies focus on male homosexual relationships, the point is also the fact that they have the ability to heal certain concepts about men, for me as a woman.
Those couple of days in a year when I feel the need to be restored in tenderness and faith, that's what these two movies do for me.