There’s a moment in every friendship where someone says something unforgivable, a word, a phrase, perhaps a recalled story that is so damaging to the trust between two people that a fissure occurs. Any attempt to recover from this irreconcilable first strike only deepens the divide until friends turn to strangers, or worse… enemies.
Luckily I’ve not had to deal with anything so serious, but when my friend Tyler (Normssabatical on letterboxd) hit me with the line “Steven Spielberg is our greatest living director” I nearly crashed out like De Niro on Pesci in Raging Bull (1980). Was I triggered? Am I now a cinema snowflake? Naturally I offered up the most obvious counterpoint to his outlandish statement: Marty Scorsese! There ensued a rapid 30 minute text exchange, one part Ace Attorney (Objection!) one part A Few Good Men (1992). My argument against Spielberg is really an argument in favor of Scorsese, that’s not to say Steven Spielberg doesn’t have several of my personal favorite movies in his bag, and objectively at least 2 of the top 100 movies of all time, but blow for blow Martin Scorsese has the deeper catalog, right? As of now, there is no resolution to this political crisis. Instead a tentative agreement towards peace and understanding: we have each committed to watching both director’s filmography, and on completion of this we will draft the best 10 movies we can. Only then might we come to an understanding.
June in Dallas could not have been more busy. Several world cup games were held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, ushering in droves of foreign football (Soccer!) fans. I found myself at a subtitled screening of The Wind Rises (2013) in a theater with its fair share of Japanese moviegoers, just a day before Japan would draw the Netherlands 2-2.
The Criterion and Radiance sales also kicked off this month at Barnes and Noble and I helped myself to a handful of titles. The way it usually goes is I take an initial trip full of faux fiscal conservatism, walk out with 2-3 titles before eventually returning and inflicting serious economic damage unto myself.
The rest of the month was largely spent preparing for my imminent move for school and a two week trip to Japan. I’ll be fortunate enough to visit Hiroshima while there and will be meeting with a survivor of the atomic bombing. I’ve been supplementing my preexisting understanding of August 6th 1945 with books by John Hersey and Kenzaburo Oe while also watching a few related films like Hiroshima (1953). While in Japan I hope to sightsee some of the filming locations from Drive My Car (2021) and Perfect Days (2023) as well as pick up some film related ephemera. I’ve set my “go to Japan to buy stuff” expectations quite low, which has eliminated a lot of anxiety, leaving space for cultural excursions and a gluttonous approach to eating. My hope is to also train some BJJ (Brazilian Jujutsu) in Kyoto or Tokyo and see if I can’t pick up some secret move that hasn’t made its way to suburban Texas yet.
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