Film & TV Lunch Club: Oct 2024 - Respect Your Elders
American Honey, Million Dollar Baby, Hannah Arendt
Last month we looked at Young Visionaries in the film world, so it’s only fair that we give filmmakers who continue (or continued) to make films after an already extensive career some deserved praise, as well as spotlighting late bloomers who made their directorial debuts later in life.
When I’ve been looking at gender studies about film previously, I have been struck by the differences between the age of male and female actors who have leading and speaking roles. The data for first-time directors doesn’t seem as reliable: one study that analysed 750 directors found that the average age is 32, while this Hollywood Reporter article cites that the average age to start directing is ‘around 40’. And then there’s the question of what should ‘count’ - many films are made but not all of them get a theatrical release.
Either way, I think age plays an interesting role in filmmaking. The wisdom that life experience brings provides directors with a broader lens with which to tell their stories. And extra years on the planet means more time spent observing, learning and living. Just look at how perceptive and grounded the films of the likes of Andrea Arnold and Ken Loach are!
A little sidetone as we are focusing mostly on directors here, but a respectable nod to James Ivory (one-half of the British filmmaking team Merchant/Ivory), who won his first Oscar for his adapted screenplay for 2017’s Call Me By Your Name. He also co-directed and narrated 2022 documentary memoir A Cooler Climate, which played the New York Film Festival (featured in the list below!).
I hope you enjoy this month’s selection…
🎞 October Selection 🎞
American Honey | Official Trailer | A24
American Honey (2016; Dir. Andrea Arnold)
A teenage girl with nothing to lose joins a traveling magazine sales crew, and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love as she criss-crosses the Midwest with a band of misfits. Arnold was 45 years old when she directed her first feature film and 55 years old when she directed this one.
Million Dollar Baby (2004, Dir. Clint Eastwood)
Frankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond. Eastwood’s career in film began in 1955 and he has over 60 years experience in the industry, directing his first film at 41 years old and this one at 74. His upcoming film Juror #2 should be released this year and he is currently 94!Hannah Arendt (2012, Dir. Margarethe von Trotta)
A look at the life of philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt, who reported for 'The New Yorker' on the trial of the Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem. Von Trotta has been directing films since 1975 and for this one she was 70 years old.
🎬 The Long List: Optional Extras 🎬
Killers of the Flower Moon - When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one - until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.
Grizzly Man - A devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.
A Cooler Climate - Oscar-winning filmmaker James Ivory discovers boxes of films he made during a life-changing trip to Afghanistan in 1960 recounting his life as a traveler, outsider, and artist.
I, Daniel Blake - After surviving a heart-attack, a 59-year-old carpenter must fight bureaucratic forces to receive Employment and Support Allowance.
The Piano Teacher - A young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.
Both Sides of the Blade - A love triangle story about a woman caught between two men, her long-time partner and his best friend, her former lover.
Hotel Rwanda - Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
Faces, Places - Director Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist J.R. journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
The Post - A cover-up spanning four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and her editor to join an unprecedented battle between press and government.
To Our Loves - An erratic young woman's family desperately tries to prevent her increasingly erotic ways.
🔜 Next Time 🔜
The theme for JANUARY will be U FILMS as a delayed way to mark International Children’s Day on 20 November. For readers in other territories, the ‘U’ stands for ‘Universal' and under the BBFC’s classification, it lets us know that films with this rating are suitable for all. Normally, it’s a good marker that a film can be watched by anyone, including children! Feel free to give me your thoughts about this post or the next one in the comments or on Insta! I’d love to know what you’ve been watching.