It’s the vibe of the thing…

Sometimes I put on Martha Marcy May Marlene to get sucked into the scenery of the film. I like the grainy, natural, dank atmosphere, the mood of the locations, they’re contrasting a lot of the tension in the film itself, in the chaos going on internally in Martha’s head, the order Lucy tries in instil. Even the chaos and conformity she deals with in the cult become seductive for how beautiful the location is. It’s ended up one of those comfort movies I need to turn off certain parts of my brain despite the themes.

Lost in Translation is another “vibe” movie. Cultural insensitivities aside, the mood set within the hotel and even the nighttime streets of Tokyo is so ethereal and even liminal. I have a weird need to feel burnt out with jet lag in hotels late at night, unable to sleep. Everything feels hermetically sealed and encapsulates you, the gentle lighting and reflections in the windows create such an atmosphere you get sucked into. I’m not descriptive enough but I can easily describe this sensation I get simply viewing a film outside of engaging in the plot.

I can’t think of many other things I go back to based entirely on mood over story. Maybe That Thing You Do gives me a vibe, or Empire Records, but they tend to tap into the teen you were when you originally watched it. Say Anything… has beautiful scenes but it’s less consistent. I’ve avoided films I know upset me, I’ve diverted attention from “depressing” shit to avoid having extreme emotions, even good ones, I’ve been having hyper moments I hate triggering with something I find uplifting.

I’m also fucking pissed I’m growing a list of films I legit want to see and still can’t stream. I’m actually wishing video stores were a thing again, I could’ve rented the fucking DVD by now. YouTube has free movies but they’re largely crap, I won’t rent off YouTube considering what I pay, I feel like they should include a month of free rentals with every subscription, you can rent whatever the fuck you want for no extra cost, fuckin’ Audible allows for monthly credits, one movie or show a month doesn’t seem that fucking unreasonable. Maybe you’d keep subscribers longer. My willingness to go to a movie theatre was resurrected based on the 28 Years Later trailer, and the new Nosferatu. I still want to see fuckin’ Challengers and Poor Things, I despise they’re not on Netflix and I have to wait to see if they maybe show up one day. Same time, I don’t want the pressure of watching a film about to “leave” the platform and I’m nowhere near in the mood to see it but you’re forcing me to make time for it or it’ll disappear. So then I don’t do it out of spite. I know shit comes back but there’s no guarantee it will. I could chance buying these and hope they’re good, I’m so averse to renting off a platforms I already throw money at.