Nov 8 2026

1970 – The Conformist

1970 – The Comformist (Il conformista)

It’s a political drama written and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci (before Last Tango in Paris infamy and The Last Emperor‘s huge Oscar run). It’s an Italian, French, West-German co-production and is based on a based on the 1951 novel by Alberto Moravia. It stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as Marcello Clerici, a weak-willed closeted homosexual who seeks some sort of salvation from his perceived differences by embracing fascism. I saw it on YouTube here.

Vintage Italian film poster featuring a woman, armed men, a train, and a colorful collage of dramatic scenes.

Boy, picking a movie from 1970 was a chore. Often, there is a year where I have five or six movies I really want to see and it is difficult to pick just one, but this year? Not really. So, I went a bit by popularity and reviews, and this arthouse movie’s themes seemed interesting. It’s been a few days since the midterms in the USA, and the blue tsunami just overran MAGA-world. In addition, elections in Hungary, Serbia, and Brazil have been rejecting the narrative that the world is descending into fascism. Still, the question remains: why is it so alluring? Its siren song is looming over next year’s elections in France, and who knows how long our government in Germany will hold before new elections are sparked. So, looking over the life of somebody who willingly participates in that ideology seemed interesting to me.

Already in the first few minutes of the movie, he gets asked why he is joining Mussolini’s movement. Some join because of fear, most join because of money, and just a very few join because they truly buy into the ideology. But this guy remains a mystery to the Italian government. He comes from money; we see his mother languishing her days away in a lavish mansion. He definitely doesn’t believe in anything, neither the church nor the ideology. He’s not afraid—we later see what a coward he is, but he’s not afraid of the other side. No, for him, it’s the allure of being “normal.” He wishes to have a normal life, a normal wife, and a normal government job—no sticking out! We slowly find out all he is repressing: his homosexuality (or bisexuality?) for one, his obvious intellect (which we see when he’s debating his leftist professor), and his friendship with misfits, such as a group of blind people throwing him a bachelor party. Repress, repress, repress; he becomes a walking contradiction.

He is supposed to kill his former leftist professor, now based in Paris, but he enjoys his company—and especially the company of his wife, Anna—too much. He plays his part well, even fooling his handler for a while, but we see what a small, petty man he is inside. It’s here where the movie becomes hard to watch; he’s not a hero, he’s outright despicable. At the climax of the movie, there is such a heartbreaking scene where he simply turns away, leaving the viewer entirely disgusted and filled with contempt toward the weakling.

Four formally dressed people dine at a Chinese restaurant table with tea, bowls, and chopsticks.

The movie expertly evokes these emotions through its amazing and artful cinematography. We see strange diagonal camera angles when he is confused, soft red hues when he is aroused, or cold blue colors when he is distant towards women. The play with light is incredible. Already in the first scene with his fiancée, Giulia, the blinds are drawn such that the black-and-white shadows on the wall mimic her dress. We see it again when they discuss Plato’s shadow play with the professor, or in a particular scene in a very foggy forest, where the light tries to escape before shadowy figures start to darken it.

t does have the occasional arthouse trope, such as a non-linear timeline, which takes a while to get used to. There is also some unnatural posing that looks amazing but can occasionally take you out of the narrative. However, the meandering film comes together quite expertly at the end, and it really stayed with me for hours afterward. It wasn’t at all about the question of why he becomes a fascist. In the end, it reminded me somewhat of The Lives of Others, but in reverse. In that movie, the man serving the dictatorship becomes compassionate by observing the humanity in others. Here, they throw humanity at him in droves—so much so that you are drowned in it (in one scene, he literally spirals as hundreds of people dance happily around him)—and all he does is passively look away.

Oct 25 2026

1969 – Midnight Cowboy

It’s an American drama directed by John Schlesinger, apparently quite faithfully adapted from the novel by James Leo Herlihy. It stars Jon Voight as Joe Buck and Dustin Hoffman as Rico “Ratso” Rizzo. It tells the story about two down-on-their-luck hustlers; one is a prostitute, the other a crippled con man. It holds the distinction to be the only Best Picture winner to be rated ‘X’ (equivalent to today’s NC-17 rating). I rented it on Apple TV for 3.99 Eur.

Early this year, when flying back to Berlin, we had a 14-hour layover in Newark. We took the opportunity to go to New York to show my son all the sights. Since we didn’t have much time, we had to be economical with our sightseeing. So, naturally, we went to Times Square and up the Empire State Building, and even visited the pools where the Twin Towers stood. But what I liked the most was walking the city: going into the bodegas (we had quite a bit of hand luggage and could leave it there for a small fee), stopping at an amazing bagel shop, taking the subway, and, of course, having a lunch of pizza by the slice at some dingy counter.

I love NY! It has the same qualities that make me love Berlin so much: an amalgamation of people from all over the world, each with their little quirks, wanting to “make it” in this world. A lot of them fail, creating an underworld that is scary and artful at the same time. Berlin is facing the same problems New York is facing, too: gentrification, ever-rising rents on ever-scarce land (though a lot of it is because of strange permits and zoning ordinances), corporatization, and a growing animosity towards it from people outside the city. And we just elected a leftist Muslim mayor, too. My daughter recently told me that Berliners are throwing trash on the streets and painting the walls with graffiti on purpose to keep rich Arab and Asian investors out—as if only Berliners feel good in the gritty neighborhoods.

And yet… you find some of the kindest and most lovable oafs in the city, who supposedly have an uncultured, often accented way of speaking, but honestly put their cards on the table. It’s a concrete jungle out there, and everybody is out to get theirs, but even in the underbelly, there is love. In the movie, the two protagonists end up at some Andy Warhol-esque party with a whole bunch of strange characters. Okay, so I have no idea if those types of parties exist nowadays, but they absolutely existed in the ’90s in Berlin. You ended up in some apartment having a drunk, existentialist conversation with a total stranger you were never going to see again, or you danced the night away in some basement where people set up a few boom boxes, a few chairs, and a few beer crates and called it a nightclub. Everything had a smell that was a mix of dampness and East German brown coal; the plaster on the walls was falling down, and there were some truly weird characters around. But man, was it unpretentious.

But it’s not all fun and games, and thankfully, in the morning, I did go back to my dorm. This movie shows us the underbelly of New York City in the late ’60s, far away from the glamour. There is no Copacabana or fancy Upper East Side views (this isn’t Mad Men or Mrs Maisel). Joe Buck arrives in New York escaping some harrowing events in Texas, wanting to find a rich lady for whom he can play gigolo, and utterly fails. Together with small-time crook Ratso, they survive by squatting in a condemned building, stealing from street vendors, and pawning off their last few possessions.

In between there are some views into the gritty, let’s say non-touristy, sides of New York. There are three very different encounters with repressed homosexuals in various locations, as well as scenes showing the tediousness of hustling for even the smallest things: a wash, some crackers, even a bed. All around them is a rainbow assortment of characters; Schlesinger, the gay director, depicts them so well. This movie came out just a month or two before the Stonewall Riots; that’s the kind of scene these two characters would probably visit (though they probably couldn’t afford it).

It’s amazing how well the movie holds up. A lot of it’s the amazing cinematography, how the movie plays with irony so well. I kept laughing and eyerolling in my head while the montage of Joe driving on the Greyhound through Texas with the “Everybody’s Talkin’ at Me” song. It was probably a whole lot more shocking back then, with the im- and explicit sex scenes (every HBO show now shows more). The themes of finding friendship in a cold and unfriendly city, though are Universal and I am thankful for the movie of showing New York that way. Without it, there is no Taxi Driver, no French Connection, no Dog Day Afternoon, no Saturday Night Fever. Thank you for that!

Oct 18 2026

1968 – Planet of the Apes

It’s an American science-fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, loosely based on the 1963 French novel by Pierre Boule (La Planète des singes). Its main protagonist is George Taylor, played by Charlton Heston, an astronaut who lands on a planet where a simian society rules over the planet’s human-like race. I rented in on Apple TV for 3.99 Eur.

We are still in the transition of Hollywood in 1968, and this year we’re going into space. We are in the middle of the space race in that year; the American Apollo program is in full gear. For a while, I had set out “2001: A Space Odyssey” as my film for that year, but I had been warned that is a quiet and meditative movie and yesterday I just felt restless. So I went with this movie. It can’t be that bad if countless sequels and reboots (of which I sadly have seen none) have been made out of it, can it? Add to that the fact that I heard Charlton Heston is a jerk in the movie, even if he is the main protagonist “hero” figure. Heh, that should be interesting! I liked the self-righteous “Ben-Hur” quite a lot, but seeing him thrown off his pedestal a bit seemed intriguing.

We are still fully entrenched in the rebellious side of Hollywood. Much like the protests against the Vietnam war in real life, the themes in Hollywood kept on questioning authority and the way society has always functioned. And again, just like last year’s example of “Bonnie and Clyde“, you are along for the ride and not just critiquing from the sidelines. ome of it is funny – in one scene Taylor shaves off his beard, which had been growing for two years while in cryosleep. The older apes are disgusted, while Taylor explains that in his world it’s actually the young humans who are the ones growing beards. It’s the young nephew ape that then chimes in that he finds the smooth skin intriguing – of course, he had to go against the elders!

There are many other societal themes that get addressed in the movie: authority, religion, righteousness, society, rules, compassion, etc. Some of them resonate, some of them are exposed a bit clumsily.

So, the execution is clumsy, the acting is wooden, and the costuming is ridiculous. Add to that the seeming contradiction in the depiction of women (which added to the prick personality of Taylor): for example, there is the female astronaut commander, respected by at least one of the crew members, but whom Taylor reduces to an Eve who is supposed to carry on the human species. On the planet itself, we have Dr. Zira, a renowned psychologist and veterinarian specializing in the study of humans – she then gets constantly denigrated by Dr. Zaius, the minister of science and chief defender of the faith, underlining the strict patriarchal society (they may be advanced, but they are still sexist apes). And don’t get me started on Linda Harrison’s Nova character, a mute human who is supposed to be the mating partner for Taylor. I can only shake my head at the “noble savage” story they’re going for there.

But then… the movie is thoroughly entertaining. Its message is overt, but subtle enough not to be preachy. I had a great time watching the movie, and it is not for nothing that it became a juggernaut of a franchise. Its sequel came out only 2 years later and it led the way in changing the way Hollywood operated. In the past, sequels were considered B-movies, so of lower quality and interest, with no expectation of critical acclaim (think of the Tarzan, Frankenstein, etc. franchises). This movie changed that dynamic and paved the way for other science fiction blockbuster franchises, such as Star Wars.

Add to that the ending of the movie, which by now has been overly spoiled in general culture (think of the vacuum lady in Spaceballs, for example), but then supposedly packed such a punch, that it left the audiences flabbergasted. Before, it was a slight adventurous sci-fi movie with power inversion themes, the ending felt devastating, an apt critique about the human greed, evil and destructive tendencies.

Oct 4 2026

1967 – Bonnie and Clyde

It’s an American biographical and gangster film directed by Arthur Penn and produced by Warren Beatty. It stars Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty in the titular Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow roles. They are outlaws who roam the Depression-era South robbing banks and convenience stores together with others. It ushered in the era of New Hollywood, a more gritty, but honest form of cinema with self-auteur (away from the studio system and the Hays Code), morally ambiguous main characters and bleak or unresolved endings. I rented it on Apple TV for 3.99 Eur.

It’s time for another gangster movie and for yet another tonal shift in movie types. I had already commented on the earnestness of 50s type movies appealing to the better angels of our nature to the cynicism of the early 60s that made fun of the system often in biting satire. Well, now it’s time for showing the dirty parts of life, still cynical, but now you are taking part, riding shotgun instead of having a God’s-eye view over the bad parts of the system. Bonnie and Clyde represents that part of seeking freedom and fame during the Great Depression.

In the beginning, it seems glamorous. That shot of Faye Dunaway posing with a cigar and a gun in front of a car is one for the ages. It looks so stylish, she is dressed so fine, you want that too. Warren Beatty is so easy on the eyes, with his amazing suits accentuating his body. But then the movie very quickly transports you to the reality of what it means to live on the lam: sleeping in dirty cars or run-down accommodations, crawling out of iffy situations through muddy fields or lakes, killing people… Just like other gangster movies, the glamour is unceremoniously unveiled as grueling and unforgiving. And yet, you feel for them when Bonnie’s mother says goodbye to her, she suddenly seems so young. She starts talking of starting over, true regret in her eyes, she suddenly regrets being famous, even though she writes herself a poem.

Well, but did I feel it? The style of the movie is great. Those chase scenes really paved the way towards other movies, like the chase scene in Thelma and Louise. But much like other New Hollywood movies, which this one and The Graduate kicked off the movement, it is very boomerish in its depiction of yearning for freedom. I am sorry to say it, but Boomers do have the reputation of being self-involved. Their self-actualization comes before issues of the greater good. In the movie, they are partially magnanimous towards poor people, but their satisfaction comes first. My boomer teachers had us reading “The Catcher in the Rye” for school, I found Holden to be a whiny, privileged hypocrite, who complained about the phoniness of others while lying to others constantly. Our teachers also had us watching “Easy Rider” which I found so boring, their ideas of freedom being so selfish. It’s what I love about our current GenZ so much, they often do think in communal terms about the greater good.

Now part of it is circumstantial, Boomers didn’t have the greatest role models and were born into a rigid society, so a certain rebelliousness is understandable. But Penn tries to tie these themes to the Great Depression, so the juxtaposition of that boomer style with 30s downtrodden America is a bit jarring. The constant cuts and fast editing make you feel like you are yanked back and forth constantly into joy and despair, which is on purpose, but not very nice. Add to that its famous ending, which sort of leaves you aghast and unsatisfied – what was it all for? And that is what the movie left me, sad. Not feeling sorry for those criminals, they did kill so many cops, after all, just sad at the circumstances.

Sep 20 2026

1966 – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

It is the classic spaghetti western epic (meaning it was written and produced by Italians and typically shot in Europe). It was directed by Sergio Leone and stars Clint Eastwood as “the Good”, Lee Van Cleef as “the Bad”, and Eli Wallach as “the Ugly”. Its story is original, written by Leone and one of his writers, Luciano Vincenzoni. There are many unique aspects to this movie, but one special standout is its music by Ennio Morricone. I rented it on Apple TV for €3.99. Incidentally, in Germany, this movie is called “Zwei glorreiche Halunken”, which roughly translates to “Two glorious bastards” — huh? Did the translator simply drop one of the key ingredients present in the original title?

Movie poster for 'Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo' directed by Sergio Leone, featuring three main characters in cowboy attire.

When I was 8 years old, my parents took me to see “The Mission“; they had to really fight to let me enter with them, as it’s not a kids’ movie at all. There are a few images in my mind here and there, but I don’t really remember much of the movie anymore. What really stayed with me, and I recall it immediately like it was yesterday, was the amazing musical score that accompanied the film. I already mentioned somewhere in the blog being introduced to “Cinema Paradiso” by my dad. In the final scene where the protagonist watches all the cut kisses, that score that has been in the background all along starts to swell up and begs the tears on your face to flow, flow, flow – how can some kitchy kisses from movies make you cry so much? That is the mastery of Ennio Morricone! Before Hans Zimmer and Ludwig Göransson, even before John Williams “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” defined score. Where you hear a few notes and are immediately transported into the movie. Parodied, copied, emulated, incorporated – he was the trailblazer.

So, it wasn’t a hard decision to choose which movie I would see for 1966. Why not the one that made him famous? Well, I have already discussed my reluctance toward Westerns, and this movie is 3 hours long, so I was a bit scared going into it. Part of it was wrong expectations: I really thought Clint Eastwood was going to be a caricature of “good”, the noble cowboy somehow fighting against the very good-looking “bad” character. It turned out that all three characters are some shade of gray (though Angel Eyes, “the Bad” is a scary character like Anton Chigurh in “No Country For Old Men“); there were no pure good guys here.

I actually liked that it poked fun at the nobleness portrayed in movies just a decade prior. There is that 1960s cynicism that keeps repeating, contrasting itself with the aspirations of the 1950s. I just never thought it would also translate to Westerns. The anti-war message about the senselessness of fighting over a bridge, for example, hits especially hard when one thinks that two years later in 1968, the Americans would pursue exactly that strategy in Vietnam: fighting over a hill with enormous casualties only to let it go later.

Three men facing each other in a dusty setting with mountains in the background, suggesting a tense standoff.

And then the movie also looks so damn good. From a technical aspect, you can really appreciate how well they coped. Does your “western town” movie set look dilapidated and poorly built due to budget constraints? No worries. We’ll just say it was marred by the Civil War passing back and forth through this town, with the Yanks and the Confederates taking it over. Add to that, it is really well portrayed. I don’t know how to describe it, but the movie is incredibly cinematic. It shows a close-up right at the exact moment when I thought, “Ah, now it’s time for a close-up!”, perfectly highlighting how scary somebody is or how much they want to redeem themselves. Perfect timing throughout! Even though it’s an epic, I didn’t feel like it lost a beat or meandered around.

So yes, come for the music and stay for a really good time. The climax features a tense three-way shootout between the titular characters — who will come out on top? I won’t reveal it, but my heart rooted for “the Ugly” the whole time!

P.S.: This review was supposed to come out already last Sunday, but I was quite sick a few days ago. So sometime in October I will have to do 2 Sundays in a row again, so that I finish with 25 movies by the end of the year.