the city in film
So glad to reconnect with this 1980s classic from Joan Micklin Silver, which I found much richer and poignant since I’d recently caught up with her 1975 Hester Street.
Here’s the basic plot in limerick:
At the bookstore she flirts, cool and coy
With her eye on a popular goy.
Her friends and her bubbe
All want her a hubby
But what's wrong with a nice Jewish boy...?
Here’s another filmerick for your enjoyment. (You’ll note that this one, on Fred Wiseman’s latest documentary, City Hall, is a lot shorter than the film itself.)
City Hall (Fred Wiseman, 2020)
As the five hour mark he was nearing
Wiseman must have expected some jeering.
It’s far beyond copious,
A real magnum opius:
It’s as long as a Zoning Board hearing.
As described previously, I’ve been exploring a new medium, the “filmerick” (limericks to summarize great films). Here’s a new one in honor of Chloé Zhao’s poignant and meditative on-the-road epic, Nomadland:
Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, 2020)
They may think that you don’t have a plan,
When they see that you poop in a can,
But it’s them that did go mad,
You hard-working nomad:
You’ve a home on the road in your van.
For my longer (and slightly more serious) review, see The Arts Fuse.