Quarantine got you down? Bored and not sure what to watch in the coming weeks? We are proud to announce that The On The Clock Team has got you covered! Throughout the next couple of weeks, until we reach the safe sweet spot where we can finally recover from social distancing measures, we’ve got a list of great films, TV shows, and alternative content for you! Enjoy our third round of recommendations (sorry, no television recommendations this time around), and come back next week for more enlightening content. You can also always check out our previous article!
NARRATIVE FILM
CRIMSON PEAK (2015)
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Currently Streaming on HBO GO
For those looking for some spine tingling ghoulish fun during these damp, dark hours of quarantine, may I guide your attention to the blockbuster horror sleeper hit Crimson Peak. Debuting with mixed to favorable reception in the mid 2010’s, del Toro’s refreshing revamp of traditional Gothic horror tropes is a delightful ode to the monsters who live among us. It’s a cheeky melodrama with plenty of terrifying twists and turns, and the additional fantasy imagery is implemented to further create a strong sense of atmosphere and direction. While far from the best of del Toro’s filmography, Crimson Peak is worth your time just for it’s beautiful color palettes, exquisite production, and gorgeous gowns; all included in a sublime retrospective throwback to a simpler time of crime, ghosts, and passionate love. – David Cuevas
THE WILD BOYS (2017)
Directed by Bertrand Mandico
Currently Streaming on Kanopy & Shudder USA
Kenneth Anger’s eroticized young sailor stands in a glittery fog once again, but this time bathed in a hot purple light. The Wild Boys takes these gender dynamics, a didacticism theorized as old as time, and fills a theory as rich as the blueberry hues of its setting. Young men are aggressive by nature,we hear from the start; an idea beaten into us just as much as it is beaten into them. Then the fog comes, and the troublesome young men can no longer see the shoreline that their ship, led by a strange and surly sea captain with a secret hidden beneath his coat, has departed from.
They arrive to an island, none they are told will change them forever, as they are tied to the ship by leads that can puppet them at will. Autonomy breaks, but the boys only grow fearful and restless. It’s an island of great pleasure, but also great change; one that throws off reality. There’s a horror here, one within oneself, and to become docile these boys must lose themselves. Bertrand Mandico’s hazy, glimmering morality tale is often called a post-gender film, and calls in our perceptions of socialization and aggression into play. The main roles are perfectly cast, an androgyny to each character that only adds to the blurring lines of eroticism, violence, and self actualization in this dark fairy tale. – Sarah W
GRAND CENTRAL (2013)
Directed by Rebecca Zlotowski
Currently Streaming For Free on Youtube
Rebecca Zlotowski’s Grand Central is a marriage of opposites, but this doesn’t refer to its central pairing. The story of a romance, a love triangle, erupting among the workers of a failing nuclear power plant. It’s a sun-glazed tale of seduction limited by the fears of meltdown in the physical sense. Digital interiors, blue light and hard hats, form a harsh inner world for these relationships to form, while the outside scenes are soft, shot on film, with light filtering through pale green as lust comes to the surface in the sun. Here, the interior is cold to this warm exterior, the closeness within the harsh conditions is only physical, rather than the web of emotions when outdoors; led by fantastic performances from Lea Seydoux and Tahar Rahim.
Seydoux is performing a classic erotic role soon after her turn in Blue is the Warmest Color. However, she’s is in power. Zlotowski’s camera holds her in a higher regard, and when the film does lean heavily into nudity for her character, who is the sensual core of this triangle. She is shot with a respect rarely awarded to a character like hers. While lightly plotted, the film is a mood piece, and chooses to posit the idea that the opposite of death is not life, but love. We see the expendability of these workers whose romance we follow, and know these dalliances come with the knowledge that they are living on the edge of danger for the short term payoff. The desperation serves the film’s romance to greater effect. – Sarah W
ALTERNATIVE CONTENT
THE FALL (2019)
Directed by Jonathan Glazer
Currently Streaming on Mubi
Sometimes seven minutes of sheer terror is all you need for an effective short. Accompanied by an eerie Mica Levi score, Jonathan Glazer’s return to the camera is breathtaking. A simplistic visual allegory for senseless violence and the idiocy behind gang rhetoric, The Fall is a biting critique on the never ending cycles of barbarism. If anything, this further proves Glazer as one of the greatest working auteurs in the industry today. Consider all us at On The Clock excited to see what he does next. We truly can’t wait for more spine tingling thrills and chills! – David Cuevas
KEDI (2016)
Directed by Ceyda Torun
Currently Streaming on Youtube Red
Cats. Who doesn’t love cats? I mean, the recent film adaptation of the acclaimed musical may be exempt from this sentiment, but I digress. In these upsetting times, the perfect remedy to make you feel all the better is some creature comforts to get along with your day. With Youtube Red’s critically acclaimed documentary Kedi, all your kitten and soft animal needs will be satisfied in a quick 80 minutes. This beautiful documentary of the wondrous cats of Istanbul is nothing short of enigmatic and insightful. Beautiful, atmospheric, and incredibly adorable, Kedi is a perfect example of light entertainment at its most delightful. – David Cuevas
The On The Clock Team will return next week with another batch of recommendations!
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