Reading, Watching 3.12

Books, Movies, Articles, Music

This is a regular feature for paid subscribers, wherein I write a little bit about what I’ve been recently reading, watching, or listening to. I hope you enjoy!

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This is the second time I’m recommending it here, but I recently saw The Sorrow and the Pity for the first time in the theater and once again was blown away by how good this movie is. It is, without question, the greatest documentary of all time. It also might be one of the most effective tellings of history across any media. Focusing on the town of Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne region, director Marcel Ophuls chronicles France under the Occupation. The film includes news reels and remarkable interviews with both major historical figures like Anthony Eden and Pierre Mendes France and everyday people who lived through era, like shopkeepers, restaurateurs, and farmers. Both former resistants and collaborators are interviewed at length. It is long, but pretty much everyone I have forced to watch it has loved it. Unfortunately, its run at Film Forum has ended, but you can still watch it in the comfort of your own home by following this link to the Milestone Film’s Vimeo page. My only gripe with the recent restoration is that the translations and subtitles actually seemed to be worse, but the link gives you the older, pre-restored version.