Quarantino: A list of films and tv shows for every mood!
Day 24 of the coronavirus lockdown and you’ve run out of shows to watch? Vasudha Rungta, CEO of Melting Clock, a production house based in Mumbai, India, shares her eclectic mix of films and shows for every mood we are experiencing right now. “This lockdown has stalled us like broken down cars. The right ignition key can splutter some inspiration and the medium of film is a source of creative stimulation. Here are some pickings from the cherry tree that I think you might enjoy during this time. The pickings aren’t slim because all platforms have generously opened their doors to us in the world of online cinema. We can have our picks from immensely prestigious film festivals to short films online on streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar as well as newer world cinema platforms like Mubi.(Links attached work in India)”
CURRENT MOOD: Short on time: When you only have 30 minutes to spare between cooking and cleaning.
+Whale Valley
WestFalia: A satire on social media Instagram life directed by Haley Finnegan. A very sweet and recommended watch. Life is beautiful right in front of you- if you just put away your phones and look. It’s a dual world of followers, double taps and validation on Instagram that sucks you into its vortex.
Link: click here
Metronome: A glorious short film: a story conveyed only through sounds, about how a treasured unsold piano marks the symbol of success in a child prodigy’s life.
Link: click here
Toyland: A German short film, is one of the most powerful short screenplays of all time. In one moment of a child’s mistaken identity, it brings before us the horrors of the World War, concentration camps and how being humane can trump these injustices. This film is all heart and cannot be missed.
Link: click here
*Hurry as this film expires from the Mubi channel in 18 days!
Whale Valley: A breathtaking and heartwarming 15 min film, set in a remote fjord with icy mountains, grasslands and horses. The tale speaks volumes in a short duration. The most heart wrenching scene is when the little brother checks to see if his older brother is still breathing as he sleeps. An outcome of depression from living a life of eternal isolation. Very relevant to these times in the Covid Pandemic- those battling mental health issues must draw strength from family and friendship bonds.
Link: click here
CURRENT MOOD: I need to feel inspired: We can survive this pandemic!
+ Free Solo
Free Solo: An Academy Award winning documentary. This epic scaling of El Capitan the highest rock in Yosemite National Park by Alex Honnold without a rope, is the perfect rope of inspiration for us during quarantine to overcome stressful times, life and lifelong goals. The dedication and patience this perseverance needs and the kind of mind one needs to have; devoid of thought and attachment or distractions, is something this film portrays beautifully. A razor sharp focus to stay on one path and one path only-rid of all materialistic desires and adhering to nothing but rock; challenging death itself and freeing oneself from the fear of death in order to succeed.
Link: click here
Joy: Based on a true story, Joy is a dynamic portrayal of Joy Mangano, the first lady to secure a soap opera in her time by selling her miracle mop. Rising against all odds, in a world of rejection and disillusionment, this film has the right ingredients to uplift your mood.
Link: click here
CURRENT MOOD: I need to forget about this pandemic: Sometimes we just want to wedge on our couch in our striped night suits, with potato chips and Nutella, laughing hysterically at something batty or watch something that makes us forget our new reality.
+ Sex Education
Pushpavalli: This Hindi show deserves a mention with its hooking narrative, eclectic cast, dialects and its central character ‘Sumukhi Suresh’. A take on the world from the viewpoint of a slightly largely built girl in hostel life, born and bred in a typical South Indian family. The series cleverly poses the eternal question: “Will a fat girl ever find love?” And attempts to break the beauty myth in an altogether nuclear way with fun, drama and catastrophe at every step. Bordering on socially inappropriate in her stalker ways, we are engaged with the protagonists’ hunt for love and then for revenge and completely invested in her craziness until it all turns explosive.
Link: click here
Sex Education: A rom-com with Sex finally on the table!
Link: click here
I Am Not Okay With This: Strange and exciting supernatural powers drama.
Link: click here
Fleabag: Witty, sassy, tactless, on the nose with no holds barred.
Link: click here
Feel Good: Fuzzy warm relationship drama about life.
Link: click here
CURRENT MOOD: Binge-watch: Salivating for more and unable to unfreeze from that couch. The following shows will have you hooked and guaranteed to play the next episode as soon as you finish the first.
+ Unorthodox
Manhunt-Unabomber: Heightened drama mystery that explores the psyche of a bomber in the USA….based on a true story.
Link: click here
The Stranger: The series with so many twists and plot turns that its strength soon becomes its own enemy. We are never fulfilled with one plot in its entirety as there are so many gripping threads but the show undoubtedly has you on the edge of your seat and waiting for mysteries to unravel.
Link: click here
Dont F*%$ With Cats: A riveting crime documentary based on a true story told through the perspective of an online chat group attempting to catch an online criminal who is thirsty for social media attention. This show had my breath on hold, only to be exhaled at the revelation of the killer and his absolutely convoluted motive for crime in the series finale.
Link: click here
Unorthodox: A gripping drama based on the book Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of my Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman. A wholesome series of 4 episodes, Unorthodox dives into the lives of traditional Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn who still view Germany as a place of sin- of Holocaust and Death. With an objective lens, the story of Etsy unfolds as she tries to live in two worlds, the traditional Torah chanting Yiddish speaking community defined by rules and religion and the modern free world in Berlin, with different people, languages and lifestyle choices. The latter lens of the free world is slightly hollow in comparison to the sharply portrayed Jewish world. However this could be an interesting outcome of the writer’s autobiography; her lean exposure to the outside world, which has translated to screen. Constantly worried about what the outside world will be like and over protecting their cub to a degree of maladjustment- with dated prejudices and practices like arranged marriage, no sex before marriage, a wife equals homemaker and a husband equals breadwinner, etc. This world is worth venturing into.
Link: click here
CURRENT MOOD: Reality check. Life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies.
Silver Linings Playbook: An old 2012 release but a film I hold very dear to my heart. Most romances on cinema are over exaggerated depictions with characters that have no depth, barely scratching the surface and feeding an audience what the creator thinks they want to see. This slightly unconventional romantic film is true to its bones. A couple that deals with anxiety and heavy emotional baggage bets on each other and finds their Excelsior. This word has a significant meaning which you will gather when you give it a go. A winning performance by Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.
Link: click here
Honey Boy: A film by Alma Har’el is a must watch. A flawless film, I could swim in its nostalgia. ‘A seed needs to be destroyed to become a flower’ is the saying this film embodies. Life is no fable. In the real world, a young boy grows up on film sets with an alcoholic father. He matures early for his age dealing with his father’s bouts of depression and violence in their turbulent relationship. He is crumbling on the inside, but never loses his beauty and naïveté and puts up a front so brave and sweet as honey. Noah Jupe delivers the heartwarming childhood of Shia Labeouf.
Link: click here
The Florida Project: An oasis of hope, a wonderland amusement park lies just beyond the beach, off the purple bricks where Moonie and her friends grow up. As the kids play games, caper and dream up all kinds of fun, the film metaphorically synergises life’s crude realities in the motel walls. You will be left with a mixed feeling of warmth and sadness with life’s incomprehensible ways; merrily merrily life is but a dream.
Link: click here
CURRENT MOOD: Curious George: Always keen to dig deeper?
+ Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator: A taut powerfully scripted documentary on the defiled Yoga teacher and his Yoga techniques. Memorable shots are the iconic palm trees and vacant blue skies of L.A. and the speedos and flamboyant dressing of the self proclaimed Guru. A brilliant expose to say the least by Director Eva Orner.
Link: click here
Eeb Allay Ooo: The sound a monkey caller makes to attract the monkeys in India. A brilliant, satirical mastery set in our capital city that comments on the extremely relevant power play and class divide of our times. The monkeys watch as men try to scatter them with screeching high pitched voices. Bold expressions on government, contractual labor, migrations, violence, identity, social class and poverty issues – all leading to an animal akin hysteria, in a world beyond our comprehension.
Link: click here
CURRENT MOOD: Pandemic alert! Movies that are not for the faint hearted.
Contagion: The film was made in 2011 but mirrors our new normal, i.e: life in the time of coronavirus. It captures the spread of a deadly virus that the world is grappling to contain. Sounds familiar?
Link: click here
93 Days: Released in 2016, this film tells the story of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. Then, like now, the health care workers put everything on the line to help contain the virus.
Link: click here
Text: Vasudha Rungta – @vasudharungta
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