An Ode to Cinema: Our Lifestyle Editor’s Favourite Films

Cinema has always been my escape. Since I was little, I always found ways to watch movies, even though we didn’t have a TV, or later on, when we were not really allowed to watch it.

Every Thursday, I went to the Alliance Française to « Soirée Cinema » in my hometown—what a feast for the eyes and the soul.

And today there is a big debate on social media here in France discussing why our politicians decided to categorise the Cinéma as a “danger” for the public during this pandemic. Today was supposed to be the day when cinemas would be reopened.

Anissa Bonnefont, a French director, organised Cinema Paradiso, a movement where she invited Paris to project their favorite movies through their windows. She rode 30km on her bicycle to shoot images around the city, making us dream for a minute and reviving our love for cinema. In that same heart, I would love to share a few favorite movies with you. Some you may know, some you may be a new discovery.

Here is some inspiration for the most beautiful month of the year.

Year: 1992 / Director: Martin Brest

A prep school student (Chris O’Donnel), who is in need of money, agrees to be the caregiver of a military man with visual impairment (Al Pacino) while his family is away. Unbeknownst to him, the colonel has his own agenda for the weekend.

Year: 1955 / Director: Dino Risi

A village’s retired marshal (Vittorio De Sica) returns home to find his house occupied by a young woman (Sophia Loren) working as fish vendor.

Year: 2009 / Director: Radu Mihaileanu

Many years ago, Andrei Simoniovich Filipov (Aleksei Guskov), was fired as conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra for hiring Jewish musicians. Now a janitor, he learns that members of the orchestra have been invited to perform in Paris. Andrei gathers his former players and plans to substitute them for the current ones, and he hopes that a beautiful virtuoso (Mélanie Laurent) will accompany them.

Year: 2005 / Director: Christian Carion

In December 1914, an unofficial Christmas truce on the Western Front allows soldiers from opposing sides of the First World War to gain insight into each other’s way of life. Stars: Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet

Year: 1998 / Director: Radu Mihaileanu

The inhabitants of a small Jewish village in Central Europe organize a deportation train so that they can escape the atrocities of the Nazis and flee to Palestine.