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Henry makes a lot of low key insufferable navel-gazey films that I really enjoy. Last Summer in the Hamptons (1995) is his best. A matriarch presides over her family, who are all somehow involved in the theatre. It makes you wish you grew up with intellectuals in a house by the sea. Eating: A Very Serious Comedy about Women and Food is so annoying, it’s just women saying they’re fat at a party in Los Angeles, but my friend and his wife have the poster in their dining room, and it’s a great poster, I recommend getting it. He’s alive, Henry is, my translator friend knows him, she’s his muse, though she’s turned the camera back on him, her documentary on him needs a place to screen, if you’re a gallerist, get in touch. Support living artists!
Oct 21, 2021
Related Recs
My love for this man’s filmmaking is so profound it could bring me to tears.
Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers (1980) gave me more validation than I knew a film could. So much so I made my family sit down and watch it recently. My brother promptly ordered me the books mentioned in the doc. Feeling seen is never overrated.
Special mention to Innocents Abroad (1991) and Always for Pleasure (1978).
Jan 30, 2024
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In the last few months I have watched all of his films and read his book. While I have been obsessed with other artists, this has been my most intense and committed deep dive. I was first introduced to him through his more structured works (The Beach Bum and Mr. Lonely) then I started to unpack his more perverse and experimental projects. I found many of his films unbearable upon first watch (KIDS, Trash Humpers, Baby Invasion) but even then there is always a strong statement behind what he creates and these pieces proved to be constantly on my mind. One of the interesting aspects of his method is the fact that the harder something is to watch, the more it has an impact on you. He is more interested in creating viscerally poignant works than following the traditional conventions of cinema, and he has stated that he believes art to be perfect in the fact that it simply exists. What Harmony was able to create with Gummo is an amazingly unique directorial debut, and all of his projects since are impressively committed to his style and artistic vision. None of his works appeal to everyone, but none of his works necessarily seek to. Harmony Korine is a man that dropped out of NYU to skateboard and make movies. The more I have sought to understand what he creates, the more he has become an artist that I deeply respect.
May 19, 2025
If you're a man and you're not very good at it, check out the wonderful stories directed by John Cassavetes. He was a brilliant independent film maker and sort of spearheaded the idea of independent film in America. His movies tend to revolve around the themes of the dark sides of masculinity — aka guys being dudes (derogatory). His films were also his own various insecurities, both personal and professional, made naked on screen.
Please check out Husbands, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and A Woman Under the Influence. These aren't typical independent films (i.e., they're not black and white and 4 hours long). They're profoundly unpretentious yet are deeply thoughtful all the same.
John Cassavetes — truly a brilliant and underappreciated director.
May 12, 2024
Top Recs from @kaitlin-phillips
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I thought Labi Saffre was a woman, he’s not. Nice quality in a singer. Anyway, these are two of the best love songs ever written. I first heard You’re Lovely on repeat on mushrooms. It’s :32 seconds. I recommend the experience.
Oct 21, 2021
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A book critic friend of mine’s husband’s parents live in Boulder, and they have all these great intellectual boomer friends who make art but don’t have to make money. Or so it seems. I may be wrong... Anyway, one of them is Barbara Shark. This is like Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin, but no one has ever heard of it. I think it’s out of print because it wasn’t ever really in print. I don’t even cook, for the record.
Oct 21, 2021
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I like merchandise that you can’t buy. The Harvard Lampoon, like Lucien, makes sweatshirts that are not for sale. A TV writer sent me mine, which is Celtics themed. Pretty sure you can ask any TV writer in America to hook you up, they all went to Harvard… Pair with a hat from The Drift, another Harvard byproduct. I’m sure they’re for sale, though I can’t know for certain, as mine was free…I’ve lifted quite a bit of Dalton merch off friends, I recommend that too.
Oct 21, 2021