Sebastiane (1976)

Derek Jarman's Sebastiane has lots of slow-motion naked men in water. It is less clear what this has to say, but I’m not mad about it. And I’m gonna watch another 3 or 4 Jarman movies this month, so I will see what else he has in store for me. Also, this whole movie is in Latin... which made it hard to identify with these guys. Oh, I hated the opening to this, with its references to Fellini-Satyricon, but the rest is much better.

Also, it's been ages since I've seen Claire Denis's Beau Travail, but surely that movie is based on Sebastiane. I will need to look that up.

Let the Sun Shine In (2017)

Wow I loved Un Beau Soleil Intérieur (Let the Sun Shine In). Claire Denis's exploration of a woman looking for love and trying to find someone who isn't an idiot and can be kind and selfless and communicate with her is sensitive and sweet and sad. Juliette Binoche is luminous and brilliant. I do not believe she has ever looked more beautiful. And the other actors are great too, especially Nicolas Duvauchelle and Bruno Podalydès. This movie is just so smart.

35 Shots of Rum (2008)

This is such an intriguing film about a father–daughter relationship and the people in their circle. The daughter (played by Mati Diop) takes care of her father and is dependent on him in many ways. Well, they're co-dependent. She doesn't know how to leave her dad and go off and live her own life. It's a struggle. This is a beautifully made film that I enjoyed immensely. It's contemplative and sad and mournful and I really loved every minute of it.

White Material

White Material is pretty great. I feel like I don't usually care for Claire Denis; I definitely thought High Life was sort of boring. But I thought this movie was exquisitely done.

High Life

I didn't really get a lot of Claire Denis's High Life. I mean, I understand what's happening in this movie, but it didn't really work for me. I love Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche, but I didn't feel like I understood any of these characters enough for me to really care much about what was going on.