Em Watches Stuff: Dec. 2024
It's like my very own (and much more sporadic) Spotify Wrapped!
It’s time for another summary of what I’ve been watching and listening to this month.
Honestly, it’s been tricky really consuming a lot of media while in Spain because my life is just kind of crazy and hectic and I spend way less time at home than in my normal (American) life.
Anyway, here are some of the things I’ve been consuming when I’m not watching Real Housewives!
MOVIES:
La Infiltrada - Based on a true story, La Infiltrada details a woman in the Spanish National Police who went undercover to infiltrate ETA, the Basque terrorist organization that was active in Spain until 2018 or so. The police officer who goes undercover, Mónica, leaves her family and friends behind as she lives for seven years in the Basque region as a ETA sympathizer. Eventually, the terrorist group invites her into their inner circle. From there, the story get more complicated as she navigates her close quarters with the terrorist group while balancing her undercover work with the National Police. Bureaucratic conflicts ensue within the National Police as well.
I saw this movie at my local movie theater in Murcia, and went into it a little nervous to watch a 2-hour Spanish language film. To my surprise, I followed the story very well and would consider it one of my best movie viewing experiences in a while. It was not only just a really rewarding experience in terms of my personal Spanish comprehension, but the movie itself was very well done. The acting really clearly communicated complicated emotions of a woman living two lives. Mónica is a woman who has given up her own life for her career, but in this instance her career requires her to live amongst a known violent terrorist organization. The stakes are possibly the highest they could be.
Overall, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, but I’d especially recommend it for anyone wanting to brush up on their Spanish comprehension. This movie will familiarize you with Basque culture, but also the history of Spain’s most famous terrorist organization. You’ll get a bit of culture, history, and language-learning all in one viewing. Also, the acting is so great that the non-verbal communication will help you out even if you can’t grasp every individual word in the script. — 5/5
Wicked — I felt very neutral going into seeing Wicked. I loved the play as a child when I saw it on Broadway with my family, and the songs periodically resurface from a deep fold in my brain and get stuck in my head again. But now after seeing the movie musical, I’m back to my nine-year-old self who was absolutely obsessed for a least a couple months of my life.
I guess for me, Wicked just really tapped into a part of myself I kind of forgot about. I was a kid who watched The Wizard of Oz at almost every sleepover with my friends. I was even in a production of it as a preschooler (not to brag, I know…). I guess there was something just familiar about the movie for me — as if I myself had just returned to the Land of Oz after quite a long time. I think this speaks to the way the film references the original Wizard of Oz — in its costuming, its set design, it’s music which often has melodic references to songs from the 1939 film. There’s also the famous cameo from Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, the original Glinda and Elphaba from the Broadway musical. In all, I thought the film was a quintessential adaptation — it maintained the spirit of both its original texts (The Wizard of Oz and Wicked the Musical) and synthesized it into a fun, fresh, film adaptation.
My only complaints about the movie would have to do with some of the costume styling. The costumes themselves are phenomenal — but the styling of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo felt a little too 2024 for me. Cynthia’s extreme, claw-like manicure felt less costume-y and more 2024 baddie spending way too much on a set. They were distracting and too of-the-time for me. I think they’ll really date the film in years to come. Not just her nails, but Ariana Grande’s new look too. The cool toned blonde and her bleached out eyebrows… I don’t know. I don’t really care, she can look how she wants in her real life, but why did they choose this for her in the film? On one hand I get it: the bleached eyebrows and the unsettling hair tone make her feel a bit inhuman. But inhuman to me is not the same as magical. Her styling, to me, is better suited for a movie where she’s playing a robot or an alien — not a witch (who has no powers, btw! So, she’s effectively a human…). I think they could’ve found a blonde shade that was a bit warmer to feel more natural with her own warm undertones. She can be blonde Glinda, (as she should be), and still be Ariana Grande. And other than making her dark brown eyes pop (to me, in a bit of an unsettling way, but maybe they were going for doe eyed), the bleached eyebrows really serve no function to me. It’s too severe a look. Glinda should be natural, beautiful, blonde. Let her have eyebrows!!!
Okay, now that I’ve ranted about eyebrows and manicures, let me just add that the message behind Wicked was truly touching, especially as it came out just a few weeks after the US election. The movie really did move me as I considered how it is that we decide who is “wicked” and who is “good”. How do we stay vigilant against propaganda? How do we consider The Wizard of Oz as a rewriting of history, and how is that happening in our own lives? How do we stay empowered to do the right things, even when everyone else will follow a power-hungry, sheep-in-wizard’s-clothing?
In closing, go watch Wicked. I would recommend seeing it in theaters if you can, or at least on the biggest screen you have. Make a moment out of it — pop some popcorn on the stove (extra butter!) and take out your favorite movie theater candies (Bunch A Crunch, obviously) for the full effect. This movie doesn’t skimp on anything, and neither should you while you watch it. Put on your claw nails, bleach your eyebrows, go crazy! — 5/5
Anatomy of a Fall — I’ve been waiting to see this movie for a while but wasn’t able to find it on streaming for the longest time. Now it’s on American Airlines so you can watch it on your next trans-Atlantic flight like I did.
I already knew this movie was going to be good because it got so many nominations and wins last award season. And I was right — it is really good. The story follows a German woman, Sandra, living in France with her husband and vision-impaired, 11-year-old son. One day, Sandra’s husband, Samuel, is found dead in the snow of their chalet, he appears to have fallen from the third floor window. What ensues afterwards is a riveting legal drama as Sandra is suspected of having killed her husband. To make matters worse, their young son, Daniel, is put on the stand as one of the main witnesses.
Daniel is personally one of my favorite characters of the story. The heart of this story comes from him, as you watch a young boy struggling to come to terms with the loss of his father, while also trying to understand what happened. Secrets of Sandra and Samuel’s relationship come out during the trial, and you can’t help but feel absolutely terrible for Daniel through it all.
It’s hard to have much to say for this movie without getting into the specifics of the trial and so forth. So, the last thing I will say is that I truly changed my mind many times throughout the film on whether or not Sandra did it or not. That being said, I don’t think this story relies too much on the question of “Who did it?”. It’s a complete story on it’s own as you watch what happens to a family after this kind of tragedy and the media storm that follows. — 5/5
MUSIC:
Peach Pit’s newest album: Magpie
Peach Pit has done it again! Another album that is still so quintessentially Peach Pit, it could never be anyone else. Their music always just makes me want to hit the road with my windows down. Here are some of my favorite songs off the new record…
Yasmina
Outta Here
Nowhere Next To Me
The Marías
Run Your Mouth
Sienna
Real Life
Oceanvs Orientalis
Really interesting electronic music with lots of earthy, grounded guitar and drums. I first discovered their music through a yoga class and man, holding on for dear life in dancer’s pose to this music is really something else.
Tarlabasi - Be Svendsen Remix
Revenge of the Wankers
La Luna y El Lobo - Jhon Montoya Expedition
Raya Real
I discovered this Flamenco group because they did a free Christmas concert in Murcia, where I’m living. They were so good that I had to look up the city’s programming and find the name of the group and then find them on Spotify after that. Anyway, they do a lot of classic Flamenco songs, but they also make Flamenco-style covers of popular reggaeton songs as well. Here are some of my favs…
Villancicos de Gloria con Azúcar y Canela (*a traditional Christmas song)
Chantaje (cover of the Shakira song)
Dile (another cover)
Borro Cassette (Maluma cover ofc)
Bamboleo / Cantinero de Cuba / Djobí, Djobá / Se Pasaban los Días / Me Va, Me Va / Mi Guitarra / Color Moreno (*a giant mash up of songs, as far as I can tell)
Schur
Paper
Timezones
PODCASTS:
Invading Bachelor/ette Nation with Megan Burbank - You’re Wrong About
What is jawmaxxing? - Search Engine
UnitedHelathcare Assassin: Italians Are Black Again? - What Now? with Trevor Noah
How To Be The Most Healed Guy with Neal Brennan - What Now? with Trevor Noah
Perfume - Articles of Interest