Seeing films about war, sickness, and broken dreams can be debilitating, especially during a summer in which most news seems like bad news. Several of the more gripping films that I have seen recently are upsetting films, films that remind audiences that the state of the world is troubled. Let me qualify that remark. We do have many happy, pleasant times. Good friends, loving families, good medical reports, tasty meals, the arts, etc.
Still, the most engrossing film that I’ve seen this month is not an entertainment. The film is called Quo Vadis, Aida? from 2020. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best International Feature Film and has won a slew of awards. The scene is Srebrenica, a small town in Bosnia, in July 1995. The Serbs have taken over the town and the populace, thousands of townspeople, have been herded like cattle to a United Nations camp site. Hundreds have been given temporary shelter inside the camp; thousands have been stuck outside the gates. Outside there are no tents, no bathrooms, a pitiful amount of food. Inside the situation is little better.
The focus of Quo Vadis, Aida? is Aida herself, a Bosnian translator for the UN. She must carry on with her duties and at the same time make every possible attempt to save her husband and sons from danger. When the Serb army arrives at the camp, they bring bread. What else do they bring? Quo Vadis, Aida? is no conventional entertainment. It is a potent and horrifying lesson on what war is all about. The title lead is played by Jasna Djuricic, a Yugoslavian-born veteran screen star, and she is phenomenal.
Another interesting film that I recently screened is much more of an entertainment. It’s called The Worst Person in the World. No, it’s not about January 6. The Worst Person in the World is an award-winner, too, nominated for two Oscars this past year. It’s the last entry in the Oslo Trilogy of Norwegian writer/director Joachim Trier. The first two are Reprise and Oslo, August 31st.
The Worst Person in the World follows Oslo-native Julie, a bright, attractive woman, as she explores who she will be and with whom she will share her love life. Trier is an artful filmmaker, and he writes intelligently. However, I found the men in Julie’s life more interesting than Julie herself. I imagine that Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt intended to make her egocentric and uncaring. That’s the factor that pushes the story forward. As for me, I grew tired of her personality halfway through the film. Still, The Worst Person in the World held my interest. I had to keep telling myself that a movie can be engaging even if its lead is making one imprudent move after another. Audiences do not have to like her to follow her story. Right?
Then I decided to see something conceived as pure entertainment. A comedy perhaps. On Netflix I streamed the first few episodes of a new comedy series called God’s Favorite Idiot. Starring real life husband and wife team Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone, and created by Falcone, this show is not going to become a classic, but it’s a diversion on a summer evening. The two play Amily and Clark, co-workers in a tech support office. They have liked each other for a long time, but Clark has been shy. Amily is a pistol! Soon everyone in their small universe and then in the world finds out that Clark glows. He has been rained on by a mysterious cloud and he glows. He has powers from God that will allow him to save the world.
God’s Favorite Idiot may not be highly rated by some viewers nor well-received by critics, but it’s fun. With all the troubles in the world, and so many films that show us the downside of life, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone’s comedy series is welcome in my home!
Audrey Kupferberg is a film and video archivist and retired appraiser. She is lecturer emeritus and the former director of Film Studies at the University at Albany and co-authored several entertainment biographies with her late husband and creative partner, Rob Edelman.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
