Movies, books, and songs for a particular mood
April 29, 2017 11:30 AM Subscribe
For several years now I've found myself in a state of constant ennui. Art has helped- but some artworks have helped more than others. First, there are artworks which have made me feel less alone in the feeling- works that deal with themes of existentialism, boredom, alienation, the futility and disappointment of living. Second, there are artworks that have helped me find value in the mundane everyday. I want to find more, of both. I'll try to be more precise about what I mean below, with examples.
Of the movies I've seen, Oslo, August 31st and A Brighter Summer Day are the ones that best capture the mood I've been in. Oslo is about a recently rehabilitated drug addict who spends a day back in the "real world" and feels completely out of place. He meets old friends, whose lives seem no more desirable than his own despite being supposedly enviable (a married professor with children is bored with life; a hard-partying woman wishes she had a child). Ultimately, he struggles to see the worth in remaining clean, or remaining alive. A Brighter Summer Day is harder to condense but can be most succinctly described as a story of adolescent alienation and aimlessness complete with gangs and violence- but one that's done exceptionally well. For more popular examples, Fight Club or Ikiru both covered similar themes, but I found the thriller side to Fight Club overtook the rest of the movie and Ikiru was a little too... pat for my taste. For non-movie examples: pretty much all the classic existentialist literature, but especially Notes from Underground. I'm familiar with most of the big names though, so I'm particularly interested in works that deal with similar themes but aren't explicitly "existentialist".
As for what I mean about stories about the value of the everyday- well, let me put it this way. There's a scene midway through Oslo, August 31st, where the protagonist is sitting in a cafe, overhearing very banal conversations- a woman lists her bucket list, two friends discuss putting their children into school, a group of teenagers talk about Cobain's suicide. It's a scene that doesn't really mythologize the mundane in some over-the-top way ("the real treasure was the friends we made along the way!") or even in the sense evoked in this question- it just shows life in a way that brings out how quietly remarkable it is, with a minimum of conflict or melodrama or sentimentality (okay, maybe a little sentimentality) getting in the way. Like Our Little Sister by Koreeda or any Ozu film or Yi Yi by Yang or even Playtime by Tati. (Yes, those are mostly Asian- for some reason I've been far more successful finding works of this type by looking there, but I'm definitely open to other regions.)
Music recs might be a little trickier for that feeling- music isn't really equipped to "represent everyday life" in that way. But a few songs I can think of that evoke that same emotion, at least to me, are Feeling Good by Nina Simone, Time, as a Symptom by Joanna Newsom, Adore by Savages, and Woman (in mirror) by La Dispute. I'm open to all music genres (yes, including rap and classical and country and metal)- surprise me.
One request: I prefer it when recommendations come with reasons attached. (i.e. not "Hamlet" but "Hamlet- there's an incredible scene where...") But recommendations alone are also welcome, of course.
And thanks so much!
Of the movies I've seen, Oslo, August 31st and A Brighter Summer Day are the ones that best capture the mood I've been in. Oslo is about a recently rehabilitated drug addict who spends a day back in the "real world" and feels completely out of place. He meets old friends, whose lives seem no more desirable than his own despite being supposedly enviable (a married professor with children is bored with life; a hard-partying woman wishes she had a child). Ultimately, he struggles to see the worth in remaining clean, or remaining alive. A Brighter Summer Day is harder to condense but can be most succinctly described as a story of adolescent alienation and aimlessness complete with gangs and violence- but one that's done exceptionally well. For more popular examples, Fight Club or Ikiru both covered similar themes, but I found the thriller side to Fight Club overtook the rest of the movie and Ikiru was a little too... pat for my taste. For non-movie examples: pretty much all the classic existentialist literature, but especially Notes from Underground. I'm familiar with most of the big names though, so I'm particularly interested in works that deal with similar themes but aren't explicitly "existentialist".
As for what I mean about stories about the value of the everyday- well, let me put it this way. There's a scene midway through Oslo, August 31st, where the protagonist is sitting in a cafe, overhearing very banal conversations- a woman lists her bucket list, two friends discuss putting their children into school, a group of teenagers talk about Cobain's suicide. It's a scene that doesn't really mythologize the mundane in some over-the-top way ("the real treasure was the friends we made along the way!") or even in the sense evoked in this question- it just shows life in a way that brings out how quietly remarkable it is, with a minimum of conflict or melodrama or sentimentality (okay, maybe a little sentimentality) getting in the way. Like Our Little Sister by Koreeda or any Ozu film or Yi Yi by Yang or even Playtime by Tati. (Yes, those are mostly Asian- for some reason I've been far more successful finding works of this type by looking there, but I'm definitely open to other regions.)
Music recs might be a little trickier for that feeling- music isn't really equipped to "represent everyday life" in that way. But a few songs I can think of that evoke that same emotion, at least to me, are Feeling Good by Nina Simone, Time, as a Symptom by Joanna Newsom, Adore by Savages, and Woman (in mirror) by La Dispute. I'm open to all music genres (yes, including rap and classical and country and metal)- surprise me.
One request: I prefer it when recommendations come with reasons attached. (i.e. not "Hamlet" but "Hamlet- there's an incredible scene where...") But recommendations alone are also welcome, of course.
And thanks so much!
Best answer: Let me know if I'm on the wrong track, but this is a pretty close description to some of my favorite movies.
Bela Tarr's The Turin Horse is relentlessly mundane, consisting largely of scenes of a father and daughter trudging out to a well to get water, preparing and eating potatoes, getting dressed, etc., all to a repetitive, mesmerizing soundtrack. There's little dialog and little action, but if you're in just the right mood, it's perfect.
Here's the trailer.
I'd also recommend pretty much any of his other movies as well, as they're similarly slow paced, but Turin Horse is the closest to what I think you're describing. Werckmeister Harmonies is probably my favorite, although that changes sometimes, and Satantango is bleak, sometimes funny-bleak, and seven and a half hours long. The cinematography and sometimes the pacing are similar, and the score is also by Mihaly Vag, whose film scores might fit your bill for music, so if the mood of Turin Horse is right, check the rest out too.
Another director, Pedro Costa, has a series called the Fontainhas trilogy (In Vanda's Room, Ossos, and Colossal Youth) that may fit the bill as well. It's largely mundane, following residents of a housing project, and consists mostly of pretty everyday things, just talking and doing drugs and stuff. There's a sort of extension of the trilogy called Horse Money that follows one of the characters further, but it gets a bit more surreal. But again, if you like that style, that one's worth checking out as well.
Here's a trailer for Colossal Youth, which compares Costa to Ozu.
Last director I'd recommend right off is Robert Bresson, especially my usually favorite movie of all time (like I said, I'm fickle), Au Hasard Balthazar. (As with Costa) Bresson didn't use professional actors, and he trained his 'models' (which is what he called them) to deliver their lines and direction with a near completely flat affect that gives the performances a weird hypnotic quality that a lot of people hate but I love. And he had this style where he'd almost always have the action taking place partly or entirely off camera.
Which reminds me: The actors in Herzog's Hearts of Glass, except for one, were hypnotized for their roles, so they had sort of that quality as well, if you like that.
A little lighter than any of those, but Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise is also beautifully mundane.
If that's the sort of thing you're looking for, I could probably keep going with movies for a while, but I'll stop in case I'm on the wrong track.
posted by ernielundquist at 1:00 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Bela Tarr's The Turin Horse is relentlessly mundane, consisting largely of scenes of a father and daughter trudging out to a well to get water, preparing and eating potatoes, getting dressed, etc., all to a repetitive, mesmerizing soundtrack. There's little dialog and little action, but if you're in just the right mood, it's perfect.
Here's the trailer.
I'd also recommend pretty much any of his other movies as well, as they're similarly slow paced, but Turin Horse is the closest to what I think you're describing. Werckmeister Harmonies is probably my favorite, although that changes sometimes, and Satantango is bleak, sometimes funny-bleak, and seven and a half hours long. The cinematography and sometimes the pacing are similar, and the score is also by Mihaly Vag, whose film scores might fit your bill for music, so if the mood of Turin Horse is right, check the rest out too.
Another director, Pedro Costa, has a series called the Fontainhas trilogy (In Vanda's Room, Ossos, and Colossal Youth) that may fit the bill as well. It's largely mundane, following residents of a housing project, and consists mostly of pretty everyday things, just talking and doing drugs and stuff. There's a sort of extension of the trilogy called Horse Money that follows one of the characters further, but it gets a bit more surreal. But again, if you like that style, that one's worth checking out as well.
Here's a trailer for Colossal Youth, which compares Costa to Ozu.
Last director I'd recommend right off is Robert Bresson, especially my usually favorite movie of all time (like I said, I'm fickle), Au Hasard Balthazar. (As with Costa) Bresson didn't use professional actors, and he trained his 'models' (which is what he called them) to deliver their lines and direction with a near completely flat affect that gives the performances a weird hypnotic quality that a lot of people hate but I love. And he had this style where he'd almost always have the action taking place partly or entirely off camera.
Which reminds me: The actors in Herzog's Hearts of Glass, except for one, were hypnotized for their roles, so they had sort of that quality as well, if you like that.
A little lighter than any of those, but Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise is also beautifully mundane.
If that's the sort of thing you're looking for, I could probably keep going with movies for a while, but I'll stop in case I'm on the wrong track.
posted by ernielundquist at 1:00 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
You may like The Weakerthans. To me, many of their song lyrics -- especially Utilities, A New Name for Everything, A Plea from a Cat Named Virtute and Sun in an Empty Room -- capture the combination of rueful detachment and celebration of the mundane that you seem to be after.
posted by Aravis76 at 2:00 PM on April 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Aravis76 at 2:00 PM on April 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: A track that I'd like to pair on a mix with Nina Simone's “Feeling Good” is Fiona Apple's “Hot Knife”.
And some songs that I think communicate value in the mundane, in varying degrees of sincerity and silliness, are:
Eels: “P.S. You Rock My World” / “I Like Birds” / “A Daisy Through Concrete” / “Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)”
They Might Be Giants: “We Want a Rock” / “Bangs” / “Letterbox”
The White Stripes: “Little Room” / “We're Going To Be Friends” / “Rag And Bone”
Atom and His Package: “Out To Everyone” / “Mustache TV” / “I Am Downright Amazed At What I Can Destroy With Just A Hammer”
Weezer: “In The Garage” / “Surf Wax America”
Sufjan Stevens: “Casimir Pulaski Day”
Soul Coughing: “Soft Serve” / “True Dreams Of Wichita”
Spoon: “The Fitted Shirt” / “The Way We Get By”
Shovels & Rope: “Fish Assassin” / “Keeper”
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: “Walking To Do”
Ben Kweller: “My Apartment”
The Head and The Heart: “Cats And Dogs”
Built to Spill: “The Weather”
Cake: “Stickshifts and Safetybelts”
Decemberists: “California One - Youth & Beauty Brigade”
Owen: “In The Morning Before Work”
Phish “Contact”
REM: “At My Most Beautiful”
Rufus Wainwright: “Vibrate”
Bright Eyes: “A Song to Pass the Time”
Tom Waits: “Step Right Up” / “Eggs And Sausage (In A Cadillac With Susan Michelson)”
Wilco: “Passenger Side” / “Forget The Flowers” / “What Light” / “Heavy Metal Drummer”
Billy Bragg + Wilco (Mermaid Avenue): “California Stars”
posted by D.Billy at 2:14 PM on April 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
And some songs that I think communicate value in the mundane, in varying degrees of sincerity and silliness, are:
Eels: “P.S. You Rock My World” / “I Like Birds” / “A Daisy Through Concrete” / “Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)”
They Might Be Giants: “We Want a Rock” / “Bangs” / “Letterbox”
The White Stripes: “Little Room” / “We're Going To Be Friends” / “Rag And Bone”
Atom and His Package: “Out To Everyone” / “Mustache TV” / “I Am Downright Amazed At What I Can Destroy With Just A Hammer”
Weezer: “In The Garage” / “Surf Wax America”
Sufjan Stevens: “Casimir Pulaski Day”
Soul Coughing: “Soft Serve” / “True Dreams Of Wichita”
Spoon: “The Fitted Shirt” / “The Way We Get By”
Shovels & Rope: “Fish Assassin” / “Keeper”
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: “Walking To Do”
Ben Kweller: “My Apartment”
The Head and The Heart: “Cats And Dogs”
Built to Spill: “The Weather”
Cake: “Stickshifts and Safetybelts”
Decemberists: “California One - Youth & Beauty Brigade”
Owen: “In The Morning Before Work”
Phish “Contact”
REM: “At My Most Beautiful”
Rufus Wainwright: “Vibrate”
Bright Eyes: “A Song to Pass the Time”
Tom Waits: “Step Right Up” / “Eggs And Sausage (In A Cadillac With Susan Michelson)”
Wilco: “Passenger Side” / “Forget The Flowers” / “What Light” / “Heavy Metal Drummer”
Billy Bragg + Wilco (Mermaid Avenue): “California Stars”
posted by D.Billy at 2:14 PM on April 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
INXS's song The Stairs. At first glance it sounds like one of those keep-struggling-to-survive kinds of songs, but it's more about how we all are each of us living out our own struggle, and all of us are doing so privately, within our own lives, and each and every one of those struggles is going out in the hearts and souls of every single person you see all around you, all day, every day - and we never even know it.
"Story to story, building to building, street to street we pass each other on the stairs...."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:53 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
"Story to story, building to building, street to street we pass each other on the stairs...."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:53 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I haven't seen those movies you mentioned but my first thought upon reading your question was My Dinner With Andre.
posted by BoscosMom at 3:13 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by BoscosMom at 3:13 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
There are 5 Jim's Journal cartoon books that show nothing but mundane scenes from everyday life. For some reason I'm not sure I can put into words, I love them. I guess they help me find value in the everyday, so maybe they would have the same effect on you.
posted by Redstart at 3:20 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Redstart at 3:20 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Possible movies that spring to mind (the reviews in the links outline why) are Paterson, The Winter Guest, and The Station Agent (see the especially the second to last paragraph of this review for why I am recommending this).
posted by gudrun at 5:24 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by gudrun at 5:24 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Hmm. Ozu and Yang were going to be my top recommendations before I got to the bulk of your explanation. Sounds like you're set with those.
Miguel Gomes' Our Beloved Month of August is incredible if you haven't seen that. The film meanders while the crew travels around Portugal, looking for a subject to film and suddenly you find yourself in the middle of a fictional love story. His Arabian Nights is also good.
Chris Kraus' writing is excellent and might capture a bit of what you're looking for. Video Green is a collection of essays and I Love Dick is incredible.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul's films. Specifically, Tropical Malady.
All of Robert Walser's writing. Lots of walking and inner monologues/observations, where emotional expressions build up into almost absurdly passionate declarations before they're quickly diffused and wash back into the somewhat mundane circumstances.
Music is tougher. I tend to go with more instrumental/experimental when I'm looking for this mood. Franco Battiato's Za, especially the second piece Cafe-Table-Musik. The Shadow Ring's Hold On to I.D., probably lacks the "pleasant" feeling you might be looking for but definitely does a lot with the mundane.
Aki Kaurasmaki's films.
posted by AtoBtoA at 6:39 PM on April 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
Miguel Gomes' Our Beloved Month of August is incredible if you haven't seen that. The film meanders while the crew travels around Portugal, looking for a subject to film and suddenly you find yourself in the middle of a fictional love story. His Arabian Nights is also good.
Chris Kraus' writing is excellent and might capture a bit of what you're looking for. Video Green is a collection of essays and I Love Dick is incredible.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul's films. Specifically, Tropical Malady.
All of Robert Walser's writing. Lots of walking and inner monologues/observations, where emotional expressions build up into almost absurdly passionate declarations before they're quickly diffused and wash back into the somewhat mundane circumstances.
Music is tougher. I tend to go with more instrumental/experimental when I'm looking for this mood. Franco Battiato's Za, especially the second piece Cafe-Table-Musik. The Shadow Ring's Hold On to I.D., probably lacks the "pleasant" feeling you might be looking for but definitely does a lot with the mundane.
Aki Kaurasmaki's films.
posted by AtoBtoA at 6:39 PM on April 29, 2017 [2 favorites]
I really love James Kolchalka's Sketchbook Diaries, and his other works too, but for me, they fit the tone you're looking for.
I think a lot of Rilo Kiley songs fit that feeling for me, perhaps With Arms Outstretched is the one that gets me there.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 10:23 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think a lot of Rilo Kiley songs fit that feeling for me, perhaps With Arms Outstretched is the one that gets me there.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 10:23 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I came to say the Station Agent but since someone beat me to it, American Splendor might also capture that "life can be crabbed and boring and terrible but mundane things are full of awe" feeling for you.
posted by athirstforsalt at 11:42 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by athirstforsalt at 11:42 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
works that deal with themes of existentialism, boredom, alienation, the futility and disappointment of living.
I think what you're looking for here is Scandinavian cinema in general - go to your local library and throw a stick at the International Language: Denmark/ Sweden/ Norway/ Iceland/ Finland section and you'll be hard pressed to find film which *doesn't* deal with at least one of these themes.
Norwegian Karl Ove Knausgard's 6 volume autobiography My Struggle should give you a deep well, literature-wise.
posted by 7 Minutes of Madness at 11:53 AM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think what you're looking for here is Scandinavian cinema in general - go to your local library and throw a stick at the International Language: Denmark/ Sweden/ Norway/ Iceland/ Finland section and you'll be hard pressed to find film which *doesn't* deal with at least one of these themes.
Norwegian Karl Ove Knausgard's 6 volume autobiography My Struggle should give you a deep well, literature-wise.
posted by 7 Minutes of Madness at 11:53 AM on April 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
I really like Mount Eerie's Sauna album. It is literally about the wonder of being in the frozen north, sitting in a Sauna. Getting a coffee. Thinking about your own existence.
I walked to the bookstore in the rain that silently filled the air/ All the lights were off or dim/ And there was nothing to do but walk to town and back
I find it to be really positive despite its introspection. You can assess things quietly and find the value in the assessment itself, find wonder in your own wonder.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:59 PM on May 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
I walked to the bookstore in the rain that silently filled the air/ All the lights were off or dim/ And there was nothing to do but walk to town and back
I find it to be really positive despite its introspection. You can assess things quietly and find the value in the assessment itself, find wonder in your own wonder.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:59 PM on May 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
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The characters come from pretty horrible situations and try to find hope together and on their own. Their lives are so messed up. It's awfully dark but it might be just what you are looking for.
On the other end of the spectrum, you might want to look into Cloud Cult. I find the music magical and ethereal, and deals with topics of existence and the shadow of the death of the band members' child hangs over many songs.
Of course, punk rock does this topic well and I would start with Iron Chic Not Like This for themes of being lost in life and trying to deal with that.
posted by littlewater at 12:40 PM on April 29, 2017 [1 favorite]