Spring Film Watchlist

Though we still find ourselves in what, I would argue, is Scotland’s most deceptive month, in which we continue to leave our flats in woollen coats, only to be taunted by flowers and an occasional sunny day in the quad, Spring is, if not in the air, in the collective consciousness. In anticipation of progressive defrosting, I invite you to dip into that Spring feeling from the comfort of your own room. Though our ‘Spring Break’ was but a cruel, week long joke- your cinematic foray into the perpetual sunshine is unlimited.

1. Harold and Maude:

You may well be primed to approach a love story between a young man fixated on death and a 79-year enamoured with existence and its unbridled delights with trepidation, but there is, indeed, a reason why Hal Ashby’s 1971 Harold and Maude is a cult classic, and why I seem to return to it on at least a yearly basis, oftentimes in spring. Death is a narrative throughline, that which the film is punctuated by and grounded on, but I would argue that it is an even more fervent devotee to the possibility of rebirth. The most burnished moments it has to provide are joyful, or darkly comic; a cemetery, as much as a field of flowers, is rendered a space of complete freedom. The entire film is accompanied by a perfectly fitting and, in my opinion, visionary soundtrack by Yusuf/Cat Stevens.

1. A Room with a View:

Yes, I am fully aware that A Room with a View occurs entirely in summertime- think of it as aspirational. The 1985 adaptation of E. M. Forster’s novel of the same name is, in a word, picturesque, and I can find no valid reason why we shouldn’t luxuriate in the visual splendour of an Italian (and English) summer in the month of March. The hair, the wardrobes, young Helena Bonham Carter, the passions of youth, etc- need I say more? In the words of George Emerson, in the boughs of an olive tree from which he shrieks his creed, could we not do with a touch more ‘BEAUTY,’ ‘JOY,’ and ‘LOVE’?

1. Sing Street:

Sing Street is not only an ideal spring watch, with the colourful, comical, and vivacious portrait it paints of 80s Dublin and a group of Jesuit school boys who form a band, but it would be a somewhat ideal watch if you should find yourself confused about what to do on St Patrick's Day or unjustly banned from Molly Malones. This is another choice with a stellar soundtrack, but truly loveable characters, a good deal of both humour and sentiment- romantic, platonic, and familial love set against a pivotal cultural era in Ireland which is brought beautifully to life.