By Morgan Roberts

I am a movie recommendation fiend.  You’re an action person? Check out “1917” (2019).  You want an indie film with twists and turns? Netflix US still has “The One I Love” (2014).  You want to watch movie films directed by women? “The Farewell” (2019), duh!

There is something special about giving a recommendation and them landing.  Both of my parents are movie people. My dad used to work at 20th Century Fox doing IT and my mom worked at Amblin when I was little.  I was raised by film. Even now, when I can share a movie I really liked with either of them and they, in turn, enjoy it, I’m elated. I am still overjoyed that my dad saw “Annihilation” (2018), going to the theater by himself, to support a film with a female-fronted cast.

There is magic to sharing films but there can also be worries.  I find that film recommendations can be a pretty intimate thing.  Granted, if I say, “Go watch *insert Marvel movie here*!” and you don’t like it, I won’t be butt-hurt.  It’s an action movie that may have some parts I enjoy, but I can understand someone not having the same feelings about it.

There is magic to sharing films but there can also be worries.  I find that film recommendations can be a pretty intimate thing.

I am talking more along the lines of the films that you connected with on such a deep level that sharing them feels like sharing a bit of yourself.  We all have those movies. One of mine is “Lady Bird” (2017) – if you are familiar with me or my writing, this does not come as a shock. “Lady Bird” to me, represents a whole version of myself.  That scared but confident, that curious but precocious, that insecure but self-assured seventeen year old that still rattles around in there. And if you are not a fan of “Lady Bird,” please never tell me, because I will be gutted.  It is just an intimate look at someone’s reflection, and, to me, my own reflection.

When someone connects and wants to share it, that means parts of themselves are reflected in that piece. So, keep sharing the films that move you! 

But there is an exhilaration that comes with that sacred movie being seen by someone and then being seen by someone.  When someone is as moved as I was by “Christine” (2016), or someone who sobs as I did in “Little Women” (2019), or someone who laughs as hard as I do in “Obvious Child” (2014).  There is a humanness and a connection that comes with film. I think we do ourselves a great disservice by how we critique films. We look for the faults rather than look for the magical bits.

I get it, not every film is going to be this sweeping, Oscar-winning, epic.  Bong Joon-ho can only make so many films a year. But the filmmakers are sharing bits of themselves – their brains, their humanness.  When someone connects and wants to share it, that means parts of themselves are reflected in that piece. So, keep sharing the films that move you!  And if someone gives you that gift, maybe hold it with a little more love and kindness.