I love watching last Century foreign movies that have withstood the test of time. FilmStruck was an online service that allowed me to see these classics that I had originally viewed in art house 40 and 50 years ago in the states. But this service shut down a few days ago with several promises that it will return in some form next year. Specifically, the Criterion Collection, part of FilmStruck, was my fan focus, as I “rewatched” films by Godard, Malle, Bergman…all the greats.
But Criterion also brought me up to date on more recently made movies I missed in that part of my life where I didn’t go to the cinema.
But while big corporations figure out how to make money off of old movies, Netfliix and Amazon are producing their own films in large numbers. Some of these productions are entertaining and a few are even better than that. In brief, stories told on film will continue to proliferate with a greater emphasis on special effects and shock value than the was the case with classics that, regardless of how many times you watch them, remain the same…a well-acted, good story with a timeless message. Take Jean Luc-Godard’s French New Wave “Vivre Sa Vie) from 1962. Anna Karina, shown below, plays a 20-something who falls into prostitution as a means to survive. She finally falls in love with a nice young man but the system won’t let her go. In the final frames she is shot dead in the streets of Paris in her final struggle to be free. This was the last movie I watched on FilmStuck before the lights went out.
Vivre Sa Vie, 1962
67Steffen.com 
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