Old Joy

Finding meaning in mundane movies - Life Through Movies #7

For the full experience, listen to songs 1 through 6 of this album while reading this article

---

On an aimless walk around la Roma neighborhood, during the limbo hour where it is not day nor night, I see an old construction worker. Probably on his way back home after a tough day at work, he's standing, bike between his legs, with a mesmerized look.
I can't see what he's looking at, but the shop's light illuminates his subtle smile. I keep slowly walking, up until I reach him and have a look over his shoulder: some twenty-somethings are making coordinated karate movements, full kimono on.
And then, as I'm passing him by, he snaps out of the trance and just goes on his way.

I want to keep this moment, so I open the aptly named Google Keep and jot down a few words to later remember.
Mundane moments like this, where nothing seems to happen, comprise at least 90% of our lives, why not cherish them? Or at least notice them.

Easy to say, hard to embody. I keep forgetting about it.
Meditation has been a way for me to remember it, even more when I manage to blur the line between “formal” practice and everyday life.

Another one has been Contemplative Cinema. Also named Slow Cinema, or as I like to call them, Mundane Movies.
It’s this wave of films, not new but having a moment in recent years, that are mostly about nothing. They embody minimalism both visually and around elements: the plot is diffuse or non-existent, little to no music, dialogue or famous actors.

My favorite movie from this wave is another aptly named thing: Old Joy, by Kelly Reichardt. Two old friends reunite after a long time and make a camping trip just outside the city. Through a few dialogues we slowly discover who they are and what they’re going through, though much is left out for us to fill in the gaps. Then (this is the first movie where I don’t have to worry about spoiling it) nothing happens.

There are extreme, 4-hour-long examples¹ of mundane movies, but Old Joy is only 76 minutes long and I believe is the perfect entry point to this kind of cinema, and, ultimately, as a way to start noticing mundane moments.

I realize all this begs the question: but why?
Why would I want to spend a few hours of my life watching a movie where nothing happens? Or even, why would I want to notice those mundane moments in the first place?

I remember the Sunday afternoon I stumbled upon Old Joy and how something just pulled me to watch it immediately, before my already almost-infinite list of movies to see. I pressed play and just couldn’t stop, getting into this daydream-like state.
The feeling I got when I finished it can only be compared to the joy I’ve felt after a handful of meditation sessions. This vast, expansive feeling where everything, from washing the dishes to watching a bird fly by, looks colorful and beautiful and interesting, making each moment more meaningful.

I can’t promise this will happen to everyone, but I can promise watching it will give everyone space to think. There’s no escaping facing your thoughts while watching two silent guys crossing a fallen log with the lush green forest as background, but contrary to being lost in thought, you’re being forced to focus on something other than yourself, attempting to interpret what the protagonists are thinking and feeling. “Nothing” is happening on the screen, but your head is racing with thoughts.

It’s the exact opposite you get from watching a Marvel movie, where something is happening all the time, be it a fight or an explosion, leaving no space for your intellect to appear. They’re doing all the heavy lifting and telling you what to think about.

Yes, we do go to the movies to escape our mundane lives, but what if, every once in a while, we face the mundanity of our existence right in the eye and remember to find meaning in it?

LOOK OUT FOR:

• The soundtrack, by Yo La Tengo, with sparse guitars and contained drumming is deliciously melancholic (I listened to it on repeat while writing this article, hope you did too while reading)

• The movie is written and directed by Kelly Reichardt, based on a Jonathan Raymond, and is well aligned with everything she has done throughout her long film career: minimalistic, slow, beautiful, realistic movies.

• One of the protagonists, Will Oldham, is a musician in real life

• Some more fun facts on mundane movies:

  • If you want to go deeper on this wave, this is a great list 

  • The most iconic mundane movie is Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Made in the 70’s, it recently jumped from #35 to #1 in arguably the best movie list that exists, published every 10 years. That jump got a lot of heat since many attributed it to wokeness culture making pressure during the polling, due to the director being a woman and the feminist undertones of the movie. I’m not sure… maybe lately, as a society, we’ve come to appreciate slowing down and contemplation more?

• Pair all this mundane and fleeting life with tea, Yehudis Milchtein’s latest article, Silvio Castelletti’s article, the book 4,000 Weeks or my favorite Raymond Carver story.

Enjoy!

1. An Elephant Sitting Still, by Hu Bo.