8 Films Worth Rewatching: Total Recall, Contact & More

STONES OF ERASMUS — FILM & PHILOSOPHY

Eight Films to Watch Over and Over Again

Some movies invite a second viewing because I want to spend more time in their worlds. Others leave an argument unfinished. Following my earlier list of films worth returning to, here are eight more: a little science fiction, some difficult love, a dreadful disappearance, and a generous helping of comic trouble. On Friday evenings I've been watching one from the list below.

I created a question for you to take with you as you before, during, and after viewing and provided some quirky, philosophical capsule reviews of the 8 seemingly unrelated movies.

8 Quirky Films to watch on Fridays

Date	Film

01

Total Recall (1990)

Friday, April 17, 2026

Directed by Paul Verhoeven

Can a purchased memory become part of who you are?

Some vacations promise a change of scenery. Total Recall offers a change of self. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Douglas Quaid, a construction worker tempted by a company selling implanted memories of adventures he has never lived. Naturally, the purchase goes spectacularly wrong. Paul Verhoeven turns that premise into a sweaty, grotesque carnival of Martian rebellion, corporate power, and bodies that refuse to behave. I love how the movie lets its philosophical problem wear the loudest possible costume.

What makes a memory yours? How much of an identity can somebody else manufacture? Even the action feels suspicious: perhaps the heroic adventure is exactly what Quaid ordered. Meanwhile, the struggle over breathable air gives the fantasy a blunt political edge. This is a world where survival itself has a price tag. Return for the outrageous effects and breakneck momentum; stay with the uneasy possibility that pleasure can make a convincing substitute for truth.

Film details: AFI Catalog.

02

Contact (1997)

Friday, April 24, 2026

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

What happens when experience outpaces proof?

Contact makes listening look like an adventure. Jodie Foster's Ellie Arroway searches the sky for evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, but the movie's deepest longing feels human: somebody, somewhere, might answer. Adapted from Carl Sagan's novel, Robert Zemeckis's film moves between radio telescopes, political maneuvering, religious conviction, and private grief. Foster gives the spectacle its center. Her attention is so intense that waiting for a signal becomes dramatic.

I am especially interested in the friction between what Ellie can experience and what she can persuade others to believe. The film sometimes announces its ideas too emphatically, yet its generosity toward wonder keeps pulling me along. Science requires evidence; being human also involves trust, imagination, and the ache of absence. Contact lets those demands trouble one another. Watch it again for the movement from cosmic scale to a single face, and for its insistence that curiosity can be an act of hope.

Film details: Walker Art Center.

03

Raising Arizona (1987)

Friday, May 1, 2026

Directed by Joel Coen; written by Joel and Ethan Coen

Can longing for a family justify taking from another’s?

The Coen brothers give the American dream a stolen baby and send it running through the desert. Nicolas Cage plays H.I. McDunnough, a repeat offender who marries Ed, a police photographer played by Holly Hunter. Unable to have children, they decide a local family with quintuplets can spare one. Their reasoning is terrible. Their longing is painfully recognizable. Raising Arizona gets its energy from that collision: absurd criminal logic rubbing against a sincere wish to become better people.

I delight in the elastic camera, the runaway dialogue, and Cage's expression of permanent bewilderment. Hunter supplies an equally essential conviction; Ed treats this ridiculous enterprise with absolute seriousness. Underneath the diapers, chases, and escalating disasters sits a question about deserving happiness. Can wanting a family excuse what you do to obtain one? The movie keeps its affection for these fools while allowing their dream to look both beautiful and dangerously selfish.

Film details: Disney+ film details.

04

My Night at Maud's (1969)

Directed by Éric Rohmer

A snowy evening, an apartment, a conversation that refuses to end: Eric Rohmer understands how much suspense articulate adults can generate. Jean-Louis, a Catholic engineer, thinks he knows the shape his future should take. An encounter with the divorced Maud makes that certainty less comfortable. My Night at Maud's brings Pascal, probability, desire, and religious commitment into the same room, then watches people use ideas to explain themselves. Or to conceal themselves. That distinction is where the pleasure begins for me.

Jean-Louis Trintignant and Francoise Fabian make intellectual exchange feel intimate, competitive, and faintly dangerous. The beautiful black and white photography gives their talk room to breathe. Pay attention to the pauses as carefully as the arguments. A person can construct an elegant account of his principles while remaining obscure to himself. Another viewing invites us to hear what these characters reveal when they believe they are being perfectly clear.

Film details: The Criterion Collection.

05

Angst essen Seele auf (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul) (1974)

Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Two lonely people dance, and suddenly the room seems to belong to everybody judging them. Rainer Werner Fassbinder builds Ali: Fear Eats the Soul around Emmi, an older German cleaning woman, and Ali, a younger Moroccan migrant worker. Their attachment exposes the racism and possessiveness of neighbors, coworkers, and family. Brigitte Mira and El Hedi ben Salem give the relationship a tenderness that makes each hostile stare hurt. I find the framing devastating: doorways, staircases, and empty spaces turn ordinary places into instruments of exclusion.

Yet Fassbinder also follows prejudice into the relationship itself. Loving someone does not automatically undo the habits a society has taught you. That complication gives the film its enduring force. Its bright colors and deliberately arranged scenes invite us to look closely at behavior we might otherwise accept as ordinary. Return to the dance, then watch how difficult it becomes to sustain that shared space.

Film details: The Criterion Collection; additional context.

06

Spoorloos (The Vanishing) (1988)

Directed by George Sluizer

A roadside stop, a missing woman, a man who cannot stop searching. George Sluizer's original The Vanishing takes an ordinary interruption and makes it feel like a tear in the fabric of daily life. Rex's determination to discover what happened to Saskia becomes the film's terrible engine. What unsettles me is the patience. Sunlight, family routines, and reasonable behavior remain visible while something monstrous takes shape among them. The movie shows us enough of the abductor to redirect our curiosity, making knowledge itself feel increasingly dangerous.

We want an answer because Rex wants one, and that identification becomes a trap. I would keep the ending unspoiled for anyone approaching it for the first time. For a return visit, notice the construction: small gestures, rehearsals, and casual details acquire a dreadful weight. This thriller understands the appetite for certainty so precisely that it makes the desire to finish a story frightening.

Film details: The Criterion Collection.

07

La Cité des enfants perdus (The City of Lost Children)(1995)

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro

Imagine a fairy tale assembled from rusted machinery, green fog, and the contents of a troubled toy box. Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro make The City of Lost Children a place you can almost smell. Krank, a scientist unable to dream, steals children in an effort to appropriate their dreams. Against his machinery stand One, a circus strongman played by Ron Perlman, and Miette, a resourceful girl played by Judith Vittet. Their unlikely partnership gives the elaborate nightmare a beating heart.

I enjoy the film's willingness to be excessive: strange faces, impossible inventions, and images that seem to have escaped from sleep. Beneath that abundance sits a simple cruelty. Adults want something from children and build an entire apparatus for taking it. Tenderness becomes a form of resistance. Watch again for the details crowded into the frame, but keep your attention on the trust developing between these two vulnerable allies.

Film details: Sony Pictures Classics; additional context.

08

3 Ninjas (1992)

Directed by Jon Turteltaub

After all that metaphysical uncertainty and European anguish, I am making room for three brothers who can handle a kidnapping attempt with martial arts and teamwork. Jon Turteltaub's 3 Ninjas follows Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum, whose grandfather trains them while their FBI agent father pursues an arms dealer. The setup turns family tension into a child's fantasy of competence: grownups underestimate you, danger arrives, and the skills you practiced suddenly matter. Victor Wong gives Grandpa the warmth that holds the silliness together.

The jokes are broad, the villains broader, and subtlety rarely enters the room. I appreciate the uncomplicated pleasure of watching siblings become allies. Their bickering makes cooperation feel earned, even when the action cheerfully abandons plausibility. On another viewing, the appeal is less about suspense than rhythm: training, trouble, improvisation, escape. Sometimes a movie earns its place through the generosity of letting children imagine themselves capable together.

Film details: D23: Disney A to Z.

Stones of Erasmus — Arts, letters, and a little philosophy at the movies.

Writing a Movie Review: Writer's Workshop for Middle and High School Grades 8-10

Incorporating Movies into English Language Arts and Writing Instruction

Unlock English mastery! Transform your classroom with
engaging movie reviews that boost language skills, critical thinking,
and student participation.

Movies are more than just an engaging way to pass the time. They are an amalgamation of storytelling, characterization, themes, and visual representation, which offer a vibrant medium to teach English language arts and writing instruction. Imagine this — your class of young, energetic middle or high schoolers analyzing, discussing, and reviewing movies while learning and honing their English skills. Not only is it fun and engaging, but it also provides an interactive way to understand complex language structures, themes, and concepts.

What's Included?

1. Teacher's Note for Using this Resource in the English and Writing Classroom: A helpful guide to ensure you get the most out of the resources provided.

2. Do's and Don'ts Anchor Chart: A visual guide to direct students on what to include and what to avoid in their movie review.

3. Fillable Movie Information Sheet for Before, During, and After Viewing: This allows students to track key information and impressions throughout the viewing experience, which helps build their review later.

4. Extended Written Response, Movie Quotes Double Entry Journal, Parts of a Movie Review Graphic Organizer: These tools support and scaffold students' writing, thinking, and reflection processes.

5. 3 Exit Ticket Strategies for Formative Assessment: These will help you gauge student understanding and progress at the end of each lesson.

6. Movie Review Skills Assessment, 4-Point Grading Rubric, Student-Facing Checklist, and Grading Sheet: These tools help students self-assess their work and aid teachers in providing clear, fair, and consistent grading.

7. 5-Star Rating and Rough Draft Starter: This provides students a starting point for their review and a simple, familiar way to give their overall rating.

Incorporating movie analysis into your curriculum can be a dynamic way to inspire student engagement and improve their English language and writing skills. By combining entertainment and education, you're teaching them language and skills like critical thinking, analysis, and self-expression.

Related Products

To further extend your resources, consider other products from Stones of Erasmus:

✰ Growing Humanities Bundle for Middle and High School 

✰ Myth Unit for Middle and High School (40+ Days of Content!) 

✰ "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor: Short Story Discussion 

✰ Diagnostic English Language Learner Exams and Essay for Middle and High School

✰ Making Timelines and Recalling Events for Writing in English Language Arts

✰ Integrating Quotations: Writing Activity for the English Language Arts Classroom

Join me on this educational journey. Your feedback, comments, and insights are always welcome. Visit my website at stonesoferasmus.com for more resources and ideas.

© 2022-2023 Stones of Erasmus.

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The Ineluctable Bond of Two Boys Broken: Movie Review of Close (2022)

In this post, I write a spoiler-y review of the 2022 Belgian film Close. This review is meant for after viewing the film.

Image Credit: Diaphana Films

Close Garners Accolades on the Film Prize Circuit

Have you recently watched the Belgian film Close (2022), directed by Lukas Dhont and starring two incredible young actors, Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele? The movie was highly acclaimed, nominated for an Academy Award, and won the prestigious Grand Prix at the Cannes film festival. The story is a tragic one about two boys. Having read multiple stories of queer, questioning, and gay young people killed or dying of unsuspecting causes, I went into the film with skepticism. For example, I loved the novel Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne — but, again, it is a story of a young, bright, young person who dies because of hatred and homophobia. But I digress — in this story of two young boys who live in a small Flemish town near the flower fields of Brabant, the story is more about adolescent male friendship than anything else. 

I Did Harbor Some Assumptions (I Confess)

        After watching the trailer, I confess I assumed that the blonde-haired boy, Leo (played by Dambrine), was the more fragile of the two. He appears smaller, in contrast, to Remi (played by De Wael), even though in real life, the former is several years older than the latter, and during filming, De Wael had to wear platform shoes to appear taller than Dambrine. And in an interesting backstory, Lukas Dhont discovered Dambrine on a train, conversing with friends, and asked him to audition for the part — which he did. All of this to say, while my original assumption was wrong, the film is very much about the character of Leo, both in his friendship with Remi, which only takes up less than half the film, and the micro-steps that follow the boys' breakup.

The Exposition of a Boys' Friendship 

       The movie portrays two thirteen-year-old boys with an unbreakable bond. They are kindred spirits, and their connection is unexplainable. A beautiful scene sets up the friends' bond where Leo, as they both cannot sleep on a summer evening, tells Remi a story about a gecko and its colors. Remi lights up as Leo tells the story, and the camera is positioned intimately close to the two. Film trumps other forms of narrative works where the body, the face, can tell a story, and I was drawn into the ease of their facial expressions and how comfortable the two adolescents are in each other's presence. Leo, in this scene, is portrayed as a poetic and sensitive soul, and his monologue foreshadows what will come. I thought Remi would reject Leo, but it was the reverse. 

        Their friendship is exposed to the public eye of their peers. Once they start going to a new school, the other kids make note of the boys' friendship and ask if they are a couple. Despite their kindred and beautiful connection, the question "Are you together?" is enough to put a blunt edge between the two kids' bond. In my head, I thought Leo took it to heart and had a more difficult time dealing with that. But actually, in the movie, Leo is more riled up about the accusation and pushes Remi, the other boy, away. The two boys detonate internally, each in their own unique way, and a gulf begins to split between them. It is in this splitting apart that the film attempts to explore.

An Inexplicable Event Happens. 

         There is a field trip, and Remi is not there. The kids go to the ocean and return, and Leo discovers that Remi has committed suicide. Leo runs frantically, heaving, and arrives at Remi's house, but no one is home, and he sees the door to the bathroom has been busted open. And he knows. In a scene earlier in the movie, Remi was in the bathroom and wouldn't come out, and the mother kept banging on the door. It was after Leo and Remi had a fight. It is evident now. As Leo stares into the window of the empty house, Remi is no longer here. And this is where the story becomes not one of a beautiful friendship but a story of a piece missing, of Leo's tortured journey. And Remi's mother — it was the mother who discovered her son. And when Leo discovers that Remi was in the bathroom when he committed suicide, he internalizes it as his fault.

         Leo goes through the motions. He silently attends his friend's funeral. Leo's emotional journey is acute and raw as he tries to find solace in his older brother and silently deals with his feelings at hockey practice and in class. Leo's guilt and sense of responsibility for Remi's death are palpable, and it is painful to watch a child suffer in such a way. He has to listen as other kids talk superficially about Remi. One boy mentions that Remi seemed happy, but Leo breaks the silence and questions whether the boy really knew. "Was he happy? did you know?" Leo asks and storms out of the room. A counselor comes to talk to the middle school class, but the guilt on Leo takes a toll on him. He befriends another boy on his hockey team, but their friendship differs from his friendship with Remi. Leo finds ways to confront or be with Remi's mother, who is also obviously dealing with her grief. And in this part, the story feels fragile and raw — because, as a viewer, I did not know who would break first, Leo or the mother.

The Question of "Why?"

        The film raises several questions, such as why Leo was not kinder to Remi, why Remi did not seek help from his loving parents, and why it all ended horrifically. Leo is so shaken by it viscerally, but he is still so young that he cannot verbalize his feelings. Remi is dead, and that reality is painful enough, but Leo also holds on to this feeling that he is responsible for his friend's death. A child should not have to go through this type of suffering, right? However, the director slowly turns the viewer's attention to Leo and his struggle to deal with his friend's death without providing easy answers to the "why" of it. The film culminates in an inevitable confrontation between Remi's mother and Leo, which provides a sense of closure, but not resolution. The scene is in the woods, the trees serving as a backdrop of both characters' pain — a place set away from the real world of school, family, and home. Without giving away too many details, this is how the film ends.

Closing Remarks

        The movie's personal and emotional performance from the cast is remarkable, and the actors spent a lot of time together processing the story's magnitude. The film's title, "Close," hits home, portraying the story of two boys who cling to each other. I could identify with the boys — as I, too, had close friendships growing up, and I think this is a phenomenon that many young men experience. Leo and Remi express their feelings about society's bias about close male friendships when girls at lunch call out the boys' friendship, but they first retort, "Well, what about girls? You can have a girly friendship," and no one says anything. The worst crime a society can commit is snuffing out love between two people. I felt like Leo and Remi hold an ineluctable bond that is intense, loving, and special. It is not a gay story, specifically, but one of love, friendship, and the dissolution of those bonds. And it is that dissolution that cries out to heaven for justice.

       I finished the movie visibly shaken. I had not felt this emotionally challenged by a movie about love and connections lost since the 2017 film Call Me By Your Name. As a viewer, one can bring their own emotions and experiences to the film, and "Close" explores the complexities of friendship, guilt, and grief, especially among young boys. It sheds light on toxic masculinity, its impact on society, and the intensity of friendships at a young age. Overall, "Close" is a poignant film that leaves a lasting impact and is a deserving nominee for an Academy Award.

Stray Observations

• The film boasts the debut of the two actors Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele.
• The working title was "We Two Boys Together Clinging," which is the title of a poem by Walt Whitman, which inspired the work of artist David Hockney.
• The film reflects Belgium's linguistic diversity, with French and Flemish spoken due to the country's small size and the presence of Dutch, Flemish, French, English, and German in daily conversation.
• The small Flemish town where the film is shot is called Wetteren in East Flanders.
• I lived in Belgium for over a year as a student at K.U.L. in Leuven.

Close (2022)

Diaphana Distribution

Directed by Lukas Dhont

Starring Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Léa Drucker, and Émilie Dequenne

Original Screenplay by Lukas Dhont and Angelo Tijssens.

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Hollywood Movies from the Nineties: Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead (1991)

Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead, a fantastic Hollywood movie from the 1990s,  just might be one of the best movies ever made about faking it until you make it.

Christina Applegate in Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead © 1991

Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead is a movie about transformations. 

Her boss tells her to say, "I'm right on top of that, Rose!" whenever she is doing a task for her. She says cheerily, "Don't feel overwhelmed, just do one thing at a time." The movie captures the era of big shoulders and women in the workplace trying to make their mark. Sue Ellen works her way up the corporate ladder, getting that Q.E.D. Report done by some cool delegation — to the ire of one of her co-workers, played by Jayne Brook, who is catching on to Sue Ellen's ruse. But Rose thinks Sue Ellen is just the best. "You're a paragon!" she beams! But Sue Ellen, the newest hire at General Apparel West, is really just a kid. The big conceit of the movie is that Christina Applegate is not really a fashion mogul.

"I'm Right On Top Of That, Rose!"

If you don't know the plot, it's ostensibly a story about every teenager's dream — to have the house entirely to yourself, no rules, no boundaries. See. Mom (played by Concetta Tomei) has gone to Australia and left the kids, played by Christina Applegate, Keith Coogan, Robert Hy Gorman, Danielle Harris, and Christopher Pettiet, with an evil-eyed, petty authoritarian (played by Eda Reiss Merin) named Mrs. Sturak. Even the name connotes fear. But the thing is — the movie is not about navigating the conflicts brought on by a mean babysitter. Mrs. Sturak dies twenty minutes into the movie. And Christina Applegate's character suddenly finds herself having to take on the head of the household. In a wild stretch of the imagination, she manages to land a job for a fashion company by stitching together a fake résumé —which hilariously causes her to take on the daily grind, getting up before dawn, to get dressed, prepare breakfast, and beat the downtown Los Angeles traffic to get to work on time. The oldest brother is a deadbeat (Coogan's character) — and the three other kids are treacly sweet, just the way most pre-teen kids are in Hollywood movies from the late 1980s and 1990s. But Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead is no John Hughes flick. Directed by Stephen Herek, the same guy who brought us Critters and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, the movie takes on a plucky pull-yourself-up-from-the-bootstrap narrative.

Surprisingly Inspiring Movie That Could Otherwise Be Dreck!

The joy of the movie is watching the kids take on adult responsibilities. And the reality is that in the 1990s, many kids were latchkey kids — without parental supervision after school. Like the kids in the movie, learning to take care of yourself, prepping for a meal, setting the alarm on your clock, getting the laundry done, and all of that mundane task that can make life a drudgery were self-taught — this was before "Helicopter Parents." But like I said — the movie is about transformations. The sulky teen girl finds purpose (who isn't rooting for Sue Ellen!). The deadbeat older brother finds purpose in catering! The young kids figure out how to clean the house, take on responsibility, and just be cute in a Hollywood movie. It's been about thirty years since this movie came out — and a lot has changed about everything. The film has aged well, though. The movie is pumped with an optimistic premise — that left to their own devices, kids will take on identities and responsibility and win us over with their aplomb and finesse. Don't underestimate 'em.

What other movies have you seen that show dramatic transformations in teen characters? Let us know in the comments.

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Movies That Love The Written Word

In this post, I talk about movies that have a loving relationship to books and to reading.

Pulp Fiction's title is certainly a love letter to a certain kind of book — the dime novel.

Movies That Praise the Power of the Written Word     A teacher friend posted on Facebook that she was looking for movies that praise literature and the power of the written word. Movies based on books that extoll literature — what a nice pairing, and a possible name of a course.

People Suggested a Few Titles 
     People suggested Beauty and the Beast, The Neverending Story, The Hours, Henry Fool, and the Book Thief. A good start. But the post got me thinking. 

Movies based on books are many. 

     I cannot stomach another cinematic example of Great Expectations. Oh, maybe just one more. I love a good Miss Havisham. There is a decent sampling of biopics about writers. Kill Your Darlings is a recent example about the student days of Allen Ginsburg and William Burroughs (and murder to boot). 

Dead Poets' Society

     The casebook example for the movies I am looking for is Dead Poets Society. It's not based on a novel, nor is it fantasy or sci-fi — it is a veritable love song to the merits of reading and the power of poetry. However, I do find beef with its ending (no spoilers). Its original screenplay was written by Tom Schulman and was directed by Peter Weir. 

      Are there any others out there? I am too lazy to compile a list.

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