James Dalrymple
@jamesewand.bsky.social
Teaching/lecturing in France. Occasional academic.
Cinema, books, music, vintage television, podcasts (usually while cooking for the family), teaching, life in France etc.
Film reviews at: letterboxd.com/jamesewand/
Cinema, books, music, vintage television, podcasts (usually while cooking for the family), teaching, life in France etc.
Film reviews at: letterboxd.com/jamesewand/
First watch: Torn Curtain (1966), starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. Put this off for a while as it is considered one of Hitchcock's less appreciated films, but it was more entertaining than expected, especially the first half.
1/3
1/3
November 26, 2025 at 9:02 PM
First watch: Torn Curtain (1966), starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. Put this off for a while as it is considered one of Hitchcock's less appreciated films, but it was more entertaining than expected, especially the first half.
1/3
1/3
Postman's been!
November 26, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Postman's been!
First watch: Soylent Green (1973, dir. Richard Fleischer). Dystopian sci-fi that should probably be congratulated for putting global warming on the Hollywood big screen, after breakthroughs in climate science of the 1960s. 1/3
November 25, 2025 at 7:24 AM
First watch: Soylent Green (1973, dir. Richard Fleischer). Dystopian sci-fi that should probably be congratulated for putting global warming on the Hollywood big screen, after breakthroughs in climate science of the 1960s. 1/3
First watch: Certain Women. Another major Kelly Reichardt blindspot plugged, this 2016 anthology film based on three short stories by Maile Meloy. Although very loosely connected, these are in many ways standalone shorts linked by a mood, pace, and the wide-open spaces of Montana. 1/3
November 23, 2025 at 10:01 AM
First watch: Certain Women. Another major Kelly Reichardt blindspot plugged, this 2016 anthology film based on three short stories by Maile Meloy. Although very loosely connected, these are in many ways standalone shorts linked by a mood, pace, and the wide-open spaces of Montana. 1/3
Well that sucks...
November 21, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Well that sucks...
#LetterBoxdFriday #LastFourWatched
have been struggling through a busy period feeling pretty under par, so not been watching as much as usual:
Kelly Reischart does moving lo-fi indie realism
Jacques Tourneur goes noir
Charlie Chaplin goes sound
Jacques Audiard does horny Parisian thirtysomethings
have been struggling through a busy period feeling pretty under par, so not been watching as much as usual:
Kelly Reischart does moving lo-fi indie realism
Jacques Tourneur goes noir
Charlie Chaplin goes sound
Jacques Audiard does horny Parisian thirtysomethings
November 21, 2025 at 7:16 AM
#LetterBoxdFriday #LastFourWatched
have been struggling through a busy period feeling pretty under par, so not been watching as much as usual:
Kelly Reischart does moving lo-fi indie realism
Jacques Tourneur goes noir
Charlie Chaplin goes sound
Jacques Audiard does horny Parisian thirtysomethings
have been struggling through a busy period feeling pretty under par, so not been watching as much as usual:
Kelly Reischart does moving lo-fi indie realism
Jacques Tourneur goes noir
Charlie Chaplin goes sound
Jacques Audiard does horny Parisian thirtysomethings
First watch: Out of the Past (1947), dir. Jacques Tourneur. A definitive noir for many, and it is easy to see why: private dick led astray by mysterious babe, Mitchum in a trenchcoat looking sleepy and chain-smoking, photography from Nicholas Musuraca, whip-smart lines, extended flashbacks. 1/2
November 18, 2025 at 10:48 AM
First watch: Out of the Past (1947), dir. Jacques Tourneur. A definitive noir for many, and it is easy to see why: private dick led astray by mysterious babe, Mitchum in a trenchcoat looking sleepy and chain-smoking, photography from Nicholas Musuraca, whip-smart lines, extended flashbacks. 1/2
My introduction to Anita Brookner: a story of two sisters in early middle age, struggling with loneliness, regret, and professional & romantic disappointment. Although written and set in the late 90s, it feels like it could have been published at almost any time, even the 19th century 1/2
💙 #booksky
💙 #booksky
November 16, 2025 at 9:47 AM
My introduction to Anita Brookner: a story of two sisters in early middle age, struggling with loneliness, regret, and professional & romantic disappointment. Although written and set in the late 90s, it feels like it could have been published at almost any time, even the 19th century 1/2
💙 #booksky
💙 #booksky
First watch: Wendy and Lucy, directed and (co)written by Kelly Reichardt. Sad, lyrical film about living on the margins during the financial crisis of 2008. Despite the context, it is not an "issue" film, with less in common with Ken Loach than De Sica (Bicycle Thieves and Umberto D.*). 1/2
November 16, 2025 at 9:34 AM
First watch: Wendy and Lucy, directed and (co)written by Kelly Reichardt. Sad, lyrical film about living on the margins during the financial crisis of 2008. Despite the context, it is not an "issue" film, with less in common with Ken Loach than De Sica (Bicycle Thieves and Umberto D.*). 1/2
Some incoming DVD and Blu-Ray:
- Two from Kelly Reichardt (both featuring Michelle Williams)
- Two with Robert Mitchum
- Two from Kelly Reichardt (both featuring Michelle Williams)
- Two with Robert Mitchum
November 15, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Some incoming DVD and Blu-Ray:
- Two from Kelly Reichardt (both featuring Michelle Williams)
- Two with Robert Mitchum
- Two from Kelly Reichardt (both featuring Michelle Williams)
- Two with Robert Mitchum
The university library has sourced this for me
📚💙
📚💙
November 10, 2025 at 1:46 PM
The university library has sourced this for me
📚💙
📚💙
First watch: Fear (1954). One of three (!) films Roberto Rossellini released in 1954 starring then-wife Ingrid Bergman. Unlike the modernist Journey to Italy, this German-Italian production looks to the past, and particularly the noirish Hollywood suspense films for which Bergman was famous. 1/5
November 10, 2025 at 7:34 AM
First watch: Fear (1954). One of three (!) films Roberto Rossellini released in 1954 starring then-wife Ingrid Bergman. Unlike the modernist Journey to Italy, this German-Italian production looks to the past, and particularly the noirish Hollywood suspense films for which Bergman was famous. 1/5
Re-watching tonight at my wife's behest. Suits me!
November 8, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Re-watching tonight at my wife's behest. Suits me!
Some Anita Brookner from my mother-in-law's shelves. Perhaps not canon, but hopefully something to get me started. Any recommendations among these @jacquiwine.bsky.social? 💙📚
November 8, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Some Anita Brookner from my mother-in-law's shelves. Perhaps not canon, but hopefully something to get me started. Any recommendations among these @jacquiwine.bsky.social? 💙📚
#LetterboxdFriday #LastFourWatched
· two Rossellini-Bergman joints
· a rewarding rewatch of a French neo-noir remake
· Anna Magnani in early Pasoloni
· two Rossellini-Bergman joints
· a rewarding rewatch of a French neo-noir remake
· Anna Magnani in early Pasoloni
November 7, 2025 at 2:24 PM
#LetterboxdFriday #LastFourWatched
· two Rossellini-Bergman joints
· a rewarding rewatch of a French neo-noir remake
· Anna Magnani in early Pasoloni
· two Rossellini-Bergman joints
· a rewarding rewatch of a French neo-noir remake
· Anna Magnani in early Pasoloni
Voyage to Italy (1954, dir. Roberto Rossellini). An uptight English couple on holiday near Naples discover they don't know each other after all. Proto-Antonioni modernism which was semi-improvised, much to the annoyance of stars George Sanders and (Rossellini's then-wife) Ingrid Bergman. 1/3
November 7, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Voyage to Italy (1954, dir. Roberto Rossellini). An uptight English couple on holiday near Naples discover they don't know each other after all. Proto-Antonioni modernism which was semi-improvised, much to the annoyance of stars George Sanders and (Rossellini's then-wife) Ingrid Bergman. 1/3
First watch: Stromboli (1950). Ingrid Bergman famously approached Roberto Rossellini to work together on the strength of his War Trilogy. In some senses, they met half way, with a film that combines documentary elements with something more heightened and stylized, even melodramatic. 1/4
November 5, 2025 at 8:51 PM
First watch: Stromboli (1950). Ingrid Bergman famously approached Roberto Rossellini to work together on the strength of his War Trilogy. In some senses, they met half way, with a film that combines documentary elements with something more heightened and stylized, even melodramatic. 1/4
Tonight's film: De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, 2005), dir. Jacques Audiard.
I haven't seen this since it came out, but I watched the '70s original (Fingers) fairly recently. Time to compare!
I haven't seen this since it came out, but I watched the '70s original (Fingers) fairly recently. Time to compare!
November 3, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Tonight's film: De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, 2005), dir. Jacques Audiard.
I haven't seen this since it came out, but I watched the '70s original (Fingers) fairly recently. Time to compare!
I haven't seen this since it came out, but I watched the '70s original (Fingers) fairly recently. Time to compare!
Quote with your favourite film and album* from the year you were born
November 2, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Quote with your favourite film and album* from the year you were born
Some of the films I enjoyed most for the first time last month
November 1, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Some of the films I enjoyed most for the first time last month
Halloween viewing with my daughter:
#NowWatching
#NowWatching
October 31, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Halloween viewing with my daughter:
#NowWatching
#NowWatching
#LetterboxdFriday #LastFourWatched
Left Bank modernism, two from the Soviet Union, and an 1980s creature feature
Left Bank modernism, two from the Soviet Union, and an 1980s creature feature
October 31, 2025 at 9:41 AM
#LetterboxdFriday #LastFourWatched
Left Bank modernism, two from the Soviet Union, and an 1980s creature feature
Left Bank modernism, two from the Soviet Union, and an 1980s creature feature