A new edition to The University Times this year, “Four Films and a TV” is a very special column giving out very special recommendations. Every month, the editor will be making a list of underappreciated but unparalleled films (four) and (TV) series (one) united by a topical theme, plot device or personality. The intentions of this no-nonsense column range from the dissemination of lesser known films and the promotion of non-Anglophone media to the betterment of film and TV-related choices. For November, the favourite month of readers and writers, the editor has put together a list teeming with books and the people who create them. After all, there’s a world beyond Gilmore Girls, a world of tremendous literary elegance, joy and resilience.
Four Films
– Udaan (2010)
This is one of the best films to come out of Hindi cinema in the last two decades. The story: 17-year-old Rohan (Rajat Barmecha) is kicked out of boarding school and moves to a small industrial town with his abusive father (Ronit Roy) and younger step brother. He is a writer who is forced to work in a metallurgy factory. This coming-of-age film not only features some terrific performances but also beautiful pieces of poetry. Vikramaditya Motwane’s debut is earnest, rebellious and brave.
– Bakuman (2015)
Bakuman is a manga movie about two mangakas working on a manga about two mangakas working on a manga. Convoluted? Not at all. One Hitoshi’s film is an enjoyable action-packed comedy about the behind-the-scenes of manga. The story: High school students Mashiro Moritaka (Satoh Takeru) and Takagi Akito (Kamiki Ryunosuke) team up to create a manga for Weekly Shonen Jump, the most popular manga magazine in Japan, but their path to success is full of mishaps, adventures and new friends. Sometimes real, sometimes over-the-top, Bakuman is always fun.
– How to Build A Library (2025)
How can I make a list of bookish films without a film about a library? Maia Lekow and Christopher King’s documentary premiered in Ireland as the opening piece of the IFI Documentary Festival. The (real) story: Publisher Angela Wachuka and writer Shiro Koinange set out to restore Nairobi’s oldest library, the neo-classical McMillan Memorial Library. In the company of dusty books and broken furniture, they confront Kenya’s colonial history, deal with local politics and raise urgent funds. An important film for Kenya as well as the rest of the world.
– The Great Passage (2013)
This is a welcome into the world of words. The story: Majime Mitsuya (Matsuda Ryuhei), an introverted publishing salesman with a postgraduate degree in linguistics, is invited to join an editing team working on a new dictionary. There is even a gentle romance in this story and also Tora-san (cat), Majime’s only friend. Ishii Yuya’s adaptation of the bestselling Japanese book of the same name, is perfect for the shy, awkward and curious nerds. The film is calm, tender and very, very sweet.
And a TV
– Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (2019)
This is not your typical K-drama. The story: in the early 19th century, Hae-ryung (Shin Se-Kyung) is a rare female historian (26, but still unmarried) appointed by the king to unmask the immensely popular underground romance novelist Maehwa (who is none other than the crown prince Dowon). The star of this show is Hae-ryung, who not only exposes the many misogynistic practices of the times but also argues for the importance of sincere work for women, and of records and documentation. Rookie Historian is not perfect but it’s a wonderful attempt at doing something a little more meaningful.
