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 the start of the year, it is not enough to talk simply about films. We need films about films.
Four Films
Falling in Love Like in Movies (2023)
Written and directed by Yandy Laurens, with this Indonesian romantic comedy, you never know where one film ends and the second film begins. It opens with a filmmaker writing a script about reconnecting and falling in love with his high school best friend, but after that, it has a life of its own, wonderfully blurring the line between reality and fiction. (Available on Netflix).
The River (1997)
Labelled Tsai Ming-liang’s “bleakest” work, this Taiwanese film is essentially the story of a family dealing with their son’s neck pain. The pain starts after the protagonist Hsiao-Kang (the brilliant Lee Kang-sheng) completes a small gig on a film set: the role of a floating dead body in the river. Tsai is a master at pacing and mood, and The River is an excellent dissertation on urban isolationism. (Available to stream online).
My First Film (2024)
Based on director Zia Anger’s own experiences, this is a semi-autobiographical film about how one goes about making a feature film, and the fun and frustrations that come with it. At the heart of it, it is a failed creative yearning that succeeds in an unexpected and playful way. (Available on MUBI).
Superboys of Malegaon (2024)
Directed by Reema Kagti and written by Varun Grover, this is a film about films and friendships as five boys set out to turn their hometown of Malegaon into a cinematic experience. That every major character is muslim is really quite a staggering achievement in this day and age of India’s socio-political climate. This one is especially for the dreamers. (Available on Amazon Prime Video).
And a TV
Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping (2025)
From the stars of the infamous British sitcom Peep Show comes a sketch comedy show that is at the same time about making the sketch comedy show. Also starring Stevie Martin, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Krystal Evans and Lara Ricote, each episode switches back and forth between the writers’ room, where sketch ideas are being brainstormed, to sets where these very sketches are being performed. (Available on Channel 4).
