Spring semester is hard, so you deserve some movies that will help you get through the slog of it.
Spring semester of college is extremely tough, something that I have been coming to terms with for the past couple of weeks. I’ve noticed that while in college, all of the feelings that I felt about the spring semester in high school feel like they have been multiplied by a hundred. One of the biggest contributors seems to be the unpredictable, violent winter that we have been experiencing. While I’ve experienced harsh winters, I’ve never had to be outside very much before this year in this kind of weather. Walking to class feels like going to war with the elements, which can really wear you down.
I’ve noticed that having some time dedicated to myself to watch a movie once every few days helps me get through the weeks and forget about just how horrible the weather is. Taking the time to watch some movies has helped me tune out some of the stress, bad weather, and overall horrible feeling of winter that comes along with spring semester.
1. La Chimera directed by Alice Rohrwacher (2023)
La Chimera is the opposite of a Wisconsin winter. The movie takes place during a sultry, bright Italian summer and follows an English anthropologist named Arthur as he helps a group of smugglers recover and sell Etruscan artifacts. This movie envelops you in its world and its characters. All of the characters that Arthur encounters feel so alive and part of a world that is so different from the hustle and bustle of hiking up and down Bascom Hill class-to-class.
2. Priscilla directed by Sofia Coppola (2023)
Ever imagined what it’s like to be in a relationship with a rockstar? Priscilla describes exactly that. The movie is based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 autobiography, Elvis and Me, and follows Priscilla and Elvis’s romantic relationship from its beginning to its end. While the movie does follow their relationship, it mainly focuses on Priscilla’s character, her evolution as an independent person, and the complexities of maintaining one’s own identity in the midst of a relationship. Priscilla does all of these things while maintaining beautiful, eye-catching cinematography with views that will make you feel like you’re in sunny and warm Memphis.
3. Asteroid City, directed by Wes Anderson (2023)
Want to experience an out-of-this-world experience without leaving the comfort of your dorm room? Asteroid City is the movie for you! The movie mainly takes place in a scalding desert town, somewhere I’d trade to be over a Wisconsin winter in a heartbeat, where the eccentric cast of characters investigate the extraterrestrial happenings that they encounter. The cinematography has a bright palette, evocative and perfect for spring! The movie ultimately culminates in an introspection about the meaning of life and what it means to love someone, which are pretty heavy topics, but the movie handles them well and balances that with the right amount of optimism.
4. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery directed by Rian Johnson (2022)
Glass Onion is the sequel to Rian Johnson’s 2019 film Knives Out, which features the same investigator with a whole new set of characters. Similarly, while Knives Out takes place in the dead of winter, similar to the weather that we have been experiencing, Glass Onion takes place on a tropical private island. As usual, the crew of characters has to work together to figure out how a member of their posse met their end, but the movie is filled with fun twists and turns, all while gorgeous scenery landscapes the backgrounds of each shot.
5. Problemista directed by Julio Torres (2023)
Not much can be said about Problemista without giving away too much, besides that it is a fun and exciting movie. Problemista is set mainly in New York City, but the film uses magical realism to bring the city truly to life as well as the main character, Alejandro’s, conflicts to life. From knightly sword fighting to cryogenically freezing oneself, Problemista is full of crazy, wacky environments and storytelling elements. All of these almost otherworldly elements of the movie ultimately come together in a beautiful exploration of success, identity, and love.
While spring semester is brutal due to the mix of ugly weather and harder classes, having time dedicated to yourself is important. Watching movies is one of the main ways I dedicate to taking care of myself, but there are a multitude of other ways that you can invest in yourself. In the end, taking care of your mood is one of the hallmarks of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. So, taking a one-to-two-hour break to watch a movie and push away all the stress of homework, studying and exams, can help you maintain a good mood.