As COVID 19 drives us further into isolation, I rely more and more on books, movies, and walks along the deserted trail that follows the canal. The walks clear my head and the books and movies transport me out of the house in a different way, so I can see how other storytellers are searching for meaning.  

Lately, I’ve seen two movie-series and a movie that you might like: Midnight Diner, a  Japanese anthology TV series directed by Joji Matsuoka, based on the graphic novels of Yaro Abe; The Queen’s Gambit, a U.S. miniseries based on a novel by “Walt” Stone Tevis and directed by Scott Frank; and The Life Ahead, from a novel written by Romain Gary and made into an Italian film directed by Edoardo Ponti, son of Sophia Loren, who still powerful at 86 shares the lead with Ibrahima Gueye, a very talented young actor.  

I think of these films specifically because all of them have themes of love manifested in camaraderie, community in its truest sense, and resilience in the face of hardships, and I’ve been hankering for a good shot of these things lately.  The Queen’s Gambit and The Life Ahead are hard in parts to watch, but working toward love is never easy, and all of these films pay back.