+++
author = ["authors/jenna.md"]
categories = "How-To"
date = 2020-05-14T04:00:00Z
disclaimer = ""
image_gallery = []
postamble = "Opera nuts, what are your go-to film choices for quarantine times? Leave them in the comments, or at [hello@schmopera.com](mailto:hello@schmopera.com)."
preamble = "If you couldn't tell by his operatic adaptations of films like Lars von Trier's [_Breaking the Waves_](https://www.operaphila.org/whats-on/digital-festival/breaking-the-waves/), and Carlos Reygadas' [_Silent Light_](https://www.banffcentre.ca/events/opera-silent-light/20190706/1930), Canadian librettist [Royce Vavrek](/scene/people/royce-vavrek/) is a movie buff. So, since we've all got more time on our hands than usual, I figured it would be an opera fan's obvious choice to get their film recommendations from a like-minded, enthusiastic mind like Vavrek's.\n\nBefore we jump into it, I'll pass along a strong caveat: you won't spot _Breaking the Waves_ or _Silent Light_ (or Atom Egoyan's [_Adoration_](https://www.bethmorrisonprojects.org/adoration)) in this list, and it's not because Vavrek doesn't love those films. He's looking beyond the works he's had a chance to adapt, and offering up \"familiar friends\" in a time where familiarity counts for a lot."
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1589501169/media/2020/05/sqRoyceVavrekbyRicardoBeas_t5tmzu.jpg"
primary_image_credit = "Royce Vavrek, librettist. Photo by Ricardo Beas."
related_articles = ["articles/when-disney-made-a-cartoon-about-an-operasinging-whale.md", "articles/5-books-that-should-be-operas.md", "articles/5-classical-voice-podcasts-to-try.md"]
related_companies = []
related_people = ["scene/people/royce-vavrek.md"]
short_description = "\"Probably my favorite comedy.  No matter how many times I see this movie, I can’t help but laugh my ass off.  I will go anywhere for Melissa McCarthy.\""
slug = "an-opera-librettists-quarantine-film-picks"
title = "An opera librettist's quarantine film picks"
youtube_url = ""

+++
## _All About My Mother_, Pedro Almodovar

"Almodovar is an absolute genius, and for me, [this film](https://www.criterion.com/films/29569-all-about-my-mother) is his _magnum opus_. The performance of Antonia San Juan as Agrado is as delicious and fabulous as they come."

## _Boogie Nights_, Paul Thomas Anderson

"I'm not sure how many times I've seen PTA's [epic portrait of the porn industry](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118749/). Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds and Mark Wahlberg do some of my absolute favorite work here. And that parting shot!"

## _Bridesmaids_, Paul Feig

"Probably my favorite comedy.  No matter how many times I see [this movie](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1478338/), I can’t help but laugh my ass off.  I will go anywhere for Melissa McCarthy."

<figure data-type="image">{{% md %}}![](https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1589286666/media/2020/05/bridemaids_dwojaj.jpg){{% /md %}}

<figcaption>Bridesmaids, 2011.</figcaption>  
</figure>

## _Fat Girl_, Catherine Breillat

"I am a die-hard Catherine Breillat fan.  If you can get a copy of her controversial _Une vraie jeune fille_, do yourself a favor and see what all the fuss is/was about. It has definitely informed a lot of my writing. I'm recommending [_Fat Girl_](https://www.criterion.com/films/548-fat-girl), which I just re-watched a few days ago and continually blows my mind with every viewing.  And I welcome any opportunity to spend time watching the luminous Arsinée Khanjian.

## _Holy Motors_, Leos Carax

"This is a wild, eccentric ride that will boggle and transport you to some dynamic vivid worlds.  An [all-out masterpiece](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2076220/) featuring the performance of a lifetime from Denis Lavant.

## _In the Mood for Love_, Wong Kar-wai

"Why not spend time with one of, if not the [best film ever made](https://www.criterion.com/films/198-in-the-mood-for-love)? Those performances (Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung!), those costumes, the cinematography, that score. Wong Kar-Wai is everything.

## _Sense and Sensibility_, Ang Lee

"I love Jane Austen.  I love Emma Thompson.  I love Kate Winslet.  I love Alan Rickman.  I love Greg Wise.  I love Hugh Grant.  I love Ang Lee.  I have the most amazing memory of my father taking me to the cinema in Grande Prairie, Alberta to see this when I was 12 years old, and [it's a movie](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114388/) that I have seen a million times, and will see it a gazillion more."

<figure data-type="image">{{% md %}}![](https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1589286832/media/2020/05/Movie-still-Emma-Thompson-Kate-Winslet-Sense-and-Sensibility-1995_ivorh0.jpg){{% /md %}}

<figcaption>Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet in _Sense and Sensibility_, 1995.</figcaption>  
</figure>

## _Stories We Tell_, Sarah Polley

"[This documentary](https://www.nfb.ca/film/stories_we_tell/) is one of the most beautiful, personal, surprising feats of filmmaking I’ve ever experienced.  Growing up with Sarah Polley on 'Road to Avonlea', I have been a lifelong fan of her work. This is next-level art of the first order."

## _We're Here_, Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O'Hara and Shangela

"This [documentary series](https://www.hbo.com/were-here) has become appointment viewing in quarantine.  I'm hunkered down with my composer-collaborator Missy Mazzoli in Briarcliff Manor, NY, and this documentary series where three drag queens travel to small towns in the US to stage one-night-only spectacular shows with the locals is as joyous, moving and addictive as television comes."

## _The Young Pope / The New Pope_, Paolo Sorrentino

"The two seasons of [Paola Sorrentino's papal extravaganza ](https://www.hbo.com/the-new-pope)is television at its most arresting and cinematic. Every shot is an image you want to luxuriate in. And being a sucker for sensational performances, I find the work of Jude Law, Diane Keaton, Scott Shepherd, John Malkovitch and Silvio Orlando is some of the best you'll find anywhere."