Movie: “Happy as Lazzaro” (“Lazzaro Felice”)

The 2013 Italian independent drama, “Happy as Lazzaro” (or “Lazzaro Felice”), had been sitting in my Netflix watchlist for months. On Monday, I finally took the great endeavor of watching the two hour film. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made this year. “Lazzaro Felice” chronicles the life of a naive, near-saintly country boy named Lazzaro as he ambles through Italy’s rugged terrain. The rocky, summer-set countryside estate, Inviolata, where the first half of the film resides, serves as metaphor for the difficulties which Lazzaro undergoes during his lifetime. The film is deeply folkloric, weaved with a heady blend of spirituality, religious allegory, and blunt futuristic realism. So much of the story is imbued with ambiguity that describing the actual chronological events in the film takes away from the significance of the director, Alice Rohrwacher’s, unique style and approach. Much of “Lazzaro Felice”’s duration is filled with warmth, touched with a sense of something handmade and well-worn. Sun-spots dance in and out of frame, dust particles floating on the sprawling, arid landscape. While this sounds facile, the film also offers a much harsher criticism of postmodernism, class struggle, and self-indulgence. If you’re looking for something that will make you think far after you’ve turned off the television, watch Rohrwacher’s “Lazzaro Felice” on Netflix. 

Album: “Both” – Okay Kaya

Let’s discuss Okay Kaya because I’ve been dying to talk about them for a minute. They’re a Norwegian-American musician and actor from Jersey and they make mellow tunes for melodramatic girls. I first learned of their work through a Norwegian film they did called “Thelma” (very Norwegian, very spooky, very good) and I’ve been in love ever since. Now, to talk about their 2018 LP release “Both.” To put it simply, I really like this album. I like the way it sounds (subdued, frank, synthetic). I like the way the songs roll off the tongue: names like “La Meg” which sound like “lah maig” and the consonant-heavy “French Press Girl.” I like the humor and the newness which Okay Kaya brings to their writing (listen to their track “IUD” and you’ll get what I mean). Most of all, I like what it’s doing for the Sad Girl Indie genre. We always need more members. If you have a moment of quiet during these crazy times, put some headphones on and let the soothing vibration of Okay Kaya lull you to sleep. 

TV show: “Brassic” 

Watching “Brassic” got me out of a serious television rut. It’s the one show that’s made me feel something since “Fleabag.” Disgustingly funny, snidely irreverent, and deeply touching: “Brassic” features the sensational highs and lows of the brokest blokes in Northern England. “Brassic,” which literally means “skint” in Northern-English vulgarity, follows our morally dubious but ultimately extremely loveable, low-class criminal, Vinnie O’Neil. Each 30 or so minute episode is jam-packed with action with high-chase escapades, koi robberies, illicit affairs, and psychotherapy. What sets this dramedy apart from the rest are the writers’, Daniel Brocklehurst and Alex Ganley, ability to manipulate menial situations to give them a sense of significance. With high stakes come high reward; watching “Brassic” inevitably makes you root for the ‘bad’ guys (or at the very least, question who the ‘bad’ guys truly are). It’s an oddly moving miniseries, and if you like Pete Davidson-style humor, British slang, or larceny, you should check out Hulu’s “Brassic.”