Soft-Bodied, Sharp-Minded
Two for the Shelves - A Sunday Repertory Series
There’s something sacred about wandering into a video store without a plan…
That quiet thrill of discovery.
That moment when you realize two very different movies might be saying the same thing — just in completely different ways.
That’s the spirit behind Two for the Shelves — my new weekly Sunday repertory series built from my own collection.
Each week, I’ll pair two films from my home archive — sometimes obvious, sometimes strange — but always with the hope that they’ll speak to each other. Some I’ve seen. Some I haven’t. This week? We’re both going in blind.
And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
🎞️ This Week’s Films:
🍝 Fatso (1980)
Directed by Anne Bancroft
Written and directed by Anne Bancroft (The Graduate) in her first and only time helming a feature. A man struggles with overeating, grief, and social isolation — and maybe, just maybe, with letting someone into his life. It’s part comedy, part confessional, and (by all accounts) far more tender than you’d expect from the cover art or title.
Where to watch: Available to stream on YouTube. Also available for purchase on Amazon.
🖋️ Elegy (2008)
Directed by Isabel Coixet
A literature professor, aging but still clinging to desire, falls for one of his students. What follows (from what I’ve read) is a slow, moody descent into vulnerability, fear, and love that threatens the identity he’s built for himself. Based on a Philip Roth novel, but with a distinctly quiet, European-feeling touch behind the camera.
Where to watch: Available to stream on The Roku Channel, Prime Video, Peacock Premium, and Tubi TV. Also available to purchase on Amazon.
🧠 Why These Two?
They’re not the same tone.
They’re not even the same decade.
But they both seem to orbit the same sun:
What do men do with desire, shame, and emotional hunger — especially when no one has ever told them they’re allowed to feel soft?
One man eats.
The other intellectualizes.
Both are hurting.
And both, in the hands of women directors, are finally seen.
🎬 FILMS FRAMEWORK PROMPTS
Use these five questions as a lens for reflection while you watch — or revisit them after.
F – Foundations
What emotional truths are buried in the setup of each story?
I – Imagery
How do costumes, posture, and physical space express what characters can’t say out loud?
L – Layered Storytelling
What moments reveal the deeper story underneath the plot?
M – Motion
How does rhythm — in editing, silence, or performance — affect how we feel?
S – Subtext
What’s the real fear, desire, or question that no one is speaking aloud?
Let me know if you end up watching along. I’d love to include some your reflections, favorite lines, or emotional reactions in next week’s post. That’s the dream after all: to treat cinema not just as story, but as shared inquiry.
Here’s to softness, sadness, and surprise.
See you next Sunday.
📬 Stay in the Loop - Like what you’re reading?
Subscribe to get a new double feature each week, film reflections, and updates from my home archive as I keep growing, watching, and learning.
🛒 Everything’s pulled from my physical collection.
🎞️ Nothing is random — even when it is.
📚 Think of this like a self-guided film school… but slower, softer, and on your own terms.
