Mudbound

Below you will find written and video materials to supplement your experience with this film. Be aware that some essays and video essays may contain spoilers.

Critical Essays

Epic Drama on Poverty, Race and Family Is ‘Stunning Achievement’ (Rolling Stone)

Mudbound: Movie Review (rogerebert.com)

Mudbound Review: A Moving Tale of Two Families (Screen Rant)

The ambitious Mudbound gives a prestige literary epic the soul of a character study (AV Club)

Mudbound: The Bonds That Bind & Break (Film Inquiry)

Winner of the Gotham Jury Award for Ensemble Performance, ‘Mudbound’ Has the Best Ensemble of the Year (Indie Wire)

Contextual Reading

Can Netflix crash the Oscars with Dee Rees’ ‘Mudbound’?

Mudbound Cinematographer is First Female DP To Earn Oscar Nomination

A Brief History of Jim Crow – Constitutional Rights Foundation

Movies That Did Black History Justice

Black Film as Genre

Videos

Mudbound

Our next film will be Mudbound (2017), directed by Dee Rees.

In recognition of Black history month our next movie will be Mudbound, a grounded and unflinching examination of racism in Jim Crow Mississippi during World War II.

Mudbound is the second feature from Dee Rees, who became the first black woman nominated for an Oscar in the Adapted Screenplay category (the movie is based on a novel by Hillary Jordan). The story follows two families, one white and one black, as they navigate the racist norms of society alongside the shared struggles of the rural working class.

The movie is beautifully shot and performed, with a cast that includes Jason Mitchell, Carey Mulligan, and Mary J. Blige. Although fictional, it accurately documents a time and place that remains deeply relevant to America’s ongoing challenges. Mudbound was nominated for four Oscars and received awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, Palm Springs International, the Women Film Critics Circle, and more.

We will discuss the movie on February 22nd at 7:00pm EDT on Slack. Mudbound is available for streaming on Netflix. And don’t forget to check out our resources page for interesting reviews, essays and videos!

(500) Days of Summer

Below you will find written and video materials to supplement your experience with this film. Be aware that some essays and video essays may contain spoilers.

Critical Essays

(500) Days Of Summer: 14 Important Lessons About Love (Screen Rant)

A Perfect Love Not Meant to Last (Roger Ebert)

(500) Days Of Summer is basically the Fight Club of rom-coms (AV Club)

Just Another Tired Revenge Movie? (Refinery29)

500 Days of Summer and 10 Years of Reflection (Film School Rejects)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Co-Signs A Hot Take About His 500 Days of Summer Character (Cinema Blend)

Contextual Reading

The Cinematic Architecture of Rejection: Split-Screen Montage

Hierarchy of Needs Portrayed by The Main Character

LA Locations Featured in “500 Days of Summer”

10 Most-Used Romantic Comedy Tropes

Videos

(500) Days of Summer

Our first film for Spring will be 500 Days of Summer (2009), directed by Marc Webb.

Welcome to the Spring semester! As we head towards Valentine’s Day we’ve decided to kick off Film Club with something “romantic” (heavy quotes), a movie all about love – its promises and perceptions and sometimes tough realities.

500 Days of Summer is typically classified as a romantic comedy, although in many ways it is a subversion of the genre, focusing on the nuances of a new relationship. The narrative is non-linear, gradually unpacking layers of the story and its shifting emotional tones. While not a traditional rom-com the movie has plenty of romance, comedy, honesty, and even a bit of wisdom.

500 Days was made on a low indie budget of $7.5 mil and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. It garnered a fair amount of critical praise as well as several screenwriting awards, including an Independent Spirit Award.

We will discuss the movie on February 8th at 7:00pm EDT on Slack. 500 Days of Summer is available for streaming on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Hulu, or it can be rented on Apple TV and Google Play for $3.99. And don’t forget to check out our resources page for interesting reviews, essays and videos!