mollrat101

The Apartment makes me think of a classic Edward Hopper painting, Automat, and it's easy to picture Fran as the girl in that painting. Feeling isolated and in desperate need of a friend she can share her troubles with. And that's the focus of this classic movie: loneliness. Many shots establish this feeling of isolation. The rows and rows of desks in the office, so many faces that you can't remember. Just like Baxter, you feel lost in the shuffle. As though you could disappear and the only response would be to put somebody else in your place and move on. Billy Wilder argues that the only true cure for loneliness is friendship. True, deep friendship that walks with us when we are at our lowest. So many characters in the film are only concerned about what they can take from others. The first example being the men who take over Baxter's apartment. Sheldrake being the most egregious of the bunch. The only person in the film who consistently gives is Baxter. And that is why he develops the most genuine relationship in the movie, with Fran. True connection can only exist when we share our sadness and accept each other at our worst. Love is about giving. Fran and Baxter may or may not end up in a romantic relationship together, but that's not the point of this movie. The point is that they both found true connection. It's a classic film about loneliness in the city by one of the greatest screenwriters of all time, Billy Wilder. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I binged watched this series on Netflix as I was hooked on the first episode. It's both funny and sad to see the daily challenges in Retsuko's life. Retsuko is both overworked and isolated and the series shows her transform into a more confident and content person. The ensemble cast both adds to the craziness of Retsuko's life but sometimes also provides her refuge. One of the central themes in this show is how everyone is not what they first appear to be. Most of the characters get moments in Season 1 that show them as more than just caricatures in Retsuko's life and I found this to be one of the most endearing aspects of this show. Besides just being a good show, it's also a wonderful show that depicts modern life through a young woman's perspective and the specific challenges related to women in the workplace. If a funny, endearing, sincere and wonderfully feminist show is something you're interested in then I can't recommend "Aggretsuko" highly enough!