September is an interesting month. It’s removed from the late-summer melancholic reflection period that is August, but we’re not exactly into season-changing yet. The leaves might slowly be turning a little yellow, but we’re still in shorts and a T-shirt. This creates an interesting headspace in the limbo between two distinct times of year. Because of that, I feel the movies I lean towards watching in September are influenced by this. I no longer want to watch summer camp horror movies, but I’m also not ready for Billy Crystal thick sweater-type movies yet, either.
Enter the September watchlist. Movies overflowing with reflection while also preparing for a new stage of life.
This was inspired by my friend Sarah’s recent post about fall — particularly, her fall guide and curated autumn-themed Letterboxd list.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (dir. Céline Sciamma, 2019)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire feels like such an autumn movie, but the visuals imply warm weather. Even the film’s signature song, Vivaldi’s “Summer”, is trying to communicate something to the audience. A clear reflection on a joyful period in the protagonist’s life — her summer, one might say — that is now somewhat tainted, the takeaway from Portrait is not pure sadness or pure joy. This mirrors life, there’s little resolution for relationships of this nature, but also the expectation of a resolution is unrealistic and often unnecessary. We take what we can get and hope to be happy with our memories.
Boyhood (dir. Richard Linklater, 2014)
Another film that is all about looking backward while approaching a period of major change. This year, 10 years after Boyhood’s release, I’ve been thinking a lot about this movie. Of course, it ends just as the protagonist is starting college. Vignettes of this young man’s life culminating in him starting a new chapter is a signature September-ism for me, so adding it here was extremely easy.
Boyhood is probably the major feat of Linklater’s career and an undertaking that is probably impossible for anyone else to replicate (except, of course, Linklater himself, who is doing another version of this process as we speak with his adaptation of Merrily We Roll Along), so in it’s anniversary year I am trying to sing its praises.
Aftersun (dir. Charlotte Wells, 2022)
Aftersun is definitely in the running for being the quintessential end-of-summer reflection movie. It’s an interesting inverse to Boyhood, and infinitely more depressing. The reflection being done here is extremely September: it’s not reflection for reflection’s sake, it’s looking back and searching for something. Reflection with intention is very key to the mood I’m curating here, and Aftersun does it expertly.
American Graffiti (dir. George Lucas, 1973)
Now, we’re about to go on a run of back-to-school type movies here.
A perfect snapshot of such a specific time in California history that means something very specific to its characters, American Graffiti holds a very special place in my heart. Even though my experience came almost 50 years after this film was released, my end-of-summer in Northern California right before college was very similar, so I’ll love this movie forever. Filmed in Petaluma, California, the town right next to my hometown, seeing scenes of Sonoma County in the summer of 1972 like this on the big screen was deeply affecting for me, so I’ll shove this end-of-summer move in everyone’s face any chance I get.
Everybody Wants Some!! (dir. Richard Linklater, 2016)
The logical continuation of American Graffiti being a perfect last-night-before-college movie, Everybody Wants Some!! is a perfect first-weekend-of-college movie. I first watched this recently and loved it so much that I was upset I hadn’t gotten around to it sooner. I’m not the biggest fan of hang-out movies, but Linklater (appearing here again) threads it all together so perfectly in this one that I was more than happy to be along for the ride with this dysfunctional college baseball team. A very fun ensemble cast featuring 2024’s best boy Glen Powell.
Pitch Perfect (dir. Jason Moore, 2012)
Let’s keep it rolling. We had first weekend of college, now let’s extend it to first semester of college. Pitch Perfect is a movie that deserves at least a yearly re-watch. The process you watch the Anna Kendrick character go through in terms of finding a group to fit in with is, even though this is a musical about a comically competitive acapella scene, very realistic. Her push and pull between becoming who she thinks she should be, trying to be cool, etc. and becoming who she actually is and doing what she truly enjoys was a surprisingly real process to see unfold. There’s something that is aggressively early 2010’s about this, but in the best way possible. Ignore those sequels, though.
Shithouse (dir. Cooper Raiff, 2020)
Another first semester of college movie about finding a place to fit in, but with a much more mumblecore-informed take on the process. Shithouse, to me, is the quintessential first semester movie. Like my relationship to American Graffiti, Shithouse holds a special place in my heart because I found this movie reflected my experience of having an incredibly difficult first year of college almost expertly. Capturing a single weekend of what is probably late September, the story here is just undeniably real and features a cast of very talented people doing the most with such a low budget.
Raw (dir. Julia Ducorneau, 2016)
Capping off the back-to-school theme here, although I’m not sure what kind of school Raw is set in (boarding school? Technical school? College? I don’t know), not that it matters much. Perhaps save this one for the final week of September, though, as I’m putting it here to warm us up for the horror movies that are to be watched in October.
Fire of Love (dir. Sara Dosa, 2022)
Just trying to sprinkle in some documentary here, and this is honestly good for any time of year but I felt it slotted in well for September. It’s a love story, but not a February love story. It has heat, but not a summer heat. It’s also just visually stunning with some very talented people involved, so I’ll take any chance I can get to recommend this one.
Travel Songs (dir. Jonas Mekas, 1981)
Let me throw one on here for the nerds. I’m putting Travel Songs on here, but feel free to also include Song of Avignon in here as well. I find Mekas’s home movies and reflections on his journeys to be incredibly personal and something that really fits in with what I’m curating here in September. If you’re unfamiliar with Jonas Mekas, I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch a few of these songs. Keep an open mind and let it wash over you.
Have a nice September.
portrait of a lady on fire is THE september movie