Autumn is here, and I’m excited about all the wonderful elements my favorite season has to offer: the lovely colors of the leaves, with their shades of red, orange, and yellow; the seasonal food, including warm apple cider and pumpkin pie, my favorite dessert; the cooler temperatures, meaning I won’t sweat as much; and the arrival of Halloween, my favorite holiday.
I wanted to usher in autumn by watching a movie that captured the feeling of autumn. My mission, though, was mostly unsuccessful, mostly because it caused me to reflect on larger ideas of how I associate seasons with different moods, and therefore, different movies.
What exactly is an autumn movie? This question proved to be a tricky one for me to answer. One possibility would be a movie that is set in autumn and captures the aspects of the season I described above. A clear example for me is Knives Out, written and directed by Rian Johnson (a movie I adore and that I will probably write a full discussion for in the future). The setting is a cozy house surrounded by lush trees with autumnal leaves, and all the characters wear warm sweaters throughout. That film captures the feeling of autumn, but I wonder how integral the season is to the story. The season definitely adds something, but would a winter setting change much for the movie? Ultimately, I don’t believe it would.
Similarly, I was asking around for and researching recommendations for autumn movies, and I came across When Harry Met Sally…, written by Nora Ephron, directed by Rob Reiner. I watched it, and I’ll also probably write a full discussion of it. It’s an enjoyable film, and there are beautiful scenes of New York City in autumn (even though, living here, I know that film cannot capture the vibrancy and majesty of how the season feels in real life). Yet, the film covers a large span of time and charts multiple seasons. Autumn is less of an element in When Harry Met Sally… than it is in Knives Out, in my view.
In a much different way, autumn for film fans tends to be when prestige films and awards contenders are released in the U.S. Due to the fact that so many awards ceremonies for films in the U.S. take place near the end of the calendar year into the beginning of the next year, many studios put out what they view as their strongest films in the fall. Some of my favorite movies have come out in the U.S. during autumn. However, this is just the way that Hollywood’s calendar works. Equating autumn with just the way films come out is reductive to me, despite the strong associations I personally have with fall and some of my favorite movies.
Other candidates for an autumn movie could be films dealing with larger-scale events that are associated with autumn. In the U.S., school begins around the same time that autumn starts. The season is associated with the beginning of the academic year for many. Therefore, maybe an autumn movie would capture the feeling of going to school, particularly at the start of a new year. There are so many films in this genre I love and that I will probably write about, including The Edge of Seventeen, written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, and Easy A, written by Bert V. Royal, directed by Will Gluck. Both films skillfully capture the joys and pains of a new school year, from the uncertainty of shifting social bonds and the restrictions of peer’s expectations to the possibility of meeting new people and forming new relationships. These films are hilarious and poignant, and they make me nostalgic for the years I went to school.
Yet, the start of the school year, though it is deeply connected to autumn in my mind, is apart from the season. It’s incidental to the changing weather and leaves. If the established patterns today had been developed differently, the academic year might have begun in winter or spring.
I came to a similar realization when I considered horror movies as I was brainstorming what to watch for the beginning of fall. Of course, when looking for autumn movies, my mind went to spooky films, especially those that take place on or near Halloween. Prime examples are the classic 1978 slasher Halloween, written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, directed by Carpenter, as well as the anthology film Trick ‘r Treat, written and directed by Michael Dougherty. Halloween deserves its own discussion. A lot about that film is admittedly dumb, and some of the tropes it sadly gave rise to need to end. Yet, there is so much that is absolutely masterful about that film. Its darkness and bleak perspective are chilling. Trick ‘r Treat isn’t as rich thematically, but it’s solidly entertaining. It’s much less serious, and it’s more of a celebration of the gleeful darkness that many associate with the holiday.
Again, however, like the start of the school year, Halloween is just something that occurs in autumn. Even though I celebrate spooky season for all of October, this one holiday shouldn’t stand in for the entirety of the season.
Maybe, in this case though, I’m seeing the picture backwards. Autumn might be associated with spookiness because of Halloween. However, I wrote an op-ed about Halloween years ago, and my research taught me that the modern holiday can be traced to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the summer and the beginning of the harvest. The people who observed the festival associated the shorter days and colder temperatures with the thinning of the boundary between the world of the dead and the world of the living. It was during Samhain that people wore scary costumes to ward off the spirits.
Therefore, it’s not that Halloween makes autumn a spooky season. Autumn itself was believed to be spooky, giving rise to Halloween.
Thinking about this, I am compelled to reflect on how the seasons are associated with so many different emotions and moods. Fall brings to the mind and the heart the feeling of change and decay. Time is passing as the environment gradually transforms around us. The leaves change from green to red, yellow, and orange before they die and fall to the ground. Animals stock up on food so they can hibernate, bracing themselves against the harsh cold of winter. Birds fly to warmer climates.
The birth of spring and the life and warmth of summer are ending. Nature is entering the death aspect of its life-and-death cycle.
Autumn is a reminder that nothing lasts, that what lives must also die. There’s an inherent melancholy to the season. Plus, the shorter days and colder weather can be rough on the soul. I remember that, during periods of my depression that coincided with fall, the weather seemed to make things worse for me. People I’ve talked to also share a dislike for the dark and the cold. It doesn’t feel good.
Autumn reminds us that time doesn’t cease and that death is inevitable. Yet, in the case of the leaves, there’s something gorgeous about the decay. It’s as if, in the face of the inevitable, the leaves burn brightly before fading away. It’s as if the colors are one last surge of life. Therefore, there’s a deep beauty embedded in the season, too.
When organisms in nature die, the death is permanent. There’s no reversing it. And, with the exception of leaves, I wouldn’t say there’s beauty in death for any organism.
Nature as a whole though, at least right now, doesn’t die. The decay of autumn and the death of winter inevitably lead to the rebirth and renewal of spring and the warmth of summer. Of course, this reality might not last forever. Tragically, with the impending and likely climate catastrophe as a result of man-made climate change, the seasons might disappear. For now, there is sadness and wistfulness in autumn, but below it all, there is faith and comfort that, just as nothing lasts, nothing is static. Decay isn’t forever, new things are coming, and life keeps moving.
Maybe, the ideal autumn movie captures this feeling of sorrow, beauty, and comfort. Maybe it grapples with transformation, as inevitable and painful as it. It grasps the truth that nothing lasts, and nothing stays the same forever. The ideal autumn movie conveys the feeling of loss and the relentlessness of time, while also expressing ease or comfort that light always follows the darkness.
This meditation has made me find the words for other ways in which I connect movies and seasons. Yes, the details of the seasons build some associations with movies, but the stronger links come from deeper feelings. I was talking with a friend about how I consider the James Bond film Skyfall as a winter movie. Some of the settings in that film are cold and snowy, but this isn’t uncommon for a globe-trotting spy adventure. My friend and I agree that Skyfall captures a powerful sense of loneliness and vulnerability. These are feelings I associate with winter, when the bracing cold and long nights hide signs of life and cause one to reckon with their vulnerability.
I find it amazing that the seasons, in their present and stark realities, capture powerful moods and meditations. In a lesser way (since art is lesser than life, but sometimes just barely), art including film possesses the ability to remind us of life’s truths, too. I’ll keep this in mind as time passes and I watch more movies, building memories and resonating associations. When I’m in a summery mood, what film will I think about?
Happy autumn.
Whoa you got really deep with this. I love it. This piece in itself is a fall mood.
Really nice reflection!