On Saturday, in our new EV—the Chevy Bolt—I drove Clif and Dee to Brunswick to catch the train to Boston, where they will be staying until Wednesday. The big occasion for this trip is an early birthday present to Clif from our daughter Shannon and her husband Mike: a ticket to The Who concert at Fenway Park on Tuesday, August 26.
For a variety of reasons, mostly involving my creaky knees, I decided to stay home. Even at the best of times, I’m not much of a traveler—I’m one who likes sleeping in my own bed—and my creaky knees have clinched the deal for me: home is best.
Time to be honest: Being on my own is a bit of a vacation. I don’t have to plan much for supper. (Poached eggs on English muffins? Yes, please.) I can watch what I want on television. (I’ve settled on Back to the Frontier because, as it turns out, Clif, Dee, and I really do like many of the same shows.) I don’t have anyone’s schedule but my own to worry about.
However, I will admit that at night, the house creaks, and I listen for Dee and Clif, who of course aren’t here. While I’m enjoying the time on my own, I will be happy to see them on Wednesday and hear about the concert and all the other fun things they did in Boston.
This afternoon I went to the cinema to see Freakier Friday(not a Dee or Clif movie), and it was utterly delightful, a movie that is both fun and heartfelt. At times I laughed, and at other times, I had tears in my eyes. When I mentioned this to the woman next to me, she told me this was her second time seeing the movie. I could understand why. Kudos to Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, and the rest of the wonderful cast.
Note: Unfortunately, the camera on my phone has been acting up, and until I get things sorted, my posts will be picture free. It’s always something, isn’t it?
Well, folks, we did it—30 movies in nine days at the Maine International Festival (MIFF). Am I tired? You bet I am, but what a festival it was, with so many good movies that choosing my top three was a real challenge. We’ve been going to the film festival pretty much from when it started in 1998, and I really do think this year was the best. Others apparently thought so, too, as attendance was way up. There was plenty of world cinema, my personal favorite, and I traveled to Japan, Africa, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Iran, and Israel. There were documentaries that stunned me and made me cry. (More about two of those later,) There were movies from our own little state of Maine, and the festival was the perfect combination of local and global.
No doubt the excellent Clive Owen was a draw, and we saw all six of his featured movies, with the outstanding Children of Men (2006) being eerily prescient about the brutal treatment of immigrants.
Here is Clive himself talking about Children of Men, and his experience working on the movie with the great director Alfonso Cuarón.
Owen was charming, relaxed, and down-to-earth—in short, a perfect guest. I didn’t speak to him personally. He had quite the fan club, and at a reception for him at Front and Main in Waterville, I caught sight of him in one of the lounges where he was surrounded by an adoring circle of women. (There might have been a few men in the mix, but it seemed to me there were mostly women.) I concluded that he didn’t need one more woman in the mix.
The next day, we returned to Front and Main for chocolate martinis and their delicious mac and cheese. Also, a tasty dish of mushrooms.
Confession time: We ate out more than we usually do. We had pizza several times. Chinese food. A crunch cannoli. A flaky vegan croissant. And popcorn, lots and lots of popcorn. We were, after all, at the movies.
It never ceases to amaze me that we have the fabulous Paul J. Schupf Art Center in Waterville, Maine, population circa 16,000. Maine Film Center is on the second floor, and that’s where many of the movies were shown. The Opera House, right next door, was also a venue.
Even though I’m tired, I’m sorry that MIFF 2025 is over. Not only did we get a chance to see many movies that we wouldn’t see anywhere else, but we also met old friends and made a few new ones.
We’re already looking forward to MIFF 2026.
My Top 3 Movies of MIFF 2025
My Sunshine
This coming-of-age story, set in Japan, is quiet and poignant but never sentimental. When Takuya, a dreamy young boy, sees the lovely Sakura figure skating, he longs to skate with her. A sympathetic coach takes Takuya under his wing, and with a lot of practice, Takuya becomes good enough to skate with Sakura. Naturally, problems ensue, but they are not the problems that an American audience would expect, leading to a surprising ending.
Walk With Me
Walk with Me is a documentary directed by Heidi Levitt, chronicling life with her husband Charlie Hess and his diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer disease. Filmed over four years, Walk with Me records the challenges that Charlie and Heidi face, but also the love, joy, and support they give and receive. This one moved me to tears. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a trailer for Walk with Me.
76 Days Adrift
In 1982, when a whale hit Steven Callahan’s boat and destroyed it, Callahan escaped in an inflatable life raft that had minimal provisions. As the title indicates, Callahan was stranded in that life raft in the Atlantic Ocean for 76 days. This documentary, based on Callahan’s memoir Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea, plunges the viewer into Callahan’s world, using some of the most incredible reenactments I have ever seen. We see a torso, legs, arms, and hands but never a face, and this provides a tense immersive experience, even though we know what the outcome is. Interspersed with the reenactments are clips and old photos as well as Callahan himself narrating his experience, providing details of how he survived.
76 Days Adrift is a must-see documentary. Readers, if it comes to a theater near you, go see it. And if doesn’t, perhaps it will be available through a streaming service. Anyway, look for it.
July is a happy time of year for Dee, Clif, and me, dedicated cinephiles who think that going to the movies is one of the best things to do. In July, in Waterville, Maine, comes the MaineInternational Film Festival (MIFF), a ten-day extravaganza where over 100 movies are shown. Especially exciting this year is that Clive Owen is going to be the guest of honor, and six of his movies will be featured. Dee, Clif, and I are keen fans of Owen, and we have signed up to see all six of his featured movies, where he will be available for a Q & A after each film.
We all have full festival passes, which means we can go to as many films as we want. Sadly, we won’t be able to watch all of them. There’s just not enough time in the schedule to see every movie. (100 movies in ten days would be a bit much, even for us.) We do have plans to see 30 movies, which is not too shabby for 10 days of viewing. And, yes, by the end we are tired but happy.
As subtitles don’t bother me at all, I especially like watching foreign films. I love to hear other voices and other languages, to see the world from a different perspective. Around the planet, there are many other cultures, each with their own unique take on the world, and it’s good to be reminded of this. Especially now.
So starting today, I will be on vacation and will come back on July 21 with a short list of favorite movies. In today’s world of streaming services, many of them will be available to viewers all over.
Even though it was spitting snow as I typed this post, I think the time has truly come to say farewell to Snow-Gauge Clif.
Snow depth in the front yard: Zero.
Snow depth in the backyard: Zero.
I know some of you might be wondering what Snow-Gauge Clif will do with no snow to measure. Worry not.
We have Hedge-Trimmer Clif.
There will also be Rake-the-Yard Clif and Paint-the-House Clif. And as the late, great Kurt Vonnegut might have said, so it goes.
While I love spring and the new growth it brings, I am always sorry to say farewell to winter. I am, after all, a northern woman. Born and raised in Maine, I have winter and short days in my blood.
But speaking of days…patio days are just around the corner, and that is indeed something to look forward to.
Movie: Princess Mononoke
Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki. His animated films are not only filled with magic but often feature strong, sensitive portrayals of girls and women. (Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle.)
My favorite Miyazaki film is Princess Mononoke, and I think it’s fair to consider it his masterpiece. The hand-drawn animation—a Miyazaki trade mark—is achingly beautiful, and the movie’s environmental theme of human needs versus the destruction of the natural world is as relevant today as it was in 1997 when the film came out.
Last week, my daughter Dee discovered Princess Mononoke would be playing at Regal, our local cineplex, and on Sunday we went to see it on the big screen, which is how it should be watched. IMAX would be even better, but our Regal doesn’t offer IMAX. Never mind. It was a visual delight to see Princess Mononoke on the large screen at Regal.
Along with exquisite animation, Princess Mononoke also has complex characters, especially the inhabitants of Iron Town, who are more than one-dimensional villains intent on pillaging natural resources. But naturally my sympathies were with Prince Ashitaka and Princess Mononoke as they tried to save the Forest of the Gods from the encroachment of the humans of Iron Town. The ending of the movie is somewhat surprising and offers a note of hope that we in 2025 would do well to heed.
If Princess Mononoke comes to a theater near you, don’t hesitate to see it.
Last Monday, when there was no snow for Snow-Gauge Clif to measure, I wondered if he might be back the following Monday. After all, in Maine in March anything can happen. Snow was in the forecast for last Tuesday, and the weekend promised to be horrible with more snow—six inches—and worst of all, freezing rain that could knock out large swaths of power in central and southern Maine.
Being sensible Mainers, we prepared. Clif got more bricks of wood from a local hardware and farm store. When he went to the grocery store, he stocked up on canned soup. Water in buckets down cellar? Check. Propane for the camp stove? Check. Lamp oil? Check yet again. We were ready.
But every once in a while, the weather gods are on our side. While we got about three inches of snow and some rain, none of it was freezing, and we did not lose our power. Happy, happy day!
As soon as we realized the weather wasn’t as bad as predicted, we settled into an enjoyable weekend at home.
We played cooperative board games.
While we played, the snow fell softly, and in the dining room, we were surrounded by a snowy afternoon, which I love, even in March.
On Saturday night, we watched the excellent Michael Clayton, a 2007 movie about a world-weary lawyer (George Clooney) whose firm is mixed up with U-North, a company that makes a carcinogenic weed killer that kills people as well as weeds. (The resemblance to Monsanto is not a coincidence.) Unlike most environmental thrillers, the story focuses on the conversations between the lawyers—mostly men—and their reactions and decisions. In short, the story is told sideways. Without the wonderful cast and script, the movie would have landed with a thud. Instead, it soared. Such a good movie. If you haven’t seen it in a while, Michael Clayton is worth a rewatch. And if you’ve never seen the movie, well, do watch it.
In these uncute times, I have been looking for things to make me smile, and in doing so, I came upon Rico, a Brazilian porcupine who lives at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio. Like many people, I have mixed feeling about zoos. Even at their best, they can seem like jails for animals. But, dang, I enjoy seeing Rico on Youtube, and I expect zoo visitors enjoy seeing him in person. What I really like is to watch Rico eat, especially popcorn. (I am a huge popcorn fan.) In the video below, he is celebrating National Popcorn Day. I love his little claws, his puffy nose, and his black-bead eyes. Somehow, I find it soothing to listen to those little crunching sounds he makes when he eats.
Fans of The Wizard of Oz—the movie rather than the book—will understand the title’s reference. But rather than the Wicked Witch of the West, it’s snow that’s melting.
Before we get to Snow-Gauge Clif, let’s take a look at the patio in the backyard. Time was when we hoped for the patio to be clear by April 22, Earth Day and my younger daughter’s birthday. Barring a nor’easter (more about that latter), the snow will be long gone by April 22.
And what has the temperature been? For this time of year in Maine, pretty darned warm. No wonder the snow is melting away.
Here is Snow-Gauge Clif in the backyard. Snow measurement: 1 inch. Last week, it was 7 inches. There’s quite a bit of sun in the backyard and that, combined with the warmer temps, takes care of the snow.
In the front yard, not so much. The measurement is pretty much the same as it was last week: 12 inches. But rain is in the forecast for the next few days, and I expect it will whittle the snow away.
One thing I am grateful for is that our new driveway is not in the least bit muddy. I had wondered if it would be, but when my brother saw it several months ago, he told me that he thought it would be fine come spring. And so it is.
The backyard, on the other hand, is mostly mud. Here is a print of one of Snow-Gauge Clif’s Sloggers. The mud is so thick it’s almost a-pull-off-your-Slogger kind of event when we walk in the backyard. Hope it dries up soon.
I’m tempted to state that Snow-Gauge Clif’s job is almost done for the year, but when I looked back at my blog for March/April 2024, I saw that we had a nor’easter last April that left us with a foot of snow. The storm knocked out our power and brought us smack-dab back to winter. Here is a picture from last April.
Therefore, as the old saying goes, it’s best not to count our chickens before they’ve hatched. We might get another doozy of a storm in April. Then again, we might not.
Staring, very elegantly, Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, who surely are one of the coolest spy couples ever.
This movie, clocking in at a brisk 90 minutes, is a delight from beginning to end. Intelligence officers Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) and George (Michael Fassbender) are a married couple. When the movie begins, George receives intelligence that there is someone in the agency who is leaking top-secret information, and one of the suspects is his wife, Kathryn. George then proceeds to unravel the mystery of who is leaking the information, and a cat and mouse game ensues. This movie is a sheer delight. Every piece fits beautifully to come together as a satisfying whole. If you like spy-thriller movies, don’t miss Black Bag.
For some reason, last weekend turned out to be a flurry of having friends over and eating out.
Our merriment started on Friday afternoon when we invited our friends Dawna and Jim over for wine and appetizers.
We tried to solve the problems of the world as we sat around the dining room table, sipped wine, and nibbled on appetizers, but of course we didn’t have much luck.
As we talked, our jade plant glowed in the sun. Clearly, Jade was on our side. She, too, wonders what the heck is going on in this country.
On Saturday morning, we headed to Waterville to the Maine Film Center for the Nigerian movie Mami Wata, the final movie in the wintertime film series Cinema Explorations.
This wonderful movie is set in a remote African village where the water deity Mami Wata is revered even though she is mostly absent. When a stranger is washed up on the shores, the power balance shifts, leading to conflict and death. This fable of a movie was filmed in an impressionistic way, which adds to the power of the story. What a fine way to end the film series!
To celebrate the successful film series, our friend Joel, who coordinates Cinema Explorations, joined us for brunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Front and Main.
I had some delicious ployes, Acadian buckwheat pancakes popular in northern Maine. Front and Main makes ployes a little thicker than is traditional. but my, my, they were tasty.
Then, on Sunday, to kick off the Academy Awards ceremony, we went to Tj’s Place in Winthrop for drinks, snacks, and pizza.
I had a pomegranate martini, and it was excellent.
Clif ordered onion rings, which he said were properly cooked and delicious. (Dee and I aren’t fans of onion rings.)
We also had pizza.
Afterwards, full of food and drink, we headed home to await the start of the Academy Awards ceremony. Two of our favorite movies—Flow (go Latvia!) and I‘m Still Here (go, Brazil!)—garnered awards. Best picture of the year went to Anora, a film about an exotic dancer. It was not our favorite movie of the year. We all felt that it lacked nuance and focused too much on the explicit sex. Granted, the subject lends itself to this treatment, but didn’t Anora have any other qualities or interests that didn’t involve sex? Say, model trains or mahjong? It seems not. Ah, well…we were apparently in a minority about this movie.
Still, all in all, it was a good night for independent films, small movies with relatively small budgets, and we are always in for those kind of movies.
And Now the Moment You’ve All Been Waiting for…the Return of Snow-Gauge Clif
Longtime readers of this blog always look forward to the first Monday in March, which brings the return of Snow-Gauge Clif (aka my husband, Clif). Each Monday, Snow-Gauge Clif will grab his trusty red yardstick to head outside and measure the depth of the snow. He’ll continue to do so until all the snow is melted, usually sometime in April.
Here he is, on March 3, this first Monday in March, in the front yard.
Snow measurement: 18 inches
And here he is in the backyard, which gets more sun than the front yard.
Measurement: 12 inches
Will the snow be gone by the beginning of April, or will it be gone by the end? We never know the answer to this nail-biting question. Each year is different. So stay tuned for the Monday adventures of Snow-Gauge Clif.
In Maine, January was a dry month with little snow, but February has been quite a different matter, with a flurry of storms every few days. It certainly looks like winter at our home by the edge of the woods.
This weekend, in between snowstorms, our daughter Shannon and her husband Mike came for a visit to celebrate his birthday.
We are big believers in celebrating, and the whole of Saturday was mapped out for Mike’s birthday.
It started with a pancake breakfast. I know this is bragging, but Clif’s pancakes are the best in central Maine. So light and fluffy and delicious. The veggie sausage patties and home fries weren’t too bad either.
After a leisurely breakfast and lots of time spent talking—no, we didn’t solve the world’s problems, but we certainly tried—we headed into Augusta to Cushnoc Brewing Co. for pizza.
We started out with snacks.
Then we moved on to pizza.
What to do afterwards? Why, onward to Absolem Cider Company, which is right here in little Winthrop, Maine (population 6,000), about three miles from where we live. We still can’t believe such a terrific place is so close to us.
To get to the old barn with its tasting room, there is a pathway lined with lights and snowy picnic tables, and it felt like a magical winter scene in the still, cold night.
Inside, the barn was dark and cozy, filled with folks drinking beer, cider, wine, and cocktails as they listened to Maine musician Kevin Leary. In a clear voice, he sang covers of Neil Young and other musicians.
Mike and Clif each ordered a special beer called Mott the Lesser, a Russian Imperial Stout brewed by Tributary Brewing. It is the most remarkable beer I have ever tasted, with strong notes of coffee and caramel. I can only conclude there was alchemy in the brewing process.
We left after the music was done and headed back home, where there were presents and an interested dog. We had cake, of course, but I forgot to take a picture of it.
As we Mainers would say, it was a finest kind day, with one event just flowing into the other.
And speaking of flow…there is a wonderful animated movie from Latvia, Belgium, and France called Flow. It’s won a Golden Globe and is one of my favorite movies of the year. The story revolves around five animals in a world without people and thus has no human dialogue. But there are plenty of animal and nature sounds. Into this world, which looks post-apocalyptic with remains of human civilization, comes a horrific flood.
The main character, a black cat, bands together with a dog, a lemur, a capybara, and a secretarybird to survive the flood. There are scenes both terrifying and humorous as the animals cope with the ever-rising water that forces them out of their homes. The very last image, following a rescue, is as precise and moving as the ending line of a haiku.
If Flow comes to a theater near you, don’t hesitate to see it. And if it does not—Flow is, after all an indie film made for a few million dollars—do watch this beautiful, moving film when it is available through a streaming service.
This year, Clif’s birthday fell on a Friday, and our daughter Dee, who lives with us, decided to take it off so that we could have a three-day weekend. A mini-vacation, of sorts.
Longtime readers, knowing that we are all movie buffs, can probably guess what we did on those three days—go to the movies, of course. We each have a Regal Pass ($22 per month) that allows us to see any movie we want at no extra charge. Two movies a month pays for the pass, and we usually see at least four.
Friday, Clif’s birthday, was as fine a September day as anyone could ask for—sunny but not hot. Our movie that day was The Wild Robot, a lovely animated movie about a sentient robot named Roz who is shipwrecked on an island with no people. However, the island is home to many animals, whom Roz eventually learns to communicate with. Equipped with an emergency beacon, Roz’s first impulse is to return home, but then she comes across an orphaned gosling. Reluctantly, Roz decides to stay on the island until the gosling becomes a goose who can migrate south with the other geese.
This heartfelt movie never veers too far into sentimentality. Even so, I cried more than once. If you have young children in your life, take them to see The Wild Robot. If you don’t have young children in your life, go see it yourself. The Wild Robot, beautifully animated, will no doubt be nominated for an Academy Award. And it just might win.
After the movie, it was off the Red Barn for a big order of fried food. There was a misunderstanding at the Red Barn about the order, and we ended up with an extra helping of onion rings, free of charge. While we are enthusiastic eaters, there is a limit, and we brought home enough for another meal.
On Saturday, we picked up our friend Joel and headed to Maine Film Center in Waterville to see Megalopolis, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Alas, I wish I could praise this movie as highly as I have The Wild Robot. Unfortunately, I cannot. On Rotten Tomatoes, Megalopolis is described as “A Roman Epic set in an imagined Modern America.” Accordingly, the theme of the film is of empires crumbling—with the comparison being between the U.S. and ancient Rome—and what might be done to stop the crumbling to make a good society for everyone.
So far, so good. But Coppola did not tell the story in a compelling way. Instead, he has characters declaim and pontificate. There is far too much telling and not nearly enough showing. The characters are flat and one dimensional, and by the end of this long movie, my only feeling was relief. There was no crying.
Still, as someone who loves movie, I am not sorry I saw it. Francis Ford Coppola is one of the major film directors of our times. But for readers who don’t like movies as much as we do, I would advise a pass on this one.
After the movie, we went to Buen Apetito for Mexican Food and lively movie talk. We were all in agreement about Megalopolis.
Sunday brought us back to Regal Cinema for the animated movie Transformers One, a Transformer origin story. Even though it was loaded with action scenes, Transformers One was moving in its own way as two Transformers struggle with a corrupt society, a leader who lies to them, and the unraveling of their friendship. Surprisingly deep for a Transformers movie.
We capped the evening with drinks in our screen house on the patio. As the darkness came, we listened to crickets sing and barred owls call to each other. The solar lights blinked on, and we all reflected on what a good time we had had.
Last Saturday, at Maine Film Center in Waterville, I think I just might have seen the best movie of 2024. A bold statement, I know, as many movies have yet to be released. But Sing Sing was such a good movie that it would take something really special to surpass it.
As the title suggests, Sing Sing takes place in the well-known prison on the banks of the Hudson River in New York. The story revolves around Divine G, played by the great and good Coleman Domingo, who has been imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. Along with other inmates, he belongs to a theater troupe that provides creativity and meaning in a place where these qualities are in short supply. The plot of this movie is based on the real-life story of theater in prison, made possible by a program called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA).
A younger inmate, Divine Eye (Clarence Maclin), joins the group and challenges the authority of the men who are seasoned members of the troupe. With only a bit of grumbling, the other men give way to Divine Eye and his desire for comedy rather than the drama the men usually perform. Hence Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code is born. It soon becomes clear that the troupe members are doing this out of generosity, hoping that Divine Eye, a sullen young man and a drug dealer, will be nurtured by art the way they have.
As the movie progresses, a friendship develops between Divine G and Divine Eye. They talk about where they came from, the roles they were given, and how they were boxed in by them. Acting allows the two men to see that there might be different roles for them that were not clear (or available) when they were younger.
Unlike most prison films, there are no scenes of brutality in Sing Sing. Instead, there are scenes of everyday incarceration where the men’s cells are searched, and there are security checks.
Even more surprising, in Sing Sing there are moments of pure joy as the men rehearse and become friends with one another.
In the wrong hands, Sing Sing could have been a horribly sentimental movie with swelling music as the inmates are redeemed through art. However, the directing, the script, and the acting are so tight that the film never becomes maudlin. At the same time, Sing Sing has heart, and I was rooting for both of the Divines in this film.
As the credits roll, viewers learn that most of the actors in Sing Sing are men who were formerly incarcerated and members of the RTA program. This provides a note of poignancy and authenticity to this fine film.
Readers, if you have a chance, go see Sing Sing if it comes to a theater near you. If it doesn’t come to a theater near you, be sure to see it when it is available through streaming.
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Notes From the Hinterland 