365 Days of Film in 2021

Alexander Wiley – justacinephile

31 December 2021

At the end of the 2020, I read an article about Maggie Correa-Aviles who watched a total of 1132 films in 2010. Article link. In 2020, I achieved the halfway mark of my goal of seeing 10,000 films in my life and I saw 718 films. Perhaps one day I will attempt to break Maggie’s record. However, Maggie’s achievement made me think about this personal challenge: is it possible to see a movie per day in 2021?

I started writing this blog post on December 4th, and so far, I’ve seen a movie per day, this year. Extending back into 2020, for 435 consecutive days, so far, I’ve seen at least one movie; this is a crazy duration of time to see a movie a day. I need to take a break from watching movies (no joke).

Guidelines for this goal:

1. Feature-length films only count (Narrative films must be at least 70 minutes and Documentaries must be at least 40 minutes).

2. 24-hour reset. All movies watched within 24 hours only count for that specific day.

3. Unfinished films can be finished at another date.

Pros:

- It’s enjoyable!

- Watch movies with Amy!

- All movies go towards my goal of 10,000

- Meshes well with my appreciation of planning and organization

- Purposefully watching movies of all kinds to keep up the variety

- Seeing stranger, edgier, and weird films

- Viewing and enjoying the remainder of the Oscar Best Picture winners

- Perusing social media for recommendations

- Talking with fellow movie buffs about films

- Meeting new people along the way

- My dreams got extremely vivid and often strange (or is this a con?)

- Documentary viewing increased

- Re-started my adventure to see a movie in a theater in every major Missouri city/town

- Learning from filmmakers of all kinds

Cons:

- At times, it got exhausting

- Redundant storytelling

- The stress of staying track with watching a movie per day

- Horror movies don’t seem scary anymore (yes, even the royally messed up ones)

List of Movies Seen in 2021 – Link.

The largest difficulty with achieving this goal is planning. Professionally, I am an elementary teacher, high school tennis coach, and cinematographer. Personally, I am a husband, writer, tennis player, traveler, friend, son, and brother. I enjoy doing a variety of activities and spending time with people I love.

Now, this year, with the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, watching movies was a bit easier than years before. So, amongst being with Amy, spending time with family, hanging out with friends, celebrating holidays, playing tennis, teaching, coaching tennis, cooking, cleaning, doing house projects, writing stories, learning how to run a business, learning as much as possible about videography, filming weddings, traveling around the USA, and relaxing, I still made time to watch a movie per day.

When the days got long and I got stretched thin, I finished a partially viewed movie. I planned ahead for this from previous experience such as away tennis matches made me get home late, traveling might not allow me to view an entire movie, holidays would get away from me, and many other factors. I kept a list of partially watched films throughout 2021; this list grew extensively long and near the end of the year I began to finish them.

This goal of seeing a movie a day in 2021 is largely possible because of streaming content. I am blessed to be able to afford streaming services. I borrowed movies from friends and checked films out from the library. Springfield, MO is lucky to have a comprehensive collection of films; most of the movies in the 1940s and 1930s were from the Springfield Public Library.

Will I try this goal, again? No, because it changed my enjoyment of film. It became a chore instead of a time of enjoyment. I have shows to watch and other means of media to enjoy. I have more time to spend of with Amy, time to read books, and adventures to go on. Also, I want to pursue my interest in making film through my company, Yellow & Black Studios.

My movie goal in 2022 is to enjoy more international films.

Favorite Movies seen in 2021 (arranged by genre):

Action: Revenge (2017 – France/Belgium) Dir: Coralie Fargeat, Str: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz

Adventure: Around the World in 80 Days (1956 - USA) Dir: Michael Anderson, Str: David Niven

Comedy: Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991 - USA) Dir: Stephen Herek, Str: Christina Applegate

Crime: In Cold Blood (1967 - USA) Dir: Richard Brooks, Str: Robert Blake

Documentary: The Last Blockbuster (2020 - USA) Dir: Taylor Mordem

Drama: Marty (1955 - USA) Dir: Delbert Mann, Str: Ernest Borgnine

Horror Film: Eyes Without A Face (1960 - France) Dir: Georges Franju, Str: Pierre Brasseur

International: Beauty and the Beast (1946 - France) Dir: Jean Cocteau, Str: Jean Marais

Musical: Bo Burnham: Inside (2021 - USA) Dir: Bo Burnham, Bo Burnham

Romance: In the Mood for Love (2001 – Hong Kong) Dir: Wong Kar Wai, Str: Tony Leung

Science Fiction: Solaris (1972 - Russia) Dir: Andrey Tarkovsky, Str: Natalya Bondarchuk

Seen in Theaters: The Last Duel (2021 - USA) Dir: Ridley Scott, Str: Matt Damon

War: The Battle of Algiers (1966 – Italy/Algeria) Dir: Gillo Pontecorvo, Str: Brahim Hadjadj

Western: The Harder They Fall (2021 - USA) Dir: Jaymes Samuel, Str: Jonathan Majors

Yay for movies! I love the art of visual storytelling.