Achingly Beautiful

In July, I’m heading to Texas for a week-long songwriting residency at Blue Rock Artist Ranch & Studio. There will be three other songwriters there, whom I haven’t met yet. Among the bits of information I do have, however, is a basic daily schedule, which mentions that 10pm onward each night will be “quiet time.” Being a night owl, I’ve started thinking about what I could do in those hours to be productive in my solitude. I’ve also been thinking about how afraid I am of arriving there, only to be stuck each day, looking at a blank page for hours on end, inspiration out of reach, time slipping away inexorably. 

I don’t think it’s possible to force inspiration to strike, but I do think it’s possible to manufacture the conditions for inspiration to appear. For me, those conditions often take the form of a long drive, or watching a great film. I started thinking about which films specifically have given me that feeling, and what they might share, and I arrived at the thought that I’d describe them all as  “achingly beautiful.” 

That’s a description so highly subjective it might be impossible to try turning it into a category of film, but here are some personal examples. (This also counts as a partial list of my all-time favorite movies.)

• In the Mood for Love (2000, directed by Wong Kar-Wai)

• Blue (1993, directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski)

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, directed by Michel Gondry)

Unfortunately, for me, the inspiration that springs forth from watching these movies loses some velocity between the first viewing and subsequent viewings — and I’ve seen all of those films multiple times. I don’t think I can count on yet another rewatch bringing me the same depth of feelings I need to catalyze my songwriting. So, over the course of this next week, I’m seeking out achingly beautiful films that are new to me  — one to watch on each of the six nights before a morning writing session.

Is there a film that you’d describe as achingly beautiful? If so, please let me know! There’s a comment section on Substack that goes along with this newsletter. Rather than just replying to me, I’d love it if you’d hit the comment button on this, so you can leave your note publicly, and see what other Accept Cookies readers have recommended.

Hopefully I’ll discover a film or two that will make me feel so overwhelmed with emotion that I have to write music to let some of it out. Or at the very least, it’ll be a wonderful way to spend a couple hours in an unfamiliar room on a hot Texas night.

(By the way, if you’re new to this newsletter, and you know me from some part of the world that gave you no indication that my primary identity is a musician, you can listen to some of my songs here.)

Happy aching,
Hrishikesh