I Canceled Netflix and Went Back to DVDs (Here's What I'm Watching)

What's your favorite movie?

Before the accident, Harry shared his Netflix account with me. But afterwards, the conservator handling his affairs canceled all his subscriptions. So I signed up for my own plan for a month, the cheapest one, just to give it a try. Partly because I found it hard to quit Netflix cold turkey. You see, I have a habit you might find a little strange. Or maybe you'll recognize yourself in it? When I like a movie, or when it speaks to me for some other reason, I want to watch it again. And again. I don't mean I'll rewatch it months or years later. No, I want to see it again the next night, and the night after that, and the night after that. Until it becomes a ritual. I start cooking, set up my laptop, and by the time dinner's ready, I can sit down in front of it. With the same movie. Again.

So that routine disappeared overnight. And my own cheaper plan didn't quite solve the problem. Because there was an Italian movie I loved watching (and a series too) that simply wasn't available on my Dutch Netflix. Apparently Harry had a pricier plan that gave him access to other countries' catalogs. Getting an Italian subscription wasn't an option for me: it's more expensive, and then I'd lose access to the Dutch catalog.

During the pandemic, in the lockdowns, I'd built up a collection of secondhand DVDs. And I hadn't come close to watching them all. So here's what I did: I bought one of those external DVD drives (for 15 euros, a little more than a month of Netflix). Now I can just watch my DVDs on my little laptop. A great solution for me, since I like watching the same movie over and over anyway. (And yes, of course I canceled Netflix.) One of the movies I have on DVD, and that I really love, is 

Leaving Las Vegas

Mike Figgis | US 1995 | 111 min. | English

Ben (Nicolas Cage) is a Hollywood screenwriter. Or rather: was. Because his drinking has cost him his job, and his marriage and his friends were already long gone. So he makes a radical decision: he drives to Las Vegas, where the bars never close, to drink himself to death. And then he meets Sera (Elisabeth Shue). They make a pact: she'll never ask him to stop drinking.


I love this movie, and the next one too, because it tells the story of two damaged people who find each other. I'm afraid that's something I can relate to all too well. Another movie I've watched countless times and still love to watch is 

Frankie and Johnny 

Garry Marshall | US 1991 | 118 min. | English

Johnny (Al Pacino) has just gotten out of prison and starts working as a cook at a diner in New York. Frankie (Michelle Pfeiffer) works there as a waitress. He's hooked right away. She… not so much. Frankie closed the door on love a long time ago, and she has no intention of opening it again just like that. Only: Johnny doesn't give up.


My all-time favorite, though not exactly something you sit back and relax to: 

Ryan's Daughter

David Lean | UK 1970 | 195 min. | English

Ireland, 1916. In a remote coastal village, Rosy, the pub owner's daughter, marries the schoolteacher. A sweet man, but a lot older. And above all: dull. This isn't the life Rosy dreamed of. And then a British officer is stationed in the village. You can see where this is going, right? Except that in a village where everybody knows everybody's business, and where the British are hated, nothing stays secret for long.


The betrayal by someone close to Rosy, and being cast out by the village (by "the group"), are also things I recognize from my own life. Because the movie is pretty intense and very long, it's not one I've watched night after night, but I have watched it often. One I did watch a gazillion times on Netflix Italy is 

Perfect Strangers (Perfetti sconosciuti)

Paolo Genovese | Italy 2016 | 97 min. | Italian

Unfortunately, I can't find the original version secondhand on DVD anywhere, so I may have to break down and buy it new. Because it is seriously good! Seven friends, a dinner party in Rome, a lunar eclipse. Nothing out of the ordinary so far. But then the hostess, Eva, suggests a game: everyone puts their phone on the table, and every text and every call that comes in that evening gets shared with the whole group. After all, you've got nothing to hide from your best friends, right? Well…


Unlike the other movies, Perfect Strangers isn't one I easily identify with, but that's exactly what draws me to it. I'm not a group person myself; I try to avoid group settings as much as I can. And that's why the dynamics in this movie fascinate me so much. They give me a peek into a world that's completely outside my own experience. Also, all the characters are in (long-term) relationships. Another thing I don't know from my own life, but here I get to catch a glimpse of it. Because the script and the acting are just masterful! With 24 remakes, Perfetti sconosciuti holds the Guinness World Record for the most remade movie ever. Sadly, there's no English-language version yet. But the original is available with English subtitles.
By the way, I wouldn't be quick to recommend any of the remakes. I've seen the Dutch version, for instance. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't come anywhere close to the original. And that's hardly surprising, because I think the original Italian version is simply unmatchable. Last but definitely not least:

 

Thelma & Louise 

Ridley Scott | US 1991 | 130 min. | English

Louise (Susan Sarandon) is a waitress, while Thelma (Geena Davis) is a housewife with an overbearing husband. The two friends head off for a weekend getaway, but the trip doesn't go quite as planned. After one fateful night at a roadside bar, they find themselves on the run, with the police hot on their heels. And somewhere along the way, they discover something neither of them has ever known: freedom.


I'd say: What an exit! This movie has so many things that so many women, myself included, of course, can relate to. What I find masterful about it is how the director and the writer managed to handle really serious subjects with just the right touch of humor. 

I'm curious about your favorites. Is there one on my list that you love too, or are your tastes completely different?

Photo: Katie Mukhina

P.S. Every Saturday, my mini magazine, SATURDAYS With Diana, goes live. It's free to read, and if you subscribe, it lands in your inbox automatically. If you'd like, you can check out an issue here.