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For this Special Thursday Cinema Night, first up is The Cloud-Capped Star (1960), an Indian tragedy/melodrama about a woman from a poor refugee family from East Pakistan following the Partition of 1947, who must tend to her household even as they pressure her to marry. She is in love with a young scientist; surely this romance will work out, right? Right? Reviews compare this to The Life of Oharu (1952) and The Nun (1966), among others, in showing a woman who tries her best to navigate the expectations of gender roles, and the tragic consequences thereof. This is the best-known and best-regarded film of director Ritwik Ghatak, and one of the highest-rated Indian films on Letterboxd.

After that is The Ballad of Wallis Island (2025), a British comedy about a strange man who wins the lottery and uses his winnings to retire to a secluded island and entice his favorite musicians to come there. He manages to convince the two members of a former folk duo to visit, which leads to a whole bunch of comedic awkwardness, since the two are estranged and have not been on speaking terms for years. Will they rekindle their romance, or has their loony fan taken them for a ride? I guess we’ll find out. This is by far the most popular and best-received of director James Griffith so far; he has not done anything else of note.

We’ll start at 8PM EST on Blorptube, right here:

https://blorp.bot.nu/o/visual_cuisine

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• The Cloud-Capped Star: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-cloud-capped-star/
• The Ballad of Wallis Island: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-ballad-of-wallis-island/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• The Cloud-Capped Star: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/875240
• The Ballad of Wallis Island: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27674982/parentalguide/

CWs for The Cloud-Capped Star:

• Death of family member.
• Terminal illness.
• Razors.
• Suicide.
• Nervous breakdown.
• Screaming.
• Someone is watched without their knowledge.
• Babies.
• Abusive parents.
• Hospital scene.
• Natural bodies of water.
• Sad ending.

CWs for The Ballad of Wallis Island:

• Nudity.
• Bath scene.
• Profanity.
• Smoking.
• Alcohol.
• Suicidal ideation.

Links to movies:

• The Cloud-Capped Star: https://tankie.tube/w/5ikz6ttM5GqtfpmbFTgEYu
• The Ballad of Wallis Island: https://tankie.tube/w/2jAAE2xQyojStwn4fuDHLd