Weekly Listicle: Movies to Welcome in the Spring!
- Tina Ter-Akopyan
- Mar 18
- 4 min read
With spring around the corner, it’s the perfect time to smell the roses…and watch some movies. Washing away our winter blues, spring kickstarts a period of renewal and growth. However, with the splendor of spring comes a jarring imbalance in the weather, wavering from dark and gloomy showers to picture-perfect days. The fickleness of spring serves as a visual and thematic inspiration for filmmakers in how they craft their stories. In celebration of the season, here are some classic and contemporary films that represent the beauty and whimsy of the spring as well as its unpredictable and wild nature.
1. Easter Parade (1948)
HANNAH
"For in your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest fella in the Easter parade."
What better way to ring in the spring than a Technicolor musical starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland! Astaire plays Don Hewes, a veteran vaudeville performer who has to train a rookie dancer Hannah, played by a young Judy Garland, after losing his former partner. While the holiday of Easter has nothing to do with the plot of the film, director Charles Walter captures the vibrant colors and the air of romance associated with spring through his lavish dance number choreographed under the classic love songs of Irving Berlin.
One of the film's most iconic scenes is Astaire’s solo dance number of “Steppin’ Out with My Baby.” Walter combines the technical innovations of slow-motion cinematography with Astaire’s graceful and gravity-defying dancing, leaving you mesmerized for six minutes straight. The grand finale ends with the title song “Easter Parade,” where Astaire and Garland stroll hand-in-hand among the bustling crowds of Fifth Avenue, celebrating their love and the charming season. Although we can’t all dance like Astaire and Garland, this film puts a spring in your step and reminds you to enjoy the sun-filled days ahead.
2. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
ALICE
"All the flowers
Would have very extra special powers.
They would sit and talk to me for hours
When I'm lonely in a world of my own."
On an idyllic spring day surrounded by blossoming flowers and the blue sky, all you want to do is lie in the grass and daydream. In the animated adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, Disney captures how the spring air can lead our thoughts and imaginations down a rabbit hole of colorful and sometimes nonsensical ideas. The film starts with the restlessly curious Alice wandering off into a field of daisies while her sister tries to read her lessons. As she lies among the daisies, Alice daydreams about “cats and rabbits” who “reside in fancy little houses” and flowers who talk. Her reverie is interrupted when they become a reality, and she follows a talking rabbit down a hole into Wonderland.
The bold and surrealist storybook backdrops designed by the famous artist Mary Blair immediately transport us into the dreamlike landscape of Wonderland. The clash of the whimsical and modernist animation styles surrounding Alice reflects the contradictory beauty of this fantastical world and visually overwhelms Alice as well as the audience. While Alice dreamed of escaping into a new world, Wonderland teaches Alice to appreciate the world around her.
3. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
PÁDRIAC
"You used to be nice. Or did you never used to be?"
Although spring is often associated with love and fresh starts, the season can bring with it an underlying darkness that disrupts the balance of nature. Set in the spring of 1923 before the Irish Civil War, Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin uses the fickle nature of the season to reflect upon the mercurial behaviors of the characters living in the fictional seaside town of Inisherin.
The film opens among the thick grey clouds hanging above Inisherin and pans down to a bright green landscape, where we find the kindhearted Pádraic (Colin Farrell), walking happily among the bustling town. With a rainbow behind him, the sun shining, and the seagulls flying over the sea, Pádriac is enjoying the perfect spring day. However, it soon takes a dark turn when his best friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) brashly ends their lifelong friendship and threatens to cut his fingers if he continues interacting with him. As their friendship deteriorates, the weather becomes more violent and darker, diminishing the idyllic beauty of the town.
The declining friendship between Pádraic and Colm serves as a parable for the Irish Civil War, occurring at the same time. At the end of the film, Pádriac and Colm meet up at the beach after they both destroyed their prized possessions. The sunrise overlooking the ocean seems to promise a chance for the men to reconcile their friendships and restart. However, when Pádriac rejects Colm’s truce, the camera pans back into the dark clouds hanging over Inisherin, which foreshadows more violence not only between the two men but also within Ireland. While spring tantalizes us with its perfect weather, in an instance, it can strip away this beauty and bring destruction, reminding us of the lack of control we possess over nature.
4. Emma. (2020)
MISS BATES
(Said in an extremely British accent)
“Mother, you MUST sample the tart."
While there have been several adaptations of Jane Austen’s cheeky and comedic novel Emma, the most recent adaptation, directed by Autumn de Wilde, creates a visual feast for the audience through elegant pastel décor, dollhouse sets, and colorful fabrics filling each frame. Following the budding romance between the titular character (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her childhood friend George Knightley (Johnny Flynn), the film uses the ethereal beauty of the English countryside to heighten the romance and youthful energy surrounding the character.
In crafting the floral and playful world of the novel, de Wilde associated each character with a flower to represent their personality and their goals in the story. For instance, to represent Emma’s flirtatious and youthful nature, the on-set florists surrounded Emma with flowers, such as ranunculus and roses. De Wilde succeeds in utilizing the spring aesthetic to not only enhance the visual tone of her film but also to symbolize the themes of the novel. After watching this film, you will want to grab a picnic blanket and host a tea party in the park.
Hope you enjoy these recommendations and celebrate the start of the new season!
