Upon research of hlms that feature beautiful museums as the setting, I’ve encountered a number of intriguing tales I haven’t seen before. As life imitates art, art often imitates life as well. The consumption of films, books, and shows feed into the art-life cycle, sustaining it for centuries. Here are the standouts I’ll be watching to continue the cycle within the lens of museums.
1. Vertigo (1957)
In the hypnotic clip of I watched of this Alfred Hitchcock film, Madeline, played Kim Novak is seated on a bench in San Francisco’s Legion of Honor, gazing at a portrait of a young lady, Carlotta. Scottie, played by James Stuart, walks behind her to observe the painting, then Novak, realizing their uncanny resemblance to each other.
The music score enhances his delusion further, and this iconic scene seems to be the theme of the entire film.
A mystery thriller from 1950’s, shot on technicolor in a beautiful museum, with characters having authentic transatlantic accents—What isn’t to love here? Top of my list.
2. The Square (2017)
This film is at the top of my list as a recommendation from a friend studying cinema. The composition of the frames drew me in, along with the dark humor of its plot. The film follows a modern art gallery curator and the exploration of various art pieces he is obsessed with. From the trailer it, has a view as artists being unhinged whirlwinds of self-expression, and the curator that chooses to feature them as the zookeeper among animals. Working within a real museum, I know this portrayal of curators to be absolutely fake and hilarious. This Swedish flm asks us to reconsider what qualifies as art.
3. The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
In this remake of the film 1968 film, Pierce Brosnan plays a sophisticated kleptomanic businessman with an affinity for art paintings. Rene Russo, an insurance agent assigned to retrieve the artwork, proves to be the enemies to lovers troupe we love to see. The heist occurs in the Met gallery in this adaptation, whereas it was a derby rally in the 60’s version. In this version, the museum refused to permit on-location filming. Although exterior views of the museum were included in the final edit, the filmmakers chose to build a copy of the museum and film other interior scenes in the architecturally magnificent New York Public Library. The dedication to rebuilding the museum, along with the suaveness of Brosnan puts this film on my watchlist.
4. Band of Outsiders/Bande à part (1964)
The stunning editing of this black and white gangster comedy has hooked it a spot on my watchlist. Jean-Luc Godard created this rebellious film, four years after he had done Breathless. Within the film, two young men, Sami Frey and Claude Brasseur, recruit their mutual crush, Anna Karina, to assist them in a robbery—in her own house.
I put this film on my list after watching the opening and the iconic recording breaking scene. This French New Wave jewel seems simultaneously romantic and melancholic. As much as I love love, I also love competition. In the scene where Karina and her gang run throughout the Louvre, they attempt to break the record for the fastest visit while people who work there try to stop them. The youthful spirit this emanates is why it’s on my list.
4. The Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933)
Not to be confused by House of Wax (2005), Fay Wray plays the intended next victim of a crazed wax sculptor fixated on her similarity to one of his previous works/victims in this horror classic helmed by Michael Curtiz. Actor Lionel Atwill plays the insane artist who loses his studio to a fire started by his companion, and Glenda Farrell investigates as a witty newspaper reporter when the town’s new wax museum opens.
The Mystery of the Wax Museum, was shot using the early Two-Color Technicolor® process, was found nearly 50 years ago after the film was thought to be lost for decades. This film remains on my list for its gorgeous frames that pepper my Pinterest.
6. Hiroshima Mon Amour/Hiroshima, My Love (1959)
The second French New Wave film of the list, this film is also known as the “Twenty-four hour love affair” it is a romantic drama film directed by French director Alain Resnais and written by French author Marguerite Duras.
Upon watching the trailer for this film, I was appalled at the sheer crispness and beauty of the film. It’s a love story created beyond it’s time, in the language of poetry.
It was a co-production between France and Japan and marked Resnais’s debut feature-length film. The film is renowned for Resnais’ inventive use of short flashbacks to imply memory flashes, resulting in a nonlinear, dream-like plot.
As one of the most important movies of the French New Wave, Hiroshima mon amour, along with movies like Breathless (1960) and The 400 Blows (1959), introduced the new movement in French cinema to a global audience. It’s a must-see on this list.
7. Russian Ark (2002)
I adore period pieces. I also have yet to explore the past 300 years of Russian history. This film is on the watchlist due to it being shot inside the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, a beautiful home for brilliant pieces of art. The film made 22 years ago made cinematic history as the first feature film to be shot in a single, uninterrupted take. As an ode of respect, this one is on my watchlist.
Pieces of Paitra 
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