While in university, I studied the film 11’09″01 September 11, an international film made up of 11 short films by different filmmakers from around the world. They were, as the title suggests, responding to the events of 9/11. When I read the description for Homemade on Netflix, I noticed similarities between this series and the movie I had studied in school. Not only was I certain that this would be the type of series I would enjoy – because of those similarities – but I felt I would have a stronger connection to the subject material. I was quite young when 9/11 happened and I was not really able to understand the impact of such an event until I was older. Homemade, however, has been created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, something that has had a direct impact on my life and the lives of those around me.
Homemade Volume 1, Created by Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, and Lorenzo Mieli – Drama: This series is made up of 17 episodes. Each episode is a short film made by different filmmakers from around the world. Each story provides a unique perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of self isolation and social distancing. Many of these short films even feature the children and families of the directors. And, of course, many (if not all of them) were filmed on phones. Some stories are funny, some are sad. Some are realistic, some are more abstract and artistic. One of them even features a recipe for dumplings at the end. There is literally something for everyone in this series.
My Top 5 Favourites:
- Episode 2: Paolo Sorrentino: This story was absolutely hilarious! It’s a quarantine love story between the Queen of England and the Pope. The Dude even makes an appearance.
- Episode 3: Rachel Morrison: A letter to her five year old son as she speaks of what he has to live through while telling him to enjoy his childhood.
- Episode 4: Pablo Larrain: At first, I thought this was a moving and heart-felt love story via Zoom meeting. But, once the twist ending occurred, I just laughed.
- Episode 14: Kristen Stewart: This one really spoke to me. Not only did I enjoy the aesthetic approach, but I’ve experienced my own moments of insomnia throughout quarantine.
- Episode 16: Sebastian Lelio: Bonus points for being a musical! It was an absurd, but fun, look at the life of someone living in isolation. And the music was pretty good.
Final Thoughts: These episodes were exactly what I hoped they would be, and then some. I really enjoyed watching them and it was easy to power through all of Volume 1 in a relatively short amount of time. I hope, since this is Volume 1, that there will eventually be a Volume 2.
