Discovery: Identity

Inspired for many by Fellini’s masterpiece 8 1/2, Auteurs looking specifically at identity in contexts timeless and unique have a big place in my heart. Whether combing for an authenticity unlocked/never fully obtainable in memories of childhood or plummeting into an unavoidable frailty, solidifying one’s fearless projection into the world or ever questioning the desire to engage at all, these films look at the human condition and give wildly different responses.

For instance, resorting to the placebos and herbs (even unknowingly to an episode with opium) of her New York acupuncturist, Woody Allen’s Alice (his...