In March 2022, I had the opportunity to watch The Worst Person in the World, a film by Joachim Trier that revolves around a young woman’s quest for fulfillment. The movie included an epilogue where the protagonist, Julie, and others were seen wearing face masks. I was deeply moved by this detail, although I couldn’t quite articulate why. The mask seemed to signify Julie’s journey through personal losses and the global shutdown we all experienced. It grounded the uncertain heroine in the uncertain reality of the present. Like Paul Thomas Anderson, I felt that it added a sense of authenticity to the film and resonated particularly with those of us who turned 30 during the lockdown, deepening its portrayal of millennial youth.
Since then, I have wondered why there are so few fictional films that truly depict the pandemic and its impact on our daily lives. I have been mostly disappointed with Hollywood’s reluctance to acknowledge this global crisis. It feels like a creative cowardice and a refusal to confront the world as it is now. The few American films that do briefly mention the pandemic often do so in the past tense or reduce it to comedic punchlines. This lack of acknowledgment is a form of denialism and aligns with the corporate interest in declaring the pandemic over while ignoring its ongoing threat.
I believe there should be more films set amidst the pandemic. This doesn’t mean every movie should be set during the dark days of March 2020, but rather that filmmakers should incorporate the pandemic’s ongoing toll as a backdrop for fictional storytelling. To ignore it is to deny a significant aspect of our current reality. It’s puzzling why so few noteworthy films have addressed the pandemic. It seems that big studios prioritize fantasy and escapism, perhaps out of a desire for commercial success or fear of political backlash. However, the success of HBO’s The Last of Us suggests that there is an audience for darker, pandemic-themed stories. Meanwhile, renowned filmmakers like Scorsese, Tarantino, and Anderson have veered towards making period pieces, leaving behind the modern era.
Some argue that pandemic life may not translate well to compelling or visually engaging cinema. However, this is a failure of imagination. Steven Soderbergh’s film Kimi (2022) demonstrates how the pandemic’s shadow can intensify a character’s anxiety and create a taut thriller. The story follows Angela, who struggles with agoraphobia attributed to Covid. The majority of the film takes place in her apartment, reflecting the quarantine age and providing a clever nod to urban pandemic life by featuring key characters as neighbors observed through her window.
Interestingly, horror film-makers seem more willing to address the pandemic, perhaps because Covid itself feels like a real-life horror movie. Films like Host (2020) and Dashcam (2022) have utilized the desolation of lockdown settings to create spooky and hellish narratives. Internationally, some filmmakers like Claire Denis have successfully integrated the pandemic into their stories, portraying it realistically as an everyday part of life, much like how French films depict sex.
One might wonder if it’s too soon for Hollywood to tackle the pandemic. However, history shows us that similar hesitations existed before. The 1918 flu pandemic, which claimed millions of lives, was mostly ignored in the silent movies of the 1920s. Even the more recent Aids epidemic took time to be addressed in mainstream cinema, with Philadelphia (1993) being one of the first films to truly tackle it. After September 11, Hollywood initially avoided depicting the tragedy, digitally removing shots of the Twin Towers. Spike Lee’s 25th Hour stood out as the first great film to confront the post-9/11 reality.
Now, with a different crisis reshaping our lives, Hollywood once again refuses to directly acknowledge it. It is surprising how little cinema has to say about the most world-altering and traumatic health crisis of our time. While escapism has its merits, great filmmaking should also help us make sense of the troubled era we live in, which includes the pandemic as an undeniable piece of our reality. Cinema has always been a way for me to process the world, and now, I desire movies that are willing to face that massive thing and say, “Yes, this happened. Yes, this is real.”