Martin Scorsese

Yesterday as I drove home from some errands in Ilwaco, I listened to Terry Gross interview Martin Scorsese about his recently released film, “The Irishman.”  I was intrigued — not so much by the subject matter of the film, but by Scorsese, himself.  He is a little younger (six years) than I, but he grew up under circumstances that couldn’t have been more opposite than mine.  His films, according to the interview, deeply reflect that background.

Says Wikipedia:  Scorsese’s body of work explores themes such as Italian American identity, Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, faith, machismo, crime and tribalism. Many of his films are known for their depiction of  violence, and the liberal use of profanity and rock music.  

“The Irishman,” just nominated for twenty Oscars, comes directly from influences of Scorsese’s formative years, right down to the rich visual images of stained glass and golden crucifixes. Growing up in New York City’s Little Italy, Scorsese spent a great deal of time surrounded by the saints and martyrs depicted at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral.  “Those images certainly stayed with me,” he said yesterday.  As did the sermons, which often focused on “death approaching like a thief in the night. You never know when. You never know how.”

I have never seen a single one of Scorcese’s films.  (Not very unusual, actually.  We can probably count the first-run movies we’ve seen during the last 30 years on one hand.)  But when Ms. Gross said that “The Irishman” is still showing in “select theaters” and is available “on Netflix,” I came home to order it.

Downtown Oysterville – Photo by Bob Duke

She must have meant “streaming” on Netflix.  We can’t stream.  Our internet capability isn’t strong enough; or our broad band isn’t broad enough; or whatever.  If we lived in Long Beach… we were told.  But not here in Oysterville, alias rural America.  I’ll no doubt go to my grave without seeing any first-run movies while they are still first-run.  Oh well.  So did a lot of my forebears and I’m pretty sure they weren’t any the worse for it.  Still…