Happy Astrological New Year! As the sun shifts out of dreamy Pisces and into adventurous Aries on March 20, we enter a time of new beginnings, unexplored emotions, impulsive behavior, and explosive action. Movies to watch during Aries Season play into these themes, celebrate famous Aries actors and directors, and will help you channel that signature fiery energy of the first sign of the zodiac.
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991)
One of the most accomplished and revered filmmakers born under the sign of Aries is Francis Ford Coppola. Any of his films would make for apt Aries Season viewing, but if you want to dig deeper, watch Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. This documentary peels back the layers of the legendary director, showing his maddening process behind the making of Apocalypse Now (1979), a landmark film with an infamous production history. You also get a glimpse into another enigmatic Aries icon, Marlon Brando. It’s a fascinating look into the chaos of Coppola’s mind.
Fish Tank (2009)
As the baby of the zodiac, Aries knows how to act out and follow their base instincts. Filmmaker Andrea Arnold, an Aries, explores these themes with a grimy flair in her indie coming-of-age film, Fish Tank. Mia (Katie Jarvis) is a troubled teen who wanders from liquor stores to junkyards, while dodging her mother’s reckless style of parenting. Michael Fassbender, also an Aries, plays one of Mia’s mom’s boyfriends in an alluring, villainous turn. He preys on Mia, thrusting upon her an early initiation into the harsh realities of adulthood. Arnold directs this story with an intense, unflinching honesty, depicting what many teenage girls experience as their bodies change faster than their minds can keep up.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
A different sort of coming-of-age film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the origin story of one of cinema’s fiercest characters. Depicted by Aries actress Anya Taylor-Joy, Furiosa is a prime example of the sign’s fiery nature. If they are determined to do something, they don’t need to rely on others to get it done. The prequel focuses on Furiosa’s upbringing, her motivations, and how she formed her persona as battle armor. Taylor-Joy brings a burning intensity to this already iconic character, established by Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
Killer of Sheep (1978)
As the first sign of the zodiac, Aries Season can be the perfect time to go back to basics or think about something in a new way. That’s exactly what director Charles Burnett, an Aries, did when he made his thesis film at the UCLA School of Film, Killer of Sheep. His portrayal of working-class Black culture in 1970s Los Angeles is groundbreaking in its cinéma vérité style, immersive storytelling, and neorealistic lens. Burnett tightly follows a loose narrative of a man named Stan (Henry G. Sanders), who works at a sheep slaughterhouse to provide for his family. A historical time capsule of the last traces of the Great Migration and a stark portrayal of one man’s dying dreams, Killer of Sheep is simultaneously groundbreaking and grounding in all the ways only cinema can be.
Uncut Gems (2019)
Before it was meme-ified to filth, when Uncut Gems premiered in 2019, it felt like a new era of A24. Directors Benny and Josh Safdie are masters of tapping into the constant flow of anxiety in our current world, nurturing it and feeding it until it becomes full-blown paranoia or worse. They keep you on edge, then push you off. Just when you think Howard (Adam Sandler) can’t possibly make things worse, like a magic trick, the Safdies somehow pull it off. Aries are signs that thrive off high-octane thrills. They can also be prone to gambling, impulse control issues, anger management, and stoking unnecessary fires – making Uncut Gems a perfect Aries Season cautionary tale! (This is how you win.)
The Parallax View (1974)
While we’re on the subject of paranoia, it’s a great season for revisiting the Paranoia Trilogy from Aries filmmaker Alan J. Pakula. Alongside The Parallax View, the trilogy comprises Klute (1971) and All The President’s Men (1976). While I personally prefer the latter, in his Paranoia middle child, Pakula teamed up with another legendary Aries: Warren Beatty. Pakula and Beatty make an explosive, dynamic duo in this underseen political thriller. Where Aries craves twists, turns, betrayals, and rabbit holes, The Parallax View delivers in spades. Beatty plays Joseph Frady, an investigative journalist who starts pulling the thread of a slew of murders tied to a presidential candidate’s assassination. The film keeps you guessing, sweating, and scratching your head as the clues come together.
Walk the Line (2005)
Although they may not always show it, Aries are romantics – to a degree. One of the most bubbly, infectious Aries actresses, Reese Witherspoon, has done her fair share of rom-coms and light, happy love stories. However, a darker tale of troubled love stands out as a plucky pick for this season: Walk the Line. Johnny Cash and June Carter’s tumultuous relationship is at the emotional center of this music biopic. Witherspoon as Carter is transformative and some of her best work to date; Joaquin Phoenix (an Aries moon, if you were wondering) as Cash is, just as you would expect, equally transformative and completely immersive. With the growing number of music biopics released lately, Walk the Line remains solidly one of the genre’s best, as two of our generation’s greatest actors chameleon themselves into long-lost American icons. Plus, “Time’s a Wastin’” is an Aries anthem.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Ruled by Mars, the planet of action and war, it’s the season for a good war movie. While we kicked off this list with a movie about a war movie, we’re ending the list with a war movie you will likely never want to watch again. Aries can have hard exteriors, but inside they’re just big babies who need a good cry sometimes. Grave of the Fireflies will do just that. Set in 1945 during the Pacific War, American bombs kill thousands of Japanese civilians. A brother and sister lose their mom during an air raid, then set out to stay with an aunt. The siblings soon become plagued by wartime sickness, starvation, and death. Although depressing, the film’s recurring motif of fireflies lighting up the dark, smoky skies reminds me of how movies light up a dark room and make us forget everything outside it, if only for a bit.
Article and Cover Image Courtesy of Kasey Dunifer