Happy Together

At that time, we were just beginning to think about making films in Argentina, and the fact that a film like Happy Together, with its very particular style, could have been made in Argentina, and that it showed a very different side of the country, was very significant. It allowed us to think differently about the possibilities of what we could do.

Barry Jenkins has cited Claire Denis's Beau Travail as a foundational influence, the film that showed him how to use the body, light, and music as primary storytelling tools rather than dialogue. Moonlight's fragmented structure, its use of color as emotion, its willingness to let silence carry meaning, these are lessons from Denis and Wong Kar-wai. Beau Travail is streaming on Criterion Channel and is one of the most beautiful films ever made.