Five Period Dramas to Pull You Out of Winter

Ah, spring. The long awaited season after months of cold temperatures (and rain, for those of us in the Pacific Northwest). The season for filling vases with fresh blooms, long walks in the sunshine while wearing large hats, and finally sitting outside at your favorite cafe to enjoy your coffee. But, if you’re anything like me, you’ve spent the last few months hiding away indoors under an absurdly large number of blankets and drinking cups of tea while enjoying a novel or a film, hoping that all plans get cancelled so as to never have to go outside again. Thankfully, help is on the way! I compiled a list of period dramas to help pull you out of winter and inspire you to enjoy everything that this warmer season has to offer. 

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Renoir (2012)

I absolutely had to start with this breath-takingly gorgeous film centered around the last few years of French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s life. Set during the horrors of World War I, Renoir expresses his desire to capture what is beautiful in the world. In this film, in which almost every scene looks like an impressionist painting, Renoir has just hired his last model, Andrée Heuschling. Renoir is often seen sitting outdoors painting Andrée in the different landscapes on the French Riviera; it is quite mesmerizing. I found myself longing to sit under trees in long flowing skirts and wide-brimmed hats (I never thought of red and orange as spring-wear colors until now). This is the perfect film to kick-off the warmer season and inspire you to get outdoors as well as learn some things about an iconic artist and a little-known artist.

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Colette (2018)

If you enjoy films about literary icons, you will love Colette. The film follows famous French author Colette’s writing career starting with ghost-writing for her husband and eventually being recognized for her amazing literary talent. The story is amazing and the scenes in Paris and the French countryside, where Colette grew up, are gorgeous. After watching this film, I immediately went out and bought a few pretty notebooks and sat outdoors to write (instead of my laptop-in-bed writing spot). I also went out and got a copy of Colette’s The Complete Claudine (it includes every one of the Claudine novels in the series) for my first spring-time read. This is probably one of the best biographical films I have seen and is up there on my list of all-time favorite movies.

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A Room with a View (1985)

I recently rewatched this film and now I’m ready for all the outdoor brunches, tennis matches, and books read in the park. Based on the novel by E. M. Forster, the film follows Lucy Honeychurch through Italy and England as she navigates her repressive Edwardian society and interest in a free-spirited man. A Room with a View claims another spot on my list of all-time favorite movies and for some very good reasons; the cinematography is gorgeous, the cast is filled with some of the best actors and actresses of our time, and the comedic elements are subtle yet brilliant. Now who’s ready to take a trip to the countryside?

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The Danish Girl (2015)

The Danish Girl is based on the lives of Danish painters Gerda Wegener and Lili Elbe and is a powerful and stunning film. I picked this one as a good springtime film because the costumes and sets are gorgeous and filled with color and it is also a story of rebirth and new beginnings in a sense. I just loved the relationship between Gerda and Lili and how they play around with art and clothing to help Lili express her femininity. It might make you want to cry at times, but it will definitely warm your heart.

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The Duchess (2008)

I definitely have a thing for biographical films, if you couldn’t already tell, so I will leave you with one more. The Duchess is based on the life of Georgiana Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire in the late 18th century. After being contracted to marry the Duke, the movie really sheds light on the pressure that was put on women at the time to have children, especially male children, in a way that I have never seen portrayed before. Although, some of my favorite scenes were the ones in which Georgiana is seen picnicking or playing outdoors with her, not one, but three daughters (a fact that complicates her situation, as you can imagine). The Duchess is a beautifully done film that tells the story of a very interesting woman and her difficult circumstances. Now I feel ready to continue fighting the patriarchy and enjoy some fresh air. Who’s with me?

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Kara Thompson is a student in Portland, Oregon working on her MAT at Lewis & Clark College in hopes of teaching high school English in the near future. When she’s not in class or spending time with her 2-year-old son, she can be found reading in a cafe or watching period dramas with a cup of tea.