Let’s begin with Cesare Pavese. He was Italian. He lived in the first half of the previous century. His own hands killed him. He wrote beautiful novels, one of which, Tra donne sole, was made into a gorgeous movie, Le Amiche, by the Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni. The film is not philosophically heavy, holds a clear narrative, and, most importantly, has lots and lots of handsome humans wearing clothes that are so smooth, so fitting, so sharp that theytranscend their moment (the film was released in 1955). The film will make your wardrobe look like a joke. (Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, seattleartmuseum.org, 7:30 pm, $8)

Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory...