Specifically: A Serious Man, An Education, and Nine. Each of these movies feature, as their main character, a magical time occurring somewhere between the end of World War II and the birth of the cellular phone. Men and women wander through the movies wearing lovingly recreated period suites and dresses. But apart from the strong visuals, I can’t recommend A Serious Man, An Education, or Nine: watching the movies feels more like watching a historical recreation than watching an actual story.