It’s February, that time of year when Cambridge students are at their least flush. Non-existent cash is being splashed on May Ball Tickets and the like. Bank accounts start to look more like penny jars than weekly budgets. So, what better time to review which streaming services really give you bang for your buck?

“Netflix, you’ve been switched out for BFI Player”

The main problem with streaming services is that there are too many: Netflix, Amazon, HBO Max, Disney… They try to keep you loyal by switching out their film collections regularly, but most of us are too busy to ever watch what’s new before it’s removed again. I’ve decided it’s time to play them at their own game — Netflix, you’ve just been switched out for BFI Player.

Subscribing to BFI could hardly be more of a step in the opposite direction. It’s a place to watch films for the sake of watching films. They’ll advertise all the new releases in ‘arthouse’ cinema and the website is more polished than the silverware at your college formals. You’d better be prepared to choose wisely, though, if you want to avoid sleeping through a beautiful, pretentious, self-indulgent yawn-ercoaster like The Souvenir. It has a huge collection of films, most of which you’ll likely never have seen because they’re new and fringe.

“It is a place to watch films for the sake of watching films”

But does this huge selection just lead to more problems? Most of us don’t feel we have the time to commit to an entire film when we’re working on busy schedules. Personally, I think I’ve found a solution: I only watch films that I know are ‘classics’. Hold the cry of ‘sheep!’ please. By doing this, if I gain nothing from the film in terms of enjoyment, at least I’ll know who my flatmates are talking about the next time they mention Céline Sciamma. I had hoped the BFI would give me access to such ‘classics’, and yet, while they do have a great collection of particular directors from different countries, they’re not so great on the popular classics. The most famous you might want to watch — Moonlight, Pain and Glory, I Am Not Your Negro — must be rented for an extortionate £10 each! So maybe I’m not ready to commit to BFI permanently. But when I’m bored of them, I guess it will be time to check out HBO.