While I have long been interested in movies, college molded me into the cinephile I am today, and accordingly, it was time to do away with the high school, amateurish movies section that used to reside here and bring on the new, improved one. It bears a striking resemblance to my other art/culture sections, but this one will have way more. I've seen about 1300 movies so far, and counting, and I have a ton of ideas that I will develop to keep this section constantly fresh.
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Synecdoche, New York Oct. 24 |
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Zack and Miri Make a Porno Oct. 31 |
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The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Nov. 14 |
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The Road Nov. 26 |
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Milk Nov. 26 |
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Australia Nov. 14 |
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Doubt Dec. 12 |
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The Brothers Bloom Dec. 19 |
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The Wrestler Dec. 19 |
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Dec. 25 |
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Frost/Nixon Dec. 25 |
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Revolutionary Road Dec. 26 |
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Jul. 17 |
9-21-08
My Top 10 Foreign Films
Last
year I voted in an online poll to determine the best 100 foreign films from a
predetermined list of nominees. Voters sent in ranked lists of 25 movies, and
since mine was based on the 28 nominees I'd seen, I only had to cut three.
Needless to say, my list was embarrassingly limited.
The
resulting list was posted
almost exactly a year ago, and I highly recommend perusing it as an example of
some of world cinema's greatest hits. Since then, I've seen about 150
foreign-language films, by no means enough, but something like a brief survey.
I've seen a Bunuel, a Mizoguchi, a Bresson, a Rossellini, a Rohmer. I've roamed
lower class Italy with De Sica, felt the extremes of isolation with Bertolucci,
been held captive by the haunting delights of Clouzot.
I've seen three Kurosawas and still fall asleep at the sight of Toshiro Mifune
in a samurai costume (perhaps his crime dramas will appeal more to me). I've
grown since my Kurosawa experience a few years back, and I appreciated
Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff
recently, but I remain curious about Eastern cinema. It seems to me Eastern
movies are a completely different beast, and I'm not yet accustomed to their
languages, acting, or cultural idiosyncrasies.
Of
course, I've delved more deeply into filmographies of directors who excited me
from my first encounters. I went through a New Wave phase this summer--again,
just a brief survey hitting the highlights--and fell in love with a family films
I'd previously avoided out of coldness to Godard. On the flip side, Alejandro
Jodorowsky's El Topo woke me from my
cinematic slumber--how had I gone this long without even knowing this movie
existed?!--but come to find out, it's his only western.
Seeing how much work has gone into publishing not only the list of 100 films,
but also the list of contributors, films that almost made the cut, and pages for
every step of the process, I refuse to ask if the list will be revised ever like
the
AFI or
Sight/Sound polls.
Instead, as a display of cinematic penance, I will simply post my new list of
the top 10 foreign-language movies. Because I am only beginning my relationship
with world cinema, I will only pick one movie per director. My western bias
(predisposition?) is not only apparent but a rule. It is a list of my favorites,
after all. Relatedly, keep in mind that this is just a list. It's fun to
determine the foreign movies that have most inspired me, but it's obviously
impossible to accurately rank art.
Movies I Want to See:
Movies I've Seen:
End-of-Year Lists:
Extras:
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