The list of my 20 favorite movies, vol.2 (2019-2020)
Back in 2018, I decided to start this experiment choosing my 20 favorite films, as it is at this particular moment. Used to sound a little silly to me first, yet I realized later this experiment has a merit if you do it once in a year. It’s just like a diary documenting your thoughts, ideas and sources of inspiration at some point. These things may change fast and they strongly affect person’s predilections, whether we talk about films, books or songs. It is simply fascinating to observe your personal development or changes based on the conclusions you can draw from your own favorite films. This year I was supposed to make this list 6 months ago but I just didn’t really feel like to. Now it’s time to get back to this fascinating experiment so here is its implication!
20. Spring in a Small Town (小城之春)– 1948, Fei Mu. China
Released one year before Communists’ takeover of China, Spring in a Small Town remains the most well-known film unveiling China in the period we all know very little about. The plot concerns a story of a married couple and their bitter days they live as the symbolic representation of the wreckage left by the World War. The story is delicate, psychological, poetic and beautiful. It is narrated in a very intelligent manner highlighting the exceptional talents of both Fei Mu and actors, especially Wei Wei who is still alive, aged 97 as of the end of 2019. Spring in a Small Town has been called The Greatest Chinese Movie ever made by Hong Kong Film Awards Association.
19. Masculin, Feminin – 1966, Jean-Luc Godard. France
I’ve seen quite a few films of Godard and I find most of them outstanding. However, his most politically and socially charged work Masculin, Feminin retains a special place in my films knowledge base. I’m still impressed with this combination of those monologues delivered by young Parisians and bizarre scenes from the rebellious lives of youngsters. The film features wonderful tunes turning into a great addition to the illustration of the political and social tension in France in the 1960s. Masculin, Feminin reminds that France is the most rebellious nation in the world, in terms of fighting for liberal values and equality. Moreover, the feature of Godard gives a great glimpse into several matters of gender situation and problems of France in the 1960s.
18. The Rules of Game (La Règle du Jeu) – 1939. Jean Renoir. France
One of the greatest examples of satirical films ever produced, The Rules of Game by Renoir strikes with the glorious cast, quality humour and excellent depiction of the French wealthy class decay before the devastating events of the war. An outstanding example of sophisticated director’s work and brilliant story, this film is also perfectly crafted and lensed, cinematography wise. The feature was considered controversy 80 years back upon release and almost felt into obscurity despite being the most expensive French film till that date, in order to re-gain attention and acclaim later becoming a symbol of French cinema greatness.
17. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (봄 여름 가을 겨울 그리고 봄) – 2003. Kim Ki-duk. South Korea
The only Korean film I’m going to list in my 20 favorite is the most well-known feature of Kim Ki-duk I’ve been admiring or years. A very simple work based on the number of the basic Buddhist symbols and references, it is obviously made to be accessible for the Western viewers. The pace of the film is gentle and calm while the environment strikes with beauty and evocative power. I’m quite a fan of Korean movies, especially when it comes to Lee Chang-dong, though I’m yet to explore most acclaimed Korean directors and their films. Eventually, I’d keep Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring as my favorite Korean film this year again.
16. The Straight Story – 1999. David Lynch. USA
It’s been a long time David Lynch remains my favorite director. I absolutely love Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway as well as in fact all of his works. The Straight Story however always stood out. Somehow, it feels like David Lynch wanted to show with this feature that he is capable of many different genres, styles and he’s got a strong grasp or traditionally narrated stories. The Straight Story is a bitter, wise and sublime story of an old man looking back at all his life while knowing there is nothing left to expect from the future. The life was long viewed as a vibrant matter, a treasure, an excitement. In his last travel across America, he reminisces about his life in these beautiful shots, having long Hemingway-like dialogues with the curious people he encounters. The scenery is marvelous and the music of Angelo Badalamenti is something you can never forget. No doubt, my favorite film of David Lynch.
15. Stalker (Сталкер) – 1979. Andrei Tarkovsky. USSR
Most of Tarkovsky’s films are so rich in what can be hardly seen or comprehended that I’ve been always asking myself whether I’m ready for such an art experience or not. Stalker, perhaps one of the most complicated films of him (behind Mirror, though), offers numerous layers, means, ideas and features the viewers can delve into. The film is truly intellectual and also extremely beautiful and enchanting. It is also one of the finest examples of vivacious actors’ work. Moreover, the special credit must be given to Tarkovsky’s cinematographers Rerberg and Knyazhinsky. Those iconic long takes with slow camera movement are magnificent.
14. Syndromes and a Century (แสงศตวรรษ) – 2006. Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Thailand
It is said there are some feature-length films, of which the viewers cannot get much unless they watch together with the other films of the same director, as these loosely connected works can be comprehended together. From my point of view, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and his art is the case. I could name several films of him I admire, yet I can’t say I really liked any of them when I watched them first. It takes quite some time to familiarize yourself with his work, in order to understand how you can comprehend it. The yield might be highly awarding for many of those who’s got passion and absolutely fruitless for others. Syndromes and a Century remains my favorite film of the Thai director due to it’s emotionally charged shots and scenes depicting the beauty of humanity, transformations of people and their feelings. Apichatpong Weerasethakul is playing with the subtle material eventually giving space to draw numerous interpretations of his work. It’s tantalizing and entertaining!
13. Paris, Texas – 1984. Wim Wenders. West Germany / USA
The finest combination of road movie with psychological drama resulted in a masterpiece created by the German director Wim Wenders who had shot this film in the United States. The story is very emotional and very intelligent at the same time. Also, it is one of the best works of Harry Dean Stanton who has been famous during his 60-years career as an actor of supporting roles. Being given a lead role here, he really made his character special.
12. Only Lovers Left Alive – 2013. Jim Jarmusch. USA
I’ve already written and said many things about this film as Jim Jarmusch is certainly among my beloved directors, with his enigmatic style. Only Lovers Left Alive is a film basing on a number of references and themes Jarmusch has been fascinated by for years. To understand many hidden things, it is important to see all films of him and try to think in a way he does. Unfortunately, Jarmusch doesn’t make many references quite available to those who don’t know his works well. On the other hand, even those who don’t qualify can still watch this visually striking story and enjoy the beauty of music instruments, locations, shots and aloof characters.
11. Tokyo Story (東京物語) – 1953. Yasujiro Ozu. Japan
According to many of the most acclaimed film critics and directors, Tokyo Story is the greatest Japanese film ever made and maybe of the finest masterpieces ever. The Golden Age of Japanese cinema with the works of Ozu, Mizoguchi, Naruse and other directors was truly marvelous, and Tokyo Story is widely considered to be its acme. The famous tatami shots, slow plot development, simple but very deep story, fantastic play – all these well-known Ozu’s features are present here in abundance. This is a film of an exceptional emotional degree ensuring the full immersion into it. The pace might be slow for many viewers and requires some exposure into Japanese classical cinema. Yet this experience is certainly worth acquiring, as the harmony with Japanese classic films is rewarding and memorable. Nevertheless, this is still not my favorite Ozu’s films, as of 2019/2020.
10. Apocalypse Now – 1979. Francis Coppola. USA
Apocalypse Now is among the greatest American films in my eyes for a personal reason. A few years back, the film had taught me to admire the cinema and provoked my keen interest in it. This epic war-related drama goes far beyond the topics of war depicting a humankind’s journey down the hell. The funnel of dehumanization as I called while writing about this film a couple of years back. Absolutely masterpiece, Apocalypse Now.
9. An Autumn Afternoon (秋刀魚の味) – 1962. Yasujiro Ozu. Japan
An Autumn Afternoon became a final film of Ozu. Along with his penultimate feature The End of Summer, it turned to be one of the recent treasures I discovered. The plot reminds of Late Spring, the film I named my favorite as of the end 2019. Yet the mood, key motifs and main themes are quite different. These several parallel stories within the same film depict the changing society and strong family bonds between generations. The traditional culture meets changing world showing there is always a room for wisdom, and people’s feelings don’t change in the same way as times and cultural environment do. One of the best casts Ozu ever assembled is another thing contributing to this outstanding film. Chishu Ryu, Shima Iwashita and Mariko Okada are the greatest actors of the Japanese cinema Golden Age making good replacement of Setsuko Hara who was not present here. There is so much to say about this film explaining why I love it better than Tokyo Story for example, yet I expressed it better in my older review.
8. Lost in Translation – 2003. Sofia Coppola. USA
Starting with An Autumn Afternoon, my list of favorite films enters the dimension of emotions. My choice of previous movies was quite understandable in a way of common sense and proper explanations, but the rest would be nothing, but emotions. I’m quite impressed with this myself and this is just why I started considering valuable this experiment of writing a list of favorite films every year. Where would it take me? Saying Lost in Translation is my favorite American film would probably sound crazy! But here we are. How would I get it explained? Emotions. This emotional sublime charge of it is just one of a kind. A perfect style created by Sofia Coppola, a subtle story, breathtaking path and wonderful collision of fun and deep feelings… This is Lost in Translation. And there is always more and more you get and understand while watching it. This choice is romantic, but I’m getting along with that.
7. Days of Being Wild (阿飛正傳)– 1990. Wong Kar-wai. Hong Kong
Time for the first film of Wong Kar-wai to appear in my list! Back in 2019 when I made this list last I was not a big fan of Days of Being Wild. However, I’ve seen it at least 5 times later slowly getting into this world of the wonderful romance, lovesick young people, strange lights and wonderful props and shots. The first collaboration of Wong Kar-wai with Christopher Doyle establishing this duo that would be crafting visual delights in a few other features. A wonderful cast with Leslie Cheung, Karina Lau, Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau in addition to wonderful music… It is slowly getting me, more and more. Yet again, this choice is nothing but my sense of romance in the cinema.
6. The Scent of Green Papaya (Mùi đu đủ xanh) - 1993. Tran Anh Hung. Vietnam / France
This film is shot in Vietnamese and the drama is entirely Vietnamese. However, the director Tran Anh Hung has been living and working in France for most of his life so the movie should be considered French. Nevertheless, I personally take it as the greatest Vietnamese feature film as it had opened Vietnam for me from a new angle. It is an extremely beautiful film the shots of which seem to be inspired by the work of Fellini’s or Tarkovsky’s cinematographers and are also enhanced with vibrant, vivid colors, the striking shine of nature around the characters and warmth of their emotions. A gorgeous story, a glimpse into the world that perhaps never existed, the supreme sophistication of The Scent of Green Papaya had become the last reasons for me to relocate to Vietnam, even though I always the reality of Tran Anh Hung’s film only exists on the screen. Inspiring and breathtaking, a lovely and adorable film!
5. The Assassin (刺客聶隱娘) – 2015. Hou Hsiao-Hsien. Taiwan
One of the prominent directors of the Taiwanese New Wave Hou Hsiao-hsien is a living god of art-house cinema. He had created multiple beautiful slowly paced features of which I’ve seen about 10. Relatively unknown in Asia, he has been highly respected in Europe, especially in the eyes of orientalists. His last film The Assassin has received many accolades such as an Award to the Best Director received by Hou Cannes. The Assassin is an acme of the visual beauty and technical sophistication of cinematography. This film would be very boring for those viewers who are used to the narrative features. Here the plot doesn’t really matter, as the film was made to immerse the viewers into the mood, visual beauty, atmosphere. It comes as a wuxia film, yet many critics call it a deconstruction of wuxia. The protagonist portrayed by Shu Qi gives a detached effect of both character herself and also the whole world around from the traditional way of storytelling. It really takes time to look into this film properly, I didn’t understand if I entirely liked it or not when I watch The Assassin first. I’ve started getting from the 3rd or maybe 4th time. And this is how this film is. My opinion about this film has changed a lot since the moment I wrote my first comments on it. A delight for those who admire visual delicacies, the film of Hou Hsiao-Hsien, in my eyes would probably always remain a standard of beauty I’ve seen on the screen.
4. Yi Yi (一 一) – 2000. Edward Yang. Taiwan
Getting back to the films I select as the ones standing upon the pillars of smart and intelligent stories, I’d call Yi Yi my favorite Taiwanese film ever. The last and the best feature of Edward Yang has three perspectives in its story shifting from the glimpse into one generation of the family into another. This is a story of very simple people’s relations, feelings and emotions showing how the life goes around in a circle. It is almost impossible to find any weak points of this marvelously crafted story of three generations showing so many feelings and problems related to love, middle-age crisis, development of the individuality, childhood, teenagers’ discoveries, the fate of old people. The whole life is here, in Yi Yi. The film makes the viewers ruminate and look into their own lives from a different angle. The story is being told by a wise man who has got good eye observing littlest things in everyday’s life that really matter and make a difference. With little or without action at all, the slow pace of Yi Yi brings genuine emotions to those who watch it. Like I wrote in my review on Yi Yi, it was one of the strongest impressions I have ever had watching a film.
3. In the Mood for Love (花樣年華) – 1999. Wong Kar-wai. Hong Kong
It’s been already told too much about this film in my reviews of Wong Kar-wai’s films I’ve written for my blog, and I want to stay away from iterations. I’d just say that one of the fascinating recent developments about In the Mood of Love I made is connected with the fact that one of the most important things for the director was to show the life of intelligent Shanghainese people in the 1960-s who were forced to immigrate and settle down in Hong Kong. This is the whole new dimension of the film which might be not obvious for the Western viewers, and it is fascinating. Other than that… I just cannot resist these shots in slow motion where Maggie Cheung takes me to the Universe of this story and visual style with her delicate and tantalizing sashay while the famous Yumeji’s music theme is playing. This is a supreme beauty!
02. Late Spring (晩春) – 1949. Yasujiro Ozu. Japan
Narration wise, Late Spring remains my favorite without any doubts. The best role of Setsuko Hara, the fantastic emotions expressed by the whole cast impress me greatly again and again. Ozu had created a very interesting and difficult personality Hara’s Noriko: every time I watch this film I find something new in Noriko. And yet every time it makes me sometimes cry, smile happily or it just simply casts shiver down my spine with its sophistication and development. Sometimes, I feel like watching Late Spring 24/7! This film is also extremely important for me due to becoming a strong introduction for me into the world of classic Japanese films that remains the best period and school of cinema making to me. The only one reason I don’t name this film my favorite once again as I did a year ago is my dependence on emotions making me a type to easily fall for different things based on sharp and strong romantic emotions. And my choice of #1 film is again nothing, but an emotional thing.
01. Fallen Angels (堕落天使) – 1995. Wong Kar-wai. Hong Kong
The acme of neon exuberant cinema developed by Wong Kar-wai and Christopher Doyle is a non-plot film focusing on images of Hong Kong nights and lovesick young people who are always aliens in the middle of this neon-lit night. The story doesn’t say a lot while the romance is extremely intense. This is not a movie you may like or enjoy, you can only dissolve and it and love it if you’re the type and if you watch it in the time you’re apt for such emotions. I remember the first time I watched it and I was not really impressed… Yet I realized its emotional and romantic power later. Wong Kar-wai and Doyle are crazy about neon and they take it as an encapsulation of Hong Kong’s nights. The neon is very sexy, it is a symbol of attraction and alluring sexual power. We get dozens of memorable close-ups with female protagonists shot in unnatural neon light, and their faces radiate enthralling and mesmerizing neon sexuality. Considering Hong Kong is a city full of neon, this light also represents the rush of Hong Kong’s life that is exuberant, but reluctant to consider the romantic feelings of young lovesick youngsters. The characters, these people in their 20s, dissolve in this neon world craving for love, but not being able to have even a bit of this feeling. They are trying to find their own place within this Hong Kong night, and their struggles and showed lyrically. Heroes are silhouetted in neon lights which is extremely beautiful to see on the screen. The film is a master class of Christopher Doyle giving utmost attention to the lights and inventing an enormous number of camera tricks. The shots of Doyle are visually striking and perfect. He shots different moments from extremely wide angles to emphasize different feelings of characters. Many of the shots in this film are quite iconic, especially the ones coming with these crazy angles, extreme close-ups, step-print effect and with extreme wide-angle lenses. It’s just unforgettable! Sometimes Doyle uses hand-held cameras which is punchy and quixotic. One of the most delightful and visually beautiful moments is the ending scene when an extreme close-up of Michelle Reis in the cafe, with bizarre green light directed on her. With her calm voice, she tells she has learned not to involve emotionally with the people. She talks about the weather, yet we know about her emotional wounds and woe. Meanwhile, there is a fray on the background she doesn’t even pay any attention to. The camera just stares at her, the background is blurred. And then it shows the mute guy beaten with the same type of close-up. This experience is totally about intense romance and visual delighted created by director, cinematographer and editor. And at this particular time of my life, I would name it the best development in the cinema I came across. I love Fallen Angles, no doubt a long time number one.