Oh the mountain of must-see-movies and my humble attempts to scale it...
Progress will be compiled at the end of each month and the films are listed in order of preference.
Late Spring
Yasujirô Ozu (1949)
A young woman must
decide whether or not to marry, knowing that her decision could condemn her
widower father to a life of solitude. In his trademark fashion Ozu’s characters
face the camera almost square on, their emotions left exposed. A
masterwork of warmth and gentle humanity; it’s not quite Tokyo Story- but then again what is.
The Goldrush
Charlie Chaplin (1925)
The gags are strong, the sets and story too, but Goldrush ranks just outside Chaplin’s
best work. That said, when seen next to the Soderbergh film something becomes
startlingly apparent; With Goldrush bordering
on 90 years of age it’s safe to say that while slick subversions will come and
go, if a film can shed playful light on our universal struggles it will never become
obsolete.
Sex, Lies and
Videotape
Steven Soderbergh (1989)
Steven Soderbergh (1989)
It’s difficult to imagine a time when videotape was
considered subversive-chic and sex was still taboo but thanks to Soderbergh’s
lingering camerawork and that seductive grainy flicker of early home video this
game-changing debut feature has lost little of its voyeuristic appeal. Winner
of the Palme D’Or in 1989, it blew American independent cinema wide open.
The Night is Young
Leos Carax (1986)
Denis Lavant flies about the set like a kathrine wheel and Carax,
with his debut effort, employs his now trademark visual style with startling confidence.
Unfortunately the pleasures of this film might rest on the viewer’s preference
for Juliette Binoche and that whole delicate French thing she just loves to do.
