My Favorite Films from the opinion of a 23 year old surrealist
I present a list of my favorite films. Includes films from several countries and from several eras. The most important factor in selecting the pictures is emotional impact and entertainment value that caters to my specific cinematic needs which mostly includes (but not limited to) surreal imagery, satire, and/or depressing content matter.
I will rate the cinematic components of each film. If the film is the best I've seen in a certain category the film will receive an 11 out of 10 as to give a bonus to films that are the best in that category. Thus, there will be no 10's given, unless I think films are equal in some circumstances. The additional point will provide a buffer that rewards the film for being the best in its respective category. Any suggestions are welcome.
The categories are: Cinematography, Editing, Story/Writing, Emotional impact, Ending, Flow/rhythm, Mise en scene, Social Impact, and Music. Although some films may have a higher average than others, the films will be rated as I see fit.
I will rate the cinematic components of each film. If the film is the best I've seen in a certain category the film will receive an 11 out of 10 as to give a bonus to films that are the best in that category. Thus, there will be no 10's given, unless I think films are equal in some circumstances. The additional point will provide a buffer that rewards the film for being the best in its respective category. Any suggestions are welcome.
The categories are: Cinematography, Editing, Story/Writing, Emotional impact, Ending, Flow/rhythm, Mise en scene, Social Impact, and Music. Although some films may have a higher average than others, the films will be rated as I see fit.
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- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsVincent CasselHubert KoundéSaïd Taghmaoui24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.Cinematography: 9
Editing: 8
Emotional impact: 9
Ending: 10
Flow/Rhythm: 10
Mise en scene/Props: 7
Music: 9
Social Impact: 10
Story/Writing: 9
Average: 9.0
Stand-out stats include:
Flow/Rhythm because the whole film just follows a group of youths in an episodic narrative (very basic plot), yet the flow of the film never escapes the viewer's attention even after watching it back-to-back on a single day
Social Impact - La Haine details the struggles between the lower class and the brutality of the police during a time of social unrest in the 1990s. It is said that during a parade after the film premiered at Cannes, the Cannes police all turned their heads in disapproval once they approached the filmmakers - DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsMiles TellerJ.K. SimmonsMelissa BenoistA promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
- DirectorJoshua OppenheimerAnonymousChristine CynnStarsAnwar CongoHerman KotoSyamsul ArifinA documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.Surreality in reality
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsBrad PittSean PennJessica ChastainThe story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.Cinematography: 11
Editing: 10
Emotional impact: 9
Ending: 5
Flow/Rhythm: 6
Mise en scene/Props: 9
Music: 10
Social Impact: 7
Story/Writing: 7
Average: 8.2
This isn't a film to talk about, it is only a film to experience. If the emotions and actions of life were transmuted into one event, this film would be the product of such a transformation. - DirectorLars von TrierStarsBjörkCatherine DeneuveDavid MorseAn Eastern European US immigrant with a love for musicals has to cope with the gradual loss of her vision.Cinematography: 7
Editing: 6
Emotional impact: 11
Ending: 10
Flow/Rhythm: 7
Mise en scene/Props: 6
Music: 10
Social Impact: 6
Story/Writing: 9
Average: 8.1
No technical stand-outs here just the most effective and most emotionally impacting story I have ever witnessed.
This is THE film that made me want to become a filmmaker. Von Trier has never done better than this attempt. The lucky few people I've shown this film to have become jerked into a debilitating state of sadness that required several days for them to overcome the hollow abyss of which this film creates. - DirectorEmir KusturicaStarsPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicLazar RistovskiMirjana JokovicTwo underground black marketeers, Marko and Blacky, sell weapons to the Communist resistance in wartime Belgrade, living the good life along the way.Cinematography: Need to rewatch
Editing: Need to rewatch
Emotional impact: 9
Ending: 10
Flow/Rhythm: 7
Mise en scene/Props: 10
Music: 9
Social Impact: 10
Story/Writing: 11 - DirectorSion SonoStarsTakahiro NishijimaHikari MitsushimaSakura AndôA bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.Cinematography: 7
Editing: 8
Emotional impact: 9
Ending: 8
Flow/Rhythm: 10
Mise en scene/Props: 8
Music: 9
Social Impact: 6
Story/Writing: 9
Average: 8.2
Stand-out stat
Flow/Rhythm - The build-up to the "miracle" is flawless and is un-contestable for the best 1st half of a any film I've seen - DirectorSion SonoStarsRyo IshibashiMasatoshi NagaseMai HoshoA detective is trying to find the cause of a string of suicides.Cinematography: 7
Editing: 7
Emotional impact: 9
Ending: 7
Flow/Rhythm: 8
Mise en scene/Props: 9
Music: 9
Social Impact: 7
Story/Writing: 9
Average: 8.1
A poetic representation of pop-culture from the land of the rising sun. It stirred an emotional response deep inside of me that I may never fully understand. - DirectorAndrzej ZulawskiStarsIsabelle AdjaniSam NeillMargit CarstensenA woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.
- DirectorAlejandro JodorowskyStarsTamara GarinaSergio KleinerDiana MariscalFando and his partially-paralyzed lover Lis search for the mythical city of Tar. Based on Jodorowsky's memories of a play by surrealist Fernando Arrabal.Cinematography: 6
Editing: 8
Emotional impact: 7
Ending: 5
Flow/Rhythm: 7
Mise en scene/Props: 10
Music: 9
Social Impact: 9
Story/Writing: 7
Average: 7.6
The greatest dream I never want to have. - DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Paul BelmondoJean SebergVan DoudeA small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.Cinematography: 8
Editing: 10
Emotional impact: 7
Ending: 8
Flow/Rhythm: 7
Mise en scene/Props: 6
Music: 6
Social Impact: 10
Story/Writing: 7
Average: 7.6
The most significant game-changer in the history of cinema. - DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsClaudio BrookSilvia PinalEnrique Álvarez FélixSimon, a deeply religious man living in the 4th century, wants to be nearer to God so he climbs a column. The Devil wants him to come down to Earth and is trying to seduce him.Cinematography: 8
Editing: 7
Emotional impact: 6
Ending: 10
Flow/Rhythm: 9
Mise en scene/Props: 7
Music: 7
Social Impact: 5
Story/Writing: 8
Average: 7.4
Technically significant and profoundly entrancing. - DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsPierre BatcheffSimone MareuilLuis BuñuelLuis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí present 16 minutes of bizarre, surreal imagery.Cinematography: - [only static shots due to lack of technology]
Editing: 8
Emotional impact: 10
Ending: 7
Flow/Rhythm: 8
Mise en scene/Props: 10
Music: - [no music with original screening]
Social Impact: 10
Story/Writing: 8
Average: 8.7 (But in truth, an indeterminate score due to lack of data in certain categories which should explain its lower position)
One of only 3 TRULY surrealist films. - DirectorKatsuhiro ÔtomoStarsMitsuo IwataNozomu SasakiMami KoyamaA secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.Cinematography: 7
Editing: 6
Emotional impact: 8
Ending: 8
Flow/Rhythm: 5
Mise en scene/Props: 7
Music: 9
Social Impact: 8
Story/Writing: 9
Average: 7.4
My first taste of world cinema as a young boy. It's inclusion in this list is based on nostalgia. - DirectorWolfgang BeckerStarsDaniel BrühlKatrin SassChulpan KhamatovaIn 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.Cinematography: 7
Editing: 7
Emotional impact: 9
Ending: 7
Flow/Rhythm: 9
Mise en scene/Props: 7
Music: 6
Social Impact: 6
Story/Writing: 8
Average: 7.3
Overtly complex and smart, this film defines a generation of Germany that most (without living it or seeing this film) can only read about. A magnificent piece of ostalgie and an example of near-perfect story telling. - DirectorFernando ArrabalStarsGerard BorlantJean ChalonFrançois ChateletRunning away from the police, Aden goes to the desert where he meets an uncivilized man who has a special link with Mother-Earth. He ends up by convincing the hermit to come along with him into another desert... the big town!Cinematography: 6
Editing: 6
Emotional impact: 7
Ending: 9
Flow/Rhythm: 7
Mise en scene/Props: 9
Music: 8
Social Impact: 8
Story/Writing: 8
Average: 7.5 - DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnita EkbergAnouk AiméeA series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering tabloid journalist living in Rome.Cinematography: 9
Editing: 9
Emotional impact: 7
Ending: 10
Flow/Rhythm: 9
Mise en scene/Props: 8
Music: 9
Social Impact: 7
Story/Writing: 8
Average: 8.4 - DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsEmil JanningsMaly DelschaftMax HillerAn aging doorman is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbors and society after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel.Cinematography: 9
Editing: -
Emotional impact: 9
Ending: 7
Flow/Rhythm: 7
Mise en scene/Props: 8
Music: -
Social Impact: 6
Story/Writing: 7
Average: 7.5 - DirectorJohn CarneyStarsGlen HansardMarkéta IrglováHugh WalshA modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.
- DirectorStan BrakhageAn experimental short film of flashing images made by Stan Brakhage.The greatest artistic attempt at embodying the conscious state of enlightenment.
- DirectorShigeru IzumiyaStarsShigeru IzumiyaTakichi InukaiRikako MurakamiTwo people, a man and a woman enters a warehouse that will change their life and minds forever.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiZiyi ZhangFaye WongSeveral women enter a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years, after the author has lost the woman he considers his one true love.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsPayman MaadiLeila HatamiSareh BayatA married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
- DirectorBéla TarrÁgnes HranitzkyStarsJános DerzsiErika BókMihály KormosA rural farmer is forced to confront the mortality of his faithful horse.
- DirectorGakuryû IshiiStarsTakanori JinnaiShinya OheYuto IsetaPunk rock gangs and music groups clash with one another and the brutal police force in a futuristic Tokyo setting.Anarchy's utopia
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittCate BlanchettTilda SwintonTells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with consequences.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHideaki AnnoHidetoshi NishijimaMiori TakimotoJiro Horikoshi studies assiduously to fulfill his aim of becoming an aeronautical engineer. As WWII begins, fighter aircraft designed by him end up getting used by the Japanese Empire against its foes.