10 great films you have (probably) never seen!
Cinema has been around for a while. Therefore, it doesn't take a genius to realise that there are plenty of films out there waiting to be discovered or re-discovered. Some of them will have been overlooked, others unjustly snubbed or downright dismissed by critics. Yet, that is one of the beauties of cinema, constantly giving us a chance to re-evaulate and explore visions that once were.
So, to cut the long story short, according to imdb.com, most of you will not have seen the following 10 films. Yet, CineCola strongly suggests you try to look them up, because they are worth the effort!
(Note: The list is not in order of preference)
1 - LA MORTE ROUGE by Victor Erice
(Spain, 2006)
A man recounts the story of himself, as a child, going to see a Sherlock Holmes film in a Spanish town. Inspired by his own first encounters with the cinema, Erice in this intimate short film manages to capture many themes like the contrast of fiction and reality, the innocence of childhood, the suffering of a nation and the magic and mystery of cinema through a poetic use of still photography, archive footage and new digitally shot recordings and a very personal narration.
2 - MISTER JOHN by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy
(Ireland/Singapore/UK, 2013)
After discovering his wife’s infidelities, a man travels to Singapore to attend his brother’s funeral and look after his business. After discovering the new world presented to him, he warms up to the idea of carrying on his brother’s identity. With Mister John, Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor establish themselves as unique visionaries in modern cinema. Their unique branch of hypnotic modern noir really comes through in the film, which unusually and enigmatically thrives on its avoidance of mystery to become mysterious. Yet the realism of the film is rendered beautiful and cinematic not only by the wonderful cinematography that really glorifies the greens and reds of the Singaporean landscape - and stand as a testimony as to why 35mm still looks best on the big screen - but also through dream sequences and the audience's subconscious perceptions of realistic actions and reactions in a traditionally cinematic way. Much can be said about the hypnotic pace of the film, as thankfully and rewardingly it takes its time in letting its story unravel. As well as that, the film features an amazing performance by Aiden Gillen whose interpretation shows a great connection with his lead character Gerry and makes his passivity seem magnetic, hence conveying Mister John's take on masculinity as a theme and as a preconception.
3 - I AM TWENTY (Mne Dvadtsad Let) by Marlen Khutsiyev
(Soviet Union, 1965)
A young man’s life as he turns twenty in the Soviet Union of the mid sixties. With this film, Khutsiyev gives us a priceless look at the life of a young man in the Russia of the time in a touching and charming film that represented a new and modern style of Soviet filmmaking sympathetic to its political times but hinting at a rise in the youth culture. Entertaining from start to finish despite its length that exceeds the three hours, this is a major work that perhaps never got the international exposure it deserves.
4 - COME PLAY WITH ME (Grazie Zia) by Salvatore Samperi
(Italy, 1968)
Hoards of cinephiles and erotic cinema afficionados will forever ask themselves why it was Tinto Brass over Samperi. Not to knock Brass down completely, but as far as bizarre and glamorous sexuality went, Samperi was Italy's brightest director and an unfairly overlooked one in the genre. Come Play With Me is a strange erotic and psychological battle develops between a young spoilt man and his beautiful rich aunt. An underrated gem of erotic cinema, this film has an intense atmosphere and a wonderful black and white photography that conveys the bizarre and yet collected and cool air of the film. Interesting socio-political terms can certainly be read within the film's context, yet lusty alienation is equally as important. Castel and Gastoni share a strong chemistry. The soundtrack is by Morricone.
5 - THE BED by James Broughton
(USA, 1968)
The experimental embodiment of the sexual revolution that in itself represented this newfound joyful sense of generational freedom of the sixties. The Bed uses, in fact, a bed as a starting point and setting to playfully construct slapstick like gags and poetic quirk – the most recognisable elements of james Broughton’s unique cinematic language - that capture the social sentiments of its times. Though it was highly controversial at the time of its release due to its use of nudity, which probablycontributed to its popularity at the time, The Bed is neither tasteless nor controversial but a lively and fun piece of experimental cinema that recounts the sexual and cultural atmosphere of its times from a very original and amusing perspective.
6 - MELANCHOLIA by Lav Diaz
(Philippines, 2008)
Three leftist activists are brought together on one of the last surviving places of earth after a skirmish leads to global apocalypse. They find themselves clinging on to their humanity by taking on each other’s personality traits in a cold world filled with sexual perversions, cigarettes and alienation. Diaz’s film defies all boundaries and conventionalities of the post apocalyptic movie with a film that follows its own pacing and timing and uses its own kind of cinematography that makes everything look more natural and real.
7 - THE NAME OF A RIVER (Ekti Nadir Naam) by Anup Singh
(India, 2002)
The story of the great Indian filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak, which uses the narrative structure of a man and a woman falling in love as they cross a river. Anup Singh's impressive and ambitious feature film debut is born out of concern with the historical moment of the Partition of India. Yet, despite the influences it has on the character, it follows mood rather than narrative conventions although the story is far from being loosely defined. A wonderful cinematography and color palette adds remarkable visual vividness, while the overall film flows with poetic romanticism due to a mixture of cinematography and melodious dialogue. Not least of all important, the musical numbers are beautifully enchanting and enrich the thematic depth of this The Name of a River.
8 - SPRING SILKWORMS (Chun Can) by Bugao Cheng
(China, 1933)
A family's silkworm raise goes terribly wrong in this silent Chinese classic of realism that fearlessly depicts poverty of the classes whose economical well being depends upon a vulnerable and insecure family business. Filmmaker Bugao Cheng can certainly be praised for the genuine depiction of social struggles seen from a human perspective of hopelessness and hardship - a perspective that even now seems ahead of its times. As well as that, the film as a whole has a hypnotic feel to it, due to its balanced pace but also an ambitious use of camerawork that contributes to a simple visual beauty, a beauty that accompanies the film throughout its duration.
9 - DOSTOEVSKY'S TRAVELS by Pawel Pawlikowski
(UK, 1991)
This is a documentary about the great-grandson of the celebrated classic literature icon Fyodor Dostoevky as he travels Europe following in his father’s footsteps. Pawlikowski’s documentary is pretty curious if not even bizarre and really the portrait of an ordinary man who happens to live in absolute normality despite the fact that he is the great grandson of one of the most celebrated writers of all time. Apart from that, this is a story of great humanity and a journey of self-discovery. Considering the director’s later work, we can already see some of the elements that would be points of interests for him as a filmmaker and shape his own filmmaking style.
10 - WAVEMAKERS (Les Chants des Ondes - Sur la Piste de Maurice Martenot) by Carole Martel
(Canada, 2012)
Not many people will be familiar with the almost magical and yet obscure and mysterious instrument called the ondes Martenot. Yet, this early electronic instrument has an infectious hypnotic charge that has made most people who have come in contact with it in one way or another fall in love with it, including filmmaker Caroline Martel who came to know its haunting tones when she used it as the soundtrack to her previous film The Phantom of the Operator. This certainly comes through in her latest documentary Wavemakers, that tracks its lifespan from its inception in the mind of its creator Maurice Martenot right down to its relevance in modern music – whether it is through Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood or its most celebrated interpreter Suzanne Binet-Audet. Martel also shows a deep connection with the ondes Martenot by allowing its unique tones and vibratos to dictate its tone, mood and rhythm in a way that makes her documentary almost mystical and downright hypnotic. A treat for the eyes and the ears, Wavemakers is also both a passionate and loving tribute to its subject as well as a warm appraisal of music’s most artisanal side.