You must be reading my mind, because I've been turning over in my head how to phrase a request for something like this! I've had a lot of "aha!" moments from film that are similar to the "aha!" moments a lot of posters get from books, and I was kind of hoping somebody else would be interested in modding a film-equivalent of 50books_poc, seeing as how I'm not really organised enough to be a mod myself...
Recommendations (all live-action, since you've got anime covered):
From Japan: Afterlife (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165078/) is one of my favourite films ever. It's thoughtful, beautiful, intelligent, and very moving, and it has an intriguing fantasy premise: after they die, the dead have to choose a memory in which to spend the rest of eternity. The same director also made Nobody Knows (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408664/), which is heartbreaking. It's about four childen abandoned by their mother. It's kind of like Grave of the Fireflies except with parental neglect instead of firebombing; I wept just as much. There are three films directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara and written by Kobo Abe that I love: Pitfall, Woman of the Dunes, and Face of Another. They're sort of like Beckett plays, with extra ghosts. Also, anything directed by Akira Kurosawa, but especially Yojimbo, The Bad Sleep Well, Seven Samurai, and Rashomon. There's a reason he became so acclaimed. I don't particularly recommend I Live In Fear or Stray Dog -- they're not bad, just preachier than usual. (If you watch a lot of Kurosawa movies, then watch the original Gojira, you get the thrill of double-taking every time you see Takashi Shimura. Or at least I did. Because, man, was he ever wasted on that flick... not that Gojira doesn't have its own merits, mind you.) The Life of Oharu (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045112/) is a period drama by Kenji Mizoguchi that I really enjoyed. Battle Royale (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/) is... kinda trashy, but the good kind of trashy.
From Iran: 10 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301978/) dir. and written by Abbas Kiarostami - 10 journeys in one woman's car; kind of experimental, but a lot easier to watch than you'd think, and not depressing at all! Crimson Gold (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371280/) dir. Jafar Pahani, written by Abbas Kiarostami - okay, this one is depressing, but it's really good! It's about a pizza delivery guy who tries to rob a jewellery store.
From the US: Hoover Street Revival (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332649/) dir. Sophie Fiennes - hands-off documentary (no voiceover) about a black church in Los Angeles and the community surrounding it. Highly recommended.
From the UK: East is East (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166175/), written by Ayub Khan-Din - family comedy/drama in a typically British mode, where it's ultimately a feelgood flick but there are lots of issues and grit along the way. It's about a (large) Pakistani family in the north of England in the 70s. It's very funny and I liked it a lot.
From India: Fire (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116308/) - I saw this ages ago and I can't remember much about it except that it's about a woman who falls in love with her husband's first wife, and there is a whole thing about a woman being tried by fire that went completely over my head at the time. I think I may need to give it another try. A River Called Titas (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070809/) - ah, this one's a bit odd, and it kind of feels like several films in one because of the way it's structured, but it's wonderful.
From Taiwan: 20 30 40 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397229/) - three parallel stories about women aged, you guessed, 20, 30, and 40. Funny and touching.
I have more! But that'll do for one comment. Do start the comm! It'll be awesome.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 12:59 am (UTC)Recommendations (all live-action, since you've got anime covered):
From Japan:
Afterlife (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165078/) is one of my favourite films ever. It's thoughtful, beautiful, intelligent, and very moving, and it has an intriguing fantasy premise: after they die, the dead have to choose a memory in which to spend the rest of eternity.
The same director also made Nobody Knows (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408664/), which is heartbreaking. It's about four childen abandoned by their mother. It's kind of like Grave of the Fireflies except with parental neglect instead of firebombing; I wept just as much.
There are three films directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara and written by Kobo Abe that I love: Pitfall, Woman of the Dunes, and Face of Another. They're sort of like Beckett plays, with extra ghosts.
Also, anything directed by Akira Kurosawa, but especially Yojimbo, The Bad Sleep Well, Seven Samurai, and Rashomon. There's a reason he became so acclaimed. I don't particularly recommend I Live In Fear or Stray Dog -- they're not bad, just preachier than usual. (If you watch a lot of Kurosawa movies, then watch the original Gojira, you get the thrill of double-taking every time you see Takashi Shimura. Or at least I did. Because, man, was he ever wasted on that flick... not that Gojira doesn't have its own merits, mind you.)
The Life of Oharu (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045112/) is a period drama by Kenji Mizoguchi that I really enjoyed.
Battle Royale (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/) is... kinda trashy, but the good kind of trashy.
From Iran:
10 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301978/) dir. and written by Abbas Kiarostami - 10 journeys in one woman's car; kind of experimental, but a lot easier to watch than you'd think, and not depressing at all!
Crimson Gold (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371280/) dir. Jafar Pahani, written by Abbas Kiarostami - okay, this one is depressing, but it's really good! It's about a pizza delivery guy who tries to rob a jewellery store.
From the US:
Hoover Street Revival (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332649/) dir. Sophie Fiennes - hands-off documentary (no voiceover) about a black church in Los Angeles and the community surrounding it. Highly recommended.
From the UK:
East is East (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166175/), written by Ayub Khan-Din - family comedy/drama in a typically British mode, where it's ultimately a feelgood flick but there are lots of issues and grit along the way. It's about a (large) Pakistani family in the north of England in the 70s. It's very funny and I liked it a lot.
From India:
Fire (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116308/) - I saw this ages ago and I can't remember much about it except that it's about a woman who falls in love with her husband's first wife, and there is a whole thing about a woman being tried by fire that went completely over my head at the time. I think I may need to give it another try.
A River Called Titas (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070809/) - ah, this one's a bit odd, and it kind of feels like several films in one because of the way it's structured, but it's wonderful.
From Taiwan:
20 30 40 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397229/) - three parallel stories about women aged, you guessed, 20, 30, and 40. Funny and touching.
I have more! But that'll do for one comment. Do start the comm! It'll be awesome.