LIST: 25 Films to RememberCinema is my life. Over the years, many films have left a permanent impression, and in some ways, shaped my worldview. I decided to put together a list of the 25 great films I’ve seen. The chronology is largely irrelevant because each one of these films is special in its own way, and I’m certain there are many more that aren’t on the list, simply because of there’s a finite limit to it. But yes, it must be said, this isn’t about the best films ever made, but about the films that have made me.
1. Hiroshima Mon Amour: This Alain Resnais classic is very special. It shook me up the first time I watched it and unravelled itself gradually with subsequent viewings. Its visual style is extraordinary, and everything from the performances to the pacing and music blends beautifully with the multi-layered theme of love, loss, memory and forgetting, all woven around the devastating tragedy of Hiroshima.
2. Scenes From A Marriage: Ingmar Bergman is my favourite filmmaker, and this one, perhaps the most intense of his analyses of man-woman relationships. If the languid pace and tight close-ups make you uncomfortable, it’s because that’s how strenuous relationships are when you’re in the thick of them. Other Bergman favourites are Wild Strawberries, Cries and Whispers, Persona, Autumn Sonata and Liv Ullmann’s Faithless, perfectly cast in Bergman’s shadow.
3. Pather Panchali: Satyajit Ray’s debut film is one of the finest explorations of life I’ve seen on screen. It’s poignant, lyrical, intuitive and vast in its sweep, taking you through myriad hues of the human condition. It’s not a paean to poverty, but rather, an ode to pastoral simplicity and the ability of man and nature to rejuvenate themselves over and over again. I also love Ray’s Charulata, Mahanagar and Pratidwandi.
4. Godfather Part I and II: These two films represent Hollywood at its spectacular best and Coppola at the height of his inspiration. Adapted from a fairly ordinary book by Mario Puzo, these films draw you into the Corleone family saga and elevate the rise and fall of a mafia don to a Shakespearean tragedy. Not to mention the rare delight of watching Brando, Pacino and DeNiro in the same story.
5. The Hours: Stephen Daldry’s adaptation of Michael Cunningham’s book isn’t likely to be on many ‘top 25’ lists. But it’s a personal favourite. The brilliant premise of portraying “a woman’s whole life in a day”, linking it to three different stories across generations and finally getting together a superb cast to enact the subconscious oneness of their being, it’s a film I can watch over and over again and come away equally moved.
6. Pyaasa: Perhaps the finest Hindi film of all time, Pyaasa is even more relevant today than it was 53 years ago when Guru Dutt lamented the death of a poet and dreamer at the hands of an opportunistic, materialistic world. Waheeda Rehman’s sparkling debut and Sahir Ludhianvi’s heart-rending cry, “Ye duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai?” are unlikely to be forgotten for a long time.
7. Jules Et Jim: Francois Truffaut, the French New Wave, a refreshingly radical form of cinematic expression, a singular tale of passion, a true celebration of individualism with Jeanne Moreau at its centre. You don’t need to be a man to fall in love with her and the delightful self-absorption and candidness she espouses. Other Truffaut favourites are The Soft Skin, Bed and Board and The Woman Next Door.
8. Ijaazat: This film is totally critical to this list because it's evergreen from a personal perspective. If Maya could exist, even in Gulzar’s imagination, there was hope for a wayward teenager. As love triangles go, it’s my favourite from anywhere in the world. Naseer and Rekha are at the top of their game, and I can listen to “Katra katra” any time of the day and feel good about life.
9. Amores Perros: This innovative and graphically violent drama bursting with raw energy, about three divergent narratives crashing into each other (literally) in Mexico City, represents the dehumanising impact of the metropolis on individual lives. The more civilized we become, the further we regress into our barbaric past, the more our lives revolve around greed, the less we can stay true to ourselves. Love’s a bitch and Gael Garcia Bernal is divine, even at his dishevelled worst.
10. Psycho: Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece is truly timeless. The shower sequence is sheer poetry. The screenplay, a text-book example of classical structure. Great verbal repartee, brilliant black & white cinematography. A film you can sit back and enjoy any time of your life! Other Hitchcock favourites – Rope, Vertigo and Rear Window.
11. The Barbarian Invasions: Canadian director Denys Arcand’s charming film illustrates another kind of clash of civilizations – between a hedonistic father on his deathbed and his straight-laced investment banker son who despises him. The son has money, the old man, culture, so to speak. As they grow to like each other, the film throws together an ensemble bunch that gives the protagonist a touching farewell. Other Canadian gems – The Sweet Hereafter and Away From Her.
12. The Son's Room: Italian director Nanni Moretti isn’t a great actor, but his evocative film about a psychiatrist struggling to cope with the death of his only son is moving to the bone. A happy family is shattered and driven apart by the accident. Eventually, life asserts itself and a semblance of equilibrium is restored.
13. Sophie's Choice: This one’s for Meryl Streep, an actress who’s flawless in her method and yet, immensely spontaneous before the camera. As the Polish immigrant Sophie whose life is fraught with tragedy, she delivers a stunning, nuanced performance. I also loved Streep in Kramer Vs. Kramer, The Bridges of Madison County, Out of Africa and, of course, The Hours.
14. Shadowlands: Sir Richard Attenborough’s screen adaptation of a play based on the autumnal romance between English writer C. S. Lewis and American poet Joy Gresham is my favourite screen love story. Never seen a man express emotion on screen as charmingly as Anthony Hopkins does. And Debra Winger is absolutely livewire, looking prettier as the film progresses and Joy totally bulldozes her way into Jack’s heart. That it’s set in Oxford is a bonus!
15. The Great Dictator: I doubt there’s ever been a greater political satire than this parody of Hitler’s megalomania and the misery of ordinary Jews under his increasingly bizarre rule. Playing both the dictator and an innocent look-alike barber, Chaplin’s impassioned pacifist speech at the end may seem sentimental in retrospect, but that’s only because the world has lost so much of its innocence since then. To think he made this film in 1940, when Hitler was still swallowing up Europe with abandon.
16. The Bicycle Thief: Although I grew up on Hindi film melodrama, I’ve always preferred hard-hitting realism, and there’s no better example of that than Vittorio DeSica’s 1948 neo-realist classic, which explores the devastating effect poverty can have on an honest man’s spirit. The squalour and despair of post-World War II Rome are reflected on Lamberto Maggiorani’s lean, rugged face. And the loss of a bicycle could well mean the end of the road for an entire family.
17. Thelma and Louise: I wonder if any of you girls have dreamt of having that one great weekend of absolute freedom? I certainly have. And through Thelma And Louise, I relive that fantasy. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis are on the run, and you never want the world to catch up with them. So brilliant is Callie Khourie’s screenplay, it sucks you into their rollercoaster ride, pickled with many spills, one involving a handsome young Brad Pitt. As the film’s tagline goes, “Somebody said get a life… so they did!”
18. Leila: I’ve picked this film from Iranian cinema, but could have chosen any of half-a-dozen others. Perhaps because it’s a woman’s story, it’s closer to the heart. But it’s a true representative of one of the best cinemas in the world – realistic, unsentimental, touching and poetic in its simplicity. Nobody tells better stories with such refined, abbreviated expression as the Iranians. And they subvert all the censorship in their country to make films that reflect their contemporary reality and often challenge the religious-political-social system that keeps them in shackles.
19. Satyakam: I’ve never watched a film that celebrates idealism as unabashedly as Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Satyakam. It reinforces my belief that some values are worth dying for, and compromising on them is no way to live. Satyapriya (played with utmost sincerity by Dharmendra) may never get ahead on the road to success, but he has the satisfaction of having lived by his ideals. How many of us can say that with pride? My other HM favourites are Anand, Abhimaan, Chupke Chupke and Golmaal.
20. No Man's Land: Two soldiers from warring sides thrown together in a no man’s land between their lines. A third ends up lying between them as a live booby trap and the world watches the drama from the sidelines. Danis Tanovic’s debut film is a fantastic critique on the absurdity of war, the role of the UN and the western media. At another time in history, Ciki and Nino would be sitting in a café exchanging notes about the girl they’ve both gone out with at different times. But right now, they’re baying for each other’s blood, and but for the media circus, their life or death wouldn’t really dent the planet in any way.
21. Bhumika: A girl who grows up too soon, a mother who doesn’t know how to balance her needs with her daughter's, a woman in search of her own identity, an actress whose reel life often spills over into the real world. Did I mention that Smita Patil was just 22 when she essayed this role of a lifetime? I’ve picked Shyam Benegal’s Bhumika, but I also love her work in Arth, Umbartha, Mirch Masala and Chakra.
22. Secrets And Lies: Families are often reserves of ugly secrets always threatening to pop out. This one’s a quintessential British drama directed by Mike Leigh about one such dysfunctional family that suddenly discovers a long forgotten truth. Leigh, along with Ken Loach, gives the working classes of England their true cinematic voice through films like All or Nothing, Happy-Go-Lucky, My Name is Joe and A Fond Kiss.
23. Talk To Her: I consider this Pedro Almodovar’s most fluent film. Almodovar’s cinema is about moral subversion. He wants to knock down every pillar of convention and claim social outcasts their rightful place amongst equals. This film juxtaposes varied artistic forms – theatre, music, ballet and bull fighting – cleverly woven into a story about the ambiguities of gender roles, love, morality and faith. Notice the precision with which Almodovar uses composition and colour to lend a delectable, kitschy quality to this mawkish melodrama about ‘frozen’ women and weeping men.
24. Before Sunset: The perfect film for a rainy day. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy walk through the romantic streets of Paris talking about the one unforgettable day they’d spent together in Vienna nine years ago (in Before Sunrise), before disappearing from each other’s lives for good. Now, they discuss everything from politics and the environment, to sex and of course, love, which makes Richard Linklater’s romantic comedy so desirable. Delpy herself directed a follow-up film of sorts called Two Days in Paris, which is also a great one-time watch.
25. Face/Off: This is one senseless Hollywood action thriller I’m totally partial to. There’s never been a better display of stylised slow-mo sequences as this, with John Travolta and Nicholas Cage having a blast exchanging faces and identities and generally going off on a destructive spree. Needless to add, the bad guy always looks more attractive, but the good guy must triumph in the end. It’s hilarious, yet riveting.
I agree with you Mr. Zankar. Our favourites keep changing with time. But many of these films have been on my favourites list for years.
There's no silent film because I don't cherish any silent film in particular -- since this is a personal list. Although I do like Battleship Potemkin a lot. And remember liking F W Murnau's Sunrise when I saw it at the FTII.
Posted by: Deepa Deosthalee | 04/05/2010 at 01:13 PM
One always goes through this exercise of choosing one's all time favourites and over the years I find that certain titles would never change, but some get replaced in my case. Especially when one sees them with the younger audiences today, some of them do not stand the test of all time great, although they remain great in our memories.
I do not find any silent films in your list. I mean, it's an observation and not a comment.
Posted by: Anil Zankar | 04/04/2010 at 11:16 AM