Twenty years ago, I got this book A Century of Films by film critic Derek Malcolm. In it, Malcolm decided his 100 favourite directors and then chose the best film from each of them. I had already seen maybe 20 of the films in the book and liked those, so I started watching some of the other ones on the list. I kept coming back to it, and eventually I decided I'd make a serious effort to watch all of them. I finally finished the list this month.
Here are some synopses I wrote of a few of them.
Antonio das Mortes - Glauber Rocha, 1969
Part of the 'cinema novo' movement which sought to create a uniquely Brazilian cinema that was socially conscious and politically engaged.
The film uses the figure of the cangaceiro, a type of bandit from the northeastern region of Brazil, to symbolize the struggle of the rural poor. The main character, Antonio das Mortes, is a former cangaceiro-killer who is hired by a land baron to kill a group of cangaceiros. However, Antonio eventually switches sides and joins the cangaceiros in their fight against the landed elite.
Shock Corridor - Samuel Fuller, 1963
A kind of schlocky film that nonetheless pulls together. It's about an aspiring journalist that fakes his own insanity in order to infiltrate a mental hospital and get clues to an unsolved crime. He solves the crime but goes crazy in the process.
The Round Up - Miklos Jancso, 1966
In 1848 there was a revolution against Hapsburg rule in Hungary that was quelled in the formation of the Austro-Hungarian empire. This film portrays a round up of partisans into a prison camp where the staff are trying to weed out the leaders. The widescreen composition contrasts confinement with the potential freedom of surrounding open grass plains. The film was surely intended to be allegorical of the 1956 Soviet invasion, which the director was forced to deny in order for it be seen more widely.
Fires Were Started - Humphrey Jennings, 1943
A dramatisation of a day in the life of firefighters during the firebombing of London in WW2. The use of non-actors and a very matter-of-fact presentation make this a very understated look at the bravery and sacrifice made by ordinary people in the fight against fascism.
Welfare - Frederick Wiseman, 1975
Wiseman is an amazing documentarian who has trained his camera on American life and institutions, amassing hours of footage to be edited down to reveal the most telling moments. This film covers the conversations and interactions between the staff and the people struggling for help within the bureaucracy of a New York city welfare office. Fifty years on, the exchange between a racist veteran and a black security guard at the 1h21m mark is remarkable and disturbing to watch and reflect on how little things have changed.
The Scarlet Empress - Josef von Sternberg, 1934
Marlene Dietrich plays Catherine the Great in this heavily fictionalised account of her rise to the top of the Russian empire. Features sumptuous costumes, detailed sets and expressionist lighting. Catherine is pushed into a royal marriage with Peter III who is presented as a comic idiot always playing with toy soldiers. She uses her charm and intelligence to conquer hearts and minds and bring Enlightenment values to Russia but failed to abolish serfdom which contributed to growing social unrest.
The Collector - Eric Rohmer, 1967
Adrien, an aspiring art dealer, takes a quiet holiday in a rich friend's villa while his fiance is modelling in London. He's determined to do nothing but his plans are interrupted by Haydee, a 'collector' of men. For a while she sleeps with his conceptual artist friend, Daniel, which ends badly. On one level it's just about attraction and casual relationships, but subtle symbolism within the film point to themes of detachment and purpose. Some have seen it as prophetic of the events of May 1968, but that's probably taking it a bit too far.
Sullivan's Travels - Preston Sturges, 1941
A playful story about a Hollywood director of popular but shallow films that wants to make something more serious. He decides to become a bum in order to find out how real people live. A bunch of improbable adventures ensue. I can see how it influenced the Coen brother's style who used the non-existent novel within the film, 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' as the title of one of their own films.
Love - Karoly Makk, 1971 Hungary
Janos is a political prisoner in Stalinist-era Hungary. His wife cares for his dying mother by spinning tall stories about his success as a film maker in the USA. Janos is eventually granted his freedom but is unsure about what he is returning to. Still relevant today when we think about the hardships and personal sacrifices of people like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and their families.
Manila in the Claws of Light - Lino Brocka, 1975
A tragic love story set in the harsh conditions of the Marcos era.
McCabe & Mrs Miller - Robert Altman 1971
A kind of anti-western that constanly subverts expectations. The characters are all debased by the grubby and squalid struggle to make a quick buck. Altman slowly builds a detailed picture of the times and the plot doesn't really kick in until the final climatic 30 minutes, but by then you are really invested in the characters. McCabe's death (played by Warren Beatty) from a gunshot wound in freezing snow while the rest of the townsfolk are preoccupied is brilliant and full of irony.
Pakeezah - Kamal Amrohi, 1972
A musical romantic drama about a beautiful and talented 'tawaif' entertainer struggling to find love and acceptance within the nobility. Melodramatic but with superb Indian classical music and gorgeous sets, it took 15 years to make and was the director's love letter to his wife Meena Kumari who starred in it. She died just weeks after its release.
Closely Watched Trains - Jiri Menzel, 1966, Czechoslovakia
A tragi-comic coming-of-age story set in a provincial Czech railway station during the late stages of WW2 German occupation. A powerful mixture of anti-fascism and sexual liberation. It won the Academy Award for best foreign language film at the time.
La Femme Infidèle - Claude Chabrol, 1969
An incredibly tense psychological thriller. The wife has a secret love affair, the husband secretly finds out and ends up killing the lover and tries to cover it up. Hitchcockian vibes with touches of ironic humour.
The Time to Live and the Time to Die - Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan 1985
A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age film set in 1940-60's Taiwan. Gently paced but rewarding, rich in details of family and human themes.
Spirit of the Beehive - Victor Erice, 1973
A haunting and enigmatic film set in Francoist Spain and a coded critique of the regime that managed to avoid the censors.
Greed - Erich von Stroheim, 1924
An early silent film with high artistic aims to present the struggles of working people and a warning of the chase for the mighty dollar. It was originally 9 hours long but severely cut by studio bosses for commercial release and then buried. The final scenes where the lead characters have all the gold but are destined to die in the middle of the desert with no water seems especially relevant as global capitalism pushes us into climate emergency.
Pickpocket - Robert Bresson, 1959
Bresson employed non-actors for his films and often had many takes for each scene. The lead character, Michel, steals money and watches from strangers and feels no guilt about it. The understated delivery seems to enhance the feeling of his emotional detachment from the world around him, until the powerful final scene. Camus's The Stranger meets Detective Dale Cooper.
Salvatore Giuliano - Francesco Rosi, 1962
Giuliano was a bandit active in the Sicilian independence movement in the aftermath of WWII. This film shows both the left and right wing sympathies of a complex character. It has beautiful black and white photography of Sicilian scenery and villages. I was reminded of The Battle of Algiers. Apparently a favourite film of Martin Scorcese.
'Madame de...' - Max Ophuls, 1953
A film that follows the improbable movements of a pair of diamond earrings and the ephemeral nature of human happiness.
Memories of Underdevelopment - Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba, 1968
A portayal of a wealthy writer who decides to stay in Cuba after the revolution and his wife and family leave for the US. Mixes drama with documentary footage. A subtle film that gives the viewer space to make their own judgement about the lead character and his disengagement from the politics surrounding him.
Shonen (Boy) - Nagisa Oshima, 1969
If you liked Shoplifters or Parasite, this much earlier film may interest you. It's kind of like a Japanese 400 Blows and stands as a strong critique of the post war Japanese 'economic miracle'. Based on the true story of a couple who faked car-pedestrian accidents in order to extort money from drivers.
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