Author: Ryan Swen

April 2020 Capsules

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [rewatch]
While I fundamentally agree with Sean that the ending of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon doesn’t especially make sense, it carries a thematic resonance that squares with a lot of the film’s more direct import. Like with perhaps the film it most tries to emulate, A Touch of Zen, one of the greatest of all wuxias, the fundamental aim is self-betterment in favor of transcendence. For the warriors at the end of their prime, it’s to discover love while fighting the desire for revenge; for the desert bandit, it’s to recapture the one treasure that he had to let go of; for the poisonous theif, it’s to try to learn the art that she could never even begin to master. Jiaolong is caught between all of these places, and indeed wants on some level to achieve them all simultaneously. Accordingly, she is able to access these differing experiences and worlds, shifting in class stature and appearance; it’s surely no coincidence that she’s the only character to have substantially differing attire, and there’s a direct citation of the many wuxias where women disguised themselves as men just by wearing their hair up. Zhang’s all-time performance echoes this too, shifting between wide-eyed excitement, sullen discontentment, and hungry attraction in a way that still communicates the very core of her being. Crucially, she’s the youngest: she says that she’s “just playing” a number of times, and there’s a refreshing unseriousness and untestedness to her character that allows her to shift between these roles, to explore without getting stuck in her ordained place like the rest. (The near-mythic import that all of the other main actors, even Chang Chen, carry in comparison to Zhang’s still-ascendant star can’t be underestimated either.)

So while the essential nature of the ending, taking all of the stories and wishes spread throughout into account, may not necessarily work, if there’s one person who could both exist in the real world and among the clouds, floating forever, it’d be Jiaolong.

March 2020 Capsules

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High and Low
In essence, High and Low really is building entirely to the scene in the GI bar. Though there are numerous scenes of interaction with the lower depths and sequences with large groups of people, this is the first time that the viewer is truly presented with the masses that Gondo and the police have been insulated from. Of course, there is a great deal of narrative import that occurs, but even more important is the clash between texture — loud music, rapidly moving bodies — and the intruders: the groups of “disguised” police officers and the dark glasses-wearing kidnapper. Both implicitly stick out, and it is their in-between status that snaps Kurosawa’s concerns into place: high and low are impossible to bridge, but there’s a great deal of room in the pits in between.

15th (1977): “A Real Smash” Show Notes

Ryan Swen Catalyst and Witness Leave a comment

Table of Contents: Description, Corrections/Clarifications, Housekeeping, General, Main Slate, Ephemera, Recurring Directors, Recurring Countries, One-Time Directors, Debuts/Final Features, Festivals/Oscar Nominees, Events/Shorts, Discussions By Length, Specifications

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Description
The fifteenth episode of the Catalyst and Witness podcast, devoted to exploring the films and format of the New York Film Festival, hosted by Ryan Swen. This covers the fifteenth edition of the festival in 1977, and features special guest Keith Uhlich.

0:00-18:22 – Opening
18:23-1:23:16 – Part One [One Sings, the Other Doesn’t to Tent of Miracles]
1:23:17-2:45:25 – Part Two [Men of Bronze to Le Camion]
2:45:26-3:48:38 – Part Three [Short Eyes to Citizens Band]
3:48:39-4:50:18 – Part Four [Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom to The Man Who Loved Women]
4:50:19-5:39:23 – Part Five [Omar Gatlato to My Grandmother]
5:39:24-6:54:08 – Part Six [Women to That Obscure Object of Desire]
6:54:09-7:02:59 – Closing

Corrections/Clarifications

  • N/A

Housekeeping

  • Hosted by Ryan Swen
  • Special Guest Keith Uhlich
  • Conceived and Edited by Ryan Swen
  • Recorded in Los Angeles and New York City on Zoom H4N and Sennheiser Microphones, Edited in Audacity
  • Podcast photograph from Yi Yi, Logo designed by Dan Molloy
  • Poster by Jim Dine
  • Recorded January 3, 2020
  • Released February 22, 2020
  • Music (in order of appearance):
    • One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (opening night)
    • The American Friend (another favorite)
    • Tent of Miracles (favorite of the first section)
    • Padre Padrone (favorite of the second section)
    • The Devil, Probably (favorite of the third section)
    • Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (favorite of the fourth section)
    • Omar Gatlato (favorite of the fifth section)
    • 1900 (favorite of the sixth section)
    • That Obscure Object of Desire (closing night)

General

  • Selection Committee: Richard Roud (program director), Richard Corliss, Roger Greenspun, Charles Michener, Susan Sontag, Arthur Knight (West Coast consultant)
  • Location: Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall
  • Prices: 2.50, 3, 4, 5.50; for opening and closing night 5, 7, 10
  • Films seen for the podcast:
    • Ryan
      • Seen before podcast watching period: The American Friend
      • Seen for the podcast: All available; The American Friend rewatched
      • Favorite films: The Devil Probably, Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom, That Obscure Object of Desire, The American Friend
      • Least favorite films: Pafnucio Santo, Heart of Glass, Hot Tomorrows, My Grandmother
    • Keith
      • Seen before podcast watching period: The American Friend, The Devil Probably, Citizens Band, Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom, Heart of Glass, That Obscure Object of Desire
      • Seen for the podcast: All available; The American Friend, The Devil Probably, Heart of Glass, That Obscure Object of Desire rewatched
      • Favorite films: Citizens Band, Heart of Glass, The Devil Probably, That Obscure Object of Desire, Padre Padrone, Omar Gatlato
      • Least favorite films: Roseland, Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom, Pafnucio Santo
  • Discoveries of the festival: Omar Gatlato, Tent of Miracles, The Lacemaker
  • Unavailable films: Men of Bronze, Children of Labor

Main Slate

Opening Night: One Sings, the Other Doesn’t [L’une chante, l’autre pas] (1977, Agnès Varda)
September 23, 9:00 {Avery Fisher Hall}
Released 1977
Retrospective: L’Enfant de Paris [The Child of Paris] (1913, Léonce Perret)
September 24, 1:00
Never released
Tent of Miracles [Tenda dos milagres] (1977, Nelson Pereira dos Santos)
September 24, 3:00
Released 1979
Men of Bronze (1977, Bill Miles)
And: Children of Labor (1977, Noel Buckner & Mary Dore & Richard Broadman & Al Gedicks)
September 24, 6:00
Never released/Never released
The American Friend [Der Amerikanische Freund] (1977, Wim Wenders)
September 24, 9:00
Released 1977
Padre Padrone [My Father, My Master] (1977, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani)
September 25, 1:00
Released 1977
Pafnucio Santo (1977, Rafael Corkiki)
September 27, 6:15
Never released
Le Camion [The Lorry] (1977, Marguerite Duras)
September 27, 9:30
Never released
Short Eyes (1977, Robert M. Young)
September 28, 9:30
Released 1977
The Devil, Probably [Le diable probablement] (1977, Robert Bresson)
September 29, 9:30
Released 1994
Citizens Band (1977, Jonathan Demme)
September 30, 9:30
Released 1977
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom [Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma] (1975, Pier Paolo Pasolini)
October 1, 1:00
Released 1977
Heart of Glass [Herz aus Glas] (1976, Werner Herzog)
Also: La Soufrière [La Soufrière – Warten auf eine unausweichliche Katastrophe/La Soufrière – Waiting for an Inevitable Disaster] (1977, Werner Herzog)
October 1, 6:00
Released 1977/Released 1978
The Man Who Loved Women [L’Homme qui aimait les femmes] (1977, François Truffaut)
October 1, 9:00
Released 1977
Omar Gatlato (1977, Merzak Allouache)
October 2, 2:00
Never released
Roseland (1977, James Ivory)
October 2, 9:00
Released 1977
Hot Tomorrows (1977, Martin Brest)
And/Retrospective: My Grandmother [Chemia bebia] (1929, Kote Mikaberidze)
October 4, 9:30
Never released/Never released
Women [Ok ketten/The Two of Them] (1977, Márta Mészarós)
October 6, 6:15
Released 1978
The Lacemaker [La Dentellière] (1977, Claude Goretta)
October 6, 9:30
Released 1977
1900 [Novecento/Twentieth Century] (1976, Bernardo Bertolucci)
October 8, 2:00
Released 1977
Closing Night: That Obscure Object of Desire [Cet obscur objet du désir] (1977, Luis Buñuel)
October 9, 8:30 {Avery Fisher Hall}
Released 1977

Ephemera

  • Animation Festival: five programs of animated films of all types at Alice Tully Hall; $2 for each program, $7.50 for full series
  • Saved!: a retrospective of ten important American films from the preservation vaults of the American Film Institute, George Eastman House, the Museum of Modern Art, and UCLA at Alice Tully Hall; $2 for each film, $15 for full series

Recurring Directors
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/omnibus/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable), number of festivals with more than one film shown (when applicable); † indicates their last appearance, fraction in parentheses indicates number of features shown from oeuvre, features released in the eligible timeframe, features in oeuvre

  • Werner Herzog: 1/2/6/7/0/1
  • Luis Buñuel: 1/1/8/12/2/3†(9/10/32)
  • Robert Bresson: 1/1/7/7
  • Bernardo Bertolucci: 1/1/6/7/1/1
  • François Truffaut: 1/1/6/6/4
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini: 1/1/4/6/0/1†(5/16/17)
  • Marguerite Duras: 1/1/5/5†(5/16/16)
  • Agnès Varda: 1/1/4/4/2
  • James Ivory: 1/1/3/3
  • Wim Wenders: 1/1/3/3
  • Claude Goretta: 1/1/2/2†(2/23/24)
  • Merzak Allouache: 1/1/1/1
  • Jonathan Demme: 1/1/1/1
  • Márta Mészáros: 1/1/1/1
  • Nelson Pereira dos Santos: 1/1/1/1
  • Paolo & Vittorio Taviani: 1/1/1/1

Recurring Countries
Key: films in this iteration excluding shorts/retrospectives, films in this iteration including, films in the festival up to this point excluding, films up to this point including, number of gala spots (when applicable)

  • France: 6/7/89/107/14
  • USA: 6/6/49/64/2
  • Italy: 3/3/34/39/3
  • West Germany: 2/3/25/27/1
  • Hungary: 1/1/9/9
  • Brazil: 1/1/4/4
  • Mexico: 1/1/3/4/1
  • Algeria: 1/1/1/1
  • USSR: 0/1/6/7/2

One-Time Directors

  • Martin Brest
  • Noel Buckner & Mary Dore & Richard Broadman & Al Gedicks
  • Rafael Corkidi
  • Kote Mikaberidze (retrospective)
  • Bill Miles
  • Léonce Perret (retrospective)
  • Robert M. Young

Feature Debuts

  • Merzak Allouache
  • Martin Brest
  • Noel Buckner & Mary Dore & Richard Broadman & Al Gedicks
  • Kote Mikaberidze (retrospective)
  • Bill Miles

Final Features

  • Luis Buñuel
  • Al Gedicks
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini

Festivals

  • NYFF World Premiere
    • Hot Tomorrows
    • Roseland
    • Short Eyes
    • Women
  • Cannes
    • 1900 (1976 Out of Competition)
    • Padre Padrone (Palme d’Or, FIPRESCI)
    • The Lacemaker (Prize of the Ecumenical Jury)
    • The American Friend
    • Le Camion
    • Omar Gatlato (Critics’ Week)
  • Berlin
    • The Devil, Probably (Special Jury Prize)
    • The Man Who Loved Women
    • Tent of Miracles
  • Other
    • One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (Taormina, Grand Prize)
    • Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975 Paris)
    • That Obscure Object of Desire (San Sebastian)
  • N/A
    • Children of Labor
    • Citizens Band
    • L’Enfant de Paris
    • Heart of Glass
    • Men of Bronze
    • My Grandmother
    • Pafnucio Santo
    • La Soufrière

Oscar Nominees

  • That Obscure Object of Desire: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Foreign Film

Events/Shorts

events
events
shorts

Discussions By Length (Approximate)

  • 30:07 1900 (6:06:06-6:36:13)
  • 26:22 The Devil, Probably (3:03:40-3:30:02)
  • 23:26 The Man Who Loved Women (4:26:52-4:50:18)
  • 23:25 Le Camion (2:22:00-2:45:25)
  • 21:53 Tent of Miracles (1:01:23-1:23:16)
  • 21:29 One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (19:22-40:51)
  • 20:30 L’Enfant de Paris (40:52-1:01:22)
  • 20:25 Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (3:49:35-4:10:00)
  • 20:13 Padre Padrone (1:44:07-2:04:20)
  • 19:25 Hot Tomorrows/My Grandmother (5:19:58-5:39:23)
  • 18:35 Citizens Band (3:30:03-3:48:38)
  • 17:54 That Obscure Object of Desire (6:36:14-6:54:08)
  • 17:38 Pafnucio Santo (2:04:21-2:21:59)
  • 17:16 Short Eyes (2:46:23-3:03:39)
  • 16:50 Heart of Glass/La Soufrière (4:10:01-4:26:51)
  • 16:50 The American Friend (1:27:16-1:44:06)
  • 15:41 Omar Gatlato (4:51:16-5:06:57)
  • 13:01 Women (5:40:21-5:53:22)
  • 12:59 Roseland (5:06:58-5:19:57)
  • 12:42 The Lacemaker (5:53:23-6:06:05)
  • 3:00 Men of Bronze/Children of Labor [Unavailable] (1:24:15-1:27:15)

Specifications

  • Agnès Varda, L’une chante, l’autre pas, 1977, 35 mm, color and black-and-white, mono sound, 120 minutes, 1.66:1, French, France.
  • Léonce Perret, L’Enfant de Paris, 1913, 35 mm, black-and-white, silent, 124 minutes, 1.33:1, French, France.
  • Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Tenda dos milagres, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 132 minutes, 1.66:1, Portuguese and English and French, Brazil.
  • Bill Miles, Men of Bronze, 1977, 16 mm, color and black-and-white, mono sound, 60 minutes, 1.37:1, English, USA.
  • Noel Buckner & Mary Dore & Richard Broadman & Al Gedicks, Children of Labor, 1977, 16 mm, black-and-white, mono sound, 55 minutes, 1.37:1, English, USA.
  • Wim Wenders, Der Amerikanische Freund, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 127 minutes, 1.66:1, English and German and French, West Germany.
  • Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, Padre Padrone, 1977, 16 mm, color, mono sound, 113 minutes, 1.66:1, Italian and Sardinian and Latin, Italy.
  • Rafael Corkidi, Pafnucio Santo, 1977, 35 mm, color, stereo sound, 100 minutes, 1.37:1, Spanish and French and German, Mexico.
  • Marguerite Duras, Le Camion, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 79 minutes, 1.66:1, French, France.
  • Robert M. Young, Short Eyes, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 100 minutes, 1.85:1, English, USA.
  • Robert Bresson, Le diable probablement, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 92 minutes, 1.37:1, French, France.
  • Jonathan Demme, Citizens Band, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 98 minutes, 1.85:1, English, USA.
  • Pier Paolo Pasolini, Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma, 1975, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 117 minutes, 1.85:1, Italian and French and German, Italy.
  • Werner Herzog, Herz aus Glas, 1976, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 94 minutes, 1.66:1, German, West Germany.
  • Werner Herzog, La Soufrière – Warten auf eine unausweichliche Katastrophe, 1977, 16 mm, color, mono sound, 30 minutes, 1.37:1, English, West Germany.
  • François Truffaut, L’Homme qui aimait les femmes, 1977, 35 mm, color and black-and-white, mono sound, 120 minutes, 1.66:1 and 1.37:1, French, France.
  • Merzak Allouache, Omar Gatlato, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 90 minutes, 1.66:1, Arabic and French, Algeria.
  • James Ivory, Roseland, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 104 minutes, 1.85:1, English, USA.
  • Martin Brest, Hot Tomorrows, 1977, 35 mm, black-and-white, mono sound, 73 minutes, 1.37:1, English, USA.
  • Kote Mikaberidze, Chemia bebia, 1929, 35 mm, black-and-white, silent, 73 minutes, 1.33:1, Russian, USSR.
  • Márta Mészarós, Ok ketten, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 100 minutes, 1.37:1, Hungarian, Hungary.
  • Claude Goretta, La Dentellière, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 107 minutes, 1.66:1, French, France.
  • Bernardo Bertolucci, Novecento, 1976, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 317 minutes, 1.85:1, Italian, Italy.
  • Luis Buñuel, Cet obscur objet du désir, 1977, 35 mm, color, mono sound, 103 minutes, 1.66:1, French and Spanish, France.

2019 Muriel Awards

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Best Feature-Length Film

  1. La Flor
  2. Asako I & II
  3. Transit
  4. Long Day’s Journey Into Night
  5. I Heard You Paint Houses
  6. Ash Is Purest White
  7. Grass
  8. Parasite
  9. High Life
  10. Uncut Gems

Best Lead Performance

  1. Laura Paredes, La Flor
  2. Franz Rogowski, Transit
  3. Robert Pattinson, High Life
  4. Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
  5. Zhao Tao, Ash Is Purest White
  6. Pilar Gamboa, La Flor
  7. Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell
  8. Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
  9. Adam Driver, Marriage Story
  10. Robert De Niro, I Heard You Paint Houses

Best Supporting Performance

  1. Joe Pesci, I Heard You Paint Houses
  2. Agyness Deyn, Her Smell
  3. Margaret Qualley, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
  4. Julia Fox, Uncut Gems
  5. Wang Yuwen, An Elephant Sitting Still
  6. Florence Pugh, Little Women
  7. Asier Etxeandia, Pain and Glory
  8. Lee Sun-kyun, Parasite
  9. Anna Paquin, I Heard You Paint Houses
  10. Mia Goth, High Life

Best Direction

  1. Bi Gan, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
  2. Christian Petzold, Transit
  3. Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Asako I & II
  4. Josh & Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems
  5. Claire Denis, High Life

Best Cinematic Moment

  1. Notebook scheming, La Flor
  2. Monet paintings, La Flor
  3. When a woman ascends and descends the stairs, Grass
  4. Motorcycle crash, Asako I & II
  5. Hotel room conversation, Ash Is Purest White
  6. Glass in the train station, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
  7. Theatrical monologue, Pain and Glory
  8. Peach montage, Parasite
  9. Final concert, Her Smell
  10. “Being Alive,” Marriage Story

Best Documentary

  1. The Image Book
  2. What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?
  3. Feast of the Epiphany

Best Screenplay

  1. La Flor
  2. Grass
  3. Transit
  4. I Heard You Paint Houses
  5. Asako I & II

Best Ensemble Performance

  1. La Flor
  2. I Heard You Paint Houses
  3. Parasite
  4. Her Smell
  5. Little Women

Best Cinematography

  1. Long Day’s Journey Into Night
  2. Transit
  3. Ash Is Purest White
  4. Her Smell
  5. An Elephant Sitting Still

Best Editing

  1. I Heard You Paint Houses
  2. Asako I & II
  3. Parasite
  4. Uncut Gems
  5. High Life

Best Music

  1. Her Smell
  2. Uncut Gems
  3. Long Day’s Journey Into Night
  4. An Elephant Sitting Still
  5. Asako I & II

Best Cinematic Breakthrough

  1. Bi Gan
  2. Franz Rogowski
  3. Hu Bo
  4. Tom Mercier
  5. Paul Walter Hauser

Best Body of Work

  1. Franz Rogowski
  2. Kim Min-hee
  3. Juliette Binoche
  4. Bobby Cannavale
  5. Adam Driver

Best Youth Performance

  1. Lucy Gallina, I Heard You Paint Houses
  2. Julia Butters, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
  3. Jung Hyun-joon, Parasite

Other remarks:
This is one of the best release years I’ve ever seen for film.

10th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film of 2009

  1. Oxhide II
  2. Orphan
  3. Inglourious Basterds
  4. Fantastic Mr. Fox
  5. Sweetgrass

25th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film of 1994

  1. Chungking Express
  2. Ashes of Time
  3. A Confucian Confusion
  4. Sátántangó
  5. Vive L’Amour

50th Anniversary Award, Best Feature Film of 1969

  1. My Night at Maud’s
  2. L’Amour fou
  3. Boy
  4. The Sorrow and the Pity
  5. Une femme douce

Best Films of the 2010s

  1. La Flor
  2. Stray Dogs
  3. Yourself and Yours
  4. Mysteries of Lisbon
  5. Like Someone in Love
  6. Asako I & II
  7. Mountains May Depart
  8. Carol
  9. The Assassin
  10. Transit
  11. Cemetery of Splendour
  12. Silence
  13. Long Day’s Journey Into Night
  14. Martin Eden
  15. Blackhat

Best Performances of the 2010s

  1. Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks: The Return
  2. Laura Paredes, La Flor
  3. Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
  4. Rooney Mara, Carol
  5. Zhao Tao, Mountains May Depart
  6. Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
  7. Luca Marinelli, Martin Eden
  8. Peter Simonischek, Toni Erdmann
  9. Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
  10. Franz Rogowski, Transit

Director of the 2010s (Body of Work)

  1. Hong Sang-soo
  2. Jia Zhangke
  3. Johnnie To
  4. Jean-Luc Godard
  5. Bi Gan

2020 Reading Log

Ryan Swen Lists, Reviews Tags: Leave a comment

1. Zama (1956, Antonio Di Benedetto): 11/19/19-2/8/20 (on-off):
Comparing this with the film is practically unavoidable, seeing as how close to my mind Martel’s work has been during the past few end-of-decade obsessed months, whether while reading this book or not. But what Di Benedetto seems to emphasis above all else is, if not strictly atmosphere in the way that the film would have it, than the impossibility of fully comprehending or understanding it. The odd slips in quotidian time, the overwhelming horniness that possesses Zama, the way in which characters fade in and out of focus, all of this feels explicitly designed to displace the reader, to inhabit the total uncertainty that the main character lives in. All of this is tremendously successful, and the three-part structure serves to highlight the writer’s dexterity: when looked at in pure narrative terms, the three couldn’t be more removed, and yet when placed side-by-side and examined minutely, they proceed with the same purpose.

2. Black Wings Has My Angel (1953, Elliott Chaze): 2/9/20-3/14/20:
Like the best films noir, Black Wings Has My Angel rests upon its strange, resigned fatalism, all in the backwards glance of a man condemned to his vague yet inescapable fate. At the same time, it never feels so irreducibly simple: the details are so exacting that they imprint themselves in the reader’s head; Virginia is a combination of femme fatale tropes that becomes an impossible being, coquettish and proper one moment and ruthless the next; the past of Tim Sunblade/Kenneth is ironclad and thus makes it feel as though anything is possible for him. The result is something that both valorizes and warns against crime, a beautiful set of contradictions that adds up to something even greater than the sum of its parts; in other words, it has the ideal, horrible American spirit at every moment.

January 2020 Capsules

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Like Someone in Love
There aren’t many imposed time limits in either this or in the context of Kiarostami’s sadly curtailed career, but throughout there’s the sense of the director and his characters running out of time. The need to complete a sordid assignment, to replace a drive belt, to translate a few lines: none of these are given specific deadlines, but the characters nevertheless rush forward trying to get them over with. In their midst is Takashi, who has nothing but time: time to drive around, to light candles, to move across his apartment. Their collision is between the old and the new, the societal and the interior, and the results are unbearably poignant.

A Top 100 of the 2010s

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Compiled for the run-up to the end-of-the-decade, will be updated until the end of the 2019 list-making season.

  1. La Flor (2018, Mariano Llinás)
  2. Stray Dogs (2013, Tsai Ming-liang)
  3. Twin Peaks: The Return (2017, David Lynch)
  4. Yourself and Yours (2016, Hong Sang-soo)
  5. Mysteries of Lisbon (2010, Raúl Ruiz)
  6. Like Someone in Love (2012, Abbas Kiarostami)
  7. Asako I & II (2018, Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
  8. Mountains May Depart (2015, Jia Zhangke)
  9. Carol (2015, Todd Haynes)
  10. The Assassin (2015, Hou Hsiao-hsien)
  11. Transit (2018, Christian Petzold)
  12. Cemetery of Splendour (2015, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
  13. Silence (2016, Martin Scorsese)
  14. Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2018, Bi Gan)
  15. Martin Eden (2019, Pietro Marcello)
  16. The Day He Arrives (2011, Hong Sang-soo)
  17. Blackhat (2015, Michael Mann)
  18. Phoenix (2014, Christian Petzold)
  19. The Tree of Life (2011, Terrence Malick)
  20. Certified Copy (2010, Abbas Kiarostami)
  21. Meek’s Cutoff (2010, Kelly Reichardt)
  22. I Heard You Paint Houses (2019, Martin Scorsese)
  23. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
  24. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (2011, Johnnie To)
  25. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2 (2014, Johnnie To)
  26. Passion (2012, Brian De Palma)
  27. Horse Money (2014, Pedro Costa)
  28. Margaret (2011, Kenneth Lonergan)
  29. Inherent Vice (2014, Paul Thomas Anderson)
  30. Manakamana (2013, Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez)
  31. To the Ends of the Earth (2019, Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
  32. Mistress America (2015, Noah Baumbach)
  33. Cameraperson (2016, Kirsten Johnson)
  34. The Grandmaster (2013, Wong Kar-wai)
  35. Goodbye to Language (2014, Jean-Luc Godard)
  36. Drug War (2012, Johnnie To)
  37. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014, Wes Anderson)
  38. The Wind Rises (2013, Hayao Miyazaki)
  39. Happy Hour (2015, Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
  40. Romancing in Thin Air (2012, Johnnie To)
  41. Before Midnight (2013, Richard Linklater)
  42. Ash Is Purest White (2018, Jia Zhangke)
  43. Grass (2018, Hong Sang-soo)
  44. Right Now, Wrong Then (2015, Hong Sang-soo)
  45. Manchester by the Sea (2016, Kenneth Lonergan)
  46. Frances Ha (2012, Noah Baumbach)
  47. Gone Girl (2014, David Fincher)
  48. Toni Erdmann (2016, Maren Ade)
  49. First Reformed (2017, Paul Schrader)
  50. The Princess of France (2014, Matías Piñeiro)
  51. Tabu (2012, Miguel Gomes)
  52. Parasite (2019, Bong Joon-ho)
  53. On the Beach at Night Alone (2017, Hong Sang-soo)
  54. High Life (2018, Claire Denis)
  55. Hill of Freedom (2014, Hong Sang-soo)
  56. Jauja (2014, Lisandro Alonso)
  57. Moonrise Kingdom (2012, Wes Anderson)
  58. Hanagatami (2017, Nobuhiko Obayashi)
  59. The Other Side of the Wind (2018, Orson Welles)
  60. Listen Up Philip (2014, Alex Ross Perry)
  61. This Is Not a Film (2011, Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb)
  62. No No Sleep (2015, Tsai Ming-liang)
  63. Bastards (2013, Claire Denis)
  64. Hahaha (2010, Hong Sang-soo)
  65. Arboretum Cycle (2017, Nathaniel Dorsky)
  66. Uncut Gems (2019, Josh & Benny Safdie)
  67. SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015, Soi Cheang)
  68. In My Room (2018, Ulrich Köhler)
  69. I Was at Home, But… (2019, Angela Schanelec)
  70. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013, Isao Takahata)
  71. Oki’s Movie (2010, Hong Sang-soo)
  72. Shakti (2019, Martín Rejtman)
  73. The Day After (2017, Hong Sang-soo)
  74. Her Smell (2018, Alex Ross Perry)
  75. An Elephant Sitting Still (2018, Hu Bo)
  76. differently, Molussia (2012, Nicolas Rey)
  77. List (2011, Hong Sang-soo)
  78. Nobody’s Daughter Haewon (2013, Hong Sang-soo)
  79. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019, Quentin Tarantino)
  80. My Golden Days (2015, Arnaud Desplechin)
  81. The Traitor (2019, Marco Bellocchio)
  82. The Image Book (2018, Jean-Luc Godard)
  83. Kaili Blues (2015, Bi Gan)
  84. You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet (2012, Alain Resnais)
  85. Boyhood (2014, Richard Linklater)
  86. The Handmaiden (2016, Park Chan-wook)
  87. Two Days, One Night (2014, Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
  88. Two Shots Fired (2014, Martín Rejtman)
  89. The Unspeakable Act (2012, Dan Sallitt)
  90. To the Wonder (2012, Terrence Malick)
  91. Sieranevada (2016, Cristi Puiu)
  92. The Color Wheel (2011, Alex Ross Perry)
  93. The Work (2017, Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous)
  94. The Grand Bizarre (2018, Jodie Mack)
  95. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018, Christopher McQuarrie)
  96. The Hedonists (2016, Jia Zhangke)
  97. Faces Places (2017, Agnès Varda & JR)
  98. In Another Country (2012, Hong Sang-soo)
  99. Kate Plays Christine (2016, Robert Greene)
  100. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018, Joel & Ethan Coen)

Top 25 Performances

  1. Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks: The Return
  2. Laura Paredes, La Flor
  3. Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
  4. Rooney Mara, Carol
  5. Zhao Tao, Mountains May Depart
  6. Joaquin Phoenix, Inherent Vice
  7. Luca Marinelli, Martin Eden
  8. Peter Simonischek, Toni Erdmann
  9. Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
  10. Franz Rogowski, Transit
  11. Hong Chau, Downsizing
  12. Patrick d’Assumçao, Stranger by the Lake
  13. John Huston, The Other Side of the Wind
  14. Lee Yoo-young, Yourself and Yours
  15. Shu Qi, The Assassin
  16. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
  17. Kim Min-hee, On the Beach at Night Alone
  18. Nina Hoss, Phoenix
  19. Lee Kang-sheng, Stray Dogs
  20. Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha
  21. Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
  22. Anna Paquin, Margaret
  23. Rin Takanashi, Like Someone in Love
  24. Kate Lyn Sheil, Kate Plays Christine
  25. Louis Koo, Romancing in Thin Air

Honorable Mentions (not strict runners-up but rather films that have stuck with me)

  • Aloha (2015, Cameron Crowe)
  • Another Movie (2018, Morgan Fisher)
  • Aquarius (2016, Kleber Mendonça Filho)
  • Bad at Dancing (2015, Joanna Arnow)
  • Belonging (2019, Burak Çevik)
  • Brouillard: Passage #14 (Alexandre Larose)
  • Burning (2018, Lee Chang-dong)
  • By the Time It Gets Dark (2016, Anocha Suwichakornpong)
  • Camera falls from airplane and lands in pig pen–MUST WATCH END!! (2014, Mia Munselle)
  • Classical Period (2018, Ted Fendt)
  • Clouds of Sils Maria (2014, Olivier Assayas
  • Coherence (2013, James Ward Byrkit)
  • Downsizing (2018, Alexander Payne)
  • Elle (2016, Paul Verhoeven)
  • Garoto (2015, Júlio Bressane)
  • The Ghost Writer (2010, Roman Polanski)
  • Heaven Knows What (2014, Josh & Benny Safdie)
  • Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party (2015, Stephen Cone)
  • The Human Surge (2016, Eduardo Williams)
  • I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016, Feng Xiaogang)
  • “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians” (2018, Radu Jude)
  • Journey to the West (2014, Tsai Ming-liang)
  • L for Leisure (2014, Lev Kalman & Whitney Horn)
  • Let Your Light Shine (2013, Jodie Mack)
  • The Lost City of Z (2016, James Gray)
  • The Mend (2014, John Magary)
  • The Midnight After (2014, Fruit Chan)
  • Mrs. Hyde (2017, Serge Bozon)
  • Night Without Distance (2015, Lois Patiño)
  • Nocturama (2016, Eduardo Williams)
  • Non-Fiction (2018, Olivier Assayas)
  • P’tit Quinquin (2014, Bruno Dumont)
  • Personal Shopper (2016, Olivier Assayas)
  • Princess Cyd (2018, Stephen Cone)
  • Resident Evil: Retribution (2012, Paul W.S. Anderson)
  • Six Cents in the Pocket (2015, Ricky D’Ambrose)
  • The Strange Little Cat (2013, Ramon Zürcher)
  • The Social Network (2010, David Fincher)
  • The Son of Joseph (2016, Eugène Green)
  • Stranger by the Lake (2013, Alain Guiraudie)
  • A Touch of Sin (2013, Jia Zhangke)
  • 20th Century Women (2016, Mike Mills)
  • Unfriended: Dark Web (2018, Stephen Susco)
  • Western (2017, Valeska Grisebach)
  • Zama (2017, Lucrecia Martel)

The Chinese Cinema

Ryan Swen Lists Leave a comment

As inspired by Sean Gilman’s essential list ranking the Chinese-language films he’s seen, I’ve decided to make my own paltry list. Rankings are inexact, but will be regularly updated.

  1. Yi Yi (2000, Edward Yang)
  2. A Touch of Zen (1971, King Hu)
  3. In the Mood for Love (2000, Wong Kar-wai)
  4. A Brighter Summer Day (1991, Edward Yang)
  5. Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003, Tsai Ming-liang)
  6. Platform (2000, Jia Zhangke)
  7. Dragon Inn (1967, King Hu)
  8. Chungking Express (1994, Wong Kar-wai)
  9. Stray Dogs (2013, Tsai Ming-liang)
  10. The Hole (1998, Tsai Ming-liang)
  11. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, Ang Lee)
  12. Mahjong (1996, Edward Yang)
  13. A City of Sadness (1989, Hou Hsiao-hsien)
  14. Days of Being Wild (1990, Wong Kar-wai)
  15. Ashes of Time (1994, Wong Kar-wai)
  16. The Love Eterne (1963, Li Han-hsiang)
  17. Peking Opera Blues (1986, Tsui Hark)
  18. The Terrorizers (1986, Edward Yang)
  19. 2046 (2004, Wong Kar-wai)
  20. Taipei Story (1985, Edward Yang)
  21. Mountains May Depart (2015, Jia Zhangke)
  22. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978, Lau Kar-leung)
  23. Sparrow (2008, Johnnie To)
  24. A Confucian Confusion (1994, Edward Yang)
  25. The Assassin (2015, Hou Hsiao-hsien)
  26. Pedicab Driver (1989, Sammo Hung)
  27. Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2018, Bi Gan)
  28. Election 2 (2006, Johnnie To)
  29. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (2011, Johnnie To)
  30. Wheels on Meals (1984, Sammo Hung)
  31. Throw Down (2004, Johnnie To)
  32. That Day, on the Beach (1983, Edward Yang)
  33. Don’t Go Breaking My Heart 2 (2014, Johnnie To)
  34. Legend of the Mountain (1979, King Hu)
  35. Hard-Boiled (1992, John Woo)
  36. The Fate of Lee Khan (1973, King Hu)
  37. Bullet in the Head (1990, John Woo)
  38. The River (1997, Tsai Ming-liang)
  39. The Grandmaster (2013, Wong Kar-wai)
  40. Millennium Mambo (2001, Hou Hsiao-hsien)
  41. Still Life (2006, Jia Zhangke)
  42. Green Snake (1993, Tsui Hark)
  43. Drug War (2012, Johnnie To)
  44. Fallen Angels (1995, Wong Kar-wai)
  45. Romancing in Thin Air (2012, Johnnie To)
  46. Happy Together (1997, Wong Kar-wai)
  47. My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002, Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai)
  48. What Time Is It There? (2001, Tsai Ming-liang)
  49. Police Story (1985, Jackie Chan)
  50. Nomad (1982, Patrick Tam)
  51. Vive L’Amour (1994, Tsai Ming-liang)
  52. Eastern Condors (1987, Sammo Hung)
  53. Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1997, Wai Ka-fai)
  54. Ash Is Purest White (2018, Jia Zhangke)
  55. Oxhide II (2009, Liu Jiayin)
  56. Afternoon (2015, Tsai Ming-liang)
  57. My Young Auntie (1981, Lau Kar-leung)
  58. Dangerous Encounters – First Kind (1980, Tsui Hark)
  59. No No Sleep (2015, Tsai Ming-liang)
  60. Raining in the Mountain (1979, King Hu)
  61. SPL II: A Time for Consequences (2015, Soi Cheang)
  62. Accident (2009, Soi Cheang)
  63. Golden Swallow (1968, Chang Cheh)
  64. The Killer (1989, John Woo)
  65. The World (2004, Jia Zhangke)
  66. Hero (2002, Zhang Yimou)
  67. An Elephant Sitting Still (2018, Hu Bo)
  68. The Valiant Ones (1975, King Hu)
  69. 24 City (2008, Jia Zhangke)
  70. School on Fire (1988, Ringo Lam)
  71. As Tears Go By (1988, Wong Kar-wai)
  72. Kaili Blues (2015, Bi Gan)
  73. The Hedonists (2016, Jia Zhangke)
  74. Love in a Puff (2010, Pang Ho-cheung)
  75. I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone (2006, Tsai Ming-liang)
  76. A Touch of Sin (2013, Jia Zhangke)
  77. Kung Fu Hustle (2004, Stephen Chow)
  78. One-Armed Swordsman (1967, Chang Cheh)
  79. The Goddess (1934, Wu Yonggang)
  80. Goodbye South, Goodbye (1996, Hou Hsiao-hsien)
  81. Journey to the West (2014, Tsai Ming-liang)
  82. Exiled (2006, Johnnie To)
  83. To Live (1994, Zhang Yimou)
  84. Oxhide (2005, Liu Jiayin)
  85. Blind Detective (2013, Johnnie To)
  86. Unknown Pleasures (2002, Jia Zhangke)
  87. Face (2009, Tsai Ming-liang)
  88. Come Drink With Me (1966, King Hu)
  89. Xiao Wu (1997, Jia Zhangke)
  90. The Wayward Cloud (2005, Tsai Ming-liang)
  91. Daughter of the Nile (1987, Hou Hsiao-hsien)
  92. City on Fire (1987, Ringo Lam)
  93. Rebels of the Neon God (1992, Tsai Ming-liang)
  94. Love on a Diet (2001, Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai)
  95. Expectations (1982, Edward Yang)
  96. Shaolin Soccer (2001, Stephen Chow)
  97. My Blueberry Nights (2007, Wong Kar-wai)
  98. The Odd One Dies (1997, Patrick Yau and Johnnie To)
  99. The Midnight After (2014, Fruit Chan)
  100. Raise the Red Lantern (1991, Zhang Yimou)
  101. The Mission (1999, Johnnie To)
  102. A Better Tomorrow (1986, John Woo)
  103. Election (2005, Johnnie To)
  104. House of Flying Daggers (2004, Zhang Yimou)
  105. Secret Goldfish (2016, Bi Gan)
  106. Office (2015, Johnnie To)
  107. I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016, Feng Xiaogong)
  108. The Wild Goose Lake (2019, Diao Yinan)
  109. Chasing Dream (2019, Johnnie To)
  110. Useless (2007, Jia Zhangke)
  111. Cry Me a River (2008, Jia Zhangke)
  112. Visit (2020, Jia Zhangke)
  113. In the Heat of the Sun (1994, Jiang Wen)
  114. An Autumn’s Tale (1987, Mabel Cheung)
  115. I Wish I Knew (2010, Jia Zhangke)
  116. Ju Dou (1990, Zhang Yimou)
  117. A Family Tour (2018, Ying Liang)
  118. Another Year (2016, Shengze Zhu)
  119. In Our Time (1982, Tao Te-chen/Edward Yang/Ko I-chen/Chang Yi)
  120. Your Face (2018, Tsai Ming-liang)
  121. The White Storm 2: Drug Lords (2019, Herman Yau)
  122. A Chinese Ghost Story (1987, Ching Siu-tung)
  123. The Great Buddha+ (2017, Huang Hsin-yao)
  124. Infernal Affairs (2002, Andrew Lau & Alan Mak)
  125. Police Story 2 (1988, Jackie Chan)
  126. Lust, Caution (2007, Ang Lee)
  127. The Poet and Singer (2012, Bi Gan)
  128. Dong (2006, Jia Zhangke)
  129. Three (2016, Johnnie To)
  130. The Mermaid (2016, Stephen Chow)
  131. Xiao Shan Going Home (1995, Jia Zhangke)
  132. Mission: Impossible II (2000, John Woo)
  133. Life Without Principle (2011, Johnnie To)
  134. Red Sorghum (1987, Zhang Yimou)
  135. The Wedding Banquet (1993, Ang Lee)
  136. Turn Left, Turn Right (2003, Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai)
  137. Red Cliff (2008, John Woo)
  138. Red Cliff Part II (2009, John Woo)
  139. The Great Wall (2016, Zhang Yimou)
  140. Curse of the Golden Flower (2006, Zhang Yimou)
  141. The Story of Qiu Ju (1992, Zhang Yimou)
  142. SPL: Kill Zone (2005, Wilson Yip)
  143. A Taste of Killing and Romance (1994, Veronica Chan)
  144. Pushing Hands (1991, Ang Lee)
  145. Enter the Dragon (1973, Robert Clouse)
  146. Ip Man (2008, Wilson Yip)
  147. Shower (1997, Zhang Yang)
  148. Ip Man 2 (2010, Wilson Yip)
  149. Cape No. 7 (2008, Wei Te-Sheng)
  150. Secret (2007, Jay Chou)
  151. Happy Times (2000, Zhang Yimou)
  152. The Road Home (1999, Zhang Yimou)
  153. Shadow (2018, Zhang Yimou)
  154. The Way of the Dragon (1972, Bruce Lee)
  155. A City Called Macau (2019, Li Shaohong)
  156. People’s Republic of Desire (2018, Hao Wu)
  157. Forever Young (2018, Li Fangfang)
  158. The Bucket (2019, Jia Zhangke)
  159. Game of Death (1978, Robert Clouse)

2020 First Watches

Ryan Swen Lists Tags:

Renewed Appreciation: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Cemetery of Splendour, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, What Time Is It There?, Los Angeles Plays Itself, Two English Girls, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spione, Transit, Phoenix, Green Snake, SPL II: A Time for Consequences, Legend of the Mountain, The Matrix, There Will Be Blood, Vive L’Amour, L’Eclisse, Nothing But a Man, The Unspeakable Act, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, Meek’s Cutoff, Dragon Inn, Claire’s Camera

Shorts: “All My Life,” “Le Chant du styrène,” “No No Sleep,” “Transformers: The Premake,” “Asparagus,” “Redemption,” “Night Without Distance,” “Origins of the 21st Century,” “Foreign Powers,” “Parsi,” “Toute la mémoire du monde,” “Joy Street,” “Cry When It Happens,” “The Sky Is Clear and Blue Today,” “Visit,” “Statues Also Die,” “Caterina,” “Fainting Spells,” “Yudie,” “Pinball,” “Temple of Torment,” “What Did Jack Do?,” “Cattle Mutilations,” “El Doctor,” “Possibly in Michigan,” “The Stranger in Apartment 9F,” “Visitations,” “Fit Model,” “La France contre les Robots,” “Jefferson Circus Songs,” “Nightwalk”

  1. Femmes Femmes (1974, Paul Vecchiali) [April]
  2. High and Low (1963, Akira Kurosawa) [March]
  3. Perceval le Gallois (1978, Eric Rohmer) [June]
  4. Mysteries of Lisbon (2010, Raúl Ruiz) [January]
  5. Beijing Watermelon (1989, Nobuhiko Obayashi) [May]
  6. His Girl Friday (1940, Howard Hawks) [March]
  7. The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom (2007, Adam Curtis) [June]
  8. Like Someone in Love (2012, Abbas Kiarostami) [January]
  9. The Love Eterne (1963, Li Han-hsiang) [March]
  10. Peking Opera Blues (1986, Tsui Hark) [April]
  11. Sparrow (2008, Johnnie To) [April]
  12. Pyaasa (1957, Guru Dutt) [April]
  13. Pedicab Driver (1989, Sammo Hung) [May]
  14. Election 2 (2006, Johnnie To) [May]
  15. Fantômas (1913, Louis Feuillade) [March]
  16. Wheels on Meals (1984, Sammo Hung) [June]
  17. Throw Down (2004, Johnnie To) [May]
  18. The Clock (1945, Vincente Minnelli) [March]
  19. The Wind Rises (2013, Hayao Miyazaki) [January]
  20. Drug War (2012, Johnnie To) [January]
  21. It Felt Like a Kiss (2009, Adam Curtis) [June]
  22. Faubourg St. Martin (1986, Jean-Claude Guiguet) [April]
  23. Romancing in Thin Air (2012, Johnnie To) [January]
  24. My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (2002, Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai) [May]
  25. The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear (2004, Adam Curtis) [May]
  26. Providence (1977, Alain Resnais) [April]
  27. Eastern Condors (1987, Sammo Hung) [May]
  28. Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1997, Wai Ka-fai) [May]
  29. Safe (1995, Todd Haynes) [February]
  30. Fourteen (2019, Dan Sallitt) [May]
  31. Dawn of the Dead (1978, George A. Romero) [February]
  32. Tabu (2012, Miguel Gomes) [January]
  33. Simone Barbès or Virtue (1980, Marie-Claude Treilhou) [March]
  34. Afternoon (2015, Tsai Ming-liang) [April]
  35. My Young Auntie (1981, Lau Kar-leung) [June]
  36. Hanagatami (2017, Nobuhiko Obayashi) [January]
  37. Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978, Bertrand Blier) [May]
  38. Accident (2009, Soi Cheang) [April]
  39. Golden Swallow (1968, Chang Cheh) [June]
  40. The Valiant Ones (1975, King Hu) [April]
  41. Starship Troopers (1997, Paul Verhoeven) [March]
  42. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013, Isao Takahata) [January]
  43. Double messieurs (1986, Jean-François Stévenin) [February]
  44. Through the Forest (2005, Jean-Paul Civeyrac) [April]
  45. The Century of the Self (2002, Adam Curtis) [May]
  46. Film Socialisme (2010, Jean-Luc Godard) [April]
  47. Love in a Puff (2010, Pang Ho-cheung) [June]
  48. Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth? (1932, Yasujiro Ozu) [May]
  49. A Voluntary Year (2019, Ulrich Köhler & Henner Winckler) [February]
  50. The Mouth Agape (1974, Maurice Pialat) [May]
  51. At This Late Date, the Charleston (1981, Kihachi Okamoto) [March]
  52. Pauline at the Beach (1983, Eric Rohmer) [March]
  53. The Green Room (1978, François Truffaut) [May]
  54. Le Beau Serge (1958, Claude Chabrol) [June]
  55. Journey to the West (2014, Tsai Ming-liang) [January]
  56. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013, Martin Scorsese) [January]
  57. Metropolis (1927, Fritz Lang) [March]
  58. That Obscure Object of Desire (1977, Luis Buñuel) [January]
  59. 36 Fillette (1988, Catherine Breillat) [February]
  60. differently, Molussia (2012, Nicolas Rey) [January]
  61. Synonyms (2019, Nadav Lapid) [January]
  62. Garoto (2015, Júlio Bressane) [January]
  63. Noroît (une vengeance) (1976, Jacques Rivette) [March]
  64. Michael Clayton (2007, Tony Gilroy) [June]
  65. Day of the Dead (1985, George A. Romero) [February]
  66. Dossier 51 (1978, Michel Deville) [May]
  67. Rosemary’s Baby (1968, Roman Polanski) [April]
  68. The Blue Angel (1930, Josef von Sternberg) [March]
  69. West Side Story (1961, Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins) [February]
  70. Blind Detective (2013, Johnnie To) [January]
  71. Shadows (1959, John Cassavetes) [January]
  72. Vitalina Varela (2019, Pedro Costa) [February]
  73. Unstoppable (2010, Tony Scott) [January]
  74. Love on a Diet (2001, Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai) [June]
  75. Election (2005, Johnnie To) [May]
  76. Shaolin Soccer (2001, Stephen Chow) [June]
  77. Merry-Go-Round (1981, Jacques Rivette) [May]
  78. Bacurau (2019, Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles) [April]
  79. A Hidden Life (2019, Terrence Malick) [January]
  80. The Left-Handed Woman (1978, Peter Handke) [May]
  81. The Wild Goose Lake (2019, Diao Yinan) [April]
  82. The Cool World (1963, Shirley Clarke) [January]
  83. The Boston Strangler (1968, Richard Fleischer) [May]
  84. Bless Their Little Hearts (1983, Billy Woodberry) [June]
  85. Violette Nozière (1978, Claude Chabrol) [June]
  86. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971, Robert Altman) [February]
  87. Grand Illusion (1937, Jean Renoir) [March]
  88. Brokeback Mountain (2005, Ang Lee) [April]
  89. An Autumn’s Tale (1987, Mabel Cheung) [June]
  90. Bound (1996, Lana & Lilly Wachowski) [June]
  91. The Arbor (2010, Clio Barnard) [January]
  92. Chasing Dream (2019, Johnnie To) [May]
  93. Klute (1971, Alan J. Pakula) [April]
  94. Like a Turtle on Its Back (1978, Luc Béraud) [June]
  95. Zombi Child (2019, Bertrand Bonello) [February]
  96. Paris Is Burning (1990, Jennie Livingston) [June]
  97. A Girl Is a Gun (1971, Luc Moullet) [June]
  98. Victoria (2016, Justine Triet) [June]
  99. Sentimental Education (2013, Júlio Bressane) [January]
  100. The World Is Full of Secrets (2018, Graham Swon) [January]
  101. Despair (1978, Rainer Werner Fassbinder) [May]
  102. Atlantics (2019, Mati Diop) [January]
  103. Gates of Heaven (1978, Errol Morris) [June]
  104. The Shout (1978, Jerzy Skolimowski) [June]
  105. A Girl Missing (2019, Koji Fukada) [February]
  106. The Matrix Reloaded (2003, Lana & Lilly Wachowski) [April]
  107. Your Face (2018, Tsai Ming-liang) [May]
  108. Winter Light (1963, Ingmar Bergman) [May]
  109. Under the Skin (2013, Jonathan Glazer) [January]
  110. Meeting a Milestone (1989, Goutam Ghose) [March]
  111. Fear of Fear (1975, Rainer Werner Fassbinder) [March]
  112. Den of Thieves (2018, Christian Gudegast) [May]
  113. The Sign of Leo (1962, Eric Rohmer) [April]
  114. Camouflage (1977, Krzysztof Zanussi) [May]
  115. Da 5 Bloods (2020, Spike Lee) [June]
  116. American Boy: A Portrait of Steven Prince (1978, Martin Scorsese) [June]
  117. Ham on Rye (2019, Tyler Taormina) [February]
  118. Infernal Affairs (2002, Andrew Lau & Alan Mak) [June]
  119. A Faithful Man (2018, Louis Garrel) [February]
  120. Ikiru (1952, Akira Kurosawa) [April]
  121. Lust, Caution (2007, Ang Lee) [May]
  122. Zero Dark Thirty (2012, Kathryn Bigelow) [April]
  123. In Transit (2015, Albert Maysles & Lynn True & David Usui & Nelson Walker & Ben Wu) [April]
  124. Life Without Principle (2011, Johnnie To) [January]
  125. The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959, Masaki Kobayashi) [February]
  126. Safety Last! (1923, Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor) [April]
  127. The American Sector (2020, Courtney Stephens & Pacho Velez) [February]
  128. Le Samouraï (1967, Jean-Pierre Melville) [April]
  129. SPL: Paradox (2017, Wilson Yip) [April]
  130. Some Divine Wind (1991, Roddy Bogawa) [May]
  131. Candyman (1992, Bernard Rose) [March]
  132. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019, J.J. Abrams) [January]
  133. With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women’s Emergency Brigade (1978, Lorraine Gray) [May]
  134. The Hurt Locker (2008, Kathryn Bigelow) [April]
  135. Oroslan (2019, Matjaz Ivanisin) [February]
  136. Wasp Network (2019, Olivier Assayas) [June]
  137. The Matrix Revolutions (2003, Lana & Lilly Wachowski) [April]
  138. Skip Tracer (1977, Zale Dalen) [May]
  139. Alita: Battle Angel (2019, Robert Rodriguez) [June]
  140. The Mask of Zorro (1998, Martin Campbell) [May]
  141. Hit 2 Pass (2014, Kurt Walker) [May]
  142. s01e03 (2020, Kurt Walker) [May]
  143. Sunrise/Sunset (2019, Jong Ougie Pak) [April]
  144. Newsfront (1978, Phillip Noyce) [May]
  145. A Wedding (1978, Robert Altman) [May]
  146. Mekong Hotel (2012, Apichatpong Weerasthakul) [January]
  147. Wild Strawberries (1957, Ingmar Bergman) [April]
  148. But I’m a Cheerleader (1999, Jamie Babbit) [June]
  149. SPL: Kill Zone (2005, Wilson Yip) [April]
  150. Batang West Side (2001, Lav Diaz) [March]
  151. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020, Eliza Hittman) [April]
  152. Locke (2013, Steven Knight) [March]
  153. Langlois (1970, Eila Hershon & Roberto Guerra) [May]
  154. Daisies (1966, Vera Chytilová) [February]
  155. Enter the Dragon (1973, Robert Clouse) [May]
  156. Elevator to the Gallows (1958, Louis Malle) [May]
  157. They Are Their Own Gifts (1978, Lucille Rhodes & Margaret Murphy) [May]
  158. Ema (2019, Pablo Larraín) [May]
  159. The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (2019, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers & Kathleen Hepburn) [June]
  160. The Miracle of the Wolves (1924, Raymond Bernard) [June]
  161. American Psycho (2000, Mary Harron) [March]
  162. Fight Club (1999, David Fincher) [March]
  163. Gamer (2009, Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor) [March]
  164. The Apple Game (1977, Vera Chytilová) [May]
  165. The Way of the Dragon (1972, Bruce Lee) [June]
  166. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018, Susan Johnson) [February]
  167. Bloodbrothers (1978, Robert Mulligan) [May]
  168. My First Film (2018, Zia Anger) [May]