Response to And So It Begins Movie blog (check out this blog it’s brilliant!).
This was a difficult choice as I rarely look at the dates on movies! Your list was very inspirational as I had only seen a handful of the movies, (some items to add to the “to watch” list) and it was a pleasure to see Kynodontas – Dogtooth (2009) on there but I thought it was a 2009 release!? My bad if it is 2010 then it will definitely make my top 10 and is in my top 30 of all time!! I adore that film to so many levels. I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and chuck in my Selected 15 films although the list is rough and off the top of my head, and I’m typing on my mobile so please excuse any strange auto corrections! And this is in no way ordered.
01.Runsdkop – Bullhead (2011)
Love at first sight! Finding Bullhead – Rundskop was the best mistake I had made in 2011. The film is brutal and powerful whiled dealing with deep personal issues and the aftermath of a terrible childhood altercation, the Flemish cattleman Jacky( Matthias Schonenaerts) has a strange alternative lifestyle and aggression problems since the incident. It’s so beautiful, a real roller coaster ride with a bittersweet ending.10/10
02.Jagten – The Hunt (2012)
Initially i assumed an actual hunt would take place, for a criminal or person or that some Danes were going all Deer Hunter on us, instead it’s a sordid and difficult film about an entire town turning on a school teacher after a child speaks out about abuse. Madds Mikkelsen plays a humble character in this raw story, it’s dark and chilling throughout. 9/10
03.The Hunter (2011)
There are two main anchors for me in this film, as a long time enthusiast of both Tasmanian Tigers and Willem Dafoe, not much could go wrong. A lone American hunter, Martin (Dafoe) is tasked to search out the possible last tiger long after their apparent extinction, his placement in Australia is a family of peaceful conservation activists who he becomes deeply attached to.Willem is then faced with a powerful struggle between his job and the consequences of it. A sombre, slow-burning depicting a complete journey , beautiful long shots over the Australian outback and amazing acting all round even from the two very young starlets 10/10
04.Holy Motors (2012)
As part of my introduction to Lofi Sci-fi, holy motors was a sudden shock to the system, something unique and are inspiring. Mr oscar (Denis lavant) plays a supercharged agent who takes over various roles of people like an alien guardian angel, chauffeured around by Celine (Edith Scob) who also takes care of all other arrangements for him. Breath taking scenes in this avant garde super film. A small cameos from Kyle, Eva Mendes and OSTincludes let my baby ride by Doctor L. I can’t praise this enough. The Merde character goes international with a feature in Japan. 10/10
05.A Field in England (2013)
Black and white historical occult masterpiece with a touch of blackened comedy. Ben Wheatley takes a further step into the surreal with this mystical jaunt into the bizarre. All the familiar faces reappear, with the addition of Reece Shearsmith who plays a mild mannered assistant on the hunt for an alchemist who has stolen his masters books to search for a hidden treasure in a field.. In England… the film is beautiful and haunting, the slow motion possession scene with the Blanck Mass OST running in the background is possibly the best 5 minutes of cinema history ever. 10/10
06.Mandariindi – Tangerines (2013)
This movie blows apart any Hollywood blockbuster with dazzling special effects. Its so on point and so deeply real, the lead is Ivo a father like figure who has stayed behind during the civil war to harvest his tangerines. He then finds himself harboring two soldiers from opposites sides of the war, educating them and freeing them of hate as he heals their minds and bodies. It’s just beautiful all round, sentimentally and in the lavish landscapes of Estonia. It does have a bitter edge, it’s not a daydream that everything will be alright. I can’t praise it enough. 10/10
07.Blutgletscher – Blood Glacier (2013)
Icy, gory, mutant bloody nature gone wild HORROR! From the first preview of this I was in love, for me this was the next I can’t wait to see movie after Trollhunter (I should get excited about movies more often) A likeness can be found of Thaw, The Thing and Evil Dead all melded together with a strong European flavour of throwing traditions to the wind. It all lets rip in this unusual creature feature. A Glacier turns red with a mysterious algae which starts to mix the genes of the local wildlife as well as supersizing them. A small arctic research team and a local MP out making a publicity documentary about how much she loved the wildlife and conservation are all subject to this surreal onslaught of mutant animals and their attacks it also has in one of the best lines in a horror movie.. “Stop eating that banana while you’re crying“. 8/10
08.Essential Killing 2010
As a quiet person i am drawn to quiet films, and this one is almost silent, in a similar vein as Gözetleme Kulesi –Watchtower (2012) which should have made this list if I had checked the date of it. Either way this is a bleak story of a prisoner of war taken from the hot desert to the cold tundra of …?? possibly Russia, maybe eastern europe. The main protagonist is Vincent Gallo who masterfully takes this story by the reins. Without ever speaking he initially tries to surrender but then makes a break for it. traversing an alien landscape trying to.. get home? it’s never clear but the sweeping camera shots make the desolate landscape beautiful, in this harrowing story. 9/10
09.Kill List (2011)
I can’t stop raving about this film, I absolutely love it to bits, it’s raw, it’s dark, gritty and shrouded in mystery. Ben Wheatley is a master at creating a dark mystic story centered around two dodgy hitmen and their new kill list contract from a strange “Client”. Occultism, gory and bloody killings and many many questions make up this thrill ride into the unknown. I have a review and post discussion for this. It’s raw, hard hitting, mysterious, violent and thought provoking.9/10
10.Mientras Duermes – Sleep Tight (2011)
After seeing Cell 211 I have been very interested in that acting abilities of Luis Tosar who plays the hardened criminal. He returns in this warped story of a superintendent of an apartment building who believes that he cannot be happy and secretly enjoys inflicting pain on others, a new tenant in 5B is his new target and unable to ruin her happiness with his usual methods he sinks further into depravity to upset his young woman. Luis is like a little black raincloud over each tenant and worker in the building acting like H? from the Resident at times, the style of the community within is much like Junet’s Amelie but with the addition of a psychotic bully, turns the sweet tale into a horror thriller. 8/10
11.Les 7 Jours de talion – 7 Days (2010)
Now we’re in the territory that i like the most! I love deeply disturbing and psychological films. this one justifies itself but making the original bad guy the lowest of the low, raping and killing a child is frowned upon by most. So it’s easy to accept what’s happening. It’s quick gorey and sick but it’s not over the top. There is a huge sentimental umbrella over the film. It raises a lot of questions about what a parent would really do to a killer peado if they got their hands on them, wrong and right it turned upside down, walls of sanity broken down. I live for cinema like this, its’ uneasy and darkly thought provoking. 9/10
12.Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010)
Easily placed in my top films of all time. Strange story on how I discovered the film in the post discussion. Meanwhile I will elaborate on this strange film. Set in 1983 and based on fragments of memories and snippets from the time, the arboria labs hold captive a young girl with amazing and unknown psychic powers. The film explores her origins and that of her captive in vivid textures and tones. For me the film is stunning on all levels, an amazing OST from Sinoia Caves / of Black Mountain, who produces a thronging deep sound throughout.10/10
13.Bellflower (2011)
As part of my introduction to Lofi Sci-fi, I was quite open for a range of new movie styles and stories, thinking I had started to own the genre, I was knocked sideways by this incredibly cheap movie. It’s so passionate, as the director and co lead is pulled into a strange psychological love triangle. It’s raw, bittersweet and an intense butter drama. I adore the soundtrack and the lost and lonely theme plus heavy lashings of Mad Max (1979) appreciation throughout.10/10
14.Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
This film, often listed as a lo fi sci fi movie but I think it’s more modern fantasy. It portrays the unusual lifestyle of a young girl who lives in the in an independent southern community with her father who has a few puzzling problems of his own. With the beautiful soundtrack including my fall time favourite Balfour Brothers and the spirit of the south I adore this somewhat strange film about discovering the world while growing up in a tousled community from the perspective of a young and vibrant mind.9/10
15.Thanatomorphose (2012)
This movie was so elusive but eventually after a couple of years, searching far and wide I found a copy in the second hand shop! A dark, morbid, unsettling, sexual spiral into the abyss is the best way to describe it. A creative Canadian girl wakes up one day rotting. Thanatomorphose itself means a fear of rotting. When the rot starts every emotion is masterfully played out, in this dark fear filled movie. It’s quiet and slow, a small cast enhance the loneliness and isolation. The film has already been copied so it’s potential is clear. I do urge that this original is watched.for me it’s one of my favorites depressing and disturbing movies. 10/10
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