With all of us being home-bound, I thought I’d share some film recommendations.
Fourteen
This movie is about two best friends and a devastatingly realistic portrayal of the subtle erosion of that closeness that comes when one half has significant mental health challenges.
C.R.A.Z.Y.
C.R.A.Z.Y. is a Quebec film following Zac as he grows up in the 60’s and 70’s dealing with being perceived as effeminate among a bunch of brothers, a construction worker dad, and a superstitious mom.
Kajillionaire
Kajillionaire is a surreal work centered around a young adult subsistence living with her narcissistic parents. While the movie has intentional absurdist qualities, it has a lot of heart.
Spirited Away
Spirited Away likely doesn’t need any introduction. I regard it as a masterpiece of animation, between Miyazaki’s dream-like tale and Joe Hisaishi’s orchestral music. Watch it in the original Japanese language with subtitles; the English voice-overs are awful. If you like this I also recommend Inside Out. For a more adult bent, I recommend Princess Mononoke.
Come and See
Come and See is a 1985 Soviet-produced film set in Nazi-occupied Belarus. It follows Flyora, a teenager conscripted in the partisan army as they fight the Germans.
The Act of Killing
The Act of Killing is a surreal documentary that asks, what happens when history is written by the victors, and those victors are war criminals? It is a contemporaneous look at three perpetrators of mass killings in Indonesia in the mid-sixties.
We Were Here
We Were Here is a poignant look at the HIV/AIDS crisis in the mid-eighties from the eyes of those that lived through it. If you like this I also recommend How to Survive a Plague.
City of God
City of God is a Brazilian film that follows the story of Rocket as he grows up in the favelas of Rio.
Chernobyl
Chernobyl is an HBO mini-series recounting of the tragedy with very few creative liberties taken. In my eyes, it is one of the best works ever produced for television.
Ladybird
Ladybird is about a daughter and her mom as the former prepares to leave home for university. Fantastic dialog. If you like this I recommend The Squid and the Whale.