10. A Town Called Panic (2009, Dir. Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar)
On the surface, this is a movie that shouldn’t be all that good. It’s a stop motion movie where every character is named what they are (Cowboy, Horse, etc.) and goes about a journey that increasingly lacks meaning. It’s a manic journey into the absurd, finding the best of its childlike approach to storytelling constantly overwhelming every frame. There’s adrenaline to its logic, needing to constantly find the next big obstacle to overcome before ending, quite literally, with a bang. It’s a story that rewards preconceived notions being put aside in favor of just enjoying its go-for-broke charm.
The year 2009 was full of phenomenal achievements in animation, telling stories that covered the entire spectrum of humanity. Even then, none of them captured the struggle to maintain order quite like this French title that took the simple premise of accidentally buying too many bricks for a birthday party and turned it into a near-apocalyptic journey that took its characters across the vast landscapes of Earth. Every scene is a dazzling piece of slapstick, leaving the viewer in suspense as they wonder just what will happen next. Thankfully, it’s a film so committed to its wacky premise that it never loses steam, instead allowing its perceptively simple core to expand to something much more difficult to explain. The film more than lives up to its title, finding panic at every turn. The question is how you find order in a world like that and, thankfully, the answer never shows up.
9. The Brother from Another Planet (1984, Dir. John Sayles)
The story of the American immigrant is one that’s often associated with feeling like an outsider, unable to understand the world around them. Sayles perfectly captures this feeling in a gritty drama that finds his protagonist wandering around the streets of New York with a confused look. He is a quiet type, observant of a world that spirals under its own ego. He may be the alien, but everyone around him is so strange, treating him like he doesn’t belong. Even as he evokes natural talents that seek to better the world, he becomes wound up in a madcap crime story that finds him doing everything to try and avoid unlawful arrest, changing his very reputation.
This is the type of film that tackles racial division with cleverness, finding ways to turn the disconnect into excellent resources of comedy. Sayles has a gift for turning every scene into a set piece for misunderstanding, where the characters we most understand verbally are the ones we are confused by emotionally. Everything about the film challenges the idea of empathy and the need for tolerance. Who would want to be mean to a man who has so much to offer to the world? Then again, who is going to stop and listen to what he has to say? So much is at play here that keeps the viewer guessing, bouncing from conflict to conflict with an insightful payoff that delivers a powerhouse film unlike any other.
8. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007, Dir. Cristian Mungiu)
It may have been 14 years since Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner was released, but it’s a title that remains as visceral and essential in 2021. During a year that found Roe vs. Wade being challenged by the courts, the question around abortion’s legality proves to be a timeless debate causing both sides to argue over who gets control over that decision. It’s at the heart of this Romanian drama, which unlike American counterparts took things to their bleakest potential. What is a world where abortion is illegal? It’s a world like this, where it becomes about more than the act itself. It’s about the finances, the procedure, even the social reputation and friendships that could be ruined by this simple act. For an operation that could easily change one’s life forever, it’s amazing how difficult it could be to decide which way to go.
There are plenty of uncompromising moments throughout the story. What starts as a separation of society becomes a study of a woman dealing with several conflicts that include procuring the abortion, obtaining finances, and even having to go through with the operation and disposal. Everything is presented in semi-graphic detail, where it paints a picture of how black markets work. It’s so impersonal and for someone in a compromised position, it can be hell. The story remains so methodical to the very end, showing what value women’s rights truly have, where the need for them to get proper care is prominent. This is a cautionary tale, one reflective of a world where women have no choice but to take desperate measures. It costs more than time and money. It costs friendships and even sanity. If nothing else, this is a prime defense for why reproductive services should be more available for every woman. It could change so much.
7. In the Mood for Love (2000, Dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
There hasn’t been a contemporary filmmaker who has understood romance as well as Kar-Wai. Most of his films center on the emotional divides that everyone has in their lives. With an observant, artful eye he’s brought so many stories to life, finding passion mixing with intellectual flights in such ways that stimulate the mind. Nowhere is that more apparent than in this story of unrequited love. It’s easily his most beautiful film, meticulously designed as a couple walks around aimlessly over several nights, realizing that this is the only time they’ll see each other. It’s a ticking clock of a narrative, the need for every piece of passion to be expressed as directly and discreetly as possible.
Because it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. It’s a conflict that Kar-Wai understands very well and allows his dreamlike storytelling to get the best of him. Somewhere in the darkness of night is the brightest moment of one’s day. The contrast is beautiful, finding characters who hope that the sun never rises. How do you hold onto that moment, attempting to make it the new normal? In a lot of ways, this is his magnum opus, capturing themes he’s continually explored in different ways. It’s not the most complex narrative he’s ever assembled, but emotionally it may be the most relatable because of how messy it all is. These moments are perfect yet desperate, an unrequited love that cannot last. Holding onto them as a memory is difficult, but sometimes that’s all we can try to do.
6. Topsy Turvy (1999, Mike Leigh)
Nowadays, stage musicals are a dime a dozen with several likely opening somewhere Off Broadway at this moment. Back in the 19th century, the story was much different and somewhere at the forefront was the duo Gilbert & Sullivan. Together they produced some of the most subversive musicals of the days, taking the operatic form and adding comedy. With cheeky theatrics added into the mix, there was a clever way of turning high art into something more accessible to the masses. As they seek to turn The Mikado into a masterpiece, they go about the familiar story of any production, from the inception through rehearsals to the final production, madcap conflicts and all.
What makes it a phenomenal look into history is how Leigh paints the era. With great costume work, the story feels alive with flourishing language and excellently shot stage work. There is a love of theater that shines even for the most artificial of elements, finding moments being nothing more than performance. Along with behind the scenes gossip and conflicts, the final film is a great time capsule of an era that would change the world. It’s a chance for artists to be at their most confident, to create something that will outlive them. It’s a story of triumph, of overcoming every hurdle in favor of the greater potential that art has. The Mikado may not be as known now as it was even when Leigh directed his film, but it’s impossible to know what the world would be without Gilbert & Sullivan challenging what the medium could do. It’s a powerful, perfect love letter to that potential inside everyone, to follow their dreams no matter what. Hopefully, yours will inspire tributes a century later.
Coming Up Next: Playgrounds, California Dreaming, and Scenes from Marriages (Top 5)
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