Some films I'd recommend to Diana

My friend Diana told me that it would be a dream come true if I dedicated a blog post to her. Being an insanely busy person with a hectic schedule the prospect of this happening was nil, but I’m one of those people who finds it difficult to say no. And if this small good deed is going to make my friend’s dream come true and change her life then I will find the time to do this.

She sent me a list of films that she likes and asked me for recommendations. Instead of replying to her on Facebook message which is probably what I should do, I will reply here on my blog and make it a public matter: 

She said she likes Tarantino films, especially Inglorious Basterds, and as much as I'd like to be able to wholeheartedly recommend to her the latest Tarantino film Django Unchained, I was slightly disappointed by it. Go see it, by all means, because you probably will one day anyway. But what I will recommend are In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, by Martin McDonagh. His style reminds me of Tarantino; and obvious similarity is the use of excess violence, but its use is also satirical – more clearly than Tarantino’s, and you can see that at the same time he clearly has something to say about what he is presenting on screen.

She said she likes The Tree of Life. I actually didn’t like it that much. I briefly wrote about it a long time ago on this blog so scroll all the way down to check it out! There was nothing wrong with the film but I just…. well... I’m not as intelligent as you. A film that I saw recently which was also a visual spectacle was Life of Pi. Also pretty impressive visually, not on such a grand scale as The Tree of Life, but what it has to say is easy to understand even for idiots like me.

She said she likes Donnie Darko. I can’t remember much about it cause I saw it when I was like 15, but its time travel vibe reminds me of films like The Butterfly Effect, or even The Source Code. Neither are ‘great’ films, but are pretty decent and highly entertaining. Last year there was Looper, also about time travel with a unique plot, which I recommend.

She said she likes the films of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, especially 21 Grams. I also love 21 Grams. The only other film by him that I’ve seen is actually Babel, also with interweaving plot lines. I remember it being so-so. Interweaving plot lines reminds me of one of my favourite films, The Edge of Heaven, a Turkish & German film, extremely compelling, deep and powerful.

She said she likes The Reader, and I actually just today saw the 2002 film The Hours, with the same director (Stephen Daldry) and screenwriter (David Hare). It wasn’t as great as it made out to be; it was delivered well, structured well, the performances were awesome (especially Nicole Kidman who plays Virginia Woolf, and Julianne Moore) and I guess I’d recommend it. It’s about suicide so yeah, really cheery.

She said she likes Revolutionary Road. I liked it too, I love Sam Mendes’ films – American Beauty (which you’ve probably already seen anyway) and Road to Perdition are some of my favourite films. Their themes are of loneliness, the past and the present, and of hope – something Mendes always explores so well.

You mentioned several other dark/confusing films – Requiem for a Dream, Mullholland Drive, actually that’s it, but I got the general vibe that you like somewhat depressing or sinister films, so I will list out a few more of my contemporary favourites:

 

The Talented Mr Ripley
The Devil’s Double

Blue Velvet (David Lynch, I’m sure you’ve seen it)
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Children of Men

Vanilla Sky (the original Spanish film Abre los ojos is better)

And my favourite film of last year which I’m recommending for the sake of it: Holy Motors

And one of my fav films, not really sinister, just purely depressing (beautiful though): Never Let Me Go

And I hear The Master is really good, I haven’t seen it yet but I think both you and I will like it! I’ll let you know when I eventually see it if I’d recommend it to you.