My taste in cinema is one that many people seem to have an issue with accepting. My personal taste is something I highly enjoy. Critics usually don't see eye to eye with my taste, but I always believe that the movies that make this list are brilliant and deserve a location on the ever growing Criterion list.
Part 1 of this entry will focus towards such movie subject matter as Torture, Child Abuse, Prostitution, Rape, Drugs, Suicide, The End Of The World and lastly not one of them has what Hollywood describes as a happy ending. These five films all amazed me in terms of what message they tried to get across and I personally believe each one is highly underrated in terms of critic approval and box office receipts.
I'd personally like to thank Timotayo over at The Auteur's for creating me these lovely fake criterion covers for the movies below. A brilliant artist if I don't say so myself.
1. Lilya 4-Ever
How Lukas Moodysson is yet to have a film released on the Criterion Collection is an outrage. The mind boggles when a film like this hasn't made the cut. Even his debut feature Fucking Amal (Show Me Love) was a masterpiece. Lilya 4-Ever is what I like to describe as the saddest movie in the world. The movie has moments of true bliss but they are ripped out from underneath the viewer at every chance. The ending is when the characters find true happiness but at what cost?
The movie deals with such subject matter as teenage prostitution, child neglect, rape and many more themes. It all happens to our protagonist and we rarely if at all see Lilya happy for more then a few minutes on screen. Why would I like such a film?
It's hard hitting, brutal, depressing and one of the greatest films ever made in my eyes. Lukas Moodysson gives us a story that while many will not be able to handle such subject matter or even want to sit around for repeat viewings. I however see this as a masterpiece that is an emotional journey and one I'll always adore, regardless of the hard hitting subject matter.
2. The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things
The second film on my list may be even worse then the first film in terms of Child Sex Abuse, Drugs and Violence. Based on the now known hoax novel by J.T. LeRoy titled The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things is a trip like no other. What was believed to be a real story based on his childhood was made known just two months before the films release that it was all made up. Does this take away from the film knowing it's a lie? No... Asia Argento directs this hard hitting drama and she can give her dad Dario Argento a run for his money in terms of disturbing content.
Basically the story is about Jeremiah. A boy who is ripped out of a loving foster home and taken on the road with his drug addicted mother Sarah. We live through the years and watch Jeremiah fall victim to child abuse both violence and sexually. We see him live through all this and never really is their a happy moment. I may be a sadist but it's based on one of my favorite books and it never shys away from the disturbing subject matter. In different hands I couldn't see someone telling this story. In Asia Argento's hands... It's a brilliant piece of cinema that while low budget and hard to watch is worth every second. Risky as it may be, I still love it after many viewings and think it's an astounding piece of work.
For those who don't know the cast. I'd recommend watching it for the amazing talent involved such as: Asia Argento, Kip Pardue, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Michael Pitt, Marilyn Manson, Jimmy Bennett, Jeremy Renner, Dylan & Cole Sprouse, John Robinson, Matt Schulze, Jeremy Sisto and Winona Ryder.
3. Funny Games
The third film on my list is the horror flick Funny Games. Many will say it's not a horror film but more so a thriller. I however reckon the subject matter is every bit a horror movie and more. The film from the very first moment is drenched in misery and it never stops right up until the final credits. A US Remake was made that while not as hard hitting as the original due to it being a shot for shot remake just with English speaking actors still packed a punch for those who never witnessed the original.
The plot of Funny Games is simple. A family decided for a lovely holiday at their holiday house. Little do they realise that two young psychopaths are waiting to play games with the family. Not the funny games that the title surgests but games involving humiliation towards the family and basically toture of the mind, body and soul.
A relentless piece of cinema that like the above two films never has a moment of true happiness. It rips it's claws into you and never lets go. Basically after watching the film you'll end up being an emotional wreck or you'll go into cardiac arrest. The film is high on tension and one I'd recommend for those who like their films darker then night.
4. Southland Tales
The fourth film to make my list is the epic Sci-Fi Comedy Southland Tales. Directed by Richard Kelly who many would rather see his first film get the Criterion Treatment Donnie Darko. We already know that is a cult masterpiece that actually stands a chance at having Criterion put their names on the film. I would love to see his second film Southland Tales get the treatment due to it being what I like to call a Misunderstood film. I believe that in years to come this will be seen as a masterpiece of Sci-Fi cinema that many people didn't understand or simply did not watch.
Trying to write a plot for Southland Tales is a difficult task due to the massive scope of the production and how many stories are going on in the actual film. The ensemble piece is set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July the 4th, 2008. Los Angeles is on the brink of social, economical and environmental disaster. A handful of characters move the story along to a conclusion that may just be the the final apocalypse that brings the world to an end. Subjects that are thrown into the mix are Nuclear Attacks, Conspiracies, Politics, The Book Of Revelations, Government Corruption, Porn Stars, Kidnapping, Dystopian Future, Marxism, Drug Induced Hallucinations, Quantum Physics, Musical Numbers, Split Personalities, Paranoid Schizophrenia, Alternate Realities, Time Travel, Alternative Energy Sources, Blackmail and a nation under constant surveillance.
The cast is also one of the strangest to ever grace the screen. I however think the actors in this movie were fantastic. It stars Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Mandy Moore, Justin Timberlake, Miranda Richardson, Kevin Smith, Will Sasso, Wallace Shawn, Zelda Rubinstein, Jill Richie, Lou Taylor Pucci, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Holmes Osbourne, Jon Lovitz, Christopher Lambert, Bai Ling, John Larroquette, Wood Harris, Beth Grant, Janeane Garofalo, Nora Dunn, Rebekah Del Rio and Curtis Armstrong. The soundtrack is also another amazing piece of work. The score is done by Moby and gives the Surreal tale that something extra. Worth the 2.5 hour running time.
5. The Rules Of Attraction
The last film to make my list is The Rules Of Attraction. Based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. It revolves around a love triangle set in Camden College. The film may look like a teen comedy but Roger Avary completely turns the tables on the college campus genre and gives us a mean spirited, drug and sex fuelled tale of college co-eds that are all just despicable characters and are only their to party hard, take drugs and fuck. The movie is much more complex then that but basically you'll end up hating everyone involved as they don't care for anybody but themselves.
The movie I stated is different from other college movies due to the fact this is a hard R18+ movie and while funny in some parts, when the drama hits, it hits so hard it caused walk outs at film festivals. The film when it has to be mean, dark and sometimes disturbing really sets itself out to prove this is a completely different type of college based film. It deals with a shitload of drugs and sex scenes that includes one scene involving a major star of the movie waking up to being fucked while someone else is filming. The end result has the girl covered in a fountain of vomit. It also deals with suicide, drug overdoses and a ton of violence.
The film however while hard hitting is still a brilliant piece of Cinema. Roger Avary gives us many scenes that involving Nonlinear timelines, fancy cinematography a killer soundtrack and a cast that features such talent as (And still to this day against the grain for most of these actors) James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel, Kip Pardue, Kate Bosworth, Ian Somerhalder, Clifton Collins Jr., Thomas Ian Nicholas, Faye Dunaway, Swoosie Kurtz, Clare Kramer, Russell Sams, Ron Jeremy and Eric Stoltz. Worth the watch a hundred times over.
