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Reviews
Magnolia (1999)
"But it did happen..."
I'm not gonna lie, this is easily in my top 3. I must admit, the first time I was introduced to this film, I hated it, with passion. I may have even ranted for one or ...five hours. ("Something something, capitalist agenda something something" if my memory serves me... and possibly a few swear words thrown in...).
But then I returned to it some years later (yes, that's how much I hated it) and discovered a whole other genius to this movie. The more I watch it, the more I discover. I don't think there has been a time when I've sat down to watch Magnolia and not learned something new.
Magnolia magnifies the connections between seven main characters, how each affects each other and how their lives will be irrevocably changed in a single day. Parents and children reach crossroads and sins will be revealed.
It's mindblogging to think that old mate P.T. Anderson was only 29 years old when he made this triumph in cinema. And like each director of the other films on this list, Anderson's skew is so deliciously unique that whether you enjoy Magnolia or not, it will definitely leave an impression with you. This film divides audiences; people either love it and defend it with honour or hate it with livid frustration.
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
Follow the gnome...
Paris is my favourite place in the world. So you can understand that I had to include Amelie in a list of films that say the most about me as a person. Putting aside my partiality for French chic, this film also provides insight to my childhood. The title character's (played by Audrey Tatou) penchant for life's simple childish pleasures eerily resembles my own. In fact, the entire opening title sequence of a young Amelie entertaining herself by putting glue on her fingertip and peeling it off, spinning a coin, eating 10 raspberries in one mouthful and other activities (I won't spoil it for you) is almost verbatim of how I would spend time on my own as a little girl. After discovering a hidden treasure in her apartment, adult Amelie decides to devote herself to "fixing" other people's lives. But destiny has so much more in store for her.
This film will make you want to strike up a conversation with a stranger or buy a garden gnome or just tuck into a good ol' creme brulee; the ultimate anti-dote to a dull, rainy day.
Stand outs: Brace yourself for the "Fifteen Orgasms" scene. Try to keep your pants on.
Fight Club (1999)
Mischief. Mayhem. Soap.
Nothing says "ANARCHY!! COS F**K YEAH!!" like a healthy punch to the ear. And if you are in the mood to scream a big, fat "F**k You" to the world, then this is the film for you.
Fight Club's nameless protagonist (Edward Norton) begins unravelling as he endures a destructive bout of insomnia. After following his doctor's advice, he becomes addicted to therapy groups and meets Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter). After this short-lived encounter with the only female in the movie, our narrator meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) on a business flight. Their camaraderie eventually sees them starting a fight club built on the philosophy of anarchy and rejection of societal status quo. But is anarchy really the answer? How far do you take it?
If you have ever felt like a consumerist machine then I urge you to try this for kicks. The novel by Chuck Palaniuk is also a must read (but should be judged separately from the film as they differ in many aspects).
Stand outs: Meatloaf as "B**ch-tits Bob": has to be seen to be believed.
The Hours (2002)
A woman's life in a single day.
I saw this film for the first time when I was fifteen and beginning to discover my own feminism.
Nicole Kidman plays Virginia Woolf writing her famous novel Mrs Dalloway, Julienne Moore is Laura Brown, a 1950 s housewife reading Mrs Dalloway and Meryl Streep is Clarissa Vaughan, a modern-day version of Mrs Dalloway. These three women, in their separate timelines, affect each other's day as they grapple with the threat of suicide (in one form or another) and the ghosts of their past.
One moment in particular that makes my heart ache every time I watch it is when Clarissa (Streep) is preparing the "crab thing" for a party for her writer friend Richard (who is battling AIDS). Streep has a wonderful way of using her body language to express more than words ever could. Clarissa stands over the sink and tries to hold back tears. In that moment, we know all that she has lost, all that she yearns for, all that she regrets all that she has laboured and all that she can never change.
In case you are wondering, I don t think it is necessary to read Mrs Dalloway or the novel The Hours before watching this movie. Although I strongly recommend an attempt on these masterpieces of literature, this film is a beauty on its own.
Stand outs: Despite being a male character in a female-centred film, Richard (Ed Harris) is a linchpin in this story. Harris manages to balance stubborn martyrdom and crippled pride. Toni Collette also delivers a powerhouse scene as Laura's neighbour Kitty. Overall, stellar performances from the entire cast.
A Serious Man (2009)
An ordinary family man seeks guidance from three Rabbis after his life takes a headlong turn into a chaotic mess.
Every once in a while, a film comes along and speaks to you on such a personal level that you yourself cannot fully understand why. This was THAT movie for me. From the moment I saw the trailer, I was hooked: a timid, Jewfro-sporting man being repeatedly slammed face-first against a blackboard by a tracksuit-clad giant to the beat of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to love" as he says "I f***ed your wife! I really f***ed her!".
The film begins with a Yiddish folktale which appears (on first viewing) to be detached from the style of the rest of the film. What follows are a series of mishaps and misfortunes that revolve (mainly) around Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) and ultimately persuade him to seek the advice of three Rabbis. Larry is then plunged into an existential crisis that seems only to exacerbate when he tries different "perspectives". The Coen brothers are not strangers to providing off-kilter insight to life's mysteries. Their off-beat comedies (The Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading, The Ladykillers) provide their viewers with humor in subtlety. It is this subtlety and gentle nod to the deeper meaning that carries through to their more "serious" work (The Man Who Wasn't There, No Country for Old Men). For me, what sets this film apart from their other (arguably) more renowned works is the gravity that hits you when you realize the simple (yet effective) way they have crafted an entire film to ensure every moment resonates THE MESSAGE. If you are expecting this film to give you all the answers, then you will be disappointed. Therein lies the meaning. This is the futility of questioning that which we cannot know.
Stand-outs: Richard Kind (who plays "Uncle Arthur") is delicious as the mooching uncle. You may remember him as "Molt" the grasshopper (Kevin Spacey's annoying younger brother) in A Bug's Life.