Jeri's movie recommendations for film neophytes

Here's a great list of films from Jeri (A.K.A. Wendytime), film buff.

FOREIGN

Burnt by the Sun (Russian) – music, character, story.

City of Lost Children (French) – Jeunet - this director is a favorite for creativity

Delicatessen (French) – Jeunet - Dominique Pinon is also in Aliens 4

Amelie (French) – Jeunet * great!

Red (Fr) – Kiezlowski -Red, Blue, and White have slightly connected stories

Blue (Fr) – Kiezlowski -color themes best in this one

White (Fr) – Kiezlowski -director also has trademark of old woman at recycling bin

Double Life of Veronique (Fr) - Kiezlowski – beautiful music, interesting story

Night on Earth – starring Roberto Benini, Winona Ryder, Rosie Perez, more.It’s in English, French, Italian, and whatever they speak in Helsinki..

Xiu Xiu the Sent-Down Girl (Chinese) - I’m a sucker for this stuff.

Red Firecracker Green Firecracker (Chinese)

The Scent of Green Papaya (I think that’s the name)

Before the Rain (French) – interesting because timeline goes in circles

Red Sorghum (Chinese)

Raise the Red Lantern (Chinese)

Judou (Chinese)

Emperor and the Assassin (Chinese) - epic!

All the Mornings of the World (Fr) – Gerard Depardieu. Touching, and beautiful music

Germinal (Fr) – Gerard Depardieu

Cyrano de Bergerac (French) – Gerard Depardieu. Classic.

Horseman on the Roof (French) – I love this one!

Queen Margot – it’s bloody. And expensive. But epic Dumas.

Life is Beautiful (Italian)– of course.

Johnny Stechino (Italian)- Benini mistook for mob boss

Down by Law - English, actually, but starring Benini

The Monster (Italian) - Benini

The Postman (Italian)

400 Blows (French) - On a lot of lists.

Au revoir les enfants (French) – WWII

Europa Europa (Fr) – one of sister’s favorites

Stalingrad (German) – GREAT

Das Boot (German) – So goooooood! – submarine movie

MY LIFE AS A DOG (French)– my first foreign movie. I thought it was insane..then.

Lovers of the Arctic Circle (French) – intertwining lives…

Dream Life of Angels (French)

Shall We Dance? (Japanese?) – Funny, touching

That’s the Way I Like it - (Vietnam?) about a guy who wants to BE Sat. Night Fever

The Cup (Chinese) – Monks want a TV to watch the world cup

The Castle (Australian) - funny

The Dish (Australian) - cute

Rat Catcher (Scottish)

Cocteau (French)

After Life (Chinese?) – this movie was so touching, about right after when people die, .. .they go to a place where they’re allowed to re-create ONE memory from their life. I loved it so much..



Every Juliette Binoche movie

Every Gerard Depardieu – except A Pure Formality, Green Card, and Bogus








INDEPENDENT

Reservoir Dogs – Tarantino, Tim Roth

Pulp Fiction – Tarantino, Tim Roth

Little Odessa – Tim Roth, Edward Furlong

American History X – Edward Furlong, Edward Norton

Fight Club – Brad Pitt, Edward Norton. Essential viewing.

Secrets and Lies – Mike Leigh directed, great characters

Naked - Mike Leigh – great conversation and performances

Topsy Turvey – Mike Leigh

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead – Oldman/Roth, funny

Leon / The Professional – Luc Busson

12 Monkeys – plot, acting, creativity. Wonderful movie.

Age of Innocence – MY FAVORITE adaptation from a novel. Superb acting.

Being John Malkovich – creative story, good acting.

Blue Velvet – because everyone talks about it, although I didn’t love it.

BRAZIL – if you don’t see it once in your life, you haven’t seen anything. It’s insane.

Buffalo ’66 – written, directed, scored, starred by Vincent Gallo. Personal favorite

The Funeral – great cast

Palookaville – funny, Vincent Gallo

Dark City – innovative story about aliens who create humans’ “reality” with their minds

Groundhog Day – funny, hilarious, Bill Murray’s BEST

Fargo – One of my all time all time all time favorites, for story and acting and dark humor

Barton Fink – Coen Brothers, what can I say? Great style.

Raising Arizona – Coen Brothers. Hilarious. Nicolas Cage at his best, humor wise.

Miller’s Crossing – Coen Brothers.

Big Lebowski- Coen Brothers. Funny.

LA Confidential – Story, acting, great.

Living in Oblivion - Steve Buscemi

Trees Lounge – Steve Buscemi as the Ice Cream Man

In the Soup – Steve Buscemi

Snatch – Innovative creativity, great casting, very funny.

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – funny, creative.

Heathers – high school favorite

My Own Private Idaho – one of my early indie memories

State of Grace – Oldman, Sean Penn, Robin Wright (pre-Penn), good Irish New York stuff

Quizshow - I love Ralph Fiennes. Best acting here. Grand grand movie. Jon Turturro too

Usual Suspects – oh I’m sure you’ve seen it. If not do so …NOW

Sunshine – no, THIS is Ralph Fiennes’ greatest hour. Playing 3 generations of men.

The Deep End – Tilda Swenton is great in this, acting. What lengths a mother will go to.

Trainspotting – Must have seen this at least 30 times now.. Scottish, funny, good music.

Shallow Grave – Creative stories

You Can Count on Me - indie, but with Laura Linney and Matthew Broderick. Great story.

Sid & Nancy – Wanna learn about how crazy Sid from the Sex Pistols was?

HAMLET – Kenneth Branagh’s version is great great great.

A Midnight Clear – War story, with buddies, lesser known, but still quite good

Spanish Prisoner

Swimming with Sharks – Frank Whaley lives every employees dream – snapping.

True Romance – Tarantino wrote it, Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, with Dennis Hopper

and Christopher Walken. Clever, violent.

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? – Great small town stuff. Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Leo DeCaprio.

Rushmore – The epitome of geeky humor. I love it.

American Movie – Great documentary about a white-trash kinda guy who has a dream of making horror movies.

Dancer in the Dark - Bjork stars in a moving story about a mother trying to make enough money for her son to have an important eye surgery. Very sad. Interesting dancing/singing fantasy/daydream sequences.

Little Voice – Very cute. Ewan McGreggor and Michael Kane and Brenda Blethyn

Affliction – I never thought I’d like Nick Nolte until this movie. Also James Coburn and Willem Dafoe

20 Dates – Hilarious documentary about a man trying to find a wife, who goes on 20 dates and tapes them all.

eXistenZ – crazy virtual reality movie, but extremely inventive. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher

Eccleston or Jude Law… I think it’s Eccleston

Gattica – Jude Law and Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. Futuristic story about genetic engineering and its consequences, etc.

Limbo – Directed by John Sayles. Imagine being hunted down and lost in Alaska. Great great great.

Secret of Roan Inish – more John Sayles: Irish folklore. Very endearing.

Lone Star – John Sayles. Texan.

Sunshine State – John Sayles. Talk about character development. Great cast ensemble.

Mr. Death – Good documentary about a man who evaluates/fixes up electric chairs for a living.

Thin Blue Line – While Mr. Death was being made, the director interviewed guys on death row. In the process he discovered one of the prisoners wasn’t guilty and did a documentary that eventually go him out of prison.

Buena Vista Social Club – Documentary about Cuban singers from the past reuniting and touring in New York. Astounding music.

Oscar & Lucinda – Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchette. Comedy in the 19th century? About two “innocently” compulsive gamblers, one of which is a priest. Their love story and adventures – this movie put Blanchette on the map in the indie film world.

Elizabeth - Cate Blanchette is so great. Should have won the Oscar over Gwyneth Paltrow.

The Apostle – speaking of winning Oscars.. this shoulda too.

Dangerous Beauty – French courtesans, love, hypocrisy, etc. But good.

Pi - You’d have to see it to know why I can’t summarize it.

Smoke Signals - about modern –day Indians. Very funny, very endearing.

Donnie Brasco – great gangster/mob kind of movie starring Johnny Depp

Ed Wood – Johnny Depp, directed by Burton. Great stuff. Black and white.

The Nightmare Before Christmas – enough said.

Edward Scissorhands – burton. Epitome of modern day fairy tale.

Slacker – About people who are Slackers. Some of them are so awful, but it’s interesting.

In the Name of the Father – Daniel Day Lewis. Emma Thompson. One of my favs.

Wings of the Dove – Helena Bonham Carter shoulda won the Oscar over stinking Helen Hunt or whoever won that year.

Room with a View – Carter.. Another Forster novel. My first Merchant Ivory experience.

Portrait of a Lady – Nicole Kidman. Novel. John Malkovich. Good stuff.

The Royal Tenenbaums – more from the makers of Rushmore. Don’t let people tell you it’s all comedy.

The Lotus Eaters - it’s been so long, but I remember some kind of bizarre comedy.

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