25 films that have inspired me
For this list, I've highlighted movies that were influential to me, with a focus on lesser-seen films of varying styles and genres. Plenty of blockbusters and Golden Age Hollywood classics inspire me, too. But the following films are gems that I treasure in a more personal way.
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- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsShelley DuvallSissy SpacekJanice RuleTwo roommates/physical therapists, one a vain woman and the other an awkward teenager, share an increasingly bizarre relationship.After several viewings, this film yields answers to its many mysteries. My personal take: It's a compelling examination of what a mother experiences as her daughter matures. Here, Robert Altman's heady mix of characters and concepts becomes pure catnip for me. An all-time favorite.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsEmily WatsonStellan SkarsgårdKatrin CartlidgeOilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when Jan urges her to have sex with another.Von Trier audaciously mixes kitchen-sink realism, C. Dreyer's expressiveness, and soft-core plot devices to yield something truly unique.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsIan HolmSarah PolleyCaerthan BanksA bus crash in a small town brings a lawyer to defend the families, but he discovers everything isn't what it seems.One of the few films to thoughtfully explore the moral and psychological fall-out of a lawsuit. Given our litigious culture, the film should be required viewing. Ian Holm and Sarah Polley give haunting performances. Egoyan's adaptation of the Russell Banks novel skirts preachiness by always placing the wisest words in the mouths of the least-likely messengers.
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsShane CarruthDavid SullivanCasey GoodenFour friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.Limited by budget, but boosted by Shane Carruth's imagination.
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsHaruhiko KatôKumiko AsôKoyukiTwo groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.More existentially unsettling than an American remake would ever attempt to be.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsTim RobbinsElizabeth PeñaDanny AielloMourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.Ambitious, filled with great performances, palpable desperation, revisionist history, alternate realities, and inspired gore.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsBen StillerPatricia ArquetteTéa LeoniA young man, his wife, and his incompetent case worker travel across country to find his birth parents.David O. Russell and Ben Stiller need to collaborate again! This is the peak Russell's genius and the beginnings of the Stiller leading man we're starting to grow tired of.
- DirectorHarmony KorineStarsNick SuttonJacob SewellLara ToshLonely residents of a tornado-stricken Ohio town wander the deserted landscape trying to fulfill their boring, nihilistic lives.The Ugly-is-beautiful aesthetic is gloriously represented by the haunting cult classic.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMelanie LynskeyKate WinsletSarah PeirseTwo teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.Peter Jackson honed his gift for stellar scene-writing with this tragic true-crime drama (made buoyant with inspired fantasy sequences). Years later, it's great to see Kate Winslet's costar Melanie Lynksey finally get some good roles (see 'Away We Go').
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsGretchen KrichSullivan BrownMaya LawsonReturned home to his long-estranged mother upon a request from her deathbed, a man raised by his parents in an orphanage has to confront the childhood memories that have long haunted him.Visually stunning, psychologically sharp and for all its quirkiness, rooted in all-too-relatable family madness.
- DirectorHilary BrougherStarsTilda SwintonAmber TamblynTimothy HuttonPregnant forensic psychologist Lydie Crane is hired to learn the truth behind the case of 16-year-old Stephanie Daley, who is accused of concealing her pregnancy and murdering her infant.Written and directed with an amazing control of tone and mystery. Leads Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamblyn are memorable this searching tale of a teen pregnancy gone wrong, elevating it far above Lifetime Movie-of-the-Week storytelling.
- DirectorShinji AoyamaStarsKoji YakushoAoi MiyazakiMasaru MiyazakiThe traumatized survivors of a murderous bus hijacking come together and take a road trip to attempt to overcome their damaged selves. Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose.Worth the long trip, this Japanese road movie starts with a hostage situation and morphs into a fragile mystery.
- DirectorMark PeploeStarsJames FoxFanny ArdantPaul McGannA little boy, obsessed with blindness and violence, slowly gets trapped in his own delusions.A bold and unconventional British thriller that needs to be revisited. Absolutely committed to the twisted perspective of an ordinary boy facing the possibility of blindness.
- DirectorDaniel GordonStarsDaniel GordonHyon Sun PakSong Yun KimA British documentary that follows two young North Korean girls as they prepare for the Mass Games, the world's largest choreographed gymnastics performance.One of my all-time favorite docs. The filmmakers stuck their necks out to create this illuminating portrait of North Korea.
- DirectorJulian GoldbergerStarsLynn BoydJon DaughertyRyan DaughertyRyan Kazinski, 16, is in juvenile detention in Fort Myers, Florida. He gets away one day, and the world is all before him: where should he go, what should he do? Should he try to find his mom? Should he head for Colorado, where he's daydreamed about life in the woods. He has a younger brother, so under cover of night, Ryan visits him. At night, Ryan is on the streets where there are other youth at loose ends, including one who wants Ryan to help with a burglary. The police are looking for him as well. Where might a 16-year-old of limited experience, with no money, imagine he could be safe?An incredible and poetic ending lifts this unassuming indie to classic status.
- DirectorIra SachsStarsShayne GrayThang ChanRachel Zan HussIn Memphis, a middle-class white teenager and a black Vietnamese immigrant meet in a gay cruising spot and discover what they don't have in common.There has never been another film like it. If only gay cinema plumbed these troubled waters more often!
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsEwan McGregorJonathan Rhys MeyersChristian BaleIn 1984, British journalist Arthur Stuart investigates the career of 1970s glam superstar Brian Slade, who was heavily influenced in his early years by hard-living and rebellious American singer Curt Wild.Absolutely singular in its dedication to marrying style and substance, Todd Haynes captures the essence of fandom. Goldmine recalls my favorite Ken Russell bio-pics in its playful, thesis-laden script and expressive visual metaphors.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.Memorable most for it's searing ending scenes.
- DirectorNicole HolofcenerStarsCatherine KeenerAnne HecheAmy BravermanJust as Amelia thinks she's over her anxiety and insecurity, her best friend announces her engagement, bringing her anxiety and insecurity right back.Director Nicole Holofcener demonstrates a commitment to putting simple moments on screen that show life and friendship in ways that most writers never capture.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsLim Soo-jungYum Jung-ahKim Kap-suAfter being institutionalized in a mental hospital, Su-mi reunites with her sister, Su-yeon, and they return to live at their country home. But strange events plague the house, leading to surprising revelations and a shocking conclusion.For all its twists and turns, it is head-on in its sense of t heartbreak, regret and adolescent rage.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsBrad DavisFranco NeroJeanne MoreauA handsome sailor is drawn into a vortex of sibling rivalry, murder, and explosive sexuality.With hallucinatory visuals and a script hell-bent on exploding all archetypes, 'Querelle' doles out juicy subtext in place of Genet's actual text.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsSusannah YorkRene AuberjonoisMarcel BozzuffiWhilst writing a children's book, a woman interrupted by images unsure if they may, or may not be realNot just a portrait of a woman on the verge of a breakdown, it bubbles over with daring feminist subtext. It's Altman's bleary, philosophical take on Hitchcock's 'Psycho.'
- DirectorUlrich SeidlStarsElfriede AhmadWaltraute BartelHans-Jürgen EderSix Catholics share their thoughts and problems with Jesus in different churches. The camera accompanies them.Director Ulrich Seidel's best film, this documentary portrait of people's private prayers effortlessly mixes his formalist tendencies with the messy human contradictions that his other films strain to capture.
- DirectorMatthew BarneyStarsNorman MailerMatthew BarneyAnonymousA Gothic Western loosely based on Gary Gilmore's life, executed for murder in Utah. His life is represented through fantastic sequences, like a séance to show his birth and a prison rodeo staged in a salt arena to symbolise his execution.For the adventurous. Absolutely inspiring and thought-provoking once you embrace Matthew Barney's peculiar visual vocabulary.
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsAtsushi ItôKiyohiko ShibukawaNoriko EguchiSeveral seemingly unrelated but surprisingly intertwined tales reveal how a Japanese band that independently invented punk rock in 1975 is, 37 years later, connected to a comet that is about to destroy the world.This Japanese film spins quite a yarn. Though lagging at times, it's playful approach to genre and storytelling pays off with a mind-tickling climax.