It frequently happens that friends tell me about movies that I’ve heard of numerously, but haven’t ever watched. Some of them are reoccurring (i.e. Apocalypse Now / Easy Rider / Avatar) and each time they are mentioned I’m a little bit more embarrassed, I do hold a diploma in film studies after all.
As I was tied to the bed because of another illness I decided to take it as an educational break and scoured the internet for a “Must-have-seen” list. I found one by The German Federal Agency for Civic Education. filmcritics, -scholars and –makers created the film canon from what they found good and important. I watched three of the films they list in the last couple of days and must say I can’t wait for the others, as those were pretty great…
The Apartment (D: Billy Wilder, USA 1960)
C.C. Baxter can’t say no and suddenly his flat turns into a “Hotel by the hour” for his bosses. The story about work in the 60s is poignantly told and very enjoyable.
Blade Runner (R: Ridley Scott, USA 1982)
Dark, cold, without emotions and brutal is what this film is. Blade Runner Harrison Ford is after four replicates, robot humans without emotions that were recently banned from the planet. When he falls in love with a replicant he realizes that the assumption that replicants cannot feel any emotions isn’t quite right. A thriller, a science-fiction drama, a romance and a deeply political film.
The Ice Storm (D: Ang Lee, USA 1997)
Two neighbouring families of the 70s get completely out of hand. The parents are still thinking in the 68-generations ideals and neither take responsibility for their kids nor their own emotions. It’s a truly touching film that develops a strong pull one can’t escape by finely unravelling all aspects of the lives before the spectator’s eyes. It’s also an amazing cast with Kevin Kline, Elijah Wood, Tobey Maguire, Katie Holmes, Joan Allen, Christina Ricci and Sigourney Weaver.
Find the complete list of highly recommended films from the The German Federal Agency for Civic Education here.
