TMY's 10 Most Influential Films
Ok. I'm going to be writing reviews of 10 plus or so films that has been of great influence in my life. These films are by no means the BEST 10 plus or so films I've ever seen, though they would easily fall into my top 50 or 100, if such a list exists.
You'll notice that films I rave about, such as The Usual Suspects, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Hero, and stuffs like that are not on this list. This is because they did not change my life.
What do I mean by change my life? Well... take one small example... Ocean's Twelve is not a great film (and its not on this list, though it nearly made it), but it made me want to (and I almost do most of the time) shoot all my short films without tripods, and rely on the handheld techniques. Many people complain about shaky cameras, but Ocean's Twelve is a good example of how it WORKS, and I try to do my shows like that.
Another example would be IT. It'd probably rank 11th if the list is expanded. This is so because IT, or Pennywise, made me hate clowns for life. I've been uneasy around pictures of clowns, real clowns, or clowns of any sort ever since watching that movie when I was a small boy. So this film left its mark, by making me become fearful of clowns.
So anyway, I'll be working my way through from no.10 to no.1 over the days. Now, those of you who know me naturally ALREADY know that the most influential film in my life is a foregone conclusion (think whzzzzzz bwzang bwang zing xiiing woosh argh saya datuk kamu!). Well, you are right, but enjoy the ride to no.2, then.
Anyway,
no.10
The Thin Red Line
Directed by Terrence Malick
Starring: Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Adrien Brody, Ben Chaplin, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Elias Koteas, John C. Reilly, John Travolta, Nick Nolte, George Clooney
The first thing that captured my attention when I watched The Thin Red Line was its rich quality in photography. If I am to make a list of films that displays the best use of cinematography right now, this show would be in the top 5, or top 3 hands down.
Troops marching through the tropical forest toward enemy lines
There are many films that photograph many beautiful things, but this film shoots not only beautiful things, but also employs these shots to invoke very powerful emotions about the second world war.
The second thing that stood out very prominently for me was the script, particularly the narration. 80% of the show is driven by narration by various characters, primarily Nick Nolte, Jim Caviezel and Ben Chaplin, with short bits by the other characters. In this regard, if one does not pay attention properly to the film, he can lose track of who's narrating, and the story might cease to make sense. So what's so good about the narration?
It "poetifies" war. Before slaughtering me for being cheesy and crappy, let me quote you Eric Bana's line from his less than successful film, Troy.
"I've killed men and I've heard them dying and I've watched them dying and there's nothing glorious about it, nothing poetic. You say you're willing to die for love but you know nothing about dying and you know nothing about love!"
Well, there's nothing poetic about the Thin Red Line in that sense, so no worries. This film relies very heavily on contrasts between the beautiful and the ugly to tell its story, and ultimately reveals that that even what we imagine as beautiful is in fact, very ugly as well. This is very clear in the film's narration, where, yes, it is very well read, and very well worded, but it is also the cries of the soldiers, their lamentations, their unconquered hearts in a newly conquered land.
And that is what changed my life the most, knowing that the most beautiful things in the world can turn into the place where we ultimately, cannot conquer.
Personally, I liked Ben Chaplin and Sean Penn the most. Ben Chaplin because his story was the most tragic, and the most blatant example of how the beautiful can turned sour. Basically after a battle, the letters he received from home wasn't too pleasant to read about, and his world ended in the Guadacanal, the land he just help occupy.
Jim Caviezel and Sean Penn deliver intense and gripping performances as Corporal Fife and First Sergeant Welsh
Sean Penn because he's Sean Penn, and every Sean Penn performance evokes a part of me that is true and usually hidden. Here he is the cold hearted Seargent with a myserious, but probably disappointing past, who is unwilling to show any sign of light in his expression. The one time he did... he asked a dead man "where's your light now?"at the end of the scene.
Madness on many levels are connonated, though rarely displayed
Nothing action packed. Nothing thrilling. But everything beautiful.
And ugly.
This show got 7 academy award nominations, and lost em' all. I thought it should have at least won two or three.
Quotes...
"Are you righteous? Kind? Does your confidence lie in this? Are you loved by all? Know that I was, too. Do you imagine your suffering will be any less because you loved goodness and truth? "
"What is this great evil? How did it steal into the world? From what seed, what root did it spring? Who's doing this? Who's killing us? Robbing us of light and life. Mocking us with the sight of what we might have known. "
"If I should never find you in this life, let me feel the lack. One glance from your eyes, and my life will be yours. "
You'll notice that films I rave about, such as The Usual Suspects, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Hero, and stuffs like that are not on this list. This is because they did not change my life.
What do I mean by change my life? Well... take one small example... Ocean's Twelve is not a great film (and its not on this list, though it nearly made it), but it made me want to (and I almost do most of the time) shoot all my short films without tripods, and rely on the handheld techniques. Many people complain about shaky cameras, but Ocean's Twelve is a good example of how it WORKS, and I try to do my shows like that.
Another example would be IT. It'd probably rank 11th if the list is expanded. This is so because IT, or Pennywise, made me hate clowns for life. I've been uneasy around pictures of clowns, real clowns, or clowns of any sort ever since watching that movie when I was a small boy. So this film left its mark, by making me become fearful of clowns.
So anyway, I'll be working my way through from no.10 to no.1 over the days. Now, those of you who know me naturally ALREADY know that the most influential film in my life is a foregone conclusion (think whzzzzzz bwzang bwang zing xiiing woosh argh saya datuk kamu!). Well, you are right, but enjoy the ride to no.2, then.
Anyway,
no.10
The Thin Red Line
Directed by Terrence Malick
Starring: Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Adrien Brody, Ben Chaplin, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Elias Koteas, John C. Reilly, John Travolta, Nick Nolte, George Clooney
The first thing that captured my attention when I watched The Thin Red Line was its rich quality in photography. If I am to make a list of films that displays the best use of cinematography right now, this show would be in the top 5, or top 3 hands down.
Troops marching through the tropical forest toward enemy lines
There are many films that photograph many beautiful things, but this film shoots not only beautiful things, but also employs these shots to invoke very powerful emotions about the second world war.
The second thing that stood out very prominently for me was the script, particularly the narration. 80% of the show is driven by narration by various characters, primarily Nick Nolte, Jim Caviezel and Ben Chaplin, with short bits by the other characters. In this regard, if one does not pay attention properly to the film, he can lose track of who's narrating, and the story might cease to make sense. So what's so good about the narration?
It "poetifies" war. Before slaughtering me for being cheesy and crappy, let me quote you Eric Bana's line from his less than successful film, Troy.
"I've killed men and I've heard them dying and I've watched them dying and there's nothing glorious about it, nothing poetic. You say you're willing to die for love but you know nothing about dying and you know nothing about love!"
Well, there's nothing poetic about the Thin Red Line in that sense, so no worries. This film relies very heavily on contrasts between the beautiful and the ugly to tell its story, and ultimately reveals that that even what we imagine as beautiful is in fact, very ugly as well. This is very clear in the film's narration, where, yes, it is very well read, and very well worded, but it is also the cries of the soldiers, their lamentations, their unconquered hearts in a newly conquered land.
And that is what changed my life the most, knowing that the most beautiful things in the world can turn into the place where we ultimately, cannot conquer.
Personally, I liked Ben Chaplin and Sean Penn the most. Ben Chaplin because his story was the most tragic, and the most blatant example of how the beautiful can turned sour. Basically after a battle, the letters he received from home wasn't too pleasant to read about, and his world ended in the Guadacanal, the land he just help occupy.
Jim Caviezel and Sean Penn deliver intense and gripping performances as Corporal Fife and First Sergeant Welsh
Sean Penn because he's Sean Penn, and every Sean Penn performance evokes a part of me that is true and usually hidden. Here he is the cold hearted Seargent with a myserious, but probably disappointing past, who is unwilling to show any sign of light in his expression. The one time he did... he asked a dead man "where's your light now?"at the end of the scene.
Madness on many levels are connonated, though rarely displayed
Nothing action packed. Nothing thrilling. But everything beautiful.
And ugly.
This show got 7 academy award nominations, and lost em' all. I thought it should have at least won two or three.
Quotes...
"Are you righteous? Kind? Does your confidence lie in this? Are you loved by all? Know that I was, too. Do you imagine your suffering will be any less because you loved goodness and truth? "
"What is this great evil? How did it steal into the world? From what seed, what root did it spring? Who's doing this? Who's killing us? Robbing us of light and life. Mocking us with the sight of what we might have known. "
"If I should never find you in this life, let me feel the lack. One glance from your eyes, and my life will be yours. "
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