I always wanted to just choose a director and go through all their movies and read critics and talk about them, then gradually we could get familiar with this art.
That would be great!
I'm a hopeless film nerd as it is, but there's one quintessential director that I haven't gotten into yet - the 20th century Soviet filmmaker
Andrei Tarkovsky.
Ingmar Bergman is quoted to have said the following of Tarkovsky: "Tarkovsky for me is the greatest (director), the one who invented a new language, true to the nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream."
Countless directors have quoted him as one of their primary source of inspiration, and Lars Von Trier's masterpiece Antichrist was dedicated to him.
"
Mirror" and "
Stalker" are probably his most well-known films. They both place highly on the top of filmmaker polls of favorite movies of all time.
I completely understand if Tarkovsky is too heavy to get into. Other more recent, accessible suggestions that I have are:
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Michael Haneke so unique, so Austrian. His films usually satirize and draw out the audience emotions in a very visceral way. "
Funny Games" in particular!
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Lars Von Trier. He's one of my favorite current filmmakers. Any movie of his would be worth discussing, but I have special affection for "
Europa" (thriller/drama), "
The Idiots" (dark humor) and "
Breaking the Waves" (drama).
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Vincent Gallo. Gallo is the name that film hipsters love to pull out of their hats when they want to feel superior to other nerds. His movies are very stylized and provocative, and some are definitely more watchable than others. I would suggest we watch "
The Brown Bunny". It's known for it's real sex scene at the end, and it's crudeness. It was very controversial when it came out, needless to say. Maybe especially because he was involved in the sex act? I think yes. Gallo is cool, though. Don't get me wrong.
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Charlie Kaufman. I don't know what it is about Charlie Kaufman that is so awesome. Maybe it is his mixture of whimsy, neurosis and philosophy? His popular break-through was "Being John Malkovich" and he grew even more influential with his great film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". We could watch those, or watch some of his more obscure but (in my opinion) greater films. I love "
Adaptation" (dark comedy) and "
Synecdoche, New York" (meta-drama), for instance. Those are definitely worth seeing and discussing! ... Oh! Roger Ebert called Synecdoche the best film of the 00s! That's something. I don't necessarily agree, but it is wonderful.
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Paul Thomas Anderson. What a polarizing guy, he is! Some call him "clever" as a derogatory thing, others worship his intricate plots. Sure, we could watch "Boogie Nights" or "There Will Be Blood" or we could watch his acclaimed and awesome film "
Magnolia" or the great "
The Master"? You decide!
Those are my initial suggestions - let me know if you hate them all, or want to go in a completely different direction. I'm fine with it, either way!
So do you agree with my idea? a movie a week?
A movie a week sounds good! Not too ambitious, not too slack.
could you elaborate please?