Here are my top 10 favorite films. Not in any particular order.
1. Zerkalo directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
I wrote this piece about it.
"let's say you're lying on bed and your memory resurfaces and you dream of all your loved ones, your regrets, and etc. You also get many people and their roles confused (since retrieval of memory is not perfect). You start getting sad and feeling remorseful, beating yourself over many events that have happened in your life ("he said this! she said that!", "why couldn't you have..."), and etc. Your dreams start overtaking you, but at the end you simulataneously accept and nullify yourself when you let go of the bird in your hand, and it flies to the wide expansive field."
2. Melancholia directed by Lars von Triers
Like Offret by Tarkovsky, this film captures the true meaning of Ch'an. It shows how even in moments of utter despair, there can be moments of beauty. "I think -- I hope -- that both concepts [of a utopia and dystopia] are dismissed as adolescent thinking. There are moments of pure, heart stopping beauty in the most tragic and broken environments. And the loveliest community on earth will not be able to eliminate the dog turd..." - Warren Ellis
3. Ikiru directed by Akira Kurosawa
It resembles Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Ilyich which I love. It's about how even with the nearing of death, we can still find a way to connect and make peace with ourselves through selfless compassion or by letting go. It shows how extremes such as too much indulgence lead to more pain.
4. The Cure directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Truly one of the most frightening films of all time. No description can do it justice. The movie is so hypnotic to the point where you, too, may start feeling insane. Mamiya truly is like a force that expands and brings out the destructive thoughts within us. Whenever we desire to hurt others or arouse feelings of greed or hatred, the seed for destruction is there, no matter how small, which is how Mamiya hypnotizes people into gruesome murders, by giving the illusion that comfort awaits when we eliminate what induces pain.
5. Au Hasard Balthazar directed by Robert Bresson
The ending was breathtaking. The donkey was more noble than the humans surrounding him. I like Bresson's style of utilizing non-actors and trying to minimize emotion. It's difficult to discuss here.
6. Color of Paradise directed by Majid Majidi
The panentheistic message really got to me. I like how the main character is blind yet can see and feel more than many other characters. He can cognitively make sense of what the birds are singing about based off the pitch, cadence, and etc in the chirps. The film has one of my favorite quotes of all time inspired by Sufism: "Mohammad: [crying] Our teacher says that God loves the blind more because they can't see. But I told him if it was so, He would not make us blind so that we can't see Him. He answered "God is not visible. He is everywhere. You can feel Him. You see Him through your fingertips." / Now I reach out everywhere for God till the day my hands touch Him and tell Him everything, even all the secrets in my heart. "
7. Gabbeh directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf
The natural scenery in Persia/Iran (same thing) was breathtaking. I really liked how it depicted culture or the individual as having a kind of "collective memory". The way the film intertwines memory with the present in combination with the symbolic significance of the rug was amazing. The film touches on so much such as the struggles involved in daily living, traditional authority vs. freedom, duty vs. unrestrictions, and etc.
8. The Man Who Planted Trees drawn by Frederic Back.
30 minutes long and amazing. It is based off a true story similar to Jadav Payeng's, I believe. Inspirational and shows the power inherent in solitude and stillness. One man revitalizes the land by single-mindedly planting acres of forests, and his actions provided benefits for many by restabilizing the ecosystem. Art style was beautiful.
9. Virgin Springs directed by Ingmar Bergman
Deals with the indifference of the universe to our struggles, and the moral ambiguity in events (i.e., the 'absurd'). Such a brutal yet necessary film to watch. Very similar to Camus' philosophy. Essential watching. My favorite of what I have seen of Ingmar Bergman's. To this day, I still question whether that boy had to die.
10. Fearless with Jet Li (DIRECTOR'S CUT, not regular cut)
One film I recently loved and heartily recommend is Jet Li’s Fearless. Be sure to watch the Director’s Cut because the theatrical cut takes out all the good stuff.
My favorite ritual at my Sangha is having moments of mindfulness randomly interspersed in Dharma talks or even while working. The film Fearless has that when the main character works on the small village’s permaculture farm. That is, there is more stuff in the Director’s Cut about the tribes people such as their spirituality. Every time the wind blows, while working the land, they stand mindfully to let it wash over them. The first time they do it, Huo (i.e., the main character) does not stand with them, and instead, he tries to out-compete others in placing the rice patties, but he messes up. As a consequence, the blind woman goes back to the rice pattie to fix his careless mistakes due to his rushingl he feels remorse and realizes he should not constantly compete and measure himself to others. He starts working sincerely, so he does the rice patty more mindfully and actually stands up silently facing the direction of the Summer breezes to let it wash over him – showing that one should not be concerned with measuring up to others but simply living in the moment, be compassionate to people, and feel connected to environment. I recently had a dream like this which resembled Harvest Moon video games.
Notable mention. Memento directed by Christopher Nolan
As a neuroscientist that works in a neurobiology of memory lab, this movie really resonated with me. I mean, I just liked it - whatever! |