By Favorite Movies
“Cinema is the ultimate pervert art. It doesn’t give you what you desire – it tells you how to desire.” – Slavoj Zizek.
Cinemas, Films, Movies or whatever you call it, we know it has been a strong presence in the world today. Movies, as I call it, have been established as trend setters, or more intellectually, cultural influencers. As Zizek called it, a movie teaches society how to desire. And although, the “blockbusters” are often seen with same story-line packaged to sell more tickets by depicting the same widely accepted worldview with few Masala, there are still so many insightful movies that teaches us a better way to tame our perversion and desire what society needs us to desire in order to move forward.
So, today I’m writing about 5 of these movies that have taught and influenced me to better my understanding of the world and I hope that they do the same wonders to all the readers as well.
Note: There may be spoilers ahead. But the spoilers aren’t actually going to affect these movies so it’s okay.
1. Motorcycle Diaries
Motorcycle Diaries is a biographical film based on the written memoir of Ernesto “Che” Guevara. The film follows the journey of 23-year-young Che across the whole of South American Continent. Che, an Argentine doctor-to-be at the time, takes us to the remotest places to the most privileged place of that time in South America with his friend in an adventure that would forever change his life and perhaps the lives of billions of people he later inspired to follow his path.
Almost like when young Siddhartha set out from his palace to be welcomed by the scenery that painted pain and grievance in the most humane way possible, he too saw the oppression that South American natives had to suffer under the european dictation. Then unlike Siddhartha, who ran away from it all and taught the measure for peace, the legendary revolutionary, the iconic Marxist Guerrilla leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara sought to fight for it. His life inspires us to take real measures to struggle against tyranny and oppression people are subjected to because of European and American Imperialism. And this movie stands perfectly to help us recognize the empathy that we needed for it but couldn’t translate on our own.
2.Loving Vincent
“Now I understand
What you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they’ll listen now” -Don McLean, Vincent (Starry Starry Night)
Loving Vincent is a biographical animation movie of perhaps the most influential figure in the history of western art, Vincent Van Gogh. His life was just one big “humble beginning” where he never could actualize the love and fame he deserved while he was alive.This film pays homage to some of his most famous paintings while animating his life around it. Vincent was a famous troubled man and I think learning about his life will help us learn more about ourselves. There is really nothing much I need to say about this. Just go and watch it if you haven’t already.
3. Parasite
Parasite is a 2019 Korean movie, a “foreign film” that won it all. Parasite won 4 Oscar Awards and 2 other nominees. Director, Bong Jun Ho went all out and poured out his creative ingeniousness into a story about how one lower class family that lived in a basement floor apartment dreamt and worked for someday being able to live in their dream house.
Movie parasite first depicts the family living off of a well off family by scamming them. Almost being a “parasite”. Then they meet another family who were the “parasite” to that well off family before they were. This movie is about how the working class live with a dream subjected to them by cultural hegemony of the rich and have no solidarity amongst themselves and can’t really see the fact that the real “parasite” is the rich people to begin with. You see, Bong Jun Ho, the director of the film although less heard of by mainstream movie goers, already has enough masterpieces in his portfolio to go down as one of the best movie directors in history even before parasite. All of his movies are as good so do check his other works as well.
4.The Big Short
The big short is another biographical movie that follows 3 groups of people who predicted the Economic Recession of 2008 and made a few bucks out of it. This Star Packed Comedy Drama paints the picture of how corrupt and flawed our economic system is and really compels us to rethink our idea of a fair world and system.
Christain Bale, Steve Carrel, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pit and similar big hot hollywood boys have played the various key personality who in their attempt to capitalise on the upcoming housing bubble crash that nobody believed in found out how vulnerable the entire system is and how uncaring of real people and their hard labor this superficial capitalistic economy is. This movie is the only movie I’ve liked even with a cocky as hell narration by Ryan Gosling. Oh nothing wrong with Ryan Gosling, just the intended narration is actually cocky. As hell.
5. Anomalisa
The Fregoli delusion is a psychiatric disorder where the patient views and hears everyone in the world as the same person. Just another white guy with anxiety as some skeptics comment, it is just that but just so beautifully presented. Michael sees and hears everyone as the same person. Although it is a reference to a psychiatric disorder, this film is not about that; it’s about how monotonous everything in life gets for some people that they can’t seem to find any real difference in anything they do or anyone they meet.
The best animated movie I have ever seen, Anamolisa is about how sometimes even in the most monotonous world we have created for ourselves, sometimes we find an anomaly. In Lisa he finds that anomaly. She has a different voice and face. She’s different and everyone else is not. Or so he believes. By the end of this movie, to be honest , I cried the hardest ever in my life because it triggered something so deep and vulnerable in me that I couldn’t help but hold my pillow and bawl like a child.
P.S. You need to watch all films written by Charlie Cauffman.
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