Sane's Top 133 Favourite Films

33. The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) - Victor Erice

Spanish Drama
Erice's output over the last 40 years makes Terence Malick look prolific - this was his first full length film and he has only made another three since. This is without doubt one of the most visually impressive films I've ever seen - it almost feels like you could frame every shot and hang it in an art gallery. Beyond that it also has a great deal of depth both as a look at the family life of a young girl and as an exploration of post civil war Spain. In some ways I wish Erice had made more films but on the other hand maybe the greatness would be diluted if he had an increased output.

32. The World of Apu (1959) - Satyajit Ray

Indian Drama
In the third film of the Apu trilogy we find that he is grown up and living in Calcutta. When viewed as a continuation of the previous two films this is a remarkably emotional movie - Ray created a character across the trilogy that the viewer really wants to have a good life but that's not always possible in the world that he lives in. This really feels like a natural progression in Apu's life and given the tragedies that have happened before, his reaction when tragedy strikes again feels very natural and understandable. Whilst it is extremely sad in parts, like the other Apu films there is still a feeling of hope so it doesn't feel like Ray wants us, or Apu, to just give up. Whilst Pather Panchali is probably Ray's best known film it is this that is his true masterpiece IMO.

31. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - Milos Forman

American Drama
Probably one of the first truly great films that I ever experienced - although at 10 years old I didn't really appreciate it. I've probably now seen it about 20 times and it is one of the few films that keeps getting better - the last time I saw it I discovered a whole bunch of things that I hadn't noticed before which all contribute to this movie being one of the best ever made. It is famous for the performances of the leads but in many ways it is the support roles that really elevate this film - sure the likes of Nicholson & Fletcher are great but so are De Vito, Lloyd and pretty much everyone else. The script is amazing and it allows Nicholson & Fletcher to develop great chemistry - perhaps the best ever in terms of characters that dislike each other. Add to all that the iconic ending and you have a simply great film.

30. Confessions (2010) - Tetsuya Nakashima

Japanese Thriller
Nakashima is yet another great modern director. More than perhaps any other he has a real focus on visual style within his films and he always seems to be trying to break new ground. Paco & the Magical Picture book looked like a rainbow had vomited on the screen (sorry, I think I've used that joke before) whilst Kamikaze Girls was like a hazy vision of loveliness in parts. Confessions on the other hand is a very dark - both in terms of story and style. It is visually striking - there are some simply amazing looking scenes in this film - but at the same time the story of a school teacher taking a weird form of revenge on the students she thinks are responsible for the death of her child is very dark and uncomfortable. Nakashima is not one to avoid mixing themes either so there is also bullying & student violence thrown in along with a critique of the pressure put on Japanese students to succeed. Some may think there is almost too much going on in Nakashima's films but I think he usually gets the balance right and here the visuals and themes are balanced very well by the completely emotionless portrayal of a woman who has given up by Takako Matsu. Overall a modern masterpiece.

Not seen Confessions although I do like Kamikaze Girls and Memories of Matsuko so it sounds like something I'd appreciate. Your three choices before that are excellent films specially Spirit of the Beehive, which has that fantastic performance by the little Ana Torrent .

I really enjoyed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and had it on my own favorites list. A very moving film with great performances.
Haven't seen the others.

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The one with Ellen Page. Have you seen it already?

I watched Spirit of the Beehive for the 70's list and couldn't get into it. I'm very interested in watching it again, as I now have more luck with non-mainstream movies.

Cuckoo's Nest is one of my long time favorites!

I'll be watching The Apu Trilogy before long.

29. The Turin Horse (2011) - Bela Tarr

Hungarian Drama
Tara's films are, to me, less about stories and characters and more about feelings and atmosphere. His long takes really drag me into the film and make me feel what the characters feel. This was more the case with The Turin Horse than with his other films - it was like I felt the cold, the blowing wind and the hopelessness. It is essentially a silent film with a father and daughter repeating the same thing everyday until their old horse gets sick. It is like the dialogue is replaced by the sounds of the whistling wind and the repetition becomes mesmerising. I usually dislike long films but this could have gone on for hours longer and I would still have been engrossed.

Sane... you should watch films by Anders Thomas Jensen, Kristian Levring and Susanne Bier.. .all three very good Danish directors... imo....

The Turin Horse was a tough watch for me.

I absolutely love One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and The World of Apu.

I've always wanted to try out a Bela Tarr film, I adore artsy long takes and atmosphere, but how can only those two possibly keep me interested for a minimum 2 hours? It's what holds me back.

There's much more than that going on - Santantago had at least three hours of drunk people dancing ...

Satantango is an action film!!!

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

28. Fanny & Alexander (1982) - Ingmar Bergman

Swedish Drama
I'm not sure there has ever been a greater technical achievement in film than Fanny Alexander. Whilst I think there were a few missteps in the letter part of Bergman's career he really managed to get everything back on track for this film - which I think was possibly his last film released theatrically. It is visually fantastic in terms of cinematography, sets and costumes and also works brilliantly as a dark family drama. It's not my favourite Bergman but it comes very close.

27. Equinox Flower (1958) - Yasujiro Ozu

Japanese Drama
The fifth Ozu film to make this list is perhaps one of his least well known later films - but it's his second best IMO. It was his first film in colour and to me it worked really well both because it looks amazing but because it made for a much more modern look which matched the themes of the film - it contains at least one of his most modern, progressive female characters and challenges traditional ideas more aggressively than most of his other films. Yet another wonderful film by the greatest director of all time

I really want to see Fanny and Alexander but it's length keeps making me put it off.

I have Equinox Flower on my 50's watchlist that I put together. In fact, I have every 50's Ozu on my 50's watchlist.

Rep for One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

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26. High and Low (1963) - Akira Kurosawa

Japanese Crime
Simply having Tatsuya Nakadai, Toshiro Mifune and Kyoko Kagawa in a film would generally be enough to make it great but Kurosawa went beyond that by creating one of the best directed films I've ever seen. His control of each scene, particularly those with multiple people on screen, is exceptional - at time it feels like Kurosawa is a puppeteer moving everyone around a scene so where they are and what they are doing is perfect. It also has many great scenes, including a memorable brief use of colour in what was an otherwise black and white film. This is the only Kurosawa film to appear on this list but both Throne of Blood and Ikiru would make a top 150.

Oh High and Low is brilliant! Fantastic film!

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