The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame IV

For the first half of this movie, my question was why hasn't it been nominated for a general HoF, it was that good. Unfortunately from there it turned into something different and not quite up to par with what came prior.

It starts off in war torn Sri Lanka with a man burning bodies and a woman walking around asking children if they have a mother, or asking women if that was their daughter. So the woman, the man, and a girl who lost her mother join together to pose as a family to get the hell out of there. They make their way to Paris and this is when I thought we really had a compelling story. Three strangers band together to survive and make their way in an unfamiliar land. I figured I'd be getting two hours of them maybe becoming a family while navigating their way, and we get that to an extent. When they arrived in Paris, they ended up at a slum project where the man found work as a caretaker and the woman work helping an elderly man in the complex. The slum is run by criminals which at first adds an extra layer of danger and intensity, but to my disbelief it really goes there. Everyone knows that I love violent movies, but this was already a great movie with excellent performances, a moving story, and characters I cared about. Going all Taxi Driver and Straw Dogs was surprising and felt unnecessary when the film had a good thing going. Of course I wouldn't have been surprised if I found out before I watched it that it was partially inspired by Straw Dogs. A very good movie that could have been so much more.

One more for me!

Somebody should give Ed and Siddon a shout out.

Yea good idea. Go ahead!

Nah, Siddon will just get pissed! and Ed don't even go there with Ed

I feel like this was over a year ago

I probably would on a revisit. It felt like it needed additional views to properly get into it and then to equal out the respect and the appreciation for it and thereby the enjoyment of it.

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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser(1974)


Part of the problem with nominations like this is getting decent subs and a decent print is damn near impossible. I had to judge a film based on the quality of the version I found online especially a film like this.



The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser tells the story of a strange man who shows up with a note in hand and can do absolutely nothing. The idea was he was kept locked away for his whole life so everything is a chore for him. Visually Herzog does a great job with the film, it feels period accurate and the composition of the shots is great. Narratively...it was a 2 hour film that felt like six. I mean this film just dragged on and on. Part of the problem is we see the film from Kaspar perspective and Kaspar isn't a good choice. It would have been smarter to take and develop supporting characters and use them to feature Kaspar.


Several scenes are particularly good, I loved the old freak show scene but my interest was constantly waning during other points of the story. The third act has a pretty big twist but it's stripped of any sort of suspense and played frankly clinically and empty. It was a big disappointment for me because it's a great story and the elements of a great film were there but the tone and pacing were all off.

Congratulations Cricket, you are the 10th member to finish!

Just waiting on 1 each from Ed and Siddon.

You can see what Neiba picked for you on the first page.

He literally picked my number one

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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."

- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke

He picked my dead last so we canceled each other out

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Letterboxd

He wasted 2h 16m of my time.

High Noon was pretty darn good, so I don't regret watching it.

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Aw

I really like Secrets and Lies. Probably my favorite Leigh after Naked.

I enjoyed Lives of Others, his nom for me. I don't think I've watched anything in one of these HoFs that I've considered a waste of time. Certainly some things I didn't love, but nothing that made me feel like I wanted a refund.

He picked Trainspotting for me. It sucked

I've had it with the disrespect and inconveniences Neiba pulls in these HoFs. He constantly has waited until the very last couple weeks to start watching the movies. Once I even warned him if he does that he might find life has him too busy to finish. He told me it was his choice. I said fine as long as he actually finishes. And of course here we are and he screwed around and didn't finish. He's banned from joining any HoFs I host.

Perhaps by extending this hall we've banned him, he hasn't been here in 3 months.

I think part of the fun of these things is engaging in conversation too and he has really never done that.