Recommendations from the MoFo Lists

I thought we could have a thread specifically for personal recommendations from the MoFo lists.


For example, you want to watch more from the Comedies list but aren't sure what might tickle your funny bone, post here and ask for recommendations.


Or maybe you've always wanted to broaden your experience of 1940s films, you like action and crime but aren't keen on romance... what should you watch from the top 100?

I haven't seen that many of the Foreign Language Oscar Winners or the Cannes Award Winners. So...what am I missing out on? What would you consider essential on either of those lists? What might I enjoy?

We should do another of the Personal Recommendation HoFs. I know Cricket has been super busy lately so maybe you'd be interested in hosting it? I'd join for sure and I bet others would too. I hosted it once and it was easy enough to do for me.

For the Canne's list I'm going to ignore the common titles and just go with the ten best you might not have seen

1. Wages of Fear
2. Black Orpheus
3. Othello
4. The Tin Drum
5. Missing
6. The White Ribbon
7. Dheepan
8. Triangle of Sadness
9. Blow Up
10. Kagemusha

Best Foreign Film

1. Forbidden Games
2. Indochine
3. The Virgin Spring
4. Through a Glass Darkly
5. The Great Beauty
6. Another Round
7. Closely Watched Trains
8. War and Peace
9. The Discreate Charm of the Bougeoise
10. The Sea Inside

Thanks, that's great. These are the ones I haven't seen from your suggestions so I'll look some of these up.

Anything by Ruben Ostlund. The Square and Force Majeure in particular.

But any Palm D'Or winner is good watching. That said, I wouldn't be guided by award winners. The chances they all match to your tastes are slim.

A film from last year that did well in Cannes is 'Sick of Myself'. An absolute jet black twisted comedy about narcissism from Norway.

I watched Othello. I like Shakespeare but always find something lacking in screen adaptations. This was interesting if a bit of an oddity. Othello is not one of the great Shakespeare plays, it's difficult to drum up much sympathy for a wife murderer. I liked the way it was shot in black and white, making good use of light and shadows. The locations are impressive but also strangely empty... everything takes place in huge hallways and there's barely a stick of furniture or an everyday item to be soon (besides the handkerchief, obviously... how can so much of life and death hinge on a snotty piece of fabric!). Orson Welles does speeches well but was obviously ridiculous to cast himself as Othello. Desdemona is a little too angelic. I liked Emilia who is the best character in the play anyway. The murder scene was suitably tense and horrifying.

You've seen more than me from both lists, but from the Foreign Oscar winners, I would definitely recommend Ida. Love that film.

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Re: what people have seen. You can see, publicly, what they've checked off! Helps narrow down recommendations, particularly since you can click "Checked" or "Unchecked" to filter out either. For example, here's Thursday's Cannes list:

https://www.movieforums.com/lists/ca...ners/9011.html

You can find more via that dropdown on the top right, if you want to give them (or anyone) recs from other lists using what they've already checked off.

I'll second Scarlet on The Square. While it's not one of the best films I've ever seen (though it's very good!), it's undoubtedly one of the most interesting. And it contains one of the most gripping and fascinating scenes I've scene in any movie, full stop. I won't elaborate but you'll know it when you've seen it.

I did a podcast about it with @Slappydavis and @neiba a few years ago with some really great stuff in it, too, if you see it and are similarly enthralled.

On the foreign Language Oscar list, I would recommend Sundays and Cybele and Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. On the Cannes list, I would recommend Elephant and Fahrenheit 9/11.

@Thursday Next I think I have an idea of the types of films you like from the various HoFs we've been in together with that in mind I'm fairly sure you'd really enjoy Thief's suggestion of Ida. Take a look at the 30th HoF for reviews of Ida, most everyone thought highly of it (I sure did) and it came in third and that's with Lawrence of Arabia in the HoF.

I also think Allaby's choice of Sundays and Cybele will certainly elicit a response from you. Some thought the film was a beautiful tragic story, other's thought it was disturbing. I found it beautifully disturbing! I gave it 5/5 rating. It was in the 25th HoF if you want to read reviews about it. It sparked some great conversations too.