ahwell's Top 100 Movies - 2020

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92. La Haine (1995)

A single gunshot lingers in the air. It's a culmination of the hate, the fear, the misunderstanding, the distrust, the lack of communication, the battles and the wars. It's all a climax. And once the climax has been reached, it starts all over again.

Part 1

In the early 1600s, African slaves on French-owned Caribbean islands were brought over to be with their masters in France. They were registered, but they could not freely marry or "free themselves". They were slaves, only they toiled in lavish palaces instead of sun-drenched fields.

Around the early 1800s, early movements began to free Afro-French slaves. By 1848, the law was passed. However, later in the century, France set its eye on taking control of African regions, and "colonizing" them. It was slavery of a different form.

By the 1900s, Afro French were widely populating France. They made up 40% of the French army during World War I, and afterwards, an overall growth in Black culture and arts. However, by 1961, things had begun to go downhill again. This was mostly due to fear and hatred of Afro-Arabs, specifically Algerians. Although another law was passed, by the 1980s Afro-French were being blamed for economic problems, and were called "immigrants" as a euphemism for "not wanted".


Part 2


The Jewish population have resided in France since the early CE centuries, possibly even before. They lived through the rise and fall of the Roman empire and the reign of Charlemagne.

From 987-1137 they were persecuted and hunted under the Capets. They were ordered from France in 1182, then allowed to return in 1198; then later again in 1306, told to leave, then allowed to return in 1315; then even later again, expelled in 1394. They were cast out again and again and again. They were told they were not wanted. They were told their faith was something to be ashamed of; and they were hunted for it.

It was only in the 1700s that the situation for Jews in France began to get slightly better. They were deemed "legal" (whatever that means) and allowed certain new job opportunities. Even through the reign of terror and the rule of Bonaparte - their situation stayed relatively good.

In 1803, a Frenchman named Alphonse Toussenel was born, who would later go on to pen and promote the brilliant phrase "antisemitism". They Dreyfuss Affair in particular showed how Anti-semitism indeed was still deeply rooted in Jewish society.

In the early to mid 1900s, France experienced a huge influx of Jews. Hmmm, why? Well, by 1940, Germany had taken over France anyways - the persecution, was, once again, very much prevalent. After World War II, systems were set up so Jewish people would never suffer the same tragedy and awful discrimination. Yet, event after event in the 60s, 70s, and 80s proved that it was far from over.


Part 3

It was around the 1500s that a giant influx of North African Muslims poured into France. There, discrimination was as prevalent as the Jews had. Throughout the years, their situation got "better" but there were still underlying prejudices and hatred.

By the 1960s and 70s Muslim immigration was high, and thus so was the Muslim work force. In 1976, the government allowed families of these immigrants to settle in France. Thus, new generations of "French Moroccans" and "French Tunisians" and so forth were created. People with a different heritage, a different childhood, a different experience. There was still racism, deep down.

Part 4

In 1984, SOS-Racisme, formed by Blacks, Jews, and Arabs, sought to change this build-up of hatred and injustice. It held petitions and rallies and sometimes riots that got out of control. It confronted police brutality and everyday racism.

Nothing was cured, and nothing will be cured for a while. But look back at the histories of the peoples I spoke of above. That is not a history "lesson", it is the story of cultures, indentities, injustices. With every new year comes a new tangle in the rope. We are slowly, painstakingly trying to untangle that rope right now. Who knows if it will ever be fully untangled. But it is important to learn, and to understand even when you couldn't possibly "understand". It's important to listen before you shoot, and then, listen closely. We CANNOT let injustices go by. We CANNOT hate with no reason. We must love.
Boom! La Haine, great thinker film very artful and funny too.
So far so good... so far so good... so far so good ...
For some reason I did not expect to see this on your list ahwell, great choice!



I know of it and have been wanting to see it but never got around to it. As stated earlier I really think this list will have a lot of those picks that I have wanted to see but haven’t yet...





91. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

This is a dark, gritty, depressing, bleak, movie. Beatty and Christie give stellar performances - in fact, all the performances are stellar, and of course Robert Altman's direction is superb.

This is my first Altman, actually, and I hope his other movies are as good as this. McCabe and Mrs. Miller is a revisionist Western, a tragedy that hits you in the gut and asks questions about businesses/independence/morality of ownership. It's true cinema, is what I'm trying to say .

While some might find it a bit too dark and muddy visually, it's also constantly thrilling and keeps you engaged right up until the climactic and violent ending.
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I think the only Robert Altman film I've seen is The Long Goodbye, which I loved. Westerns are very hit or miss for me, so no idea what I'd think of McCabe.





95. Eraserhead (1977)

E-e-e-e-raserh-h-h-e-a-ddddddd.... So i was walking my dog one morning and this GUY walks up to me and says "come with me I have something to show you but don't bring the dog" so i was like where do i put the dog and he tells me to tie it to the fire hydrant which i did but now that i think about it it wasn't the greatest idea since what if a fire happened and they had to use the fire hydrant but the dog was tied on. anyways so i followed the guy and we walk up this orange and blue striped house (well at least i think, everything's in black and white), and he tells me to knock so i do, but this lady opens the door and starts coughing cat fur all over me. i'm allergic to cat fur so i started coughing and choking naturally, and the guy started yelling at me because you know i wasn't making a great impression. but the lady let me in anyways and she asked me what kind of tea i wanted; ginger, mint, raspberry, strawberry, lemon, 7up, cat fur, or hotdog and i said mint because that always calms me. but some of the cat fur got in the mint tea so i had to leave the table and go to the bathroom. problem is the guy was already in the bathroom having sex with the cat lady's sister so i just sat and waited but they took a LONG time so i asked the cat lady if there was another bathroom. she told me there wasn't but the old president next door had one. i knocked on his doorknob but the instant he opened it he started shoving political propaganda down my throat. like who needs that right now, he started telling me about if he was elected president he could change all the policies i hated so i asked him well how do you even know the policies i hate and he says well he's a mind reader. to prove it he sat me down and played a card game with me. the cards had these little wriggling dots on them, and if you tried to brush them off they just got angry so i didn't bother. the president played a couple cards and then told me exactly what i would play. he was wrong of course but he insisted he was right. anyways, at that point my cat fur allergy was gone but the dots sort of you know well started attacking me. and that damn president wouldn't tell them to lay off unless i promised to write him a check for a couple thousand dollars to help with his campaign. well you can be sure i got the hell out of there but the cat lady had gone shopping by the time i got back to her house. she left a note on her door that said "rutabaga olive oil raspberry jam blueberry jam strawberry jelly crisp and crunchy peanut butter smoked ham raw ham chives onions green beans milk spoiled eggs spoiled milk sliced butter melted cheese".i figured it was her shopping list but since she'd left it at her house i assumed she must have forgotten it. so i stole a bike from this kid wearing a blue t-shirt and black sweatpants who was drinking pink lemonade and i rode to the grocery store (these are all stories for another time since trust me i had plenty of misadventures) and i found her fretting in her car since she HAD forgotten her grocery list. well i naturally gave it to her and she hurried inside (late for mass late for work late for vacation late for school) and i realized i was late too (late for dinner late for bread late for time late for late) so i biked back but by that time the dog was gone so i walked home and got a spanking and spent the rest of the night sulking and wondering where the dog went good night the end

So, uh, yeah, Eraserhead is one hell of an experience, David Lynch creating a literal nightmare, creating something out of nothing. For those who haven't seen it, bring a couple tissues since it's a heartbreaker; This slice of life drama is about how a young man and his lover accidentally have a small child who is slightly deformed. However, after getting married, his wife leaves him to care for the child by himself. Stricken and confused, the poor man turns to sex, addiction, and much more. The spiral of depression leads to the man questioning his own identity and validity as a parent.

Ding! Time for dinner. Nope, you can't trust me. Listen closely, though, I said it's time for dinner. Guess what we're having!!!! Chicken!!!

Ding [2]

Ding [3]

Ding [4]

I'm done with dinner, don't want any more. Go ahead, finish the apple core.

It's wild. Eraserhead is just wild. And I could never describe it in words. It's visual poetry and my attempts at surrealism here just show how it's likely better suited in the hands of masters like David Lynch - and on the screen. It's a movie drained of all light, of all hope. There is a giddy joy, a sort of Miyazaki-esque creativity, but the dark twists make it one of the most enjoyable nightmares I've ever had. If this is David Lynch's style, I am already head over heels in love.

Well, Good night folks!! I've got to go, my girlfriend just asked me over to her parent's house for dinner.
I read a bunch of this thinking that eventually it would get to some sort of point, but after a while I just gave up. It was too boring to read the whole thing, but I do want to know what this is all about. Is this just how you feel about Eraserhead? Are you saying that Eraserhead is just bizarre nonsense?



I read a bunch of this thinking that eventually it would get to some sort of point, but after a while I just gave up. It was too boring to read the whole thing, but I do want to know what this is all about. Is this just how you feel about Eraserhead? Are you saying that Eraserhead is just bizarre nonsense?
It was how I felt watching this. A crazy experience.



It was how I felt watching this. A crazy experience.
I think what you expressed in the final paragraph made sense, but all that stuff before was weird and had nothing to do with Eraserhead. It was like, you went off on a stream of consciousness inspired by Eraserhead.



I read a bunch of this thinking that eventually it would get to some sort of point, but after a while I just gave up. It was too boring to read the whole thing, but I do want to know what this is all about. Is this just how you feel about Eraserhead? Are you saying that Eraserhead is just bizarre nonsense?
"I didn't understand this thing that I didn't actually bother to read. Can you explain it because I'm too lazy to figure it out myself?"



"I didn't understand this thing that I didn't actually bother to read. Can you explain it because I'm too lazy to figure it out myself?"
Are you saying you did understand it?



I think what you expressed in the final paragraph made sense, but all that stuff before was weird and had nothing to do with Eraserhead. It was like, you went off on a stream of consciousness inspired by Eraserhead.
I often write stuff that has nothing explicitly to do with the movie as a form of dealing with my feelings and experiences while watching it. You'll see some more stuff down the line in my top 100 where I don't mention the movie, because sometimes I feel writing about "how good it was" would not be the best option.



Are you saying you did understand it?
Are you saying you understood Eraserhead?



I often write stuff that has nothing explicitly to do with the movie as a form of dealing with my feelings and experiences while watching it. You'll see some more stuff down the line in my top 100 where I don't mention the movie, because sometimes I feel writing about "how good it was" would not be the best option.
I see. But I'd rather hear what you think about the movie than some ramblings.

Are you saying you understood Eraserhead?
I understand some things about Eraserhead, but I don't fully understand it. But it's not about that. Vicky is just trying to make me feel bad because she hates me.



Vicky is just trying to make me feel bad because she hates me.
My post had nothing to do with who you are and everything to do with what you said.



It was like, you went off on a stream of consciousness inspired by Eraserhead.
You just answered your own question here.

I thought it was pretty clear that ahwell was kind of trying to word his way through the weird world of Eraserhead and the mind of David Lynch by taking a stroll through his own mind and mirror that with the feel of the movie.



I see. But I'd rather hear what you think about the movie than some ramblings.
I'll make sure to write all my reviews to your liking in the future then



My post had nothing to do with who you are and everything to do with what you said.
No, you tried to make me sound stupid by saying I didn't understand something I didn't even read. But I only commented on what I did read, I just didn't read the whole post at that time. You deliberately misconstrued things to make me look stupid. Ahwell understood my question, and answered it.



No, you tried to make me sound stupid by saying I didn't understand something I didn't even read. But I only commented on what I did read, I just didn't read the whole post at that time. You deliberately misconstrued things to make me look stupid. Ahwell understood my question, and answered it.
But how will you be able to understand something you didn’t read all the way through?

I read a bunch of this thinking that eventually it would get to some sort of point, but after a while I just gave up.
You read something thinking it would eventually get to a point but didn’t stick around to see if it actually had a point in the end.

So what’s the point in complaining about something that perhaps wasn’t even missing?

“Hey, I just watched the first half of this movie. It sucked because it didn’t have a conclusion to what was going on!”

Makes sense.



No, you tried to make me sound stupid by saying I didn't understand something I didn't even read.
I didn't "try to make you sound stupid." I only repeated what you had already said in a way that pointed out its absurdity.