It's that time of the year.
Top 20 films disovered in 2015
The top 20 films of a total of 50 films seen for the first time in 2015 (note: I didn't go to the theater in 2015, not once).
Summary of all the films seen, by decade:
1920s: 2
1930s: 6
1940s: 5
1950s: 7
1960s: 14
1970s: 3
1980s: 3
1990s: 3
2000s: 2
2010s: 5
By country:
France: 11
Japan: 10
US: 8
Soviet Union: 6
China: 4
UK: 2
Italy: 2
North Korea: 2
Sweden: 2
Germany: 1
Iran: 1
Australia: 1
Now to the top 20:
Number 20 — The Face of Another
("Tanin no kao", Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1966, Japan, black and white, 2h02)
A severely disfgured man commissions a life-like mask made after someone else's face, and observes the reactions of people around him.
A quiet psychological drama that evocates, with several years of advance, the themes and atmospheres of David Lynch's films, though with more subtlety.
Number 19 — The Cranes are Flying
("Letyat zhuravli", Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957, Soviet Union, black and white, 1h37)
The life of a Russian woman during World War II, as her lover is drafted and sent to the frontline.
The film is less about propaganda and more about the suffering of the Russian people during the war, not only due to privations and loss, but also due to the betrayals of their fellow comrades. The only Soviet film to win the Palme d'Or in the Cannes Film Festival.
Number 18 — Elevator to the Gallows
("Ascenseur pour l'échafaud", Louis Malle, 1958, France, black and white, 1h28)
What should have been the perfect crime for two lovers quickly unravel into a series of dramatic events after one tiny error.
A contemplative crime-drama about two unlucky pairs of lovers-would-be-criminals, with an original soundtrack composed and performed by Miles Davis.
Number 17 — Le samouraï
(Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967, France, color, 1h45)
A few days in the live of a hitman tracked both by the police and by his former employers.
A cold and relentless crime-drama film about solitude and death.
Number 16 — La traversée de Paris
(Claude Autant-Lara, 1956, France, black and white, 1h20)
During the German occupation of France in World War II, when a smuggler's partner gets arrested, he has no choice but to accept the help of an eccentric stranger to carry four bags full of black market meat across Paris, by night.
A comedy-drama with a surprisingly nuanced view of the people of Paris under military occupation, where no one is ever stricly a pure innocent victim nor a complete monster.
Number 15 — Gone With the Wind
(Victor Fleming, 1939, US, color, 3h44)
A tumultuous and fiery romance during spanning the Antebellum, the American Civil War, and the Reconstruction Era.
The prototypical american epic film, one of the most rewarded films of all time, and to this day the highest-grossing one (once adjusted for inflation).
Number 14 — Le deuxième souffle
(Jean-Pierre Melville, 1966, France, black and white, 2h30)
A recently escaped gangster is planning one last caper before his retirement, but personal business soon gets in the way.
A ruthless journey into the world of the southern French mafia.
Number 13 — The Great Killing
("Dai satsujin", Eiichi Kudo, 1964, Japan, black and white, 1h47)
A low-ranking samurai gets wrongly accused of being part of a revolutionary group — which he ends up joining in a bid for revenge after officials kill his wife…
A violent and extremely nervous samurai film, partially shot in faux-documentary style.
Number 12 — Raise the Red Lantern
("Da Hong Denglong Gaogao Gua", Zhang Yimou, 1991, China, color, 2h05)
The life of the fourth wife of a wealthy aristocrat, between boredom and rivalry with the other wives…
A gorgeous color drama about the superficially luxurious, but ultimately oppressing life of women in a Chinese harem.
Number 11 — The Wolves
("Shussho Iwai", Hideo Gosha, 1971, Japan, color, 2h11)
In the 1920s, ten years after a violent altercation between two gangs of yakuza, the culprits are released from jail, just as their two gangs finalize a peace treaty and a merger; but the released gang members soon start to get assassinated one by one…
Hideo Gosha paints a slow but violent Leonesque fresco of the shadow dealings of a transforming Japan, where industrialization marches on but gang members still fight with knives.
Number 10 — Samurai Rebellion
("Joi-uchi: Hairyo tsuma", Masaki Kobayashi, 1967, Japan, black and white, 2h08)
A samurai is asked by his master to marry his son to the master's disgraced concubine. But when the master's heir dies without issue, he asks to get his concubine back…
A cruel drama about the whims of the powerful…
Number 9 — Three Outlaw Samurai
("Sanbiki no Samurai", Hideo Gosha, 1964, Japan, black and white, 1h33)
Three samurai get involved on both sides of a conflict opposing a corrupt magistrate and a band of peasants.
Hideo Gosha's debut film is a rather dark and violence but entertaining and effective story.
Number 8 — Ivan's Childhood
("Ivanovo detstvo", Andrei Tarkovsky, 1962, Soviet Union, black and white, 1h35)
The life of a child serving as a military courier and spy during World War II.
A dark and dream-like war drama filmed with the already beautiful camera movements of Tarkovsky.
Number 7 — The Godfather
(Francis Ford Coppola, 1972, US, color, 2h55)
The story of the decline of the Don Vito Corleone, and the ascension of his son Michael.
The classic american crime drama and one of the most famous films of the New Hollywood era.
Number 6 — Ivan the Terrible (part I + II)
("Ivan Grozniy", Sergei Eisenstein, 1944-46, Soviet Union, black and white with one scene in color, 3h07)
The assension of Ivan IV Vasilyevich, progressively going from an idealistic young man to a sick tyran.
The first two parts of a planned trilogy (the third part was cancelled because Stalin hated the second one, even though he had commissioned the trilogy to begin with) is a monument of Russian cinema, filmed in a very unique style (it's also a strongly propagandistic movie).
Number 5 — Devils on the Doorstep
("Guizi laile", Jiang Wen, 2000, China, black and white, 2h19)
During World War II, a peasant living near a Japanese garrison is forced by a stranger to keep two prisonners hidden in his house…
A dark and satirical comedy filmed like an old movie from the 60s. Banned in China.
Number 4 — Singin' in the Rain
(Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1952, US, color, 1h43)
How actors and film studios adapt to the arrival of sound in movies.
The most famous musical, surprisingly self-aware and caustic.
Number 3 — The Hole
("Le trou", Jacques Becker, 1960, France, black and white, 2h12)
Four prison inmates are planning an escape when a fifth inmate is affected to their cell…
A claustrophobic and realistic prison break film, based on a true story.
Number 2 — The Burmese Harp
("Biruma no tategoto", Kon Ichikawa, 1956, Japan, black and white, 1h56)
The wandering in Burma of a Japanese soldier who has lost all hope, after World War II has ended.
A powerful drama about hope and redemption.
Number 1 — Black Rain
[not to be confused with the similarly named film by Ridley Scott, released the same year]
("Kuroi ame", Shohei Imamura, 1989, Japan, black and white, 2h03)
The life of survivors of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, trying to find some glimmer of hope and joy in the middle of slowly degenerating diseases and social stigma.
Far from the usual melodramatic movies about tragic events, Black Rain shows a lot of subtlety and a lot of modesty in its treatment of the subject, showing us ordinary humans dealing as they can with extreme misery.
That's all for 2015!
