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Post by Tosh on Jun 3, 2007 9:08:33 GMT -5
26= Battle Royale (2000) - Arguably the most extreme and controversial film of them all. Sometime in the near future, anarchy has broken out in Japan and the youth is rebellious. On the way to what a class of 14-year-olds believe is a school trip, they are drugged. When they wake up, in a derelict building on a deserted island, they're each given enough provisions for three days and a weapon. Without delving into the plot any further what follows is a nearly perfect satire of high-school angst, played out as if it all really were as important as things seemed at the time. Getting picked on, having your boyfriend or girlfriend leave you or talk bad about you, not being part of the popular clique... it's all here, cranked up to its logical (or illogical) endpoint. In the halls, snarky comments just audible enough for everyone to hear would seem to strike with deadly force, but here the kids can act on their anger. At first, all of them are traumatized by the situation, unable to accept their fate, but all too quickly they turn on each other, acting out their fantasy revenge on people who slighted them, or acting out their homicidal urges in an arena in which it is encouraged. It's an absurdist dystopia in which teen angst is sanctioned by law. Battle Royale also makes pointed commentary about the cutthroat nature of the Japanese education system—a system well-known for its fierce competition to do well and succeed after the ninth-grade level. Politically Battle Royale is no different from Fight Club in its treatment of fascism, a sort of forced version of Darwinism. Ultimately this is not going to appeal to a mass audience, film critics or indeed government institutions - what more recommendation can I give it!!
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Post by Tosh on Jun 3, 2007 9:25:54 GMT -5
25= Babel (2006) - Babel focuses on four families in four countries on three continents in a multidimensional story that engages the senses, startles the mind, and engenders within our consciousness an appreciation for small acts of kindness and compassion in a world filled with hatred, violence, confusion, dread, suffering and loss. People today are cut off from each other by race, language, culture, and tradition. Although the mass media and the Internet claim to be uniting us, the separations are more egregious now than ever before. Ideas about who belongs in our communities, coupled with prejudice against outsiders, strangers, and foreigners, make us feel ill-at-ease wherever we are. We cluster in small units of family and community while eschewing religious allegiance to the human family. We emphasize differences rather than celebrate commonalities. Babel exists wherever people are at each other's throats or stuck in situations that bring out their fear, anger, hatred, or violent behaviour. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga plunge us into the suffering, trials, and tribulations of people dealing with hardships that would test any soul. At Cannes Film Festival, Inarritu said in an interview: "I feel that the connection that I want to make is not a physical or coincidental connection, nor a plot connection. I think as human beings, what makes us happy is very different; it depends on cultures or races. What makes us sad and miserable is exactly what we share, and that thing is basically the impossibility of love, the impossibility to be touched by love, the impossibility to touch with love and express it. That is one of the most painful things that every human being has experienced, as well as feeling vulnerable to love. I think those two things are the most tragic things that bring us together. This film and the connections to the characters is about that, all of them on different levels, no matter which culture, no matter which country, religion, age or social class." Love is celebrated in all the world's religions as the most powerful and poignant emotion. Babel will give you access to the many shades of love as it shows what happens when it is ignored, squandered, or annihilated by anger, fear, hatred, and violence.
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Post by Tosh on Jun 3, 2007 15:01:18 GMT -5
24= Trainspotting (1995) - Danny Boyle's "Trainspotting" is a blast of ice-cold water across a sweaty brow; it's a lively, vibrant and pulsatingly addictive movie, an experience not unlike a roller-coaster ride through some of the sickest, slimiest and heart-stoppingly shocking sub-levels of drug addiction. Here is a movie that displays the physical and emotional appeal of heroin while also presenting a cautionary tale so brazen and harrowing that it could drive the most degenerate junkie into the closest rehab centre. Trainspotting is brave and ballsy and frequently hilarious; it's dark, smart and uncompromising in a way that only the best films are. It's more than one of the best 'drug movies' ever made; it's arguably on of the finest films to come out of the UK and a movie that will most likely be adored in 50 years as much as it is today. If you want to tell the ugly truth about an unpleasant topic, do it colourfully, unflinchingly and without apology. Director Danny Boyle understands this approach and Trainspotting is an absolute primer on how to make something as disturbing as heroin addiction into a hard-hearted film that enlightens as effortlessly as it entertains. Laden with monumentally memorable characters, a handful of truly outrageous moments, a half-dozen superlative acting performances and a soundtrack that easily ranks among the finest of the past several decades - Trainspotting is a film that deserves every ounce of praise it's earned, plus a whole lot more. Trainspotting is 90 minutes of raw power that Boyle and a bang-on cast inject right into the vein. Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed- interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit- crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing you last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that?Christ, I haven't felt that good since Archie Gemmill scored against Holland in 1978.
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Post by Tosh on Jun 3, 2007 15:24:26 GMT -5
23= Girl, Interrupted (1999) - "Scar tissue has no character. It's not like skin. It doesn't show age or illness or pallor or tan. It has no pores, no hair, no wrinkles. It's like a slip cover. It shields and disguises what's beneath. That's why we grow it; we have something to hide."The expectations of 1960s America were too much for Susanna Kaysen, who was bullied into an 18-month stay at a mental institution after a botched suicide attempt. "Girl, Interrupted" is a decent adaptation of her memoir of this period, neatened up and polished for an audience more familiar with gloss than grit. Girl, Interrupted is sort of a feminine version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest, except with fewer laughs and a greater focus on personal musings and suspense. It is not as utterly brilliant as the 1975 Milos Forman classic, but then again few films are. Girl, Interrupted has its own things to say and its own point of view. With the likes of Whoopi Goldberg, Vanessa Redgrave, Ryder and Jolie in the leading roles, Girl, Interrupted obviously has the words "chick flick" written all over it. That is a shame, because the film really is an interesting portrayal of a lost soul and a complex friendship. While I'm sure much of the general public (primarily males) will find it slow and even maddening to a certain degree, I found it thought-provoking and riveting. Angelina Jolie has the juicy, bad girl role, and she throws herself into the part with reckless abandon. Jolie plays Lisa so effectively, we can easily understand why Susanna both loves and fears her. Jolie's performance alone makes this film worthwhile. Winona Ryder's role is a little darker than those to which she is accustomed, but not so dark as to completely shake her goody-two-shoes image. Ryder does a fine job playing Susanna, but she must ultimately stand in the shadows of Jolie's more interesting role. It may seem odd for this film to be so high up the list but it got under my skin and surprised me so much it left an indelible mark in my head... What does borderline personality mean, anyhow? It appears to be a way station between neurosis and pychosis: a fractured but not disassembled psyche. Though to quote my post-Melvin psychiatrist: "It's what they call people who's lifestyles bother them."
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Post by Tosh on Jun 3, 2007 15:39:37 GMT -5
22= The Usual Suspects (1995) - "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist."Let your concentration flag for an instant during Bryan Singer's deliciously intricate "The Usual Suspects," and you're lost forever. Set in a demimonde of criminal outsiders and con artists, this thriller is like a game of life-and-death chess, with quick double-crosses and wild gambits. The plot moves so fast early on—and shifts back and forth between past and present—that keeping up is like trying to board a train at full speed. The specific crime in question involves $91 million in cocaine, an enigmatic lawyer and a boatload of corpses found burned beyond recognition on a California dock. (but that's enough of the plot). It's unbelievably complicated, but in a way that drags you deeper in. Still, just because so many of the film's satisfactions are cerebral, it doesn't mean that there's nothing happening on screen. "The Usual Suspects" is an old-fashioned mystery trap; it suckers you into buying a premise and then springs the trap on you. The movie boasts a wealth of rich character performances. As Kint, Spacey isn't playing his usual sinister wise guy; he's a dope and a weakling. And yet, Spacey lets us in on the sly intelligence working behind Kint's ineffectual pose. The similarities Between "Suspects" and "Reservoir Dogs" are marked, and, initially, the structural puzzle games and the mixture of lyricism and macho posturing suggests faux Tarantino. But screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie—a former detective—is more straightforward and old-fashioned than Tarantino. And Singer, who also collaborated with McQuarrie on his first film, "Public Access," directs with far too much speed and dynamism to allow for the offhand grace notes and bits of weirdness that are Tarantino's speciality. Ultimately, "The Usual Suspects" may be too clever for its own good. The twist at the end is a corker, but crucial questions remain unanswered. What's interesting, though, is how little this intrudes on our enjoyment. After the movie you're still trying to connect the dots and make it all fit—and these days, how often can we say that?
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Post by Tosh on Jun 3, 2007 17:10:59 GMT -5
21= Gandhi (1982) - "Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants, murderers and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end they always fail."Gandhi offers us a conscience-exercising, mind-stretching, and growth-inducing experience, as it teaches us about a heroic man who was an ethical giant and a visionary. The film vividly portrays how Gandhi's courage and determination united his diverse homeland of India under a banner of moral idealism and how his philosophy and personality left an indelible mark on his nation and the world. Gandhi’s rise from a modest lawyer to an equally modest but hugely powerful unofficial leader of a nation is remarkable, and his life was peppered with memorable events that Attenborough has effectively brought to the screen. These range from his first political campaign against racist laws in South Africa to his long walk to the seashore in India, where he made salt in contravention of British-imposed laws. The Huge crowd scenes that were filmed on location in India give the film an authentic appearance and a sense of grandeur. It’s breathtaking to see the scale of the production, especially the massive funeral procession scene, but also many of Gandhi’s marches and protests that look utterly real. Ben Kingsley delivers an awesome performance . Limited mainly to television roles in the UK prior to this film, Kingsley, when in full costume and make-up looks remarkably like the real-life character he plays, and his measured performance reflects the same sort of credibility from start to finish. It must have been an exhausting and intimidating role to take on, but Kingsley nails it. He richly deserves the Academy Award he won for this performance. A huge sprawling epic movie befitting one of history’s greatest proponents of peaceful resistance.
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Post by Tosh on Jun 4, 2007 13:23:46 GMT -5
20= It's A wonderful Life (1946) - Introduced to me by my brother, I had missed out on this film for years until he convinced me to give it a watch. This was the inspiration for the shatterhand song "George Lassoes The Moon" and I've now watched it around 6 times. "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"The story not only stands strong half a century later, but it continues to show up today's formulaic Hollywood films for the vacuous use of celluloid that they are. There are modern parallels galore in the odyssey of George Bailey (Stewart), forced to abandon his dreams throughout his life right up to the day when he decides the world would have been better off if he'd never been born. Comments on greed have never been more timely--our society seems to be heading toward "Pottersville" faster than ever. And the complex cast of characters seems so alive that they take your breath away no matter how many times you see the film. But it's in the heart that the film strikes its richest chords--the romance, friendship and loyalty are all so effective that you are unable to suppress a huge grin. But there's never anything easy about making a film where the central character is seriously considering suicide, and then having to offer hope to boot. There's little room for sugary sweet answers to a near plausible life of decency that appears to end in failure. "It's a Wonderful Life" achieves a fine balancing act between pathos and feel-good that is delivered by an outstanding cast. Even the minor parts are populated by some of the finest character actors and it produces a movie of timeless quality and relevance. "What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lassoe around it and pull it down. Hey, That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon"
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Post by Tosh on Jun 5, 2007 13:53:57 GMT -5
19= The Godfather Trilogy (1972 - 1990) - The ultimate in Mafia movies. As scary as it is intelligent, as funny as it is touching, The Godfather trilogy is a prime example of the way cinema should be. One of those sublimely rare moments in which every element; casting, acting, directing, script, cinematography and score comes together. The Godfather is an insightful sociological study of violence, power, honour and obligation, corruption, justice and crime in America. With 9 Oscars and 28 Oscar Nominations spread over the three films it is generally regarded as contributing to a resurgence in the American film industry, after a decade of competition from cinema abroad. Those who like analysing movies to death would probably ask why this trilogy kept its cult status through the quarter of century. There were many well-made, well-directed and well-acted movies produced in the years before and after, but it seems that only The Godfather stood the test of time and kept the imagination of the future moviegoers. The reason might probably be in the universal subject of the movie; although it shows rather obscure and ethnically isolated phenomenon the messages can be translated on all the worlds languages and applied to other systems in different times and places. The movie portrays both the society and individuals who lost their freedom because they were too insecure or unprepared for responsibility; same as the poor Italian immigrants had to rely on Mafia to overcome the difficulties of New World, Michael is forced to join the family because he, despite all his efforts, can't live in a insecure world outside his father's omnipotent shadow. And even when he actually becomes his father (in a brilliant and most memorable last shot), the freedom is lost - omnipotence and freedom are just illusion, because with the power comes both the responsibility and the never ending task of keeping. The story of this movie could have taken place everywhere in the world, and that explains why the people will associate with its characters for many decades to come. "Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man. "
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Post by Tosh on Jun 5, 2007 14:44:37 GMT -5
18= The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) - "You gotta fight for every breath, and tell death to go to hell."Brazilian director Walter Salles has made another film about justice issues that most American directors would not touch with a 50-foot pole. Similar to Central Station, which probed the dynamics of compassion, and Behind the Sun, which examined a way to break the cycle of revenge in a rural community, this extraordinary drama delves into the spiritual transformation of a sensitive young man as he is exposed to a world of suffering and deep poverty. It is based partly on Che Guevera's own memoir and Granado's book Travels with Che Guevera. "What do we leave behind when we cross each frontier? Each moment seems split in two; melancholy for what was left behind and the excitement of entering a new land."The world would soon know him. By the time of his execution in Bolivia in 1967, he had passed into myth. Jean-Paul Sartre called him "the most complete man in history" and in 1968 with youthful protests kicking up around the world the slogan "Che lives" appeared on walls from Paris to Berkeley and everywhere else where change was in the air. It was a long and challenging journey for this earnest Argentinian who didn't have the faintest idea of what lie ahead of him when he took off on a motorcycle journey in 1952. It forged his character and set his course as a revolutionary who would advise the rest of us: "Always be capable of feeling deep inside any injustice committed against anyone anywhere in the world." Both exhilarating travelogue and artfully understated study of one man's journey from middle-class naif to grim-faced radical, this is the kind of impassioned, richly detailed character piece that reminds us why we fell in love with movies in the first place. To entertain and transform at the same time -- what more can we ask of a film? Thanks to Salles, screenwriter José Rivera and an excellent cast of professional and non-professional actors, "The Motorcycle Diaries'' transcends its political roots to become something more: a celebration of youthful abandon at that very moment when life with a capital "L'' is about to intercede. Let the world change you and then you can change the world
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Post by Tosh on Jun 6, 2007 15:51:09 GMT -5
17= Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004) - How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd. —Alexander PopeLike Being John Malkovich, this film has a melancholy that balances the surreal wackiness. Not really a comedy, it's more like a thoughtful, internalised romance, picking apart the human mind and how it deals with other people. But most importantly, it can actually help us take a step back and look at our relationships through fresh eyes which is a Brilliant trick to be able to pull off. "Just because you talk constantly doesn't mean you're communicating"Eternal Sunshine has such a grasp of the line between art and entertainment and it's careful never to step over it, striking a fine balance between both. This is entertainment. This is art. This is revolutionary. Above all, this works. Lacking the pretension usually inherent in artistic features, Eternal Sunshine isn't exploitative or preachy. Anyone who's ever been forced to close the door on an intense relationship will identify with film's themes; it's something most of the population can relate to. It's glory is in expressing the bewildering beauty and existential horror of being trapped inside one's own addled mind, and in allegorising the self-preserving amnesia of a broken but hopeful heart. "Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders."
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Post by Tosh on Jun 7, 2007 11:59:23 GMT -5
16= 16 Years Of Alcohol (2003) - Adapted from his own prose-poem, Richard Jobson's 16 Years Of Alcohol is a heartfelt account of a young man in Edinburgh (Kevin McKidd), struggling to turn his back on the violence and the drinking which have defined his turbulent life. Split into three distinct sections - childhood, adolescence, and adulthood - and with the central character providing a melancholic narration, the film is much closer in style and spirit to Wong Kar Wai than Ken Loach. Heavily stylised in terms of its use of colour, framing, camera movements, and still photographs, 16 Years Of Alcohol shows how youth subcultures, through clothing and music, furnish our adolescent selves with a sense of identify: one of the pleasures here is seeing Frankie try on and inhabit new looks and styles. And Jobson's choice of music from the 70s, such as Bryan Ferry's Love Is The Drug and Iggy Pop's Raw Power, powerfully articulates his character's feelings, it's an intense and imaginatively mounted feature. Jobson is no ordinary hack: at various times he's been singer with punk band The Skids, a published poet and novelist, and a movie producer. Jobson's first film as writer-director not only fuses his own talents, but also the best of Scottish cinema's recent output. It has Trainspotting's sharp ear for music and energetic eye for youthful excess, Small Faces' spot-on recreation of the recent past, and Ratcatcher's poetic sense of childhood pain remembered from afar. Ultimately, however, it emerges in its own right as a personalised elegy about family, homeland and the strength required to turn around a wasted life. Even in its most violent moments, 16 Years Of Alcohol is suffused with visual poetry. 'Gritty' is not a word that applies here. The film's trenchant insight into a culture that venerates the garrulous drunk goes hand in hand with a closer study of the complex individual character of Frankie. McKidd is simply awesome in his portrayal of a young man turning to booze, drugs or muggings in order to put some feeling into his desensitised life. He grasps the literary quality of Jobson's material and turns in a powerfully affecting performance.
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Post by Tosh on Jun 7, 2007 13:10:56 GMT -5
15= The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - Many of the most powerful stories are the soulful ones that teach us not to despair, not to be swamped by sorrow. They remind us that hope is a precious and buoyant emotion which can give our lives substance and meaning. Though adapted from a Stephen King novella, "The Shawshank Redemption" has more to do with a man's internal demons than the kind that routinely rise up from overgrown graveyards. Like "Stand by Me," it's not a typical story from the horror King. Instead, it's a devoutly old-fashioned, spiritually uplifting prison drama about two lifers who must break their emotional shackles before they can finally become free men. A detailed portrait of the routine of cellblock life, "The Shawshank Redemption" might change a few minds about the usefulness of incarceration in terms of rehabilitation. Mostly, though, it reminds us of that we all hold the keys to our own prisons. It tells us, in large letters, that our spirit will always be free, and when the closing credits roll I feel renewed, if only for the briefest of moments. Hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a man insane.Writer and director Frank Darabont draws out strong and intense performances from Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins as soulmates who support each other while doing hard time. Red sees hope as a dangerous thing that can drive a man insane, but Andy believes it is fuel that keeps one going against all odds. The Shawshank Redemption is a jubilant tribute to hope as an essential quality of soul.
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Post by Tosh on Jun 7, 2007 15:22:44 GMT -5
14= 21 Grams (2003) - "They say we all lose 21 grams at the exact moment of death," How much fits into 21 grams? How much is lost?"The depths of intimacy that the Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu plumbs here are so rarely touched by filmmakers that 21 Grams is tantamount to the discovery of a new country. It's a non-linear, emotionally escalating collage of three lives on a tragic collision course, the film is blessed with innovative storytelling and the raw, stellar performances of its three lead actors, who completely disappear into their roles. The film is a virtuoso accomplishment of construction and editing. Even though modern physics tells that time does not move from the past through the present into the future, entertaining that delusion is how we make sense of our perceptions. And it is invaluable for actors, who build their characters emotionally as events take place. By fracturing his chronology, Inarritu isolates key moments in the lives of his characters, so that they have to stand alone. There is a point at which this stops being a strategy and starts being a stunt. This line is never crossed! As you watch this film you are absorbed and involved, sometimes deeply moved; acting does not get much better than the work done here by Penn, Del Toro and Watts, and their individual moments have astonishing impact. A formally innovative fugue filled with demons and despair that somehow comes down on the side of life. "The earth turned to bring us closer - it turned on itself and in us -until it finally brought us together in this dream."
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Post by Tosh on Jun 8, 2007 14:20:37 GMT -5
13= Cinema Paradiso (1989) - Flickering with yesterday's innocence and lingering on the mind like bubbles in wine. Born of director Giuseppe Tornatore's childhood memories, this is a magic lantern in a Sicilian boy's hand, its warm light shed on the riches of life in a poor, stone-built land. It is, in a word, exquisite. The film depicts the interplay between movies and life. An Oscar-winner for Best Foreign-Language Film, it's an enchanting, sweeping look at post-WWII life, real and reel. It's set mostly in a small Italian village, but the characters, situations and changes it depicts are universal. You don't have to be Italian to empathize with a young man whose dreams are too big for his hometown to possibly fulfill, or to appreciate the village priest who previews every movie, indicating censurable scenes by ringing a bell. And you don't have to read subtitles to recognize an Italian-speaking John Wayne in "Stagecoach" or to pick up on the frustration of a 50-ish man who takes an exam alongside 10-year-olds in the hopes of earning a belated grade-school diploma. In this case, nothing is lost in translation. Few films come close to encapsulating that ‘movie addiction’ that the most ardent cinephiles are afflicted with. A handful of films have come close but none can touch the majesty of Giuseppe Tornatore’s sublimely satisfying "Cinema Paradiso". His vision is bittersweet, but not depressing, and the pathos never feels manipulative. Cheap sentiment is easy to come by in movies; films this emotionally honest are rare indeed. For me, the extended (by 51 minutes) directors cut is the better version although the theatre print is still utterly majestic in it's own right.
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Post by Tosh on Jun 9, 2007 3:45:25 GMT -5
12= Amores Perros (2001) - Fresh, shocking, violent, romantic, profane and profound, Amores Perros is a revelation, a jolt of cinematic power and a bracing act of faith. The title is translated as "Love's a Bitch" -- a pun referring to the tattered relationships of the characters and the key roles that dogs play in their lives. Alongside the human stories, the dogs' plights provide visually arresting commentaries and illustrations. It's a fiercely brilliant film of such wrenching impact, nonstop drive and unpredictability that watching it becomes an exhilarating ride. Sometimes, it takes an outsider's view to remind us of what our familiar cultural artifacts are worth. That is pretty much the effect of watching Amores Perros, the sensational debut of Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The film blends harsh realism with a curious tenderness. It is also without any conscious surrealism and has a fierce, cinematic energy that is uniquely Inarritu's. It feels like one of the first classics of the new decade, with sequences that will probably make their way into history. It is the work of a born filmmaker, and you can sense Gonzalez Inarritu's passion as he plunges into melodrama, coincidence, sensation and violence. His characters are not the bland, amoral totems of so much modern Hollywood violence, but people with feelings and motives. They want love, money and revenge. They not only love their dogs but desperately depend on them. And it is clear that the lower classes are better at survival than the wealthy, whose confidence comes from their possessions, not their mettle. Stunning!
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