Hi, helleia.

That’s an interesting question. I can’t claim to know of films that inspire me “as well as Tiny Buddha,” because different things inspire me in different ways. But here are a few films, off the top of my head, that gave me the opportunity to consider things from a different perspective, and by doing so, helped me to understand the human condition a bit better, and/or helped me to fill in some of the gaps in my own personal philosophy:

The Razor’s Edge (1984) – This is one of Bill Murray’s first philosophical films. I personally find it to be a far superior film to the 1946 version with Tyrone Power. Although the 1984 version departs from Summerset Maugham’s novel in significant ways, I think the departures help the story to have more impact and to drive home the points of the story all the better.

Huo zhe, a.k.a. “To Live” (1994) – This is a Chinese film by director Yimou Zhang, and in my book, it is one of his masterpieces. In addition to the film’s excellent cinematography and musical score, this adaption of Hua Yu’s novel depicts the lives of two people and their family through the political changes in China from the 1940s to the 1970s. I think it is an amazingly beautiful film on many levels.

Körkarlen, a.k.a. “The Phantom Carriage” (1921) – This is a silent film by one of Sweden’s master directors, Victor Sjöström. Based on the novel by Selma Lagerlöf, some of the story regarding alcoholism may not resonate with today’s viewers, but the story itself, at least for me, is amazingly powerful. The film will remind you a bit of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but Körkarlen makes Dickens’ characters seem pale and almost laughingly amateurish. When the main protagonist (or perhaps antagonist) David Holm (played by Sjöström himself) has his change of heart, it is based on the horror he feels when he sees the heartless and sadistic pain he has inflicted on the people who have cared for him, and how it has terribly and irrevocably affected their lives. When he cries out for salvation, it is not for his own salvation, but the physical salvation of those he has harmed. He begs, with every fiber of his being, for his own soul to be damned to Hell for eternity. (I get choked up just thinking about that part of the movie.) Scrooge, on the other hand, is primarily interested in avoiding his own death, for which he promises to be a better man: a light, fluffy, and shallow motivation compared to David Holm’s motivation. Also, please don’t be put off by it being a silent film. The cinematography is amazing, as are the special effects. To think that this film was made in 1921, in filmmaking’s infancy, completely astounds me. The film has more than one modern musical score, and I suggest Matti Bye’s score over all others. Bye masterfully tailors his score to the film using a minimalistic style rich with an effective pallet of instruments and timbres. (You’ll also see a scene extremely similar to a scene in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. I don’t have any proof, but I am inclined to think that Kubrick stole the idea for the scene from Sjöström.) In my opinion, for what it may not be worth, Körkarlen is one of the masterpieces of all cinema.

CMI

Dear helleia,

You’re welcome!

It’s harder for me to give you a list of documentaries. I’ve seen a lot of good ones, and it’s difficult to narrow them down to ones that fit squarely into the category of “inspiring.” Nonetheless, here are a few that you might like:

Waste Land (2010) – This is a film about people who live on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, who make a living by scavenging the largest trash dump (landfill) in the world, ironically called Jardim Gramacho, “Gramacho Garden.” (The landfill closed in 2012.) Imagine how differently people would perceive their world, what kind of hopes they would have for their lives and futures (or the hopes that they would not even be able to consider), if the best option for them to support themselves was scavenging the discarded trash of society.

Zeitgeist (2007), Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008), Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011) – This a documentary film series by Peter Joseph that takes an epistemologically skeptical look at some of the established beliefs of western society, and also examines ways in which western society, and the world on the whole, could be a better place. He also has two or three other documentaries out as well.

In a similar vein to the Zeitgeist series:

Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) – Now, with the ready availability of electric cars, this documentary may seem a bit dated, but the behaviors of the auto manufacturers and the oil companies to forestall the availability of the electric car are still relevant.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) – Again, it’s a bit dated, but considering that human nature hasn’t changed in the relatively few years since then, particularly considering what happened to facilitate the economic downturn, this is still relevant.

Inside Job (2010) – This film examines what facilitated the economic downturn. It’s a real eye-opener about how far people and companies will go to find and exploit ways to cheat the system, regardless of how devastating those things may be to society. It also shows just how weak government regulations and laws were—and probably still are—when it comes to closing loop-holes and prosecuting wrong-doers.

Regarding favorite directors, my list may seem trite, but I have to go with what I have experienced. In the order in which I learned about them, and/or in which they became one of my favorites, the directors with whose films I have been the most impressed (beyond just entertainment value) are:

– Stanley Kubrick (U.S.)
– Akira Kurosawa (Japan)
– Fritz Lang (Austria-Germany)
– Yimou Zhang (China)
– Ingmar Bergman (Sweden)
– Victor Sjöström (Sweden)
– Satyajit Ray (India)

Just because a director is on my list doesn’t mean that I like all of his films. It does mean, however, that he has made several films that I think are excellent in one way or another, or in many ways, and that his films have helped me to understand humanity, and/or life, a little better.

However, you may not like any of them. Favorites are subjective.

There are also other directors about whom I am still learning, who have made films that have either inspired me or helped me to think more broadly about the human condition. They are:

– Henri-Georges Clouzot (France) – Le salaire de la peur, a.k.a. “The Wages of Fear” (1953); Les diaboliques, a.k.a. “Diabolique” (1943); Le corbeau, a.k.a. “The Raven” (1943)
– Federico Fellini (Italy) — Le notti di Cabiria, a.k.a. “Nights of Cabiria” (1957); La Strada (1954)
– Mikhail Kalatozov (U.S.S.R.) – Letyat zhuravli, a.k.a. “The Cranes are Flying” (1957); Neotpravlennoe pismo, a.k.a. “Letter Never Sent” (1960)
– Larisa Shepitko (U.S.S.R.) – Krylya, a.k.a. “Wings” (1966); Voskhozhdenie, a.k.a.”The Ascent” (1977)
– Jean Renoir (France) – La Grande Illusion (1937); La Bête Humaine (1938)
– Marcel Carné (France) — Le Jour se Lève (1939);
– François Truffaut (France) — Les quatre cents coups, a.k.a. “The 400 Blows” (1959)

For general entertainment value and an extremely high level of moviemaking, I am also very fond of Martin Scorsese. I’m also very fond of Woody Allen.

An honorable mention, particularly for The Grapes of Wrath (1940), is John Ford. Yes, he was an extremely influential director, but many of the stories he told were too fluffy for me.

Of course, there are many, many films and directors I like that I am leaving out. You’ve already suggested a penny for my thoughts, and I’ve probably already bored you to death by putting far more than my two-cents worth in.

Generally speaking, though, I also highly recommend the The Criterion Collection to you. Many, if not all, of the films I have mentioned are part of this collection. I suggest that anyone who would like to have an ever-growing and comprehensive list of films, directors, cinematographers, score composers, editors, etc., with which to learn more about the art of film, need look no further than this collection.

As my lists suggest, and as The Criterion Collection will demonstrate, I think you will find that exploring world cinema is absolutely essential (particularly if you do not have the luxury of being able to travel and experience many other cultures for yourself) to having a better, broader, and more in-depth understanding of humanity. I contend that the same holds true for world music.

I am interested to know the name of the YouTube site you mentioned. I’d like to check it out!

What are some of your favorite directors and films, particularly the ones who/that have inspired you?

CMI

Dear helleia,

Thank you for the YouTube channel. It looks interesting! I’ll take a look at its videos this weekend.

Thank you, too, for the Daily Vibes blog. I’ll look at that this weekend, too. The meaning of Samsara, as a film’s name, already intrigues me.

Regarding time management and film — for me, at least, budgeting time for film is hard to justify, particularly when I have other, higher priorities. But when I have some downtime, and everything else is done, watching a good film is downright satisfying. The more I learn, the more I realize how amazingly ignorant I am about so many things. And there are so many things I want to know everything about, right now! But I only have so much time in a day, and due to the necessities of life, much of that time is already spoken for. I think that is fairly normal for everyone. Having read some of your other posts in other areas, I imagine that it is not so much an issue of time management for you, but a huge desire to know so very much, and, due to life, only so much time into which you can fit everything. If that is indeed the case, I know the feeling. I wish I could say that it gets easier, but from my experience, it doesn’t. The more I know, the more I want to know, and there are still only 24 hours in a day. I suggest that you fit your study of film in where you can, learn as you have the opportunity, and not pressure yourself to know everything right now. You just can’t do it.

There is no reason to be shy about your list. It is, after all, YOUR list, which is—and should be—every bit as unique as you are unique. And, as you say, you have only begun your journey.

I’ve heard of Jean-Luc Godard, and I think I saw À bout de soufflé, a.k.a. “Breathless” (1960), at one point, but I don’t recall much about it. I’ll have to put some of his films on my list.

A friend of mine went to school with Wes Anderson, and has the high school yearbook to prove it, so I guess I have two degrees of separation from him. That, and three dollars, will get me a small cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Wes’ films have intrigued me, and I am still trying to fully understand the language of his style. The more I see of his films the more I appreciate him as a director and storyteller. His film The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) inspired me to buy The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig, but my reading list is long, and my stack of books to read is high, so I haven’t gotten to it yet. If I were to pick a favorite film of Wes’, it would either be Moonrise Kingdom (2012), or The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). I really like the overall story of Moonrise Kingdom, but the Melvillian leanings of The Life Aquatic appeals to me, too (as you might guess from my forum name). The scene that gets me the most, and gets me all misty-eyed, is when they are in the submarine, they see the fish, and Steve says, “I wonder if it remembers me.” Then he puts his hand on Jane’s stomach, viz., her in utero baby. I also like the sentiment of his words, which reminds me of Karen Blixen’s (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen) words, “… does Africa know a song of me?” from her autobiographical novel Out of Africa.

I have heard that Hayao Miyazaki is a giant in anime, but I have not been able to warm up to anime yet—perhaps to my woeful discredit.

If you are like me, your list of favorite films will constantly change throughout your life. Only after many, many years have I been able to select a solid top five films.

I hope you will not limit your conversation about anything based on how well-versed you perceive yourself to be. No one is omniscient, and we are all ignorant of many, many things. There is no shame in acknowledging the holes in one’s knowledge. The sin of disingenuousness, as it were, is affecting an erudition that one does not possess.

No, I haven’t studied film academically. I’d like to do so, but (like my reading list) my “like to do” list is long, and my time is limited.

I don’t see a PM option on the forum. Yes, you can e-mail me. I suggest that you create an ad hoc e-mail account (if you don’t already have one) and tell me what it is (assuming that by doing so no rules of the forum are broken). Bear in mind, though, that when you tell me, everyone else will see it, too. I’ll send you a note, and when you are convinced that I am the one with whom you are conversing, we can talk privately.

Paalam!

CMI

Hi, helleia,

Regarding whether I consider myself to be a good conversationalist, I guess that would depend on how one defines “good.” However, Im not really in a position to accurately answer that question. The folks with whom I converse would be far more able to make that determination. However, as far as general conversations go, I would guess that I am an average conversationalist, at least compared to how I perceive the conversational abilities of others. I’m sure, like most people, the more interested I am in a topic, the better I listen and participate. On the other hand, the less I am interested, the more I find myself paying attention to the mechanics of polite conversation, so that I don’t come across as being invalidating or bored, and I don’t always succeed in doing that. I do find it hard to go too far beyond two or three questions to fuel the fires of a conversation in which I am not interested. If the person’s interests are extremely different from mine, I may make eye-contact, nod my head, and make acknowledging responses, but in the back of my mind I am trying to figure out a way to end the conversation politely.

Why do you ask?

How about you? Do you consider yourself to be a good conversationalist?

CMI

Hi, helleia.

Thanks for mentioning the documentary series, Human. It is on YouTube. I’ve added it to my documentary playlist and will watch it when I have a chance. There’s a link for Life in a Day on YouTube, too, but it says the film is not available. It looks like Samsara can be rented through YouTube.

I’m sorry; I am not aware of anything that is experimental. I’m sure there are experimental things out there, though.

I am extremely attuned to the cinematography of a movie, just as much as I am to a movie’s soundtrack, or lack of soundtrack. I still need a decent story, though.

Feel free to categorize all you’d like. I’ll go along for the ride!

Thanks for the suggestion about the annotations. And thanks for the list of top 50 Pinoy films!

I wholly agree with you about an eclectic taste being the best. I’ve found that it can be a bit isolating at times though, especially when one is around folks with very limited tastes, experiences, and worldviews.

Have you considered pursuing a career in filmmaking, in whatever capacity? It sounds like it would be the perfect venue for you.

CMI