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Alvidrez’ canon: Top 10 avant-garde films
Topics: Bakersfield, Bakotopia, Bakotopia.com, movies, Jason Alvidrez, issue 30, Avant Garde, avant-garde
Posted by Weltall Mon Jun 9, 2008 18:21:13 PDT
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Alvidrez’ canon of top ten avant-garde films


By Jason Alvidrez, Bakotopia contributor

As a young cinephile, one that cares deeply about the preservation of film as an art form, I have put together a canon of films that I see as some of the most important works of our generation.  I will share 10 films—in chronological order of release date—made after World War II, that I perceive as the most powerful and significant pieces of cinema.

Shadow of a Doubt
 (1942, w Thorton Wilder, Sally Benson, Alma Reville; d Alfred Hitchcock)

Ok I am already cheating, but his is my only non-postwar film, and Alfred Hitchcock’s cinematic contributions cannot go unacknowledged.  Shadow of Doubt infuses everything that is great about Hitchcock, wonderful characters with an intriguing plot. Teresa Wright’s “Charlie” Newton, accents the ideal of middle class teenage boredom; a precursor to the 50’s teen films such as The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause.  Her Uncle Charlie, the most villainous and charming of Hitchcock’s antagonists, played charismatically by Joseph Cotton, hauntingly brings an American view of freedom and carelessness that young “Charlie” could only dream of.  The plot that unfolds surrounding this serial killer and distant family is one of intrigue, suspense, and originality, so much so that it is regarded as Hitchcock’s personal favorite of his own films.
 
The Best Years of Our Lives
(1946, w Robert E. Sherwood; d William Wyler)

The Best Years of Our Lives is the best film ever made about war veterans and it holds up sixty years later; not only because of the skillful directing, but also the great writing, beautiful cinematography, and mesmerizing acting.  Gregg Toland, the innovative cinematographer who captured the visuals of Citizen Kane continues his groundbreaking work and use of deep focus photography in this film.  Robert Sherwood’s script never over-emphasizes the issues of the film, and he properly disperses time to all of his unique characters. The acting is uniformly masterful, with stand out award-winning performances by Frederic March, Harold Russell, Myrna Loy, and Teresa Wright, who is the only performer to appear in more than one film on my list.  Finally, William Wyler, whose encounters with war veterans prompted inspiration for the film, is in top form here.  His directing, which led him to great recognition and praise throughout his career, is the reason the film was so important during the time of its release; making it the highest grossing film in the first year after the war.

 
Tokyo Story
(1953, w Kôgo Noda, Yasujirō Ozu; d Yasujirō Ozu)

No other film has been able to tap into my raw emotions more than Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story.  Ozu is often regarded as the “most Japanese” of Japanese filmmakers.  His films are frequently centered on the urban Japanese family, accentuating their struggles, emphasizing the generation gap between young and old, and characterizing human relationships as nothing less than challenging. 

The audience does not need to follow complex actions or plot points, as Tokyo Story contains none of these conventional storytelling techniques.  Simply sitting and watching the story unfold engages the viewer.  One can’t help but get absorbed into this film; seeing postwar Japan, and its people, in a light rarely captured by any other Japanese filmmaker.
 

Vivre sa Vie (My Life to Live)
(1962, w Jean-Luc Godard, Marcel Sacotte; d Jean-Luc Godard)

My Life to Live is the most important work in terms of film history on my list.  There have been many film movements over the history of cinema from many different countries, the Soviet montage, German expressionism, Italian neo-realism, and many more.  However, the French New Wave movement of the late 50’s and early 60’s was the most important postwar movement in cinema.  Perhaps no other French director of this time changed how cinema was viewed more than the polarizing, controversial, writer-director Jean-Luc Godard; whose most remarkable film is My Life to Live.
   
Starring Godard’s beautiful former wife Anna Karina, My Life to Live is presented in twelve acts.  It concerns itself with moral and philosophical questions; best observed in chapter eleven while the prostitute Nana discusses metaphysics and the meaning of language with Brice Parain, Godard’s real philosophy tutor.  In no other film, from no other filmmaker, can a prostitute and philosopher converse about Ontology.


High and Low (Tengoku to Jigoku)
(1963, w Eijirô Hisaita, Ryuzo Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni;
d Akira Kurosawa)

When the final books are written about Akira Kurosawa, I hope that he will not be remembered only for his jedai-geki (samurai) films.  High and Low is a Kurosawa film that deserves to be recognized as highly as his other masterpieces, Rashomon, Ran, and Seven Samurai.  No other film blends so many styles into one narrative so flawlessly.  American film noir, stylized stage performance, gendai-jeki (modern) form, Italian neo-realism, and several other cinematic influences are present.  The films social significance is what distinguishes it from other Kurosawa films; the Japanese title literally translates to Heaven and Hell, for its portrayal of the rich and poor of postwar Japan. 


Aguirre, Wrath of God
(1972, w d Werner Herzog)
 
The German enigma that is Werner Herzog is in top form in this story of a man’s descent into madness.  Klaus Kinski, who often collaborated with Herzog, plays Spanish conquistador Lope de Aguirre, whose rugged facial expressions convey the psychosis this character has developed in his search for the city of gold, El Dorado.  With eerie music, stunning visuals, and memorizing performances, it is easy to see why Herzog is one of the most important directors of the New German Cinema of the 1960’s and 70’s.


 
That Obscure Object of Desire
(1977, w Luis Buñuel, Jean-Claude Carrière; d Luis Buñuel)

While I admit, it was hard to choose whether to add That Obscure Object of Desire or Pedro Almodóvar’s Talk to Her to represent Spanish filmmaking, when taking into consideration what a film canon symbolizes, I could not pass on representing the work of the great Luis Buñuel.  In this his final film, he perfectly captures the constant struggle between sexes, mounting from feelings of love, desire, and desperation.  Buñuel is the precursor to filmmakers like David Lynch and Michel Gondry, as he brought surrealist film to the forefront of cinema.    
 

Raging Bull
(1980, w Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin, d Martin Scorsese)

When putting together a “personal film canon” one can’t help but include their favorite films.  Raging Bull, I believe, is the greatest achievement that cinema has to offer in terms of acting, directing, writing, photography, and theme.  The American auteur renaissance of the 70’s and early 80’s was highlighted by the work of the New York born Martin Scorsese; and in this, his finest film, he conveys the sensational emotions that film can offer, more so than any other contemporary art.  With Robert De Niro turning in one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema and Michael Chapman’s cinematography channeling the brutality and grace of boxing, it is impossible to ignore the importance of Raging Bull on modern cinema.

      
Y Tu Mamá También
(2001, w Carlos Cuarón, Alfonso Cuarón; d Alfonso Cuarón)

We are in the midst of a New Mexican Cinema movement, with the emergence filmmakers like Alejandro González Iñarritu, Guillermo del Toro Gómez, and Alfonso Cuarón.  Consequently, it is Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También that I hope—despite being viewed as a “teen film”—is seen in years to come as the important work that it truly is.  Yes the film does center around two teenage boys, but it is much more than a teenage road movie, it is about the obstacles that life throws at us, as well as those imposed on us by society and class structure.  The film speaks profoundly about change, about how our experiences mold us, and how existential decisions can define us.  The film was given the “un-rated” label, which marks death for any film in America.  It is shame that a film which so much social and moral significance, can be shunned by the ratings board because of its honest presentation of sex.        
 

Deliver Us from Evil
(2006, w d Amy Berg)

Sometimes we see a film that transcends cinema.  I believe it is important that a canon not only define important cinematic works, but tap into some history on the importance of different forms of cinematic storytelling.  Since Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North, documentary film has evolved into an experience that is not only able to tell stories, but also to realistically recognize pressing social issues in the world we live in.  Amy Berg’s Deliver Us from Evil, a line taken from the lord’s prayer, is a harrowing tale of Catholic Priest pedophilia, an issue that dates back 1600 years.  Deliver Us from Evil is not only an important document in cinema; it is an imperative file of a worldwide problem.  Watching these real people lose faith in God right before our eyes his gut wrenching, but something that needs to be seen.  The film belongs in my canon not just because it is a good movie, but also because it is an important piece of social and historical documentation.  

Also printed in Bakotopia Magazine, issue #30, 6/12/08

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Comment From: matt

Great collection. There's some on this list I haven't seen yet. Y Tu Mama is an awesome film...si!! Comment From: zsmith

GOOD JOB SIR.