Members Phait Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 So toss in your thoughts on the latest or favorite movies. I finished Chasing Amy and am going thru Mallrats right now (Kevin Smith flicks feat. Jay & Silent Bob). Chasing Amy always intrigued me, it's a good flick with some good commentary and adult humor. Okay so, I am looking for good movies with the following themes: - dealing with depression (my fav. so far would have to be The Machinist, it's more of a noir-mystery but he is the result of depression/guilt I think. Vanilla Sky has some themes interwoven but not greatly, regardless - I relate a lot to that movie, in my top 3) - loving a woman who is already married/unrequited love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I haven't seen a movie in a couple of years, but if you haven't seen Idiocracy, you're missing out on a classic. It's trenchant social commentary disguised as a stupid comedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phait Posted November 9, 2011 Author Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 I've heard good things about it. I may have to watch that tonight, I need a laugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wide Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 - dealing with depression American Splendor, starring Paul Giamatti. Harvey goes through life depressed, constantly worrying. Based on the real life of comic book author Harvey Pekar and his wife, who also have small parts in the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted November 9, 2011 Members Share Posted November 9, 2011 Adaptation hits on the themes of depression and a very neurotic version of unrequited love....not that new, a 2002 film. For a Charlie Kaufman screenplay, it's an easily understood plot. His stories get pretty crazy (Being John Malkovich) and even incomprehensible (Synecdoche, New York) but Adaptation is pretty straightforward. His Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is on my personal all-time favorites list. Lots of depression and a problematic relationship in that one, too. Fun stuff! All his movies benefit from multiple viewings. nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 In the kill or cure category, I might be tempted to suggest Bergman's Hour of the Wolf. ([Hopefully] subtitles only.) But it's been decades since I've seen it. Today, I'd be a little afraid it might come off to me like a Woody Allen wannabe-Bergman movie. (Still, I do have it in my Netflix streaming queue and it is a legitimate icon of surrealistic/impressionistic cinema.) In more or less the same kill or cure category -- but quite funny in a very dark way -- the Coens' Barton Fink. If you're looking for something chilling and rather distant (but with a dryer, dispassionate sense of black humor), their Man Who Wasn't There is a visual tour de force. But its heart is as silvery cold as the cinematography. How about Bunuel? There's a real love of life in his often dark and funny movies. (More subtitles.) If you really want to go into the belly of the beast, you might go for Polanski's Repulsion. (Subtitles.) But, trust me, to the extent you let it, it can really get into your head. And maybe not in the best way. (More about a descent into schizophrenic madness.) A really great, really creepy, really funny, but ultimately quite harrowing (but really funny) Polanski is his The Tennant. It actually bounced me out of a slump at one point because the main character's apparent fixation and madness is so over the top (and Polanski himself is so good in the role) that there was no place to go from up after laughing my way darkly through the protag's travails (it may have helped that I stepped out of an afternoon matinee that had seemed enveloped in the film's creepy old-St. Germain darkness into bright southern Cali sunlight -- a little like shock therapy at the end of a long white-knuckle psychological trip). I'm not sure I'd recommend any of the above for those who can't handle pretty dark fare. That said, since I wasn't familiar with The Mechanic, I took a quick glance at it and figure you may be ok on that front. Litmus question: did you think David Lynch's Eraserhead was unbearably weird/creepy/depressingor really funny -- while perhaps still being all three of the former? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 My all time favorite about depression is 'Office Space'. It's just hilarious IMHO... If you've ever done a corporate thing, you'll be amazed at how well they nailed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 I dunno why, but the Barton Fink recommendation has me thinking that Paris, TX would be a good pick.... same general neighborhood, but in a slightly less dark direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 Not on your themes, but: Andrzej Tarkovsky's STALKERIngmar Bergman's WINTER LIGHTCarlos Reygadas's STELLET LICHTYasujiro Ozu's TOKYO TWILIGHTFederico Fellini's NOTTI DI CABIRIACoen Bros's A SERIOUS MANLuis Bunuel's LOS OLVIDADOSKore-Eda Hirokazu's STILL WALKING These are some world masterpieces which changed my life forever. I literally measure my life in "Before I saw this" and "After I saw this". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 Interesting that blue and Ras mention movies associated with significant personal experiences. I have two bins in my brain, (anyone with the patience to read my posts probably knows this to the point of "ok yeah I get it already"), that separate my objective appraisals of art from my subjective experiences of art. Meaning, I try to give a film or song or book a chance on it's own merits, aside from whatever accidental coincidences render it a "big deal" for me personally. My default is to talk on the objective (defined as "discussable in general terms") and only bring up a "personal reaction" as an illustration or an aside. I think of my personal reaction as somewhat arbitrary, and no more valid than anyone else's personal reaction, and sharing it tells more about me than it does about the art in question. But for a change of pace, I'll trot out an odd movie that I'm not sure got even it's whole 15 minutes of alloted fame, but had a really big personal impact on me when it came out in 1981 - My Dinner With Andre. The whole movie is just two guys talking over dinner at a fancy restaurant - but it's one of those "heavy conversations" that are often lampooned for, IMHO, the same reasons (bona fide) saints are made fun of - they are too deep and weird for most people most of the time, bringing up the easy defensive reaction of ridicule. Hopefully avoiding spoilers, I'll just say one guy is a romantic radical, revolutionary type, and the other is a classical, conservative, commoner type. One self-destructive, full of wild highs and deathly lows in the Byronic way - the other self-preserving in a charming, humble, sensible way. For me, I felt like I was listening to the ying and yang of my own life, spun out in the long evolving conversation between these two guys. But it's clearly not everyone's movie by a long yard - But if you watch it and don't hate it - ask yourself after watching this, are you an Andre or a Wally? nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 My all time favorite about depression is 'Office Space'. It's just hilarious IMHO... If you've ever done a corporate thing, you'll be amazed at how well they nailed it. Now, Philbo---- are you wearing your flair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 I haven't seen a movie in a couple of years, but if you haven't seen Idiocracy, you're missing out on a classic. It's trenchant social commentary disguised as a stupid comedy. Craig, I've had several experiences this year which convince me: We're THERE already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 Craig, I've had several experiences this year which convince me: We're THERE already. After watching that movie, you never see the world the same way again....I keep experiencing "Idiocracy Moments" as well. In fact, just tonight, I was watching the Republican debate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 But for a change of pace, I'll trot out an odd movie that I'm not sure got even it's whole 15 minutes of alloted fame, but had a really big personal impact on me when it came out in 1981 - My Dinner With Andre. The whole movie is just two guys talking over dinner at a fancy restaurant - but it's one of those "heavy conversations" that are often lampooned for, IMHO, the same reasons (bona fide) saints are made fun of - they are too deep and weird for most people most of the time, bringing up the easy defensive reaction of ridicule.nat whilk ii A fascinating film. Wally sort of dwells in "realityville"... and he is flat broke. Andre has crawled up his own ass into a world of pretense, imagination and puerility-- and he is seen as the cherished, successful artistic guru. All performing artists need to take note of this: The public, as P.T. Barnum has pointed out, is bored with reality and sameness, and longs for escape. The person who can give fantasy, amusement, diversion, escapism to the people will do well. Whether your fantastic machinations consitute charlatanism is neither here-nor-there; such is the public's thirst to escape themselves and their realities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted November 10, 2011 Moderators Share Posted November 10, 2011 If you've never seen Chaplin's City Lights (1931), I'd start there. Chaplin's Tramp character is so sad and poignant. Depression? He is on the bottom. When he meets a beautiful flower girl, blind, the manner in which she carries herself is telling. As hard as her life is, she's happy. hmmm. And, she's blind right? She doesn't know he's a tramp which provides the main thrust of the story. He starts carrying himself differently. For her and ultimately for himself. Just great. It will tear your heart out. Seriously great movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nat whilk II Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 A fascinating film. Wally sort of dwells in "realityville"... and he is flat broke. Andre has crawled up his own ass into a world of pretense, imagination and puerility-- and he is seen as the cherished, successful artistic guru. There were lots of Andre types floating around in the hippie era - the film character was, for those ancient enough to have participated in hippieism, a known type of the day. At a party they would hold forth with "incredible experience" stories about anything and everything exotic and amazing...drug experiences a la Carlos Castenada...learning under ashram gurus how to spiritually fly...secret movements with secret knowledge of astounding secrets...anecdotes about hanging with famous hollywood or music biz types...strange group therapy sessions with some California psychiatrist catering to the rich and bored and addicted-totally changing their lives with some new way to relate learned from an obscure tribe somewhere...horror stories of governmental conspiracies or horrific experiments, just on and on and on. These guys would have been supposedly clocked time in Vail A-frames, in secret Marine special forces, in a mercenary army in Africa, in LA drug rings, in Buddhist monastaries, in Indonesian huts, in the Outback, in Alaskan Inuit villages, on treasure-hunting boats, off-shore oil rigs, NASA training programs, anything. They were "there" at the first concert at the Avalon Ballroom, or when Kennedy was shot in Dallas (and had heard that something like this might happen), or caught a ride with Santana's band while hitchiking to Woodstock, or had permanent backstage status with the Grateful Dead, or took a job for a while being a guard on the fence around Area 51. I bet Blue has run into his share of these types, probably Craig has, too - by the time I ran into these guys, they all seemed to have retired to a quiet life of party-going, story-telling and women-gathering, "Gonna lay low for a while (chuckle)" nat whilk ii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 After watching that movie, you never see the world the same way again....I keep experiencing "Idiocracy Moments" as well. In fact, just tonight, I was watching the Republican debate...Oops. ___________________ I had to correct myself above, the creepy/scary Polanski Repulsion is in English. It's just been so long since I saw it that I'd misfiled it in my head as set in Paris. (Another English language Polanski movie that is more a conventional gothic thriller as I remember it is Cul de Sac, set on a tidal island, and starring the great Donald Pleasance.) I see (from Wikipedia, source of all truth) that both Repulsion and The Tennant are considered part of Polanski's "Apartment Trilogy" with the other being his Rosemary's Baby. _____________________ So far, almost all my suggestions have been solidly in kill-or-cure territory -- and sometimes when I'm in a mood (I'm a moody guy, no question), that's just the ticket. But sometimes what it really takes is some sentimental thing or an old-fashioned, over-the-top musical -- or an old-fashioned, over-the-top sentimental musical. (I'm a cheap date sometimes when it comes to raw sentiment in movies. I'm still transfixed in the mid-movie death scene of the kindly aunt in 1935 the Astaire-Rogers-Irene-Dunn-Randolph Scott musical Roberta. The old lady hasn't been feeling well, an old flame (it's implied he was married) has come to visit her and after he leaves, she retires to the couch in her Parisian design room (she's a haute couture designer and her football player nephew Randolph Scott is about to inherit half of her couture empire to marginally hilarious results). As Irene Dunn sings the always haunting Yesterdays over a Russian balalaika accompaniment, the old lady's eyes droop closed and, as the others quietly leave the room we see her hand drop off the couch. A very delicate death scene -- and it slays me every time. Astaire and Rogers are actually secondary characters but drive the music and comedy for the most part. You gotta be able to like corn. But it's great corn. ___________________________ I'll second Nat's personal endorsement of My Dinner with Andre. It's a heck of a movie. I was definitely prepared to be bored. Didn't happen. I was pretty glued all the way through. A great conversation about a lot of the stuff that really matters. ___________________________ And another second, this time for Lee's suggestion of City Lights -- no one did sentiment quite like Chaplin. Perhaps it was his deep roots in silent movies. It's so jarring to go from that movie to the talkie, Monsieur Verdoux, where Chaplin portrays a sardonic serial killer (a black widower, if you will). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hush Posted November 10, 2011 Members Share Posted November 10, 2011 - dealing with depression Harold and Maude - loving a woman who is already married/unrequited loveOnce - kinda fits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rasputin1963 Posted November 11, 2011 Members Share Posted November 11, 2011 Merchant Ivory's WASHINGTON SQUARE and L'HISTOIRE D'ADELE H both concern unrequited/unfulfilled love and longing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members E-money Posted November 13, 2011 Members Share Posted November 13, 2011 Here are some flicks I've seen in the last few years that I've been impressed with. Casablanca (unrequited love)Once (unrequited love)The Station Agent (depression)In Bruges (depression)Hollywoodland (unrequited love) If you are looking for great movies outside of these 2 themes, some other great ones are:Glenngarry Glen RossChangelingTapsThe WrestlerGran TorinoAtonementHeavenly CreaturesLife is BeautifulInceptionMementoSlumdog MillionaireFollowingStand By MeTrue GritSlaughterhouse FiveUnited 93MoonLorenzo's OilGone Baby GoneThank you for SmokingThe Darjeeling LimitedNo Country for Old MenAlpha DogA perfect WorldThe PrestigeGrosse Pointe BlankRunaway Jury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted November 13, 2011 Members Share Posted November 13, 2011 Now, Philbo---- are you wearing your flair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted November 13, 2011 Members Share Posted November 13, 2011 There were lots of Andre types floating around in the hippie era - the film character was, for those ancient enough to have participated in hippieism, a known type of the day. At a party they would hold forth with "incredible experience" stories about anything and everything exotic and amazing...drug experiences a la Carlos Castenada...learning under ashram gurus how to spiritually fly...secret movements with secret knowledge of astounding secrets...anecdotes about hanging with famous hollywood or music biz types...strange group therapy sessions with some California psychiatrist catering to the rich and bored and addicted-totally changing their lives with some new way to relate learned from an obscure tribe somewhere...horror stories of governmental conspiracies or horrific experiments, just on and on and on. These guys would have been supposedly clocked time in Vail A-frames, in secret Marine special forces, in a mercenary army in Africa, in LA drug rings, in Buddhist monastaries, in Indonesian huts, in the Outback, in Alaskan Inuit villages, on treasure-hunting boats, off-shore oil rigs, NASA training programs, anything. They were "there" at the first concert at the Avalon Ballroom, or when Kennedy was shot in Dallas (and had heard that something like this might happen), or caught a ride with Santana's band while hitchiking to Woodstock, or had permanent backstage status with the Grateful Dead, or took a job for a while being a guard on the fence around Area 51. I bet Blue has run into his share of these types, probably Craig has, too - by the time I ran into these guys, they all seemed to have retired to a quiet life of party-going, story-telling and women-gathering, "Gonna lay low for a while (chuckle)" nat whilk ii Alright Nat, I need to know who gave you my resume!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MrKnobs Posted November 13, 2011 Moderators Share Posted November 13, 2011 After watching that movie, you never see the world the same way again...... But it has the electrolytes that plants need.... Another excellent movie on the theme of "have we lost our societal mind" is American Beauty. Annette Benning and Kevin Spacey in the lead roles. Terry D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phait Posted November 27, 2011 Author Members Share Posted November 27, 2011 I went through all the suggestions on IMDB but haven't really found one that completely resonated with me. Maybe that'll be a hard pair of shoes to fill. I did add Polanski's The Tenant to my watchlist. For some reason 70's movies are harder for me to watch, I guess I'm spoiled by the 90s/00's+ quality. (On an unrelated to topic note, in a way, I did watch the Millenium trilogy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest and didn't want them to end. Love 'em - but I prefer foreign movies dubbed English) Here is a list of movie's I've liked. It's always growing since I know there are a bunch I can't recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gubu Posted November 27, 2011 Members Share Posted November 27, 2011 I'd have to suggest 'Lost Highway' by David Lynch. Not sure if it falls into the criteria in the OP but it's one of the best movies ever made IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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