SCABs

Input. Input. Input.

We have been told during this course that to be inspired you need input. You need new things in your brain that get those wheels turning, so enjoy my attempt at a sticky movie list.

Simple

Dogma (1999)

I like the simplicity of this one because it’s about religion which is everything but. It’s about a woman who works at a abortion clinic, who is visited by an angel. It’s quintessential nineties perfection with an amazing cast.

Unexpected

Doomsday Book (2012)

This is a South Korean anthology sci-fi anthology movie that is so strange and mundane at the same time. I didn’t expect to like it, but I always come to it because it’s weird in the best ways. It’s split into three stories and you never know what is going to happen next.

Run Lola Run (1998)

So originally did I only watch this movie because the lead character reminds me of the girl from The 5th Element? Yes. But the format is fascinating and the use of colour has stayed with me. It is a German experimental thriller, about a ride or die girlfriend who is having the worst day ever. 

Concreteness

Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

This movie is effortlessly touching. Like it’s about this specific pairing, gentrification and a specific state in America but what is radically concrete is that it’s a pretty universal story if you’re a person of colour priced out of your hometown because it’s suddenly become cool. I like how it plays with the idea that when you’re constantly moving/displaced it’s hard to have heritage. 

Enter the Void (2009)

When you look up Concreteness it says “specific, definite, and vivid” and to be fair this movie isn’t a favourite or anything but it is those three things. I like the way it’s shot. I like that I don’t think the director (Gaspar Noé) cares whether you like it or not.

Credible

Human Traffic (1999)

So this one is simply believable. It doesn’t age but maybe that’s because I was raised on jungle music. I remember watching my aunts get ready to go on nights out and it’s the perfect amount of nostalgia. It’s just mates on a random weekend, that’s why I like it.

Party Monster (2003)

This film is chaotic but in a believable way if you have friends like mine. I remember the shock horror I felt after googling the movie and realizing it was based on a true story. It’s about LGTBQ club kids in the nineties, it’s full of glitter and darkness. 

Emotions

The Fountain (2006)

This film is about a scientist and his writer wife who is dying. I think it makes me cry because I’m a writer with a science-y type partner. It’s super surreal and just the scope and visuals are so cool, it also has this philosophical subtext which I like!

Waking Life (2001) 

This was shot using digital video of live actors with a team of artists drawing lines and colors over each frame with computers, rather than being filmed and traced. I like it because it’s just people chatting about life (it reminds me of Coffee and Cigarettes a bit) and I found it randomly but have watched it countless times.

Stories 

Grey Gardens (1975)

This is a doc but a fucking classic. Watch it before the TikTok kids bring back head scarves. It’s about these two reclusive women (mother/daughter) who are upper class and live in a derelict mansion. They are related to the Kennedy family and it’s the first time I understood the saying ‘Delusions of Grandeur’ 

Paris is Burning (1990)

This doc follows the gay ballroom scene of NYC. From language, style and dance it’s still literally such a pioneering force in culture. So much stems from this movie, it’s literally culture personified.

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