Films From 1995-2005 That Will Help You Understand The First Part of Film making- THE STORY.
Cinema has its perks to take control of our emotion.Today's filmmakers constantly trying to provoke our thoughts and intelligence during a film. Cinema is not just a source of infinite entertainment, its a infinite source of knowledge also. Great filmmakers inspires us to be like them. We often feel so much power in a single movie that it changes our life's purpose. To me the number of this kinda films are huge. I will try to give a subtle list of films which will include the various aspects of film making.
1. Oldboy (2003)
Oldboy is a highly acclaimed and critically acknowledged Korean movie directecd by Park Chan-wook. This is a mystery/crime thriller inspired by Japanese Manga. Oldboy follows a revenge story in a very brutal, sexual and raw manner. The story is not for all, cause its kinda disturbing to some people's eyes. But a filmmaker should watch this film many time during self preparation, because oldboy teach us the perfect use of melodramatic acting and method acting. And lensing is a big factor to tell a story. In which scene which character will stand where and the main thing which lens should you use to deliver a proper dialogue or action? Oldboy will give you your answers promptly.
2. Amélie (2001)
This is a french film directed by eminent director Jean-Pierre Jeunet . This film is very simple but very much thought provoking. This state of the art romantic comedy tells a beautiful story of a beautiful girl in a very sweet and delicious way. Cinematography and story telling gave this piece a boost to flourish the cinematic moments.The perfect balance of jump cut and match cut flows like water in a river. An aspiring Filmmaker can gain knowledge of how to tell a story by watching this film. You should learn widely about color toning, color harmony, contrast, plot, sub-plot, cinematography, BGM and editing from this masterpiece.
3. The Color of Paradise (1999)
An flawless saga of a blind boy. Persian in language, directed by honorable filmmaker of Iran, Majid Majidi. The context of this film is the simplest of all. A very natural Drama/Family plot lines. This film is highly acclaimed for its smart way to tell the story. In fact the feeling is like you know what is going on or what will go on in the next scene, but you cant unseen what you see. This film is a must watch for the use of light while giving a dialogue or how environmental ambiance can help to tell the simplest story of all.
4. Life Is Beautiful (La Vita è bella) (1997)
This epic masterpiece acted and directed by famous Italian, Roberto Benigni. And he got oscars for both after this film. Which is totally dignified. This Drama film contains a large number of social messages and the true sufferings of Jewish people during the world war. But despite of the main concept this film is a dramatic comedy with a lots and lots and lots of humor and feel good moments. This film teaches us that its not necessary to tell a serious story in a serious manner. We can entertain our audience and educate them simultaneously. Sometime Smiling out of a problem is the best. If you want to learn how to tell your story simply and beautifully, this is the film you must watch.
5. The White Balloon (1995)
A Drama Film directed by Jafar Panahi, an Iranian rebel filmmaker. Along with Abbas Kiarostami, who wrote the screenplay. This Film is purely based on Iranian culture and human behavior. For this most of they called it a behavioral text. This Film can be a big help in Screenwriting, plot mapping, sub-plot hunting and many more.
Sit down and watch this 5 film back to back, i give you my word that you will feel the hangover of it days after days. And fundamentally it will help you understanding the 1st part of filmmaking, which is THE STORY.
These five are generated by my personal interest only. Time period is 1995 to 2005. The middle age of our generation.
