1. Locke
Released last year, director Steven Knight’s film is a place for audiences to truly feel the minimalist cinematic language.
Throughout the 85-minute length, the main character must continuously make important decisions related to family, career as well as the responsibilities of an adult man.
2. Ida
Director Pawel Pawlikowski’s work is made in black and white, set in Poland in 1962 and revolves around 18-year-old Ida, about to be ordained as a nun.
Ida has an interesting plot, showing a rich European history in just 82 minutes.
3. Run Lola Run
This is one of the unique films that brings German cinema closer to the public.
Run Lola Run has little dialogue, the character Lola keeps running from one beginning to three endings with fast-paced Techno music.
4. Before Sunset
Before Sunset is part of a trilogy directed by Richard Linklater.
The independent film was shot in just 15 days, following the ending of Before Sunrise with the setting 10 years after the breakup in Vienna between Jesse – an American guy and Celine – a French girl.
5. This is Not a Film
This is a film conceived and made during a special time by outstanding Iranian filmmaker – Jafar Panahi.
This is Not a Film was born in 2011, when he asked his friends to come to his house to record a day living within the four walls and around the house.
6. Following
Christopher Nolan’s first feature-length film was made in 1996. With almost zero budget, the director also acted as a cameraman and the actors were all friends.
The film opened the door to Christopher Nolan’s career, revealing most of what characterized his later filmmaking style.
7. The Color of Pomegranates
The 78-minute film by Russian director Sergei Parajanov is a unique experience that most audiences have ever seen.
The work once entered the Top 10 great films of Cahiers du cinéma magazine and the Top 100 greatest films of all time by Time Out.
8. Rashomon
Based on the two short stories Rashomon (Rashomon Temple Gate) and In a Grove (In a Bamboo Forest) by writer Akutagawa Ryunosuke, the 88-minute film deals with the murder and rape case through the testimony of insiders and the story of
Kurosawa Akira’s film opened the door for Japanese cinema to the world, influencing many works of the following generation, from storytelling to filming… The narrative is told through the perspectives of many different characters.
9. Personas
The masterpiece of Swedish director – Ingmar Bergman – is a film with poetic but haunting frames, difficult to watch and controversial in terms of censorship.
Persona is affirmed by critics as one of the great works of the 20th century. In a 2012 Sight & Sound magazine poll, the film ranked 17th on the list of the greatest films of all time.
10. Modern Times
87 minutes long, Modern Times released in 1936 is Charlie Chaplin’s last silent film as well as cinema history.
When it was first released, the film was underestimated by American critics, missing an Oscar nomination before the films The Great Ziegfeld, San Francisco and The Story of Louis Pasteur.
