Film Quest

I've started a film quest. A quest to watch films. Lots of them. For a while I've been keeping a long, growing list of films I'd like to see, and one day recently I got the film-watching urge, so I watched a few, and I remembered how transformative they can be. Not very long ago I watched Forrest Gump for the first time, and I was sitting on the floor with wide, glistening eyes, drinking in everything, and it was amazing. I might have done a big, shuddering cry. Maybe.

I love Forrest Gump.

Daniel Radcliffe in Horns.

I also really love analysing films and thinking about them contextually and looking at how they purposefully use colour and symbolism and all that kinda good stuff, and I'd like to finally get to some recommendations I've been sitting on for a while. So it's time for a quest.

Dead Leaves.

I think my favourite films and films I really enjoy watching can be grouped into some clear categories. My most keen interests are in these roughly grouped areas:

1. Weird. I like odd concepts and stuff like time-warping and dream worlds. Often spooky-creepy weird stuff too. Stuff like Heavenly Creatures, Daisies, The Happiness of the Katakuris, Uzumaki, Spirited Away, and The Blair Witch Project.

2. Funny/Silly. This often overlaps with the weird element. Stuff like Drop Dead Fred, and again The Happiness of the Katakuris.

3. Sentimental. I'm easily irritated by romance that feels forced or overly schmaltzy and without depth, but when it's my perfect type of sentimental, it is so perfect. Things like Forrest Gump, Onegin, and Cloud Atlas will destroy me (in a good way).

Practical Magic.

This post is illustrated by some stills from films I watched as I was deciding to do this quest. Practical Magic, because I love witchy narratives and aesthetics. Horns, because a film that includes Daniel Radcliffe growing horns out of his head seemed like a good idea. And Dead Leaves, an animated film about two people who wake up naked and without memories, because why not?

There are so many weird and/or wonderful films to see, and I can't wait to see 'em.