Movies That Are Good For You

Inspired by watching The Death of Mr Lazerescu (think Eastern European art house cinema verite WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS .. SLOWLY) I have compiled a list of Movies That Are Good For You.

Call it cinematic bran, call it a xx hour burst of masochistic endurance, watch one of the following films and you know, be totally on my wave length.

Movies That Teach You Patience
Ingmar Bergman, Scenes of a Marriage. A couple get together, bicker and fall apart. And it takes three hours. The TV series it was edited down from runs for over five hours. Along the way we get involves copious monologues, middle class hand-wringing and strong scenes of Liv Ullmann emoting. And it's absolutely brilliant.

The virtue of experimentation
David Lynch, Inland Empire The question whether it has a plot or not is irrelevant when you get David Lynch's most uncompromising movie since his debut in 1977 with Eraserhead. Succumb to the three hours of headfuckery and bunny-headed soap stars, and you'll get something rather special.

For appreciating Hollywood's golden past
John Huston, The Misfits The tone shifts more than Marilyn Monroe's alleged onset mood swings, but this John Huston film is the quintessential noble failure. Career best perfromances from Monroe, Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift, and you get the elegaic sunset of Hollywood glamour.

To appreciate that you shouldn't take things for granted
Woody Allen's output since 1997. From Celebrity onwards, the comatosed presence of Woody Allen's genius has only shown the odd twitch of genius. It's a cautionary tale though – you can't make films that often, about subject matters that narrow, and still be putting out great stuff forty years on. But you need to see at least a couple of them to appreciate this – and how good he once was.

To appreciate that good does always mean pleasant
Krzysztof Kieślowski, A Short Film About Killing A nasty little film about crime and punishment, this – like Scenes from a Marriage – also came from a TV series – Dekalog. Not only the perfect introduction to that series, Kieslowski's work and Polish miserabism, this is a lesson in how less can sometimes be more.

To appreciate a master of cinema
Charlie Chaplin, Limelight Although not his best film by far, its his most poignant. A visibly ageing Chaplin plays an entertainer struggling to entertain as his act becomes obsolete. Call it a metaphor for his career and the long-gone days of silent cinema – or just call it a perfect introduction to an icon of twentieth century cinema. Your call.