Gautam Anand5. The 400 Blows (1959)
‘The 400 Blows’ is essentially about juvenile and adolescent delinquency that is often driven by societal and parental neglect. Not only did this film put the nascent French New Wave on a firm footing but also projected François Truffaut as the brand new face of contemporary cinema. Distinctly autobiographical in nature, Truffaut’s own childhood was troubled and on similar lines. The film flows like a river and takes the audience on a journey of hope, despair, empathy and even sheer anger. A truly sincere and deeply personal piece of work, Truffaut dedicated it to his spiritual father and internationally acclaimed film theorist André Bazin. It is a deeply philosophical and personal film that only hardcore cinephiles will enjoy it.
4. Wild Strawberries (1957)
Yet another deeply philosophical film that is not made for everyone’s taste. Ingmar Bergman’s godlike ability to voyage into the sheer depths of human psyche is unparalleled in all of cinema. ‘Wild Strawberries’ was one among the many masterpieces that he made in his prolific career. The film tells the story of Isak Borg, a stubborn and egotistical professor who travels to his former university to receive an honorary degree. This unforgettable journey transpires him of his true self and past life consumed by self-importance and cynicism and forces him to introspect his actions and re-discover his own existence in life. Borg, plagued by nightmares that are eerie reflections of his past life and his disturbed inner psyche, realizes what it means to be a human and what it takes to exist in this world, finding an inexplicably profound sense of inner peace within himself.
3. The Seventh Seal (1957)
The thrid Ingmar Bergman film on the list, ‘The Seventh Seal’ could be described as the metaphorical meeting with death. A dark fantasy film that portrays a game of chess between a medieval knight and the human incarnation of death during the Black Death in Europe, it tries to uncover the answers to a lot of existential and philosophical questions pertaining to life, death and the presence of God. The film deals with death and existential questions. And yet it is on a list decided by public voting. From when did people start loving such dark and disturbing — even if great — movies?
2. A Clockwork Orange (1972)
Kubrick’s dystopian crime drama delves deep into the sheer madness and chaos inherent in human psyche. The film’s protagonist Alex DeLarge is a psychopathic maniac with an insatiable taste for violence. In the classic Kubrickian style, the film questions morality and human psychology in the most eerily profound and disturbing manner. Kubrick’s genius roars throughout the film as he toys with our emotions by providing an utterly despicable protagonist but finds ourselves sympathizing with him and strangely relating to his character at some places. It is a violent film with a complete psychopath as its lead protagonist. How did so many IMDb users end up loving the film?
1. A Separation (2011)
Emotionally bloody and morally harrowing, Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Separation’ is perhaps the most realistic portrayal of family relationships in cinema. The film tells the story of a married couple with conflicting interests, planning to separate but are torn apart by their teenage daughter whose uncertain future is forcing them to make a decision that would forever change their lives. In a brilliant act of filmmaking, Farhadi initially presents his characters as who they appear to be but gradually peels off the complex layers of his characters, bringing in a sense of moral ambiguity to the story that leaves the audience with virtually no one to root for towards the end. The film refrains from the slightest bit of emotional manipulation as the dynamics of the relationships between the characters unfold with hard-hitting revelations of the darker truths concealed by people in their everyday lives. It is a film that is difficult to watch unless you are a serious cinema lover. That’s why its inclusion in the top 250 list left me pleasantly shocked.
