we are put on this planet only once, and to limit ourselves to the familiar is a crime against our minds

    This is the next of several (seven?) posts that springs from an article, essentially listing "the most [x] book I've read." Having worked through the list in book form (e.g. here), I've decided to do the same with movies.   

 

The maddest movie I saw—again, not sure how to respond to this except by taking it each of two ways. 

    First, The most angry movie I saw: High Plains Drifter (1973)

    Violent, unforgivable (The Rape Scene), and foul, this is 105 minutes of anger and revenge. It is a well-made, awful movie that made me angry, and that I don't need to see again.

    (reviewed here)

 

    Second, The most crazy movie I saw: Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

    Some movies are intentionally created as disparate, loose threads to start with and the later gradually woven together into a coherent picture. This is one of those stories, stocked with wackos who only appear functional when compared to and contrasted with each other. So many indelible scenes, including the premier example of "cutting off at the knees."

    (reviewed here and here)

 

The most important movie I saw: Triumph of the Will (1935)

    The most powerful, exquisite, dangerous propaganda film ever made. It is another example of how something can be important and powerful yet completely devoid of humanity or appeal or the most remotely good feelings.

    (described here)

 

The most Scottish movie I saw: as with the book prompts, this both doesn't make sense to me and isn't really possible. (Well, I guess there's Braveheart [1995], but that's too much of a gimme.)

    Instead, The most romantic movie I saw: In the Mood for Love (2000)

    Keep in mind, my idea of 'a romantic movie' is not exactly the typical. If you're looking for saccharine, standard American rom-com, no thinking allowed, then you won't like this movie at all. If, on the other hand, you recognize that romantic love is not at the peak of the pyramid but instead one piece of a much bigger puzzle, then you might like it. If you are attracted more by complexity than the simple (or, God forbid, the simplistic, which does NOT mean "simple"), then this might be a movie for you. If you swoon over tenderness and longing... just watch it.

    (reviewed here)

 

The most surprising movie I saw: The Lives of Others (2006) 

    If you want to see this, I recommend knowing nothing about it before you watch it. Have no preconceived notions, no expectations, and nothing else to rely on. I want you to be blown away, as I was.

    (reviewed here)

 

[based on this post; the title quotation is from Roger Ebert]