The Emotional Connection

I've been asked a lot lately (Probably thanks to the recent AFI list) if there is any modern film that I would hold in such a high regard as the classic films I love. A modern film would be something I would define as being made in the last 10 to 20 years or so. This question got me thinking of another recent list done by Entertainment Weekly where they count down the top 100 modern classic films or the new classics whatever that means. I looked at the list with amusement like I do all movie lists, but that's as far as it went.


A classic film is something hard to define, there are even some so-called classics from Hollywood's golden age I don't really like. I read two pieces lately from Roger Ebert and Jim Emerson that I thought would put any list in their place. Ebert's article came from his journal entry entitled "In Search of Redemption" where he discusses the films that have left an emotional mark on him and why. Emerson's article "What makes a movie a Classic?" is an entertaining look at the EW list as it breaks the films down and asks what are the elements of a classic film.


I read the two articles together and it seems Ebert has made his own answer to Emerson's question and it's something I happen to agree with. The films that leave an impression on me are the ones that I have an emotional attachment to, they're the ones I look at fondly days after I've seen it, they make me feel like I have a better understanding towards people and why things are the way they are. Perhaps I'm talking too much like a philosophy student so I'll try to get myself out of the clouds and let me give an example of what I'm trying to say. I recently rewatched Robert Altman's final film "A Prairie Home Companion" which is a movie I liked very much, I wouldn't be too surprised if that is considered a "classic" in years to come even though it was found nowhere on EW's list. It's a film about the final broadcast of an old radio show, but it was really a film that had something to say about life and death. The film is very funny but at times very sad, death hangs over this film like the plague, but when it comes it's a very comforting and very natural thing. Garrison Keillor gives the film its philosophy as the master of ceremonies, he does not give a speech about the last broadcast, he just keeps the show going until it ends. "I don't want to be told to remember" he says (I might be paraphrasing). I'm not sure if Robert Altman knew this was going to be his last film, but he couldn't have made a better final statement.

Even though something ends doesn't mean life doesn't go on, which is something I have always found comforting, we can stop and grieve for someone, but tomorrow will be here even if we didn't ask for it. And I don't want to keep harping on him but I think this was behind the idea of so many Ozu films, his films always show a short time in the lives of his characters whether it's parents visiting their children or an impending marriage. These incidents are a part of everyday life but by the end of the film their lives have changed and usually not for the better, but I am never depressed by his films, I'm usually content and comforted by the thought that life changes, but it goes on. I recently finished writing a screenplay of my own that was inspired by Ozu's films, it's something I'm not sure has much merit other than it's something I felt I had to write and enjoyed writing.

I guess I'm interested about people, I want to know about them. My favorite movie of last year was "Once", a small film about two people, who remain nameless, but we're invited into their humble lives for awhile as they meet, make music, and then leave eachother. Not much happens plotwise in this film but we know at the end of it their lives have changed and they are better people because of the experience they shared. It's a little snapshot of a moment in time, but I felt it a privilege to be a part of it.

So what was I getting at with this? A modern classic? I'm not sure if I answered that question, I guess I was just saying what films I like and why I like them, they might be classic in years to come but they're special to me nevertheless.

I'd like to know what kind of films do you like and why? What makes them special to you?