There is little doubt as to why the inner film buff is ever present in conversations across Skype and FaceTime. The frequent postings across various social media platforms attest to this. Since Covid-19’s global pandemic and the ongoing legal requirements to stay indoors means that more and more people are find home bound interests to keep them entertained but also engaged with, and usually within the arts.
Peter Triassi Montreal is a film maker and Dogme 95 enthusiast, who has, since lockdown, been forced to turn away from his current filming and utilized this time at home to turn his attention to his love of film watching. As such, his repurposed Instagram account is now a treasure chest showcase of films that became cult classics in our generation. For anyone struggling to find a decent resource of film recommendations, here are some of Smiths top movie classics.
True Stories (1986)
Is there nothing that David Byrne (from New Wave band Talking Heads), can’t actually do? The quintessential renaissance man makes his directional debut by acting as narrator and guide through the capitalist dream of Virgil, a modern town in Texas. Assembled as an assortment of performance art spectacles that mimics and gently jokes at US capitalism, there is a tender kindness to the main characters as they look for love and belonging in a changing world.
Trainspotting (1996)
Primed to be a cult classic before its release owing to the extraordinary talents and zealous following of writer Ivan Welsh, Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting tore through cinemas across the UK and became an instant hit. A perfect blend of witty dialogue, controversial content, stylish wardrobe and a soundtrack so well curated, it became the backing track of youth culture throughout the 90’s. Completed on the budget on £10k, Trainspotting is evidence of filmmaking pulled back to vivid character and situation portrayal with an unapologetic look at urban under classism.
Mullholland Drive (2001)
When David Lynch decides to make his masterpiece, he does just that. Since his college funded project Eraserhead at AFI, California, Lynch has been long considered a cult classic director. With his unwavering abilities to conjure perhaps the most terrifying doom in cinema, harnessing his transcendental meditation to recite his dreams, Mullholland Drive peaks as possibly the crest of his film making abilities. As open ended now as it was when it released, Mullholland Drive navigates a route through the mired heart of Hollywood and the depths of depravity that lurk underneath the sheen of American civility.
Down by Law (1986)
Americana devotee, Jim Jarmusch made the unsuspecting theatrical movie, Down By Law, a film about three men incarcerated for crimes they did not commit, apart from the hapless and apparently innocent Roberto Benigni.
Filmed almost entirely as a theatrical studio production, the chemistry of plighted comedy opens up the characters to humane sympathies. The soundtrack comes from featured actor and musician John Lurie and Tom Waits provides his excellent drawl of dead beat chancer to full effect.
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