My Favourite Films (Part 6)

Spirited Away (2001, Hayao Miyazaki)

Much like Martin Scorsese, Miyazaki is a beyond legendary director who's filmography I obsessively consumed in a fairly short span of time. Also like Scorsese, it has been a fairly long time since this phase of obsession so I feel uncomfortable putting many of his films on this list despite my love for them.

Spirited Away is different however, my history with this film goes back further than probably any other film, having watched it around half-a-dozen times since I first watched it as a child. 

I love everything about this film, to the point to where it has become more a part of me than anything else. I see this film everywhere, I can't even describe how differently I would have developed as a person if not for this film.

Nothing more to say about this majestic film, other than you should watch it.

Tokyo Godfathers (2003, Satoshi Kon)


A fast, wild and totally engrossing comedic-adventure. A masterpiece of an animated film which manages to combine the amusing antics of a film like Blues Brothers with deep and touching character and heart.

I adore films that are able to turn their settings into breathing characters, and this film is one of the strongest examples of this that I can think of.

A beautifully told story, topped off with one of the best climaxes in any animated film.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
(2004, Michel Gondry)

This film is hard to talk about. It has more power over than any other film I can think about, with simple images and sounds from the film being able to reduce me to putty.

If Rashomon isn't my favourite film then it has to be this one, I simply adore everything about it. From Charlie Kaufman's utterly perfect script, to the stunning and heart wrenching script, to the amazing performances from the entire cast. Everything in this film works. Even the soundtrack, quite possibly my favourite soundtrack of all time, can reduce me to a whimpering fool if I  am exposed to it for too long.

To sum up my feelings for this film, I was once so enraptured by it that I watched it twice, back-to-back, in one night.



Enter the Void (2010, Gasper Noe)


This film kind of scares me a little. It is a voyage into a a dark, dirty and blurry world which does not hold back in any way.

One of the most ambitious and gloriously pretentious projects in the history of cinema, yet despite it's pretensions it is able to tap into something very human and touching.

A true technical triumph in both the craft of film, and the art of cinema.



It's Such a Beautiful Day (2012, Don Hertzfelt)

Don Hertzfelt is easily my favourite film maker working today. I can't do his work anywhere near justice in words so I can only beg you to watch some of his short films, easily available on Youtube. Seriously, get out of here, go now.

If you want to hear what I think about his (currently) only feature film, here it is. It is basically the antithesis of Enter the Void. Not pretentious or technically extravagant in any way, the main character is a damn stick-figure for christ's sake! However the film still manages to be one of the most touching things I have ever seen, and Hertzfelt does things that I have never seen before in my life with some basic B/W photography and some line drawings. In fact, this is another film that manages to contest Rashomon as my favourite feature film of all time.

I am utterly obsessed with Hertzfelt, and if there is a single artist on this list that I recommend you check out it has to be this one.

By Jack D. Phillips