REPRESSED EMOTIONS GALORE! - A Look at the Best Films of 1992

When I wrote about 1991 as a year in cinema, I said that it was an uptick in quality over 1990. This does shock me as I never really considered 1991 to be that strong of a year, but it'll likely measure up as being one of the best of the 90s.

Sadly, I will not be saying the same about 1992.

Don't get me wrong, most years of film do have some hidden gems. It isn't super often that you get a year of film where you struggle to fill out your top 10 because nothing is making you feel that enthralled (I am looking at you 2022!!!!)

1992 has a mix of films that are clearly quite good but are either films I admire more than love, or I have a sentimental attachment to them for one reason or another.

Having said that though, my top 5 is pretty strong. I would also go as far as to say my #1film is a true underrated effort that played a bigger role in my adolescence than I truly realized.

I am not going to do a Honorable Mentions section for this one, but I will list a couple of films from this year that I do really like but won't make the top 10: A League of Their Own, Aladdin, and A River Runs Through It.

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THE TOP 10:

#10 - BOB ROBERTS

Written & Directed by Tim Robbins

A film like Bob Roberts manages to feel both quaint and way ahead of its time all at once. In a lot of ways, the satire of it feels similar to that of Network in that it seems ridiculous but in today's political climate, you sort of sulk and think "Wow, they really did nail a lot of this didn't they?"

Tim Robbins does it all here: acts, writes, directs. His Bob Roberts is a conservative folk singer who is looking to run for an open Pennsylvanian seat in the US Senate race against Democratic incumbent Brickley Paiste (Gore Vidal). 

I do sort of wish the film delved more into the campaigning a bit, but I do appreciate how biting the film was for its time. I also love that Robbins chose to film it very much in the style of documentarian D.A. Pennebaker, particularly his Bob Dylan piece Don't Look Back and even eerily nailing the political arena that Pennebaker himself would capture a year later with his Academy Award winning documentary The War Room, which chronicled the 1992 Presidential Campaign of Bill Clinton led by James Carville and George Stephanopoulos. 

In 2018, Tim Robbins was quoted as saying that the film became real in light of Donald Trump coming into power. 

It is one case where I wish reality weren't stranger (or more dangerous) than fiction. 

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#9 - THE CRYING GAME

Written & Directed by Neil Jordan 

If you had come to me 20 years ago and asked me what my favorite film was from 1992, my answer likely would've been The Crying Game. 

I think I responded in a similar way that most people did when the film came out. A major part of that was the promotional angle of the film's secret twist that had critics such as Roger Ebert proclaiming "See this film...and then shut up about it". 

I would assume most of you reading this likely already know the twist, but I am going to spoil it in case you don't so if for any reason you don't want to know, stop reading and move along to #8!

Writer/director Neil Jordan had trouble getting the film approved to make as the character of Dil was considered to be impossible to cast. Why? We had to believe that Dil was a cis woman when in reality she is trans. 

However, here is the issue: I understand that for the time period, this was pretty much par for the course in terms of the portrayal of someone trans. In fact, a lot of the hubbub that surrounded the film focused on the reveal of actor Jaye Davidson's penis in all its glory. 

Jaye Davidson wasn't even a professional actor when he was cast in the film. He had the androgynous look that Jordan was looking for...but he was by no means someone who identified as trans. 

Beyond that element, the film does have something of a Psycho structure in that the film begins with one story, involving our lead played by the underrated Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, and Forest Whitaker with a strong suspense thriller vibe as the former two are IRA terrorists...then it flips to the film mostly revolving around Rea and Davidson in what becomes something of a neo-noir romance.

I think what I still admire about The Crying Game was that it took a lot of bold choices for its time, but I will definitely make the claim that it hasn't aged very well. I do think it is a fascinating snapshot for its time, plus all of the performances are wonderful. 

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#8 - HILL OF NO RETURN

Directed by Wang Toon

Written by Wu Nien-jen

Hill of No Return is a film I saw rather randomly on a TCM airing many years ago, and admittedly I have only seen it that one time. In fact, the film doesn't get screened that much to the point that I couldn't even find a Wikipedia article for it. 

Wang Toon is a filmmaker I actually don't much about, which is a little strange for me as I do try to follow a lot of Asian directors...at least when I was fully engrossed in my film bro era years ago. 

Set in 1927 Taiwan during the Japanese occupation, we begin with two brothers (played by P'eng Chia-chia & Huang P'in-yuan) who set off to work for a gold mine that is controlled by the Japanese army. For the nearby mining town, the other major sources of income are gold smuggling or prostitution for the women. 

One brother falls for a widower while the other falls for a prostitute.

When it comes to stories about societal expectations and class warfare, it is always cinema from the continent of Asia that excels in telling these stories with a scope that manages to feel so taut and intimate while also feeling epic in its presentation. This film was certainly no different and doesn't shy away from the brutal realities and doesn't want to shoot for the unrealistic happy ending.

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 #7 - HOWARDS END

Directed by James Ivory

Written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Okay so, yeah...I am not sure a lot of you would consider Howards End to be some kind of masterwork. There are certainly some sentimental factors to my love for films from the Merchant/Ivory catalog, such as A Room with a View or The Remains of the Day, particularly how I watched them with my late Nan, who passed away in 2024. 

I have always been a bit of a sucker for the repressed emotions within stuffy British period dramas because I feel as though I repressed a lot of my own emotions growing up. 

SPOILER ALERT - this dynamic will be coming up big time later on the list. 

While I do think I might prefer the other two films from their catalog a tad more for various reasons, Howards End is nipping at their heels and also happens to contain a luminous performance from Emma Thompson that became her breakout role for American audiences and netted her an Oscar in a season in which she swept nearly every prize. 

As is often the case with the Brits, Howards End tackles the conflict of classes as two sisters Margaret and Helen (Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter) who become involved with two couples, one wealthy and one working class all in the midst of the modernity shifts of Edwardian England. 

Perhaps it'll be a bit stoic for some and be a lot of the usual stuffy British tropes surrounded by glorious set designs and costumes, but for me, it taps into more emotion than I think many may give it credit for.

And yes, Emma Thompson is a major reason to see this.

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#6 - THE PLAYER

Directed by Robert Altman

Written by Michael Tolkin

I always think of The Player as a key example of a film I admire more than I love...which was a key theme I stated would occur on this list. This is also a film that came in with a bit of a built-in reputation as in the early days of the internet, I would read a lot of film lovers expressing that this was a prime example of how Hollywood didn't seem to be cool enough to embrace the film. While Altman did manage to get a Directing nod along with its Screenplay and Editing, the film was left off the Best Picture list in favor of a more populist effort like A Few Good Men. 

While it wouldn't make my top 5 (although it was certainly better than the majority of the films that did get nominated), I can certainly attest that The Player is a pretty salty and entertaining satire about Hollywood that shows artistic integrity is usually second (or less) to money.

Tim Robbins, making yet another appearance on this list, plays a studio executive named Griffin Mill who rejects a script from a writer and promptly begins receiving death threats from them. However, much like Altman works, the film is a rich ensemble piece with so many big name actors left and right that add to the cacophony around him. 

Truthfully, I should give this film a revisit, but as it stands, I do think it remains a touchstone for how a film can do such a glorious job at calling out Hollywood for its worst qualities.

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#5 - UNFORGIVEN 

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Written by David Webb Peoples

I will admit that if there is a genre you never really see me talking about on here, it would be the western. As a genre, it is not one that I often gravitate towards but it also isn't helped by the fact that it isn't a style of film you see pop up much these days.

I also haven't discussed many years from films where westerns had any dominate offerings, but I think you could make the claim that Unforgiven is the last gasp of the western genre that was accepted with adoration from critics and audiences...and even awards bodies as it would be that year's Best Picture and Director winner, beating out two other films I already mentioned: The Crying Game and Howards End. 

Not surprisingly, I didn't respond to the film as strongly when I was younger but have grown to appreciate it more as an adult. While the film does suffer a bit in how it paces its exposition and setup, a lot of the script is rather gripping and it also contains a truly magnetic and vile villainous Oscar winning performance from the late great Gene Hackman, who only took the role because the script compelled him deeply despite the fact the character disturbed him.

Eastwood also stars as William Munny, a former ruthless contract killer who is trying to raise his motherless children. He decides to take on one more contract killing: a man who brutally murdered a prostitute and also battling the corrupt sheriff (the aforementioned Hackman) in the area. 

I will admit that I don't exactly think much of Eastwood as an actor, but he is also one of those actors who can excel in certain archetypes. While a film like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly are pinnacle status, a film like Unforgiven gifted him with a chance to imbue a bit more complexity and humanity in his strong stoic demeanor.

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#4 - TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME

Written & Directed by David Lynch

Co-written by Robert Engels

*If you don't want to know who killed Laura Palmer, don't read this"

My history with Fire Walk with Me is pretty similar to the journey the film has had over time. I was a passionate fan of Twin Peaks when I first watched it in the early 00s so naturally, I sought out this prequel knowing that when it was released, it was raked over the coals with gleeful malice. 

The story goes that when it was screened at Cannes, just two years after Lynch won the Palme d'or for Wild at Heart (a divisive selection in its own right), it got booed as soon as the film ended. 

What a lot of people remember about Twin Peaks as a series was the mix of quirky irreverent humor amidst the dark, mysterious, and surreal storylines at a time when such a genre-bending show was practically unheard-of TV. Keep in mind, Twin Peaks aired on ABC at a time when its most successful shows were sitcoms like Perfect Strangers and Full House or more dramedy-esque shows like The Wonder Years. 

The prequel was showing us the final week of Laura Palmer's life before she was brutally murdered at the hands of her demon-possessed father Leland...so a lot of that humor was missing; so were a lot of the supporting characters we saw on the show.

It isn't that Lynch intentionally avoided them. In fact, there are nearly 2+ hours of deleted scenes featuring some of these characters like Harry, Pete, and Josie...and in that case, we don't really NEED to see them because most of them weren't linked enough to Laura for them to factor into the film. Although, I would argue, Ben Horne not being in the film is very glaring considering how he was, briefly, the one arrested for her murder and had been sleeping with her...as was half the town apparently but why split hairs? ;-)

What I am trying to get at is that Fire Walk with Me has managed to endure and get a bit more adoration from fans and critics (especially me) in recent years because the film truly gave us something uncomfortable and unsettling which was as it should've been.

Watching Sheryl Lee navigate all of the brutal tragedy in this has got to be one of the most intense performances ever captured on film. She can also scream in such a way that she rivals any classic scream queen from film history, and it is a shame that her career never truly took off. Then you have Ray Wise as Leland, one of those character actors who is able to play both warm and sinister with such ease that it feels like a magic trick.

In the end, Fire Walk with Me works also as a tragic horror film...one that actually highlights not just a storyline that was built simply as mystery but became a graphic and brutal look at someone suffering of the hands of sexual abuse from their father (possessed or not).

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#3 - LIFE, AND NOTHING MORE...

Written & Directed by Abbas Kiarostami

I think one of the biggest surprises while making various lists like these is that I was truly sleeping on the work of Abbas Kiarostami. That isn't to say I thought less of him per se, but for whatever reason, his name never came to mind when I would list off favorite all time filmmakers.

As for his work, his films Homework and Close Up have appeared on their years' Top 10 lists while other films like Where is the Friend's House?, Taste of Cherry, and Certified Copy will (spoiler alert) be featured on their year's lists. Everything about his style was minimal; he could create beautiful shots, to be sure, but he never cared about extravagance. He wanted it to be natural and often even messy...which well aided his films that were more like narrative documentaries like Close Up. It is also why he loved casting non-actors for their naturalistic approach that wasn't often marred by theatrics. 

Heavily influenced by an actual incident, Life, and Nothing More... was inspired by a 1990 earthquake in Iran that killed over 30,000 people. Due to the devastation around where Kiarostami made his 1987 film Where is The Friend's House, he goes on a quest to the area of Koker to ensure their safety.

Farhad Kheradmand plays the Kiarostami counterpart with Pouya Payvar as his son. Along the way, they do meet various other people, including a young couple who would become the focal point for a third entry into the "Koker" trilogy: 1994's Through the Olive Trees, which (yet another spoiler alert) will likely be at least an honorable mention for that list. 

While not specifically about this film, I do want to take a moment to quote the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Upon the passing of another filmmaking legend Satyajit Ray, Kurosawa was devastated but when he came across Kiarostami, he felt a rejuvenation.

"Words cannot describe my feelings about [his work]...I thanked God for giving us just the right person to take [Ray's] place".

All around, a very apt statement from one legend about another legend becoming a new legend.

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#2 - MALCOLM X

Written & Directed by Spike Lee

 Co-written by Arnold Perl

I strongly did debate putting this one at #1, but I went more with my emotional choice in the end.

Even by the standards of Spike Lee, this film perhaps was a bit too passive at times for what should've been a bit more of an abrasive experience. In her essay, writer bell hooks felt that the film didn't "compel viewers to confront, challenge, and change. It embraces and rewards passive response - inaction."

Considering Malcolm X as a figure was known for his "violence" approach rather than Dr. King's "peace" approach, it might seem a tad bit disingenuous to not embrace that grittier edge.

Having said that, the final result onscreen has got to be one of the finest biopics ever made. With its 3.5-hour runtime, Malcolm X is so epic in how it sweeps through his life. It is made with such grand elegance and manages to tap into so many aspects of his life without feeling bloated or unnecessary. Biopics have become such a commonplace in Hollywood that they are usually considered the ultimate form of awards bait...which ironically, though not a surprise, was not the case for Malcolm X.

While not specifically related to the film itself, Malcolm X is one of the earliest films I can remember seeing its cover for at various local video store: the distinctive white X on a black ground:

To 4-year-old me, it felt like some kind of mystery...and as I got older and learned more about the Civil Rights movement (which, believe it or not, my northern WV public school education from the 90s into the 00s dove so deeply into the topic each year), I realized that "X" movie was about this remarkable and fascinating figure. When I did first watch the film, I think at the age of maybe 11 or so when it aired on TV, I liked it enough, but I certainly didn't embrace it.

Then I revisited the film again a few years later and THAT was when it clicked.

First of all, Denzel Washington lost the Oscar to Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman, a fairly weak choice as the narrative was so desperate to give him an Oscar after he had been passed over for at least 2-3 Oscar worthy performances in the 70s. 

Washington had already won a (deserved) Supporting Oscar for Glory 3 years prior, but he clearly should've won again for this. I still consider this to be his crowning achievement, and he is absolutely compelling in capturing him...even down to looking very similar to him in appearance. 

While the film may have a certain gloss to it, I am not going to knock it for that. If anything, this is a very ambitious effort for Lee to have tackled, and it is clear that in every frame he is treating this story with utmost care and respect.

For 1989, Spike Lee should've won Best Picture & Director for Do the Right Thing. Had he achieved this in 1992 for Malcolm X, it would've been richly deserved...but there is one other film that I have to mention that shook younger me to my core to the point that I buried the emotions it made me feel until I was an adult.

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#1 - THE LONG DAY CLOSES

Written & Directed by Terence Davies

Coming-of-age films can be rather mawkish or manipulative if done poorly. When done to their best potential, they can end up being some of the most moving kinds of films you could ever witness.

Within that realm, there is a subgenre of young kids being influenced the cinema. Perhaps the most iconic example of this was Cinema Paradiso, Agnes Varda's take on her husband Jacques Demy's childhood in Jacquot de Nantes, and more recently, Steven Spielberg released his semi-autobiographical work The Fabelmans. While those films would delve into kids who would go on to become filmmakers, a film like The Long Day Closes feels like a more relatable and attainable narrative...at least for me.

As someone who did consider film as a source of escape against a relatively oppressive conservative environment while questioning his own sexuality, The Long Day Closes hit me like a punch at the throat. My response to it when I first watched it as a 12 year old was to glom it onto the more "mawkish" types of films I referenced that failed to reach the potential of a Cinema Paradiso. 

The simple truth is that the film just hit too close to home. What Terence Davies achieved here was simply sublime and it is easily one of the most underrated films to have come out in my lifetime. 

Set in 1950s Liverpool, 11 year old Bud (Leigh McCormick) is shy and quiet and rather lonely. He feels rather suffocated at his surroundings and takes solace in going to the cinema...but what is rather remarkable about this film is how Davies uses music to evoke emotion and to comment on scenes that play out almost like he is recreating his own ghostly memories (which was more or less his intention).

Obviously, this is not an unusual or groundbreaking method, but very few films achieved the mastery level of this trick quite like this one. In fact, one of these sequences is quite beloved in film circles and that is the use of Debbie Reynolds' "Tammy" that she sang in the film Tammy & the Bachelor. 

I've never told this story to anyone before, but as a young boy, when I first heard this song, I used to imagine that someone would long for me in the way that Tammy was longing. When the song played within the context of this film, it actually made me cry...and it made me angry.

15 years later when Debbie Reynolds passed away, I thought of the song and also thought of the movie and I revisited it. This time, I cried again but it came from a place of growth and understanding.

I often wish I could go back and comfort that version of me and tell him that it would get better for him, and I would like to think that he would be proud for the person I became. Maybe I am not so huge success when it comes to artistic endeavors (although I'd like to dive back into that world), but I have accepted who I am. 

To all of the Buds out there, I hope you all find your peace and your place of belonging. It can be a tough and cruel world we live in, but you do belong.

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FINAL THOUGHTS:

Full disclosure, I just went back to watch the "Tammy" sequence from The Long Day Closes without watching the full film (though I hope to do that again soon) and even then, I got misty because it put me right back in that mindset of how I felt. 

If any of you haven't seen The Long Day Closes and feel compelled to give it a try, I hope that you will. It deserves to be seen by more people. 

Once again, 1992 may not be the strongest year compared to most of the 1990s, but it does have some very potent offerings to give us. 

I wrote about 1993 a couple of years ago for its then 30th anniversary, so it is already available here. Be on the lookout for 1994 soon, which will be a pretty stellar year to discuss as it is often considered the other truly banger year of cinema from the 90s aside from 1999. 

"There May Be Something There..." - A LOOK AT THE BEST FILMS OF 1991

I decided that I am still feeling sentimental for the 90s and that I am going to discuss the rest of that decade's cinematic output. In the end, this is my blog and I am a 90s kid and it was a glorious resurgence for the artform.

If you have been following my blog, you will know I have been doing these retrospective posts about years of film from the past that are either celebrating a milestone anniversary or I find them to be truly exceptional in terms of quality. 

When it comes to the 90s, I have already discussed the following years for one reason or another:

1990

1993

1995

1998

And today, I will begin going through the remaining years in order starting with 1991. I have to admit that 1991 is one of those years at first glance that looks rather bland on paper, but while making this list, I was actually rather shocked looking at the films in my top 10. More than once, I was thinking "How is that film THIS LOW?" or "Wait...that film will miss my top 10????" 

And this list will include one glaring omission that might raise a few eyebrows amongst the film buff community, so we shall see how you all respond.

I am going to begin with 6 Honorable Mentions because I didn't want to go without bringing up these films in some capacity. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

The Commitments

Directed by Alan Parker

Written by Dick Clement, Ian Le Frenais, & Roddy Doyle

A wonderful little gem of a film about a group of working-class Irish misfits who decide to form a soul group known as The Commitments. While mostly ignored during award season, it did net an Oscar nod for its Editing by Gerry Hambling which was some of his finest work; those performance sequences are so wonderfully put together.

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Dead Again

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Written by Scott Frank

A film that seems to have been somewhat forgotten these days, this neo-noir starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson takes a lot in style from Alfred Hitchcock in a way that felt more palatable to me than most of the similar efforts done a decade earlier by Brian de Palma. 

Quick side note: the script was by Scott Frank, who will forever be the pompous loon behind the highly overrated miniseries The Queen's Gambit who gave one of the most insufferable awards speeches I've ever heard when he won a Directing Emmy. 

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Night on Earth

Written & Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Perhaps not as memorable as some of his films like Down by Law or Mystery Train, I do think there is a certain charm to Night on Earth. Considering anthology films aren't typically successful, this is an area that Jarmusch often excels in. Each segment focuses on a taxi driver in a different city from around the world and the passengers they pick up one evening. A little gem of a character piece.

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Thelma & Louise

Directed by Ridley Scott

Written by Callie Khouri

Honestly, the fact a movie like Thelma & Louise isn't even on my top 10 surprises me. It is an iconic film for a reason and I do think it is a great showcase for Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. I would actually suspect a lot of people would have this on their top 10, but I just think the lineup from this year is just THAT strong.

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Jacquot de Nantes

Written & Directed by Agnes Varda

Inspired by Jacques Demy

Films about younger children getting artistic inspiration in various ways can make for truly moving experiences, and while this may be no Cinema Paradiso, there is a lot to really love about what the luminous Agnes Varda achieves with Jacquot de Nantes, which was a biopic about Varda's husband Jacques Demy, the legendary French New Wave director behind the seminal musicals The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort. 

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THE TOP 10:

#10 - My Own Private Idaho

Written & Directed by Gus Van Sant

Loosely based on the Histories Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part II, and Henry V by William Shakespeare, My Own Private Idaho would prove to be a landmark film in the New Queer Cinema movement that took off in the world of indie cinema of the 90s.

Mike Waters (River Phoenix) is a hustler aimlessly bouncing around when a chance encounter with an older woman leads him to connecting with his best friend Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves) ...but Mike suffers from narcolepsy. Before preparing to have sex with the woman, he has an episode (where he sees his mother comforting him) and then awakens the next day with Scott now in Portland instead of Seattle. 

The film is essentially a small odyssey of self-discovery as the two of them take off to the small town in Idaho that Mike grew up in to try to find his mother, only to hear that she took off to Rome to work as a maid. Will he be able to find her and rekindle the comfort he craves?

Typing out that sentence sounds treacly, but I wouldn't say the film even taps into anything remotely treacly. Gus Van Sant is most remembered for being the person who directed Good Will Hunting and for his (in my opinion) disastrous attempt at a shot-for-shot remake of Psycho. He did also manage to find success for Milk, the very well done but not creatively ambitious Harvey Milk biopic...but in the early days of his career, Van Sant was a lot grittier and stylish in his indie approach with films such as this, Drugstore Cowboy, and To Die For. 

Considering we would lose River Phoenix to a drug overdose just two years after this, I consider this film to be his last hurrah...and it feels very fitting. It is tragic that his life got cut so short as he showed such immense promise as an actor...which his younger brother, Joaquin, has since carried on the mantle with. 

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#9 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day 

Written & Directed by James Cameron

Co-written by William Wisher

Despite the immense critical, awards, and box office success of Titanic or the reclaiming of the box office crown with the Avatar films, I am still of the belief that James Cameron's finest hour to date was Terminator 2: Judgment Day, one of those rare film sequels that not only surpasses the original in terms of quality (even though it is also a classic) but manages to change the way films would be made for years to come.

The visual effects in his film have aged so well over 30 years later that it is nothing short of stunning. I am not saying it is foolproof, but it even watching all these years later, it just goes to show you that matter how exacting or grating James Cameron may come across with his process, the man does know how to craft a film strongly from a technical standpoint.

However - when it comes to dialogue - he may be passable at best. Perhaps he is good at crafting one-liners, but at least the plots are pretty compelling. 

I do have to say that Linda Hamilton deserved a better career. She throws herself into Sarah Connor with such abandon and her transformation from how she was in the first film to this one is truly impressive. I do also love the camaraderie that does occur Arnold Schwarzenegger and Edward Furlong, even if it may seem like a predictable relationship, it works well within this film.

It isn't exactly perfect, but it still stands out as one of the greatest science fiction films ever made...and it is so easy to marvel at every single second from a technical standpoint.

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#8 - La Belle Noiseuse

Written & Directed by Jacques Rivette

Co-written by Christine Laurent & Pascal Bonitzer

This is one of those films where if I tell you the plot or what the film tries to achieve/convey, some of you would likely roll your eyes and deem me pretentious.

To be fair, this is a film that is not for everyone. It is a nearly 4-hour French film about an elderly painter who comes out of retirement to one final painting of a beautiful young woman. Several scenes have long static shots of nothing but painting, but I suppose for some, the idea of seeing the extended moments of Emmanuelle Beart's nudity would appeal to the sleazier sanctions of filmdom. 

Renowned French actor Michel Piccoli plays the painter Edouard. I singled out his work a couple of years ago in my "Acting!" post delving into what I considered to be the best performances of the 90s. Here is a sampling of what I wrote about him there:

"There is something truly unsavory and unrepentant about Piccoli as Edouard. 

Watching the tortured artist be an insufferable tortured artist might be...well.. insufferable to witness, but this is a performance that feels truly lived in that I, for the longest time, wasn't able to separate Piccoli from this character. Once I saw him in other films, I truly realized the depth of his talents."

The film is something you could call a celebration of art and the idea of the tortured artist. It is one of the true masterworks of French New Wave icon Jacques Rivette along with his 1974 film Celine & Julie Go Boating. Considering the rather ambitious runtime, what Rivette accomplishes with engrossing you deeply into this story is nothing short of remarkable. 

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#7 - Beauty & the Beast 

Directed by Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise

Written by Linda Woolverton

It was a colossal achievement for Disney that Beauty & the Beast not only received such rapturous reviews along with stellar box office receipts, but it was the first animated film to finally slip into the Best Picture race. 

It remains the only animated film to do so in a year of 5 nomination slots. When the slot tally increased to then in the late 00s, we managed to get nods for Up and Toy Story 3 in 2010 and 2011, respectively. No other aminated film has been able to achieve this since. 

Even more crazy is the apologetic reluctance to even acknowledging the film with this kind of recognition. Clint Eastwood told a reporter he voted for it with a layer of shame; Billy Crystal's Oscar opening medley referred to the film's success as leading actors to being "out of a job". Sally Field introduced a clip of the film at the ceremony with the caveat that she hopes the animated surge "doesn't become a trend".

The simple truth is that Beauty & the Beast WAS and IS that good. I still consider it to be the beacon of the Disney Renaissance that lasted from 1989-1999, right in the heart of my childhood. 

Watching Beauty & the Beast is like watching the future of animation in a lot of ways. While The Little Mermaid was all hand drawings, you see a certain polished sophistication with the style of this one...including the use of computer animation during the iconic ballroom dance. 

However, it isn't the animation quality that is the star here. It is a strong story, a great voice cast, and a score that was so strong that it was no wonder Disney took over Broadway with it 3 years later. Even the New York Times film critic called the film "the greatest Broadway musical of the year" simply on the basis of the film.

A truly grand and decadent piece of animation that still stands the test of time.

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#6 - Boyz n the Hood 

Written & Directed by John Singleton

When the nominations were announced for the 64th Annual Academy Awards, a lot of press was given to the fact that Barbra Streisand was not nominated for Best Director for the truly sappy and maudlin fluff known as The Prince of Tides. 

Don't get me wrong though. Considering the film's acclaim at the time, even with some wondering if it could win Best Picture during the award season process, it was a clear bias against her that she got snubbed.

On the flip side though, the Academy did something truly remarkable and nominated the late John Singleton for Best Director. It seemed like a bit of a surprise nod as Boyz n the Hood wasn't expected to make it into Best Picture (which it didn't), but also he simultaneously not only became the youngest director to ever receive a nomination (at the impressive age of 24) but also the first black person. To this day, he is only one of 6 to do with no one else to pull off the win...even though Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and Barry Jenkins' (Moonlight) films would go on to win the top prize. 

I do have to wonder if the embrace of this film by the Academy was partly due to the outcry when Do The Right Thing got shafted out of so many categories two years prior...but the film is great and it deserved to get that kind of recognition.

As I mentioned, Singleton was only 23 when he made this film. The utter confidence and conviction he has with this is simply a masterclass. He is able to create such a vivid and gritty environment and makes it feel totally real. You could even argue this is a film without a very strict plot; it is essentially a film about a father trying to raise his son amidst the crime and drugs and street wars within a Los Angeles ghetto.

You have Cuba Gooding Jr, Ice Cube, Lawrence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Regina King...all of them kicking ass. Much like Spike Lee who perhaps might give his films a bit more flair in terms of vibracncy, Singleton gives us a strong dose of grit...and it is a shame his career never took off as strongly as Lee's. 

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#5 - The Double Life of Veronique

Written & Directed by Krysztof Kieslowski

Co-written by Krysztof Piesiewicz 

The truly incomparable Polish filmmaker Krysztof Kieslowski ended his career with a bang. Known mostly for his final magnum opus: The Three Colours Trilogy before his passing in 1996, he also had the remarkable Dekalog (which I talked about on my 1989 list) and The Double Life of Veronique, which starred eventual Red leading lady Irene Jacob.

What is crazy about Irene Jacob is that Kieslowski admitted that she was his third choice for the role; upon watching the film, you can't help but be so thankful it panned out the way it did as she fits so easily in these dual roles that you can't even imagine anyone else coming close.

Jacob plays Veronique, a French woman who is looking to become a successful singer; and Weronika, a doppelganger who lives in Poland and has similar aspirations to Veronique.

There is something truly surreal and dreamy about this film, almost ghostlike. With these two counterparts, we explore themes of love and identity as they each seem to share a common bond as if they know the other one is out there. As if it were a precursor to Kieslowski's obsession with colors (as seen in Blue, White, and Red), this film almost takes on a yellowish-green hue that is frankly unlike many other films I can think of...although as I type this, the closest I can think of are certain scenes from Apocalypse Now but that is a whole other thing entirely. 

As is the case of Kieslowski, the film's message is presented in such a quiet though abstract manner. Life is complicated but, in the end, we won't always know the answers. We won't always know why we have a pull to certain things even if it may not make sense. Life can be fragile and fleeting and beautiful and profound...and for a film to perfectly tap into that those themes without seeming a complete slog or overbearing in its intent, that is a resounding success.

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#4 - Barton Fink 

Written & Directed by The Coen Brothers

There are certain actors from over the years that I have considered my idols and that I hoped to aspire to be like. Among those were Gene Wilder, Christopher Walken, Alan Rickman, John Lithgow, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Vincent Price...and most definitely John Turturro.

What I find remarkable about Turturro as an actor is that he can play a role like the brutish Danny in the play Danny & the Deep Blue Sea or the racist Pino in Do The Right Thing but then turn around to do nebbish roles like Herb Stemple in Quiz Show or the titular role in the film I am about to discuss: Barton Fink.

Fink is a playwright who is hired by a film studio to write screenplays in Hollywood's continued quest from that time period to expand upon the kinds of films that could be made as they steered into talkies rather than silent films. He takes up residence at the rundown Hotel Earle where his nearby is an insurance salesman named Charlie (John Goodman, another perennial Coen Brothers favorite).

One crazy aspect of the development of Barton Fink was that the Coens wrote the film over a 3-week period while taking a break developing their previous film, Miller's Crossing, which was just featured on my 1990 post. I love that they were able to step away from one film (which turned out to be one of their best) only to churn out this one, which is my second favorite film of theirs behind Fargo. 

What begins as a sort of quirky satire of the supposed Golden Age of Hollywood ends up devolving into something else entirely, and frankly, it is bizarre and glorious. 

This one is an absolutely diabolical gem.

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#3 - Raise the Red Lantern

Directed by Zhang Yimou

Written by Ni Zhen

When writing about 1990, I mentioned that Zhang Yimou (and Gong Li) would have their magnum opus the following year with Raise the Red Lantern. 

And here we are. Let's talk about this beautiful but somber film. 

How is this film beautiful? The cinematography, the score, the set designs, the costumes...this is a film that should be placed on a list of films that pose as paintings along with Barry Lyndon and Days of Heaven.

You also have Gong Li giving what might be the best performance of her career, which is saying something considering how stellar she always is. Her she plays Song Lian, a young woman who becomes a concubine to a powerful lord. Considering he already has 3 wives, she is pitted against them to curry his favor and approval. 

Not only is this film a fervent attack on archaic patriarchal systems, but it could also even be seen as an allegory for capitalism almost in the same vein of something such as Parasite. 

Raise the Red Lantern is a film I often think about in comparison to Farewell My Concubine, which was featured on my 1993 list. Both films do differ in content in noticeable ways, but both are such beautiful, elegant films that are brimming with almost a suffocating despair.

We watch Gong Li try to go through the rigid systems with a quiet strength, but her vulnerability is often unbearable to watch. You feel deeply for her and these women, and how they are made to be competitive when they should be able to lean upon one another.

The film's spirit manages to both enthrall and crush you, and you're left wondering whether or not you should admire it or mourn it.

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#2 - The Silence of the Lambs 

Directed by Jonathan Demme

Written by Ted Tally

It is kind of crazy to think that a psychological thriller with grisly horror/crime elements that was released in February of 1991 would go on to become only the third and the last to date to win the Big 5 Prizes: Picture, Director, Actress, Actor, and (Adapted) Screenplay.

It also remains the only film that could be classified as horror to ever win the top honor, unless you want to count something like Rebecca but that is a whole other thing entirely in my opinion.

The Silence of the Lambs does perhaps have one element that plays as rough around the edges: the conception of serial killer Jame Gumb/Buffalo Bill as a character and the negative depiction it put forth towards the LGBTQ community even though it is never explicitly stated what sexuality he is in the film. Director Jonathan Demme had said in an interview that he felt the character wasn't gay. "He wanted to be a woman because he was a tormented man who wanted to be as far away from himself as he could possibly be." The trans angle to this not aged especially well but, to Demme's credit, he did take the criticism to heart and felt that more stories with LGBTQ protagonists needed to be told...which led him to taking on Philadelphia a couple years later.

What else is there really to say about this one?

Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins are an iconic film duo, and it is even crazier to think that they only share the screen together for less than 15 minutes. Nowadays, there are performances that win in the Supporting categories that are basically the leads of their film (i.e. Zoe Saldana for Emilia Perez), so to think Hopkins pulled off a Best Actor win with roughly 17 minutes of screentime is a testament to how incredible he was. So much so that even I didn't truly comprehend how little time he had onscreen when I first heard that number. 

A true iconic classic and a beacon of the genre.

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#1 - A Brighter Summer Day

Written & Directed by Edward Yang

Co-written by Hung Hung, La Ming-tang, & Alex Yang

Well, here we are. I am choosing a nearly 4 hour long Taiwanese film as the best piece of cinema from 1991...and it also would be on my top 5 for best films of that decade. Call me pretentious (not to mention this is the 2nd film on this list to be 4 hours long), maybe I am choosing with my head instead of my heart, maybe this is a film I wouldn't put on repeatedly whereas I have seen films like Beauty & the Beast, Barton Fink, and Silence of the Lambs several times...but I have seen A Brighter Summer Day twice...and I am now inclined to revisit again after ruminating over the film now.

I cannot express to you how much I wish we could still be getting work from the late great Edward Yang, who is known to most people as the man behind the equally wonderful 2000 film Yi Yi.

If you look online, you will often see A Brighter Summer Day as being a "coming-of-age drama" but it is also far more than that. It is a small-epic crime drama as well that is rather tragic in its scope.

Set during the late 50s/early 60s in Taipei, we meet young teenager Chang Chen, which is also the name of the actor, who goes by Si'r. He is forced to attend night school after he fails another test. 

His father in particular is concerned about this because he knows the night school crowd is filled with various "delinquents"...and while this may be seen as ignorant and classist, the truth is that Si'r does get swept up into the world of juvenile delinquency. While it is expected, Si'r also comes across a girl named Ming and you expect a love story to occur between them. However, Ming is far more complex than Si'r expects her to be; she is bolder and has more of a desire to explore her prospects.

These two are both fascinating characters and while this term is often used rather hastily quite a bit, I do think the film acts as a fascinating character study for them both. Si'r is clearly a young guy who is surrounded by patriarchal conservative values and the further he slips down the path of rebellion, he seems to not be able to handle her freedom. She insists to him that she and the world cannot be changed...and while you may question the flirtation she has with an older man such as the doctor she encounters, you also admirably see her as someone who just wants what she wants and knows what the world is. 

This is truly a stunning film. I don't think I can properly give it the justice it deserves, but it is easily one of the finest films ever made. A small but epic and tragic story told against the backdrop of a country fresh off of a civil war. 

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FINAL THOUGHTS:

In my introduction, I made a comment about a film being omitted that would likely surprise some of you. Considering not everyone is going to be a hardcore geek like me and be able to remember what year a certain film may come out, I will forego the further suspense and reveal that this particular film is:

Oliver Stone's JFK 

The fact that I even ended up being underwhelmed by this film was an early example of me discovering how subject matter of great interest to me wouldn't necessarily mean that the final product would be a success.

As a child, I had a rather intense interest in American history and the gateway into that was learning about all of our presidents. The crazy trajectory during the 1960s following the assassination of John F. Kennedy was, arguably, the era that fascinated me the most. I can't tell you how many documentaries I had seen on the topic of the assassination and the potential conspiracy theories. That might sound a bit morbid, but it felt like a prime example of how reality could be stranger or at least more compelling than some fiction. 

However, I think it must be said that I have never been the biggest fan of Oliver Stone as a filmmaker. It is kind of crazy to think that at that time, Stone was one of the two true premiere filmmakers having won two Best Director Oscars in a 3-year span for Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July with some even thinking he was likely in the running for JFK as well...and nowadays, he is mostly forgotten about and hasn't a truly acclaimed film in decades. 

The bombastic, chaotic, and sensationalized nature of JFK turned me off instantly watching the film for the first time over 20 years ago. Even when I tried revisiting the film back in 2013 when content surrounding the assassination was EVERYWHERE for the 50th anniversary, my thoughts held up. If anything, I actually thought LESS of the film. 

As for the rest of 1991, it is truly a hidden little gem of a year. While not the absolute best of that decade, I could see this falling in the top 3. Its strength is quietly stealthy and often feels like many lost opportunities as a many of these films flirted on the periphery of success (critical or audiences) only to get pushed aside in favor of films like Bugsy or The Prince of Tides. 

1991 was certainly a bit of an uptick over 1990, but how will 1992 fare in comparison?

My Quick Review of Zach Cregger's WEAPONS

*There will be NO SPOILERS until I warn you later*

Are we potentially getting the mid-budget film renaissance?

After over a decade that has mostly been saturated by Marvel movie after Marvel movie and less attention bestowed upon creative, original stories that were embraced by the mainstream public, we may be seeing a shift. I just hope that I don't look back on this observation in a couple of years and realize that it aged like a glass of milk sitting on the platform of the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall Subway Station in the middle of July.

Horror films are a fascinating genre to look into because it is clear that the negative bias against them can be rather severe...and often for good reason.

Back in the 90s, there was a lot of popularity surrounding the likes of Scream and it deserved that popularity...but then you had films like I Know What You Did Last Summer which worked enough for a lark; I just wouldn't call it a good film.

However, it was in the 2000s that horror took a dive and got dominated by "torture porn". While films like Saw were successful at achieving that goal, you also have films like Hostel there to truly turn the mood dark and dour and bloody. 

It is no wonder that horror films suffered from prestige bias for so long, and I am guilty of frequently dismissing them. Having said all of that, we are seeing a lot of brilliant and creative minds coming out of the woodwork over the past decade. 

Going back to 2014's The Babadook and It Follows or 2015's The Witch, these films showed that Jennifer Kent, David Robert Mitchell, and Robert Eggers (respectively) all were trying something different with their ideas of horror. While some of them may have had jump scares, they were also about slow builds and atmospheric building. All of those films made my top 10 for their respective years, which is something that I can't say for most horror films since the turn of this century.

I could go on and on with this trajectory, but I am here to talk about the new horror film that has gotten a lot of people talking: Weapons, the second film by Zach Cregger who, much like another horror film icon Jordan Peele (more on him later), got his start in comedy by being a founding member of the troupe The Whitest Kids U' Know.

After the success of his first film, 2022's Barbarian, Cregger had various studios standing at attention for his new spec script which he described as a "horror epic" with a "more personal/emotional story". It has already become the stuff of legend but Jordan Peele was eagerly trying to bid for the rights to produce Weapons via his Monkeypaw Productions but when he lost out to Warner Bros, he promptly fired his managers (one of them actually being Zach Cregger's manager) out of immense frustration at losing the property.

Needless to say, Jordan Peele's outrage at losing a chance to produce the film was intriguing to many as he had become something of a beacon within the horror world after he managed to achieve what seemed to be impossible: getting multiple Oscar nominations for his stellar 2017 horror satire Get Out. Perhaps even more impressive, he managed to win Best Original Screenplay over the likes of Greta Gerwig for Ladybird and Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. 

So, let's take a quick little run into blogland and discuss Weapons. 

The marketing for Weapons has been exceptional in that it sets up the film's basic premise and then gives us quick flashes of everything else to the point where you truly have no idea where its going to go. The film begins with the narration of an unnamed girl; normally narration as a means to give the audience the needed exposition can be rather laborious or even downright lazy.

However - it works here when paired with the images that Cregger gives us.

At 2:17am, a group of 17 kids run out of their homes into the darkness, their destination(s) unknown. The reason that 2:17 is noticed is because a lot of the home's doorbell cams and alarm systems were set off as the kids ran out into the night.

But here is the twist: all 17 of the kids are from one 3rd grade classroom and just one kid remains: Alex Lily which leads many to suspect that the teacher Justine Gandy (the captivating Julia Garner) is somehow involved.

A month has passed and none of the children have been found. One such parent, Archer (Josh Brolin) is perhaps the most vehement towards Justine and also the one who wants to dig further than he feels the police are actually doing. 

As an ensemble, as a script, as a technical achievement, Weapons pretty much succeeds. It manages to be a film that dives into bizarre territory while also being fairly accessible to mainstream audiences. Cregger does so well with creating the eerie atmosphere, particularly the images of the children running out into the night which I suspect will become a pretty iconic horror image.

What I really loved was how much Cregger easily imbued humor into the film. I am not classifying Weapons as a horror comedy a la Shaun of the Dead but it is a horror/suspense thriller with strong comedic moments. The structure of these comedic bits are practically perfect because they don't feel out of place but they by no means diminish the impact of the darker elements.

If anything were to diminish the impact of the film, it would likely be that I found myself perhaps a tad bit disconnected from the film emotionally. There were certain beats where you could see the soul of the characters we are following but I never felt INVESTED in them so to speak. 

This was a film where I was greatly pulled along by the story and the aesthetics and the direction but the characters didn't truly feel as rich as I would've liked. I do think the actors were able to mine their roles the best that they could...and that isn't to say it was some kind of failure, it was just a little nitpick on my part. 

I do want to call out how much I loved certain moments where they chose not to use a musical score, particularly one scene where we watch a door open to a house and we wonder who may come out...only for the score to kick in when we see a person emerge. The quietness of it in the theatre was so chilling that it almost made me feel like I was watching a silent movie, almost like the moment Max Schreck emerges in Murnau's Nosferatu.

There is also one other major element I want to discuss here, but I will give an official spoiler warning once I dig a bit deeper. 

Amy Madigan is one of those character actresses whom we haven't seen much of recently, but was always someone I loved when she'd pop up in anything. She is, perhaps, most remembered for two films she made in 1989: Field of Dreams and Uncle Buck. 

Here she plays Gladys, the aunt to young Alex Lily and she is...a character. 

If there was any justice in the world of award shows, Amy Madigan should be in talks for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination.

With that, let's go into SPOILER TERRITORY:

I think we can liken Madigan's performance to that of Ruth Gordon in Rosemary's Baby. Both of them are the villain of the story but they are also in their own bizarre way, the comic relief.

However, Madigan also gives Gladys a sinister nature that is rather chilling but this mix of humor and camp and brutal horror is honestly a masterclass at blending genres. She is introduced as the dying great aunt of Alex who is coming to stay with the family, but her ulterior motive is that she's a witch who is feeding off the energy of others to survive. She has the ability to turn her victims into her own weapons to kill for her...as we watch Benedict Wong's character kill his partner Terry by repeatedly slamming his head into him.

Alex's parents become catatonic, and to prove her power, she has them stab themselves in the face with forks causing Alex to understandably freak out...and my god, it is in these moments you can see the true menacing nature in Madigan's eyes. 

The final climax where Alex turns the tables on Gladys and the kids' spell turns them onto her is so insanely gratifying and hilarious all at one. Madigan's running through the neighborhood and cutting through people's houses while the 17 kids charge through windows in pursuit leading them tearing her apart limb from limb might seem gruesome but it is presented in such a gloriously dark and humorous way that you can't help but look past the gore. Such a satisfying end to such a great new addition to cinematic villains.

END OF SPOILERS & MY FINAL THOUGHTS:

Do I think that Weapons might've been a bit overhyped? Maybe a little.

This doesn't mean I am disappointed by it. There is no denying that Zach Cregger has a distinctive voice and he is able to craft a good script/story and mine all of the tension and humor out of it in the best ways. 

This is a film that I described as being accessible enough to mainstream audiences while diving into darker themes that feel very unsettling...and in the end, I would love that this leads people to check out other horror films they may not have ever come across before.

It may be a bit more sleek in its presentation, but it succeeds so much in the atmosphere and tonal shifts that I can't help but succumb a bit to the spell. I do wonder if it may not hold up to repeat viewings though. That isn't to say I think I would dislike it, but I do think some of the effects will diminish the overall experience.

RATING for WEAPONS: 4/5