DELICATESSEN (France 1991, USA 1992)

My recommended film of the moment is
DELICATESSEN which stole its way unexpectedly onto my list of best films ever. Surrealist black comedy doesn't get better than this. It's not everyday that you get to 'digest' (ha!) classy French fare that uses a taboo subject like cannibalism as plot material. After the squeam-inducing opening scene a slow seduction by elegant film-making and superb acting takes you prisoner.

The action takes place in a decrepit apartment block in a post-apocalyptic world, signalled by a gloomy pervasive yellow-amber light. The landlord cum butcher provides cannibalistic meals for his starving tenants by carving up the hired handyman once he's finished necessary repairs. When the landlord's daughter Julie falls in love with Louison, an ex-circus clown who takes the newly vacant handyman job, a battle is set in motion for Louison's life. But as Louison says:

"Nobody is entirely evil: it's that circumstance that make them evil, or they don't know they are doing evil."

The off-beat love story acts as a lightning rod in this uniquely inventive film. On one level it's a heart-warming romp with bouts of slap-stick comedy, but the threat of cannibalism is never far. The increasingly bizarre behaviour of the ravenous residents builds up to a rip-roaring crescendo. Music brings the lovers closer (Julie's cello expertly accompanied by Louison's musical saw), but it is as they fight back against the forces that threaten Luison's existence that their love acquires true sense of purpose.

Ultimately, cannibalistic and suicidal tendencies considered (it's not as gruesome as one might think), it's a brilliantly conceived, philosophical contemplation on the ludicrous reality of being human. But then, the few films that reduce me to gob-smacked admiration, most of which are featured on this page, all make me feel that. The final rooftop duet is possibly the best closing line in cinema history.

Recommended by Consuelo Roland.

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A Mighty Heart (USA, 2007)

Review:

The style is almost documentary turning one man's gruesome death and a pregnant woman's agonising loss into a powerful statement of 'mighty' (potent, valiant, indomitable) humanity standing up to be counted in the face of inconceivable brutality.

The film portrays shocking real-life events that thrust ordinary law-abiding people into terrifying circumstances, without melodrama. It also raises provocative in-your-face issues. When it gets down to the wire, and it is no longer a question of theoretical moral positions, would you accept torture as justified if the information gained would save the life of someone you loved?

Recommended by Consuelo Roland.

See featured article In Extremis

Breaking the Waves (Denmark/France, 1996)

Review: *Warning: this motion picture may be hazardous to your health. You may be haunted by deeply disturbing images for the rest of your life. Lars von Trier once claimed it was a simple love story. If so then it is about unconditional love and the willingness to sacrifice all. Is Bess's obsession lethal madness or transcendant faith? Is it a feminist film or anti-feminist? You'll have to see it yourself to decide, but don't miss it. This compulsive mix of devotion, sex and faith makes for one of the most original and powerful films you'll ever see.

Recommended by Consuelo Roland.

Don Juan DeMarco (1995)

Review: Zany film with excellent performances by Johnny Depp (the patient) and Marlon Brando (psychiatrist). A movie that fascinates by blurring the lines between fantasy and reality while placing old-fashioned romance on centre stage. How much romance maketh a man? The patient, believing he is Don Juan, tells the remarkable events of his life in a straight funny way that is oddly touching. The psychiatrist is deeply affected by his patient's romantic vision; what seems like madness at first starts to take on the aspect of total sanity. Don't we all create our own reality? The roles of patient and doctor are reversed; he finds a new fire in himself for life and love.

Recommended by Consuelo Roland.

House of Sand and Fog (2003)

Review: * Warning: this motion picture may be hazardous to your health. You may weep buckets of tears as I did. The emotional impact left me feeling as if I'd been kicked by a mule. The cast are all superb. Sympathy swings from one side to the other, the tension unbearable, as the impossible situation escalates to a devastating climax. Against the backdrop of inter-cultural dehumanisation and the pain of loss a human drama plays itself out with consequences of greek tragedy proportions.

Recommended by Consuelo Roland.

The Big Blue (Le Grand Bleu, France, 1988)

Review: In the novel The Good Cemetery Guide Anthony Loxton mentions the cult movie The Big Blue, perhaps because this unique epic adventure is all about adult choices and free will. As Jacques' obsession with the sea grows he begins to feel that he belongs in that secret underwater world. Each dive comes to represent a choice between living and dying. The spectacular dive locations make this a mesmerisingly beautiful film. The dreamy ambience makes one feel the pull of the bottomless big blue that seduces Jacques. In the end he must choose between staying at the bottom of the sea (killing himself) or coming back to the air-breathing surface to face love, a different kind of dangerous passion.

Recommended by Consuelo Roland.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (USA, 1988)

Review: * Warning: this film may be hazardous to your health. You may suffer from a lingering melancolia for the rest of your life. Besides the tragic inevitability of life getting up to its old tricks in the face of rampant lust, this film has possibly the best sex scene with a hat in the history of cinema. If you haven't seen it yet you have missed an iconic master-piece of cinema.

Recommended by Consuelo Roland.

See review The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera: Features: BOOKS

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