Ferris Bueller's Day Off

I don’t know how many times I saw Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). Enough times, at least, for me to know the dialogue pretty well. I must have been around eight, nine or ten when I saw it the first time.

I never liked school, not even primary school. It was only at university that I felt for the first time the freedom to think. I never felt that school (in the form of primary and secondary education) allowed me to be a free agent with own opinions and unique ideas. Instead, I always felt fettered by the school system. And like Ferris, I also thought of many ways to skip school.

Although I was never as popular as Ferris, I could associate with him. In a strange way, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off made me feel normal. I think I resonated with Ferris' rebellious streak. It's not merely an unfounded teenage rebelliousness; rather, it is a creative rebellion against a creativity-stifling system.

Another probable reason for my enjoyment of the movie is it postmodern narration employed, with the character Ferris speaking directly to the viewer. I think my little Generation X brain, hardly a decade old, was just buzzing with resonance. Back then I didn't know anything about narrative layers or postmodern motiffs, but I did know that this is freaken' cool!

A further reason might be my association with the character Camron and his issues with his father.

In my opinion, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is one of the few teenage comedies worth watching. It doesn't rely wholly on vulgarity and sex. The mere fact that Matthew Broderick was nominated for a Golden Globe should tell us something.

Dancer in the Dark

Dancer in the Dark (2000), a musical by director Lans von Trier, is a fabulous but utterly depressing movie. It tells the story of a single-parent, Selma (played by Björk), trying to raise her son who suffers from a hereditary eye condition. Selma also suffers from the sickness and is nearly blind herself. While she was able to hid the seriousness of her condition, the extend of her blindness becomes known and her job and therefore her son’s future hangs in the balance. An unfortunate turn of events takes this already sad story and catapults it into a horrific tragedy.

As a Björk fan, I thoroughly appreciated this musical. Björk’s ability to play with sound transforms the movie into a surreal space – altering ordinary dreary scenes (a factory, a train, a prison) into musical wonderlands. Apart from her music, Björk’s acting as a blind, but determined mother, is superb.

Lans von Trier is a splendid writer and director. Dancer in the Dark is the type of movie that follows a person – haunts a person. It is undoubtedly one of the best films I’ve ever seen. Although I would like to see it again, I’ve never had the emotional strength to do so. This movie is more than catharsis – it forces one to see the world for what it is: unfair and yes, even hopeless.

I saw Dancer in the Dark shortly after having had to come to terms with the unfairness of life myself, having lost a number of people close to me. This is probably another reason why this movie affected me so.

Sorceress

In hind sight, Sorceress (1982) is probably one of the worst movies out there, but when I saw it (I must have been anything between five and nine years old) it was the best freakin' thing ever. I think it is this movie that started my life-long love affair with fantasy adventures. The only books I read as a child were fantasy adventures. Wizards and witches, swords and sorcery, dragons and fairies, half nude barbarians and amazons, unicorns and fawns... my fascination with these, I think, is most probably because of this movie. It is awfully troubling to think that this movie played a crucial role in setting up my worldview. Luckily worldviews can change!

I would pay a lot to see this movie again -- I think it would be great therapy to see how I grew since then. So if you have it, please let me know.

(By the way, contrary to the title there is actually no "sorceress" in the flick!)

Batman: The Dark Knight

My favourite movie for 2008 is undoubtedly Batman: The Dark Knight. For more, see my review on my other blog.

Reasons:

• Great plot and storytelling
• Great use of music
• Great cinematography
• Great editing
• Great acting
• Great directing
  

Image from UGO Movie Blog.