The best movies of all time (in our opinion)

In honor of our 100th episode, a completely subjective appreciation

Hello!

We have a very special one for you this week. In honor of our 100th episode — yes, that’s right, this is the big 1-0-0! — we’re doing our own highly personal version of the AFI greatest films list. Presenting: our top seven films, respectively.

(Obligatory disclaimers: We haven’t watched everything, these are not really in any particular order, these are just our opinions, etc.)

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05:39 After Life (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 1998) (Criterion)

Pelin: “It’s a quiet but devastating film … There’s something that it leaves you with — both happiness and sorrow.”

07:54 Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) (HBO Max)

Jenny: “It’s an idyllic view of the world, while also not shying away from the things that can scare a child … It’s one of the most beautiful films in the world.”

10:36 Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990) (Criterion)

Pelin: “This is the ultimate meta film. It’s fascinating — this is truly brain breaking.”

13:09 Little Miss Sunshine (dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, writ. Michael Arndt, 2006) (HBO Max)

Jenny: “This is the perfect blend of humor and drama and warmth and bitterness. It’s a perfect road trip movie.”

15:12 Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013) (Paramount+, Showtime)

Pelin: “It is a film that creeps under your skin, and, by the time it’s done, devastates you so much.”

17:33 Call Me By Your Name (dir. Luca Guadagnino, writ. James Ivory, 2017) (Netflix)

Jenny: “The perfect encapsulation of this feeling of being young and in love and it’s summer … and then summer fades, and something fades along with it … It’s pure longing.”

20:27 The Matrix (Lana and Lilly Wachowski, 1999) (HBO Max)

Pelin: “I’ve never seen anything like this. Philosophically, it says something, and that’s something I kept coming back to … this philosophical question of ‘What is reality?’”

23:49 Wolf Children (dir. Mamoru Hosoda, writ. Satoko Okudera and Mamoru Hosoda, 2012) (Crunchyroll)

Jenny: “It is about parenting: about being a mother and being so afraid for your children … A really touching, unexpectedly beautiful, emotional, poignant film.”

26:20 Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy, 2007) (HBO Max)

Pelin: “This film plays with structure in a way that I still hope to one day achieve … It’s a perfect Tony Gilroy example.”

28:50 Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho, writ. Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won, 2019) (Hulu)

Jenny: “It’s so thrilling, it’s so perfectly constructed, and every little detail has meaning and a greater role to play … It really touched a nerve and struck a chord, and for very good reason.”

33:01 Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966) (HBO Max, Criterion)

Pelin: “I was astounded that this film was made in 1966. I was astounded that this film was made at all … This is, to me, one of the best films about female friendship and female bonding that I’ve ever seen.”

35:35 Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, 2020) (Hulu) (previously discussed on CID here)

Jenny: “I found this film extremely powerful, moving, stirring — every single emotion that could be elicited, it elicited … It captures the soul of America.”

39:53 Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009) (Tubi)

Pelin: “This was my first understanding of what it means to be a female filmmaker, to show a female subject going through something that is distinctly uncomfortable … what it means to be a girl, growing up and having feelings for someone you shouldn’t have, and also being placed in a very adult world and realizing that you are actually the mature one.”

42:08 Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997) (HBO Max)

Jenny: “It’s the epitome of a legend. This is an epic.”

PELIN’S LONG LIST:

• Mikey and Nicky (Elaine May, 1976)

• In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, 2008)

• Four Lions (dir. Chris Morris, writ. Chris Morris, Sam Bain, and Jesse Armstrong, 2010)

• Heat (Michael Mann, 1995)

• Burning (dir. Lee Chang-dong, writ. Oh-Jung-mi and Lee Chang-dong, 2018)

• Sexy Beast (dir. Jonathan Glazer, writ. Louis Mellis and David Scinto, 2000)

• Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000) (previously discussed on CID here)

• Stalker (dir. Andrei Tarkovsky, writ. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1979)

• Infernal Affairs (dir. Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, writ. Alan Mak and Felix Chong, 2002)

• Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1997)

• Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017)

• The Social Network (dir. David Fincher, writ. Aaron Sorkin, 2010)

• Klute (dir. Alan J. Pakula, writ. Andy and Dave Lewis, 1971)

• Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)

• Tokyo Olympiad (dir. Kon Ichikawa, writ. Natto Wada, Yoshio Shirasaka, Shintaro Tanikawa, and Kon Ichikawa, 1965)

• Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999)

• Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, writ. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Ercan Kescal, and Ebru Ceylan, 2011)

• Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)

• Carol (dir. Todd Haynes, writ. Phyllis Nagy, 2015) (previously discussed on CID here)

• Raging Bull (dir. Martin Scorsese, writ. Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin, 1980)

• When Harry Met Sally (dir. Rob Reiner, writ. Nora Ephron, 1989)

• Ocean’s Eleven (dir. Steven Soderbergh, writ. Ted Griffin, 2001)

• Beau Travail (dir. Claire Denis, writ. Claire Denis and Jean-Pol Fargeau, 1999)

• A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009)

• Where Is the Friend’s House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987)

• Ida (dir. Paweł Pawlikowski, writ. Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Paweł Pawlikowski, 2013)

• First Cow (dir. Kelly Reichardt, writ. Jonathan Raymond and Kelly Richardt, 2019) (previously discussed on CID here)

• Y tu mamá también (dir. Alfonso Cuarón, writ. Carlos Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón, 2001)

• A Single Man (dir. Tom Ford, writ. Tom Ford and David Scearce, 2009)

• Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)

• Hunger (dir. Steve McQueen, writ. Enda Walsh and Steve McQueen, 2008)

• Election (dir. Alexander Payne, writ. Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, 1999)

• Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh, 1996)

• Mustang (dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven, writ. Deniz Gamze Ergüven and Alice Winocour, 2015)

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (dir. Michael Gondry, writ. Charlie Kaufman, 2004)

• Arrival (dir. Denis Villeneuve, writ. Eric Heisserer, 2016)

• Mad Max: Fury Road (dir. George Miller, writ. George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nico Lathouris, 2015)

• Good Will Hunting (dir. Gus Van Sant, writ. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, 1997)

• La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995)

That’s it for now. We are OFF next week, but we’ll be back the week after that with not only your regularly scheduled programming, but also a new weekly run of Succession season 4 mini-recaps/reviews/reactions!

— Jenny

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Some credits:

• Music: REEKAH

• Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu