The Quarantine Film List: Week 1 | Zafira
Hi,
So, a lot of things have changed since I last posted. It feels like the world has completely flipped and it’s been a roller coaster of a month trying to adjust to all these changes. I hope we’re all staying inside, keeping not only ourselves safe and healthy but others too.
On the brighter side, a lot of us have plenty of spare time on our hands now and I’ve spending mine finally getting through my big fat hefty film list. I thought what better way to stay occupied than with some great cinematic masterpieces so every week for the next month or so, I’ll be sharing a few of my personal fave films with you!
Her
I feel like I’ve already talked about this so much on here and you’re all probably bored of me talking about this but I literally could not care because this film is so embedded into my life, my DNA and a good 30% of my entire personality at this point.
This is the perfect film for this current state of everyone’s life because it screams loneliness. Like the entire 126 minutes will make you feel so alone but in the most aesthetically pleasing and well -written way.
Her focuses on the character of Theodore who’s in a not so distant weird future and as you can guess, is very lonely. He gets his hands on a new operating system that’s pretty similar to Siri but so much more lifelike and human and they fall in love. It’s very bittersweet and every frame in the film is done so beautifully.
Also Joaquin Phoenix is this is actually the prettiest human of all time.
2. A Death in the Gunj
I haven’t really ventured out in the South Asian world of films yet but I found this gem on Prime a few months back because my dad was actually watching it. He’ll watch anything on Prime but this is the first Indian movie I’ve watched that falls into the whole weird eerie indie thriller genre. It feels incredibly Western compared to a lot of Indian films that I’m used to.
A Death in the Gunj is about a young man called Shutu, a failing student who is on a family trip away. The entire film focuses mainly on him. He’s a really lonely and grief stricken character (i promise all the films in this list won’t make you feel like you’re going to die alone) and as the film progresses, Shutu learns what’s accepted in society, his family and questions his place in the world. I think it’s such a realistic and blunt take on the whole ‘coming of age’ genre of films.
I read in a review somewhere that this film echos “emotional violence” and the way “society inflicts it upon others and causes destruction” and the film illustrates this so well.
It’s set in 70s in a place called McCluskieganj, Bihar which is a small hilly town in India that was once known for it’s vast Anglo-Indian population. The scenery really brings out the overall theme of loneliness but it’s also just so incredibly stunning.
I also read this amazing review on IMDB that sounds like it’s excerpt of the greatest novel of all time that summarises this film the best way possible.
3. The Emperors New Groove
Amazing. Stunning. A classic piece of cinematic gloriousness honestly.
This is top tier Disney stuff. Like forget Frozen or Moana (ok this was actually pretty good), this is what we 90/00s kids thrived off back in the day and what essentially shaped us into the people that we are today.
If you haven’t already seen this then please get a move on and do so. The Emperors New Groove is about Kuzco, a self centred, bratty Emperor who is mean and cruel to everyone. His adviser Yzma, our long eye lashed evil wannabe queen, attempts to try and kill him off but in the process, her and her dummy but oh so hilarious side kick, Kronk, end up turning the Emperor into a llama.
I’m sorry but if that doesn’t immediately take you off my website and onto watching this then there’s something totally wrong with you.
This was easily one of the best things Disney has ever done.
4. Before Sunrise
When I think about love and what it is, I always think of this film.
Staring everyone’s heartthrob Ethan Hawke and Julie Deply, our 90s French crush, Before Sunrise is possibly the purest form of young love I think you’ll ever see. The shocking thing is that this is all set in the space of the day and accumulates more love than most of us will get in a lifetime.
Jesse, an American on his way to Vienna meets Celine who is a student returning to Paris. They end up talking and Jesse convinces Celine to get off the train in Vienna with him where they spend the rest of their day wandering the heavenly city of Vienna before Jesse has to fly back home to the US.
It’s probably one of the most romantic films you’ll ever watch. Everything from their subtle glances at each other to the way their conversations feel so effortless and authentic will make your heart skip a beat.
You’ll be very glad to know there’s trilogy of the whole ‘Before’ films. So when you’re done with this one you can watch Before Sunset and Before Midnight which should keep you occupied and all loved up for half a day.
5. The Silences of the Palace
I can’t exactly remember how I found this film but I do remember vividly seeing screen grabs somewhere of some scenes and was immediately sold.
Alia, a 25 year old singer, returns to her childhood home which is a palace where her mother Khedjia worked as not only a house servant but a mistress of Prince Sid’ Ali. Sid’ Ali’s death brings her back and as she goes to pay her respects, she roams through the palace remembering her childhood. Her childhood was riddled with sexism, exploitation and spent questioning her father’s identity as well as the French conquest of Tunisia going on in the background.
It’s definitely not an easy watch but it covers a lot of issues still relevant to this day.
6. The Lobster
This entire film was completely ???
This was so weird. Good weird. It’s set in the strangest dystopian future where by law, it’s compulsory to have a romantic partner. Singles are taken to this place literally called The Hotel where they have 45 days to either find themselves a partner or be turned into an animal and set off into the woods.
Despite making me feel a little uncomfortable, I loved every minute of this. It has Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz who surprisingly work together better than butter on toast.
It’s got a lot of dark humour which personally I love accompanied by so much awkward silence and just general awkwardness. It’s great.
7. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
I had no choice but to throw a cringey Bollywood hit in here. The best thing about this is not only was it made in the 90s but it features everyone’s favourite duo, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.
Simran who by the way has a * chef’s kiss * sense of style all throughout this, persuades her father to let her go on a one month inter-rail holiday all over Europe where she ends up meeting the one and only Raj. Now Raj is a complete douche but as the days pass, their love blossoms and when Simran goes back to India for her arranged marriage, Raj decides to go after her and win her back.
It’s like your typical Bollywood film story line but it’s so good and is one of my all time favourites.
8. The Florida Project
I don’t think I’ll ever watch anything that will capture the true essence of being a carefree kid more than this film.
Set in a rundown garish pink motel filled with people who can’t afford proper homes, the Florida Project focuses on the life of a 6 year old called Moonee who is the most mischievous and wild kid you’ll ever see. The whole film is pretty much about her and her life with her mum Halley and her little group of friends who get up to no good in and around the motel.
It’s aesthetically one of the prettiest films I’ve watched. The entire thing was shot on 35mm film which as a fellow film lover, I obviously couldn’t help but adore.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this first list! I’ll post another one around the same time next week so follow me on my socials to know when that’s up.
Underrated Movies #1 | Zafira
Hello!
I'm a big movie person. Especially recently since I've had a lot of work to do and it seems like my favorite procrastinating activity is watching a good movie (or 2).
January is gloomy and literally, the most boring month I have ever come into contact with. I wish I felt overwhelmingly motivated but there's just something about the atmosphere of this month that makes me want to melt into my Ikea rug.
So, this month, me and procrastination have become extremely good friends. Better than we need to be but it's given me a chance to really explore the movie world. I'm not someone who loves a generic movie. I like the weird stuff, the stuff that really makes you rethink your life and everything you've ever done. That's when you know it's a pretty amazing movie.
This led to the birth of this post. I've been binge watching movies left, right and center and I'm so surprised that some of the stuff I've watched isn't more widely talked about.
Here's a list of some the best-underrated movies:
I want this music box more than I want a degree from uni.
Maybe one day I'll have to do an entire list of neglected children's movies because they are so so so many of them. I remember one day my dad bought me one of those double-sided CDs that had a movie on either side. I put it into our portable movie players (I'm sure this was actually from the 90s it had the tiniest screen) and discovered Anastasia. One of the best Disney princess (but not really) movies to date.
It's very loosely based on the story and legend of the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. There was a big theory about how she escaped the tragic execution of her family and thus began this incredible movie. The animation is beautiful, the songs are beautiful and so is the character of Anastasia. I always wanted to be her, there was just something very relatable and quirky about the character that made her so much better than your typical Disney princess.
As I've gotten older, this movie is more of tragedy, turns out Anastasia didn't escape the execution of her family. It just took a lot longer to find not only her body.
I had seen a few movie stills and quotes from this movie on Instagram and it was enough to compel me to watch this.
This has the basic gist of the classic novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens but has a more modern twist. The movie is about the pursuit of a childhood love which sounds cute but this movie goes in so many different directions. It's not straightforward which I like but sometimes it was very frustrating. Estella (played by Gwenyth Paltrow) is probably a pretty good example of this.
She is the most annoying but amazing character in the entire thing (alongside her erratic aunt).
ALSO, a very big big big also, the settings of the movie are so outstanding. Every scene filmed in 'Paradiso Perduto' had my creative juices flowing like crazy. The most beautifully decorated home I've ever seen in my life. A sort of forgotten, hidden gem of a house. It's just somewhere I can totally imagine myself shooting some stunning pictures.
I can't tell if this is a happy or sad movie. I know that I learned a lot from it. It's a pretty good watch for a lazy Sunday.
This is one of those Amazon movies and I was not expecting it to be anywhere near as good as it was. If you loved Her starring Joaquin Phoenix then you will also adore this.
I'd say this is a good mix of I Robot (without the violence) mixed with Her (2013) and Lars and the Real Girl (2007) and maybe like a splash of I Origins (2014). It's about a company that makes synthetic humans and all about the way that a synthetic human interacts with humans and the way that they feel. It stars Ewan McGregor which was kind of a weird cast in my view because the only movies I've seen him in are Trainspotting 1&2. It's strange to watch him go from a crazy druggie to a somewhat crazy scientist falling in love with his creations.
It also stars Lea Seydoux who I haven't really heard of but she was really good at her role in this. This has really pushed me to watch more Amazon Studio movies.
I'm not going to lie. The only thing that drew me to watch this movie were all the movie stills I saw floating around Instagram where Meena has like crazy beautiful hair. The hair was enough for me to be sold into watching this tbh.
The movie is all about an Indian family that is forced to leave Uganda due to Idi Amin being in power (the entire history of the expulsion of Asians in Uganda in the 70s is actually really interesting to read about you should look it up). The family then move to Mississippi where the daughter, Meena, falls in love with a young black man named Demetrius.
It's heartbreaking to watch a cycle of racism and prejudice repeated over and over again especially when so many of us face it. You'd think that you'd try and better yourself than the people that hurt you.
One night, I was searching for something similar to the Virgin Suicides and fell upon this masterpiece. The Virgin Suicides (book & movie) had a massive impact on my life, it changed the way I looked at so many things.
Mustang is kind of like the Turkish equivalent to the Virgin Suicides. It has a lot more to do with a culture which I think personally resonated a lot with me since my family is very culture and tradition based. Unlike the girls in this movie, I am fortunate to say that my family is a lot more open and modern about things which is great.
It's all about 5 sisters that are caught innocently playing with boys on their way home from school. Everyone in their little village/town sees the event as immoral and takes it the wrong which eventually leads the family of the girls basically imprisoning them in their home. It's sad seeing them forced into such a shitty life. They're trained to be housewives and eventually married off one by one.
This is definitely more of an eye-opening watch. Sometimes, culture and tradition really do suck.
Out of all the movies I've mentioned in this post, I have to admit that this is more of a popular one but not popular enough.
I love period movies. It's my biggest guilty pleasures. Something about a fancy frock in the 1800s just really excites me so when I found Marie Antoinette, I was more than overjoyed. Marie Antoinette is more of quirky take on your usual period movie. A lot more vibrant and kind of more 'Wes Anderson-y'. It's filmed beautifully and all the scenes set in Versailles are just stunning. The outfits and shopping scenes are also just impeccable. A fashionista's dream come true.
It's the perfect watch for when you feel like watching a typical chick flick but with a bit more maturity.
Also, Kirsten Dunst is amazing in this.
If you want to see more posts like this please let me know, this was a really fun post to do!
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