The Quarantine Film List: Week 2 | Zafira

Hey, I hope you’re all well!

So as promised, I’m back this week with another round of some amazing films to watch whilst in quarantine. I’ve tried to mix it up a bit more and put a wide range of films in here and I’ve quite badly attempted to illustrate my own version of the film posters so I hope you enjoy those (pls enjoy them i spent too long doing them).

1. American Beauty

I feel like a few people won’t be happy that I’ve put this here considering Kevin Spacey is quite the disgusting person however, his character meets a bit of an unfortunate but well deserved ending in this so in my eyes, I feel like it’s justified a little.

A timeless classic, that’s what American Beauty is. I know that one day I’ll be old and grey and still feel like watching this. It’s about Lester, a middle aged man who has a bit of mid life crisis. He hates his wife, has a daughter he barely knows and hates his job. He ends up becoming infatuated with his teenage daughter’s best friend which causes Lester to completely change his life.

I think you have to at least watch this film once in your life. It’s definitely an experience and will make you think plastic carrier bags are pretty.

2. the killing of a sacred deer

Starring the lovely Nicole Kidman and Collin Farrell, The Killing of Sacred Deer fits into that whole weird psychological horror/thriller genre like Midsommar and Hereditary. It’s one of those films that makes you feel not scared but incredibly uncomfortable afterwards.

Steven, a successful surgeon with a perfect life and family, takes a 16 year old boy named Martin under his wing after his father dies on his operating table. They form a bond and Martin is treated almost like Steven’s adopted son. However, as their bond grows, Martin’s malicious intent becomes clear as he seeks a very messed up sense of justice by punishing Steven and his family. He believes a ‘pure soul’ must be sacrificed in order to set some sort of balance.

Visually, this is stunning. Each frame feels so clean and well structured. It’s easy on the eyes.

3. penelope

I remember the first time I had watched this was during wet play in primary school and even then at like 8 years old, I knew this would be a film I’d think about for the rest of my life.

Christina Ricci stars as a aristocratic heiress named Penelope who was born affected by the Wilhern spell which was put on her family many years ago and gives her the misfortune of being born with the nose of a pig. The only way to break the spell is quite unique and unbelievable. It’s … true love.

Her family bring countless suitors to the house since she’s hidden away at her family’s estate at their attempt to try and break the spell. A tabloid reporter however is eager to get a photograph of the mysterious Penelope and enlists the help of Max (played by the dreamy James McAvoy) who poses as a prospective suitor and ends up slowly falling in love with her.

It’s a great early 00’s rom com. One of the best in my opinion.

4. Queen

After going to Asian wedding event to Asian wedding event, there’s one song that’s always playing at a Mehndi and that is London Thumakda. A few months ago, I saw that this was on Netflix so I ended up watching it and was quite thoroughly surprised at how much I liked it.

Rani, a girl from Dehli is about to marry who she thinks is the perfect man, Vijay. It’s beautiful watching the scenes leading up to her wedding day, seeing her family so happy, seeing all the traditional wedding stuff play out and it’s so colourful and pretty. This all changes when Vijay calls the wedding off the day before leaving her heart broken.

Rani decides to venture out and go on their honeymoon alone to Paris where she makes new friends, meets new people, tries out new experiences and most importantly, discovers herself.

This is so different than most Bollywood movies that I’ve seen, it’s really refreshing actually and I loved every moment of this film.

5. Perfect Blue

Now we’re all suffering from a bit of headache from being inside too long and Perfect Blue will extenuate that headache and leave you feeling quite confused. But in a good way of course. I don’t think even after watching this a handful of times, I’m still exactly sure what happened in this.

I haven’t ventured into the world of anime at all but from what I’ve heard, Satoshi Kon (director of Perfect Blue) is wonderful. So wonderful in fact that his films have inspired films such as Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan. These are both films that are so so so amazing.

Perfect Blue is about a retired pop singer who decides to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Her sense of reality however becomes a little disturbing when a fan from her past begins stalking her and Mima finds it difficult to separate what is real and what isn’t.

This is animated beautifully, every little detail is done perfectly whether that’s little objects in Mima’s room or what she’s wearing.

6. Frank

I actually watched this a few days ago and shared this on my Instagram stories because I absolutely loved this.

Jon, a young man who is an aspiring musician with a bit of boring life, decides to take the plunge and join an eccentric pop band led by Frank. Frank is a very mysterious and strange man who always wears this freakish fake head that he never takes off (as illustrated above).

I think this film is a bit of everything. It explores mental illness but at the same time, it’s also a very bittersweet comedy about friendship and identity. It’s one of the most unpredictable films you could ever watch. Everything I anticipated didn’t happen, the film had a life of its own.

I also love all the songs they sing in this, as strange as they are, they’re pretty good.

7. the darjeeling limited

I had to try and restrain myself from filling these lists with Wes Anderson films because I adore them so much but the Darjeeling Limited is something I think everyone will truly like.

Three brothers come together after a year of not seeing or speaking to each other since their father’s funeral decide to set off on a train voyage across Indian to try and reconnect with each other.

All three of them of so different, one of them is obnoxiously wealthy, the other is heartbroken over a break up (watch Hotel Chevalier please this is who it’s about and most importantly Natalie Portman is in it!) and the last, who enjoys taking things from his family without asking and is about to become a father.

It’s a story about family and grief, it’s hilarious and obviously, aesthetically the most beautiful thing I’ll see. Even the train itself is set up in the most visually stunning way and hello? They’re in India. The most colourful and wonderful place you could possibly be.

8. i lost my body

This felt like what I can only describe as a fever dream. It was so weird and dark and just so incredibly sad but with hints of upliftingness?

The story focuses on the character Naoufel, or rather Naoufel’s hand who is roaming the streets of Paris trying to find the rest of it’s body and we through Naoufel’s memories slowly unravel how his hand became severed from it’s body. It’s about self exploration but it’s also about love and life and death. It’s a strange watch but a good watch.

I hope you enjoyed this second round of films! I’ll post my third series sometime next week so make sure you follow me on my socials to know when that’s up.

Thanks for reading,

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!

1. 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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Movies That Changed My Perspective on Life | Zafira

I'm a huge movie person. I'll pretty much watch anything, same with TV series but I think I'll save that for another blog post. As you can tell, photography is kind of my thing but cinematography is also something I've always had a keen interest in. It's like photography but it moves. I love it.

I don't know what it is but recently, I've had a thing for movies that make you rethink your entire life. Maybe it's because I'm in such a fast paced changing era of my life where every decision I make seems to affect me in someway or another or maybe it's just because I want a new perspective on life in general.

Here are a few of the movies that 'shook' me and made me want to change who I am.

1. American History X

For anyone that knows me irl, then you'd know I think skinhead culture is so fascinating. It's strange that it was even a thing but I still think it was quite cool minus the whole racism thing. Anyway, this is sort of on the same lines of This is England for those of you have seen that. It's set in America and is focused on the character of Derek who was a very popular neo-Nazi skinhead and how he tries to prevent his brother from following in the same footsteps as him. I don't really know why this affected me so much. I think maybe it's because I have a younger brother too and I don't want to do anything that reflects onto him badly. It's also made me appreciate my family so much more, I'd do anything for family if it was the best for all of us in the end.

2. The Matrix

This summer I wanted to watch all of the 'classic' movies and the Matrix was one of them. I sat and watched it until about 4am with family and it just messed with my head so much. I'm a huge conspiracy theory fan. Sometimes I'll sit on YouTube all day and watch one conspiracy theory after the other. Obviously, I don't believe most of them because they're just so wtf most of the time but they're still very entertaining to watch. Anyway, my main point here is the Simulation Theory. It's all about how reality today is all fake and we and life around us is nothing about a simulation (you can read more about it here PUT A LINK IN). It really messes with your head, and for a 2nd year college student running on little to 0 hours of sleep, it was probably not a good idea to watch this movie or read about the theory. In the Matrix, a computer programmer by day and hacker by night begins to question his reality once he is contacted by a group of rebels. It's literally the weirdest concept ever. Even the CEO of Tesla, a well known company, heavily believes in this theory. It's a such a good movie, just strange.

3. When Marnie Was There

Oh.My.God. This movie made me bawl my eyes out. I'm not a crier. I don't cry at any movies ever or anything really but this was so sad. A young tomboy gets sent to live with relatives in the countryside and becomes obsessed with this old mansion. The story unravels as you get more into the movie but the last 10 mins or so are the most shocking and upsetting. I don't really want to say much about it because I think it's better if you just watch it and feel all the feels. It just made me feel so sad and appreciative of everything really.

4. Her

This is such a hipster/indie movie but it made me feel so lonely after watching it. It's set in the future and the writer Theo starts a strange and unusual relationship with his operating system. Firstly, it's filmed so beautifully. In some scenes you can truly see the isolation that Theodore is feeling just by certain scenes. I love love love movies where they focus on small things like this, it makes watching not only an 'entertaining' experience but a pretty beautiful one too. The operating system is voiced by Scarlett Johanssen and it's so weird how real the operating system seems. It almost feels like she's a real person. The audience connects with the operating system 'Sam' just as much as Theo does. It's such a good movie and I've watched it so so so many times. I consider myself an independent person much like Theo, like I'm not one to get out much or to spend a considerable amount of time with friends so in some ways, I can sort of understand where Theo's loneliness and isolation comes from.

5. Every Wes Anderson Movie Ever

I love love love love love love love love Wes Anderson, I think I've watched all of his movies except from 2 maybe? I'm huge fan. I think the amount attention to detail is insanely beautiful. Some scenes are so so pleasing to the eye. The colours, the symmetry and the 60/70s vibes to every movie he makes is what drew me in. His movie ideas are so original, I think my absolute favourites are The Darjeeling Limited, The Royal Tennebaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel. All such amazingly filmed and constructed movies. I feel like movies like this are quite good if you have like artist's block or photographer's block or anything along those lines. You feel incredibly inspired. I think the first Wes Anderson movie I watched was Moonrise Kingdom and I remember all I wanted to do was paint and go out take pictures and that's what I did for about 3 weeks straight. I had never felt so inspired before.

JUST LOOK AT THAT PINK

6. Whiplash

I don't know why it took me so long to get around to watching this but it was so amazing. It's based on the character of Andrew who is a young drummer and he gets chosen to be mentored by a mentor who pushes musicians beyond their limits to realise their potential. I quite like Miles Teller in movies because he's quite a natural actor and pretty quirky too which I like. In this however, his character is a bit more serious which was very different. I watched this pretty late at night and you know when you have those really deep thoughts at like 3am? Well they got pretty deep after watching this. I think when it comes to my potential, I usually stop at what feels comfortable, if whatever it is I'm doing becomes harder than I would like then I just give it. But maybe it's time to change that. The mentor of Andrew pushes him so hard and at the end he becomes an amazing drummer just like he had always wanted. So, I think it's time for me to cross my boundaries and maybe after watching this, you should try to too?

7. American Psycho

Everyone that knows me knows that I've become so obsessed with this film and the book too. It's not very healthy. I'm actually writing about this for my A Level English Literature coursework and even writing about the subject manner of this book and now movie is so gruesome. American Psycho is based on the character of Patrick Bateman who is very wealthy businessman based in New York who has an alternative ego where he's basically the most psychotic and craziest serial killer I've ever seen. The movie itself is nowhere as graphic and violent as the stuff in the book but it's still pretty unsettling. Patrick Bateman looks and seems like a trust worthy man. After all, he's wealthy, well dressed and is well groomed but I think this heavily enhances how you should never judge a book by it's cover. (Christian Bale is Patrick Bateman btw 😉)

"I'm into murders and executions mostly."

8. American Honey

This I literally watched yesterday. I think I found the trailer on the A24 channel which I've become to love because the trailers of movies they upload are so original and just so beautifully filmed. American Honey is an amazing coming of age movie about Star, a teenage girl who joins a a travelling magazine crew where she begins to travel around the US, party and makes new friends. When I first watched the trailer, I was  blown away by the cinematography. It's what made me want to watch it in the first place and I was not disappointed. Some scenes filmed of the American South are breath taking. It's insanely beautiful. I liked how the whole movie was focused on Star. We become so close to her and see everything from her perspective and overall get to see her find out who she is. Also Shia Labeouf is in it who's character is amazing in this and fun fact of the day, Shia is the only 'professional' actor in this. The main actress Sasha Lane was spotted by Andrea Arnold, the director of the movie, whilst she was in Florida for spring break. This definitely made me want to be more adventurous. The character of Star is so free spirited, fearless and wild. She embraces life.

If you like blog posts like this about movies and TV series let me know because I love writing about this stuff!

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