Gulbara Tolomushova

Comments

Battleship Potemkin

My opinion hasn't changed in 10 years: Battleship Potemkin was the first great film in my life. I saw it at the age of 14. This film changed my view of cinema. I understood – cinema is art.

Rashomon

The release of this film marked the emergence of Japanese cinema on the world stage.

The film also influenced the appearance in popular culture and life of the Rashomon Effect, the principle of subjective perception and interpretation of events.

Pather Panchali

Pather Panchali was the first genuine Indian art film I saw in my life. Before this movie, I only knew commercial Indian films.

East of Eden

I knew about East of Eden for a long time, having read a lot of reviews, but when I saw it for the first time some years ago I was shocked by its power and the strength of its images.

À bout de souffle

Even now, when I see new films, made by directors from different countries, I see them quoting À bout de soufflé and La notte. Even in my life, consciously or unconsciously, I have reproduced scenes from these pictures.

8½

The whole film is a mixture of reality and the stream of consciousness of the protagonist – the director Guido Anselmi: his childhood memories, dreams, surreal visions and insights in which he seeks inspiration for his new film.

Mirror

The main character is the dying poet Alexei, who is shown as a child and teenager, while in adulthood only his voice is heard, and he does not appear at all in the frame. All events are presented from his point of view. The narrative, devoid of a conventional plot, revolves around his memories and dreams, which are intertwined with archival footage of historical events.

BESHKEMPIR

This is a 1998 Kyrgyz language film. Shot and produced in Kyrgyzstan, it is representative of the first wave of independently produced cinema in the country after its independence from Soviet Union. It was directed by Aktan Abdykalykov, and stars his son Mirlan Abdykalykov in the lead role. This simple Bildungsroman went on to receive critical acclaim, and won numerous international awards, including the Silver Leopard at the 1998 Locarno International Film Festival.

TAKHTE SIAH

The film focuses on a group of Kurdish refugees after the chemical attack on Halabja by Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War. The screenplay was co-written by Samira Makhmalbaf with her father, Mohsen. The dialogue is entirely in Kurdish. Makhmalbaf describes it as "something between reality and fiction. Smuggling, being homeless, and people’s efforts to survive are all part of reality… the film, as a whole, is a metaphor."

BOM, TEOREUM, GAEUL, GYEOWOOL, GEURIGO, BOM

Perhaps the most harmonious film by Kim Ki-duk, each plot developing in the season indicated by the title.

Further remarks

Compared to the 2012 selection, my list has changed by 50%. I think that's okay. Time changes us, while we remain the same in some ways. We remain faithful to past choices.