The Runaways (2010)

This biopic about Cherie Currie and Joan Jett of the Runaways is a very stylish film by music video director Floria Sigismondi.  It is a very formulaic biopic following the typical plot of the protagonist's rise to stardom and subsequent fall (in the music industry, it's usually drug-related).  Child star Dakota Fanning and Twilight star Kristen Stewart play the two leads.  Stewart is uncanny in her portrayal of the pioneering Joan Jett.  She captures her style, her attitude and her drive, proving once again that she is a much better actor than appeared in Twilight.  Dakota Fanning transforms into Cherie Currie representing the wild glamour of the punk rock scene in the 70s in Los Angeles (and in Japan where the Runaways were a huge hit). Visually, the movie is kind of trippy and the extreme low angles are disorienting.    

The Killing Fields (1984)

The Killing Fields is a term coined by Dith Pran to describe the mass grave sites in Cambodia that he trekked through in his escape from the Khmer Rouge regime.  Pran is played by Haing Ngor, a doctor, who is one of only two non-professional actors to win acting Oscars (the other is Harold Russell in The Best Years of Our Lives).  This movie tells about the experience of journalists in Cambodia in the run-up-to and during the Khmer Rouge regime.  It details the deterioration of civilized life and the terrible labor camps that were part of the Year Zero policy.  What is most devastating is the persecution of educated people like Pran, and the subsequent necessity to hide their skills.  The movie is suspenseful, tear-jerking, and brutally stares war right in the face.  

Waltz with Bashir (2008)

Waltz with Bashir is one of the most powerful war films I've ever seen.  This has really stayed with me.  The style of animation is reminiscent of a graphic novel.  The artists take some freedoms with color and size to alter our perception of reality.  And after watching some special features, I appreciate how incredibly difficult it was to animate these images piece by little piece.  It's really quite beautiful despite the heavy subject matter.  War is grotesque but there is also a side of beauty.

Ari Folman explores his memories and his dreams to discover the truth about the 1982 Lebanon War, which he participated in as an Israeli soldier.  Despite the use of drawn images, this is a documentary film.  Folman conducts interviews with his fellow soldiers and his friends to try to reconstruct a truthful picture of the past and attempt to resolve his lingering guilt.  This film recounts the experience of Israeli soldiers, and asks the audience to empathize with their pain.  At the very end of the film, this is all put into proportion asking the audience to contemplate the pain of the victims of the Sabra and Shatila massacre.  This is a breathtaking movie--a must see.

Days of Glory (Indigenes) (2006)

This movie follows the formula of a typical war movie, except the main characters are North African soldiers, a minority group in the narrative of WWII but a large integral presence whose contributions have been marginalized.  The premise is similar to "Glory," the Civil War movie about an all-black regiment that faces discrimination. The title even evokes "Glory." Upon doing further research, I learned that the title actually refers to La Marsaillaise, the French national anthem.  The movie asks fundamental questions about Algerian identity--do they feel a part of the French society that has done them wrong?  The title suggests that not only do they identify with France, but that they are willing to die for the French cause. However, this sentiment is not constant in the film, but constantly questioned. And there might not be one right answer, for there are highly conflicting emotions.  Each of the main characters has a different motive, background, and view.  This gives the viewer a sense of the range of people and ideas that were present.  And, of course, though WWII was a separate event, this must be taken in context with the Algerian war of independence that followed the war, which would greatly complicated French-Algerian relations.  Finally, the movie had a political motive that is made apparent in the very last scene--to bring awareness to the North African veterans who had their pensions frozen in 1959.  The film succeeded to an extent, though no money that would have been paid in the forty year gap was considered.  On a side note, I greatly appreciated the use of North African-style music in the score.  

The Mill and the Cross (2011)

The premise of this film is similar to Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sunday in the Park with George" in that it depicts an artist at work creating a well known painting and the events surrounding the contents of the painting.  Except, this movie is devoid of music, narrative, and fun.  It is so slow and boring that it was quite difficult to watch.  There is very minimal dialogue (the few lines of dialogue are these jumbled monologues) and so the story is told much through gestures and lack of action.  There is a lot of artificial light that saturates the picture and don't get me wrong--some of the shots are really stunning (kind of in a "Tree of Life" way that's slow and painful).  The one positive aspect of the movie is its innovative use of CGI to make Bruegel's "The Procession to Calvary" come to life. I wasn't really a fan of French peasant life in "Martin Guerre", but these Flemish peasants are so much worse.

The Return of Martin Guerre (Le Retour de Martin Guerre) (1982)

Thanks to Natalie Davis's consulting on this film, The Return of Martin Guerre is a perfect example of a very historically accurate movie, save for an almost farcical courtroom scene that was Davis was too late to save.  It is the original story of identity theft that has been told many times (like in Downton Abbey).  It depicts peasant life in a sixteenth century French village in all of its odd practices, showerless homes, and dirty clothing--though notably Natalie Davis couldn't stand how clean the actress who plays Bertrande looks for a peasant.  In fact, the movie was nominated for Best Costume Design at the Oscars.  Davis only had so much power in the production of the movie, but really an unprecedented amount of influence over the atmosphere created by the movie.  It is certainly a commendable effort, unfortunately I am not a huge fan of sixteenth century French villages.