“Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” (2012)
At this point, screenwriter Lorene Scafaria’s startlingly accomplished directorial debut, “Seeking A Friend for the End of the World,” is looking closer to fact than fiction in light of recent events. That alone makes it a required viewing this year. After all, this might be the last Valentine’s Day we ever see! Joking aside (maybe…), this darkly funny, poignantly dramatic would-be romance is an inspired, mournful-but-not-quite-bleak rom-com with wit, insight and compassion for (doomed) days. Even mismatched leads Steve Carell and Keira Knightley find suitable, winning chemistry together, and their well-groomed performances, along with Scarfaria’s engrossing script and attentive world building, provide an unconventionally romantic film that’s all the more relevant by the hour.
“Blue is the Warmest Color” (2013)
Admittedly, Abdellatif Kechiche’s three-hour French lesbian coming-of-age drama “Blue is the Warmest Color” might require a firm viewing commitment, but it’s worth it. Intimately epic and fearlessly graphic in its sexual depictions, this NC-17 Palme d’Or winner is as fragile and mesmerizing as movies can be. Tender, vivid, unabashed, emotional and moving, it’s not going to become everybody’s cup of tea, but for the right viewers, it’s a masterful accomplishment in cinematic verisimilitude. It’s a sweeping, sensitive slice of life romance, and one that will linger long after the credits roll.
“Weekend” (2011)
Though most know writer/director Andrew Haigh from his follow-up feature, “45 Years,” or possibly from writing/directing several episodes of HBO’s tragically-overlooked “Looking,” his sophomore feature, “Weekend,” was what first introduced me to this exceptionally introspective, painfully authentic, astoundingly executed vision. Quite possibly one of the most ingeniously enveloping movies I’ve ever had the privilege to witness on the big screen, it’s an enclosed semi-romance about a one-night stand that might actually play all-the-better on the small screen. Haigh’s delicate touch and honesty is only more involving inside your home quarters. His delicate touch is marvelous in its fragile immersion, and his rich dialogue never feels false.
“Atonement” (2007)
Sometimes, you need a good cry on Valentine’s Day. And if you’re someone who needs to be swept by sentiment, you can feel and feel and feel some more through “Atonement,” Joe Wright’s gorgeous adaptation of Ian McEwan‘s stunning novel of the same name. Mesmerizing and breathtakingly splendid in its visuals, grand and expansive in its narrative scope, “Atonement” isn’t necessarily a subtle film, but it’s an epically gorgeous one all-the-same. Few filmmakers find the line between visual decadence and emotional excellence like Wright.
“Y Tu Mama Tambien” (2001)
Whether it’s “Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Children Of Men” or “Gravity,” director Alfonso Cuarón is usually known for his expensive, high-concept genre pictures. But his breakout film was something much smaller. “Y Tu Mama Tambien” is Cuarón’s fourth and, quite possibly, his greatest film. It’s a close call with “Children Of Men” in the race, truthfully, but Cuaron’s erotic, sensual and passionate, yet sometimes starkly distant, road trip dramedy is an excellent display of his versatile talents. Favoring grounded cinematography and strict character focus, the acclaimed filmmaker’s most decidedly reserved motion picture to date is still never less than involving and engrossing in its masterful storytelling and deep-rooted performances, something Cuaron can often pull out. It’s not necessarily the most heartwarming movie by the time it reaches its somber conclusion, but you’ll be hard pressed to find films sexier, wilder and more intimately investing than this one.
