Films that strike a chord.

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Do any of you have any films in mind that struck a chord with you and left you thinking a lot and/or rather emotional? A few films have always had that 'fizz' that no other films bring to my mind. They are films I could watch again and again without feeling any less struck by the craft of film making that I see as pure talent and effort.

Discuss.
 
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Some films that had an impact on me and still can:
* The Game (Michael Douglas)
* Amadeus (F. Murray Abraham)
* Interstellar (Matthew McConaughey)
* Event Horizon (Sam Neil)
* Zulu (Michael Cain and Stanley Baker)
* White Buffalo (Charles Bronson)

Looking at my short list there are some common elements:
* With the exception of the horror films (Event Horizon and White Buffalo), these films have powerful soundtracks. The Game relies on the minimalist music in the style of Messien, which is broken in a moment of utter chaos by 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane. Interstellar's use of pipe organ and brass was absolutely compelling.
* The main characters in these films were highly controlled and restrained in their emotions, but nevertheless manage to completely wrench one's guts with human reality. I once overheard a chef explaining the art of a great desert: A great desert strongly tempers and controls the sweetness, so that it is definitely there, but does not ever become the principal flavour of the dish. The effect is that emotional gravity is generated and built towards a climax, without you really knowing it is building, but once there it has the ability to genuinely move you.
* The cinematography combines both narrational sequences and elements which are more in common with photography - a visual communication of significance and story, which explains the visual plot.
 
Here are a few that affect me on a deeply emotional level. I still cry like a baby every time I see them and they affect me for days afterwards. I'll list more that strike me in other ways in another post.

The Pianist
The Reader
Cast Away
Three Colors: Blue
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Road
The Elephant Man
Schindler's List
The Boy In the Striped Pajamas
Forrest Gump
The Green Mile
Saving Private Ryan
 
Oh yes. Where to even begin?

Philadelphia
The Killing Fields
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story (made for TV, but very good!)
The King's Speech
Dreams of a Life
Anything Kieslowski (I liked The Decalogue a lot, but weirdly it was a TV series).
Awakenings
Good Morning Vietnam
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
 
Tideland is one movie that depressed the hell out of me. I felt awful after watching it. I wouldn't watch it again.
 
Warning: Spoilers below.

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No film has struck a cord sharper than 'There Will Be Blood'. Directed by the experimentalist film maker Paul Thomas Anderson and released in 2007, the film is my idea of the pitch-perfect portrayal of both the human condition, how such humans adapt to the society they were born into and what measurable actions they took to achieve their goals. Two characters in this film are naturally pitted against each other and in some ways they mirror each other. Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) begins as a silver ore prospector right at the turn of the 20th Century until he eventually masters his career methods of persuasion, intimidation and work ethic. He becomes almost obsessed with a particular vision of the American dream: that of securing an oil-drilling empire and becoming one of the country's wealthiest and most powerful men. Along his journey (with his adopted son H.W.) he meets Eli Sunday; an Evangelical preacher living on his father's modest farm in the West country. The moment he realises exactly why Plainview wishes to buy the farm from his father, he too becomes obsessed with his own vision of the American dream, but there is a huge difference: Eli will go about achieving success through nothing but lying, cheating and scrounging his way to the top. He becomes extremely envious of Plainview's success after his purchase of the farm, and this is the point in-which I began to spot the mirrored parallels between the two characters: They were both envious of success, both wanted power and wealth. Daniel Plainview ultimately earned his success through hard and determined and skilled oil work, willing to tell a few lies. He becomes enraged by an imposter-bother when he finds out about his real identity and murders him; causing a gigantic seizure of regret to overwhelm him into alcoholism and misanthropy. In the end, the fight between these two characters reveals that not only is Plainview successful, Eli fails to admit to anyone that he is relying on the act of a con-artist in order to earn money and continue lying to more and more people with his dogma. Plainview does not offer dogma to people, he (at the very least) offers wealth and opportunity to local populations. This is a crucial fact that people usually miss about this film; both characters say and do questionable things that would sting your moral compass, but only one of them actually puts in some honest effort to achieve their aims. This film is the ultimate character study and details the life and work of a fictional man in a very real world during a brand new era of American history. An epic period-piece and oozing with effort and talent from the beginning to the final line of dialogue. 10/10. My favourite film of them all. A masterpiece.
 
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[video=youtube;IMgTrTiEWys]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMgTrTiEWys[/video]
 
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It didn't just strike a cord, it changed my life.
 
Too many to count...but watched Mr Holland's Opus (how on earth did I ever not come across this film before) a few weeks back and it made me well up...just a little. I love films that inspire me.

Richard Dreyfuss in this moving scene from Mr. Holland's Opus

[video=youtube;j0IMASimhRo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0IMASimhRo[/video]
 
Films that left me feeling emotional... Gosh, there are so many.
Give me beautiful shots of nature or poetic narrative set to atmospheric music, and I'll automatically be in tears. :D

Cutting to a few though, that are both emotionally touching and technically well-made (in my judgment):

Life of Pi
The Tree of Life
Forrest Gump
Slumdog Millionaire
The Theory of Everything
Perfect Sense
Billy Elliott
Room

Ashes and Snow
Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds

Most of Hirokazu Koreeda
Rang-e Khoda
La Vita e Bella
Queen
Raanjhanaa
Taare Zameen Par
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
 
Flavus Aquila said:
Some films that had an impact on me and still can:
* The Game (Michael Douglas)
* Amadeus (F. Murray Abraham)
* Interstellar (Matthew McConaughey)
* Event Horizon (Sam Neil)
* Zulu (Michael Cain and Stanley Baker)
* White Buffalo (Charles Bronson)

Looking at my short list there are some common elements:
* With the exception of the horror films (Event Horizon and White Buffalo), these films have powerful soundtracks. The Game relies on the minimalist music in the style of Messien, which is broken in a moment of utter chaos by 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane. Interstellar's use of pipe organ and brass was absolutely compelling.
* The main characters in these films were highly controlled and restrained in their emotions, but nevertheless manage to completely wrench one's guts with human reality. I once overheard a chef explaining the art of a great desert: A great desert strongly tempers and controls the sweetness, so that it is definitely there, but does not ever become the principal flavour of the dish. The effect is that emotional gravity is generated and built towards a climax, without you really knowing it is building, but once there it has the ability to genuinely move you.
* The cinematography combines both narrational sequences and elements which are more in common with photography - a visual communication of significance and story, which explains the visual plot.
Click to expand...

Not bad. I liked The Game. As a note I thought Event Horizon sucked.
 
The Keep
 
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