Senna (2010)

IMDb plot summary: A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
Directed by Asif Kapadia.

Let me preface this by saying that sports movies are very much not my thing and I always have trouble ranking documentaries alongside other movies. Documentaries so often seem more like textbooks in visual form, rather than anything -- for lack of a better term -- artistic. So I went into this a little uncertain. And most of it does fall into a fairly dry cataloging of Ayrton Senna's accomplishments. Two things help it stand out for me, however. One is how it ends. I knew nothing about Senna, had no idea he died tragically in a racing accident at a young age, so seeing it follow him up to the very ending of his life was startling but also ultimately very moving. The clips of the people of Brazil talking about what he had meant to them as a popular figure were very touching. The other thing that I didn't necessarily notice at first but that really started hitting me when I thought about it, was how firmly the documentary stayed in the years it was talking about. All the footage came from those years in the 1980s and 1990s, with any after-the-fact commentary being provided solely in voiceover, and even then, there wasn't much of it. Most spoken comments came from then-current interviews or discussions. This had the effect of not feeling like someone is lecturing me about the past from the present, but really trying to recreate the sensation of being part of this world at this time. It's fairly effective -- just about as effective as an athlete's documentary bio can be for me, I think!

How it entered my Flickchart:
Senna > Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Senna < The Village
Senna < Death to Smoochy
Senna < Journey to the Center of the Earth
Senna > Adama
Senna > Once Upon a Time in the West
Senna > The Silver Chair
Senna > Neighbors
Senna > No eres tu, soy yo
Senna < The Good Dinosaur
Final spot: #1294 out of 2944.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

IMDb plot summary: An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences with his band of misfits.
Directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, and Oliver Reed.

(Very mild spoilers ahead.)

I frequently love Terry Gilliam. His work with Monty Python is great, of course, but as a director, The Fisher King is in my top 250 movies and Brazil is a fascinating watch. 12 Monkeys didn't make an impact on me when I first watched it but I've grown to appreciate it. It's kind of interesting that Gilliam's distinctively whimsical tone plays best for me in less whimsical genres: psychological drama and post-apocalyptic sci-fi. With Baron Munchausen, the genre Gilliam's going for is adventure fantasy, and while you'd think that would be the perfect fit, it's not as interesting to me as I expected. Maybe it's that I need something to ground Gilliam's work, to be the basis for his whimsy. Here, the adventure is all play and nothing deeper. The few attempts to reach slightly more emotional depths (for example, when Sally urges him not to give in to Death) come seemingly out of nowhere with no impetus, so they can't make much of a mark. The adventuring parts are fun, and there are funny and entertaining moments throughout, but it feels hollow when it comes down to it.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen > Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen < Extremities
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen < Death to Smoochy
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen > Blade
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen < Be Kind Rewind
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen > Invictus
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen > The Master
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen < The Cutting Edge
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen < Monsters
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen > Mudbound
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen > A Chorus of Disapproval
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen > Frank
Final spot: #1214 out of 2943.

Andhadhun (2018)

IMDb plot summary: A series of mysterious events change the life of a blind pianist who now must report a crime that was actually never witnessed by him.
Directed by Sriram Raghavan. Starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, and Anil Dhawan.

This movie started off as what looked like a typical romance, and then it took a HARD right turn into a pretty entertaining thriller, which is a fun path for it to take. A lot of the acting and beats are a little over-the-top, but they kept me thoroughly engaged, and I found the ending extremely satisfying. This isn't a great profound work of art but it's an entertaining movie that is just a lot of fun.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Andhadhun > Liz & Dick
Andhadhun < Extremities
Andhadhun > Run Fatboy Run
Andhadhun > Spanglish
Andhadhun > The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Andhadhun < Carefree
Andhadhun > Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Andhadhun > Billy Elliot the Musical Live
Andhadhun < Roxanne
Andhadhun > Trouble in Paradise
Andhadhun < The Mummy (1932)

Final spot: #789 out of 2941.

A Silent Voice (2016)

IMDb plot summary: A young man is ostracized by his classmates after he bullies a deaf girl to the point where she moves away. Years later, he sets off on a path for redemption.
Directed by Naoko Yamada. Starring Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yûki, and Kenshô Ono.

(Spoilers ahead.)

This film has pieces that work really well but most of them don't come together into a satisfying whole. I'm willing to blame part of this disconnect on the badly translated subtitles I had on my copy of the film -- I could understand what was going on, but it wasn't eloquent, and I'd be willing to believe something got missed in that process. However, overall I had trouble buying into Ishida's redemption arc. Taking an overt bully and telling the story of him being victimized later requires some darn good storytelling to pull off, and it just feels haphazard here, which left me feeling very uncomfortable rooting for someone who was clearly in a lot of pain, but who had responded to that pain by bullying a disabled student out of her school. If you're going to tell this story, it has to be done carefully, and there was not a lot of care taken here. That being said, it has some really beautiful moments portraying the difficulty of living with mental illness -- I was particularly struck by the early scene of Ishida's mom frantically trying to make him promise not to attempt suicide again. But these great individual moments don't add up to a great movie.

How it entered my Flickchart:
A Silent Voice > Music Within
A Silent Voice < Extremities
A Silent Voice < 12 Angry Men (1997)
A Silent Voice > Blade
A Silent Voice > Now You See Me
A Silent Voice < Eyes Wide Shut
A Silent Voice > We Need to Talk About Kevin
A Silent Voice < The Last Unicorn
A Silent Voice > Following
A Silent Voice < The Call
A Silent Voice > Wide Awake
Final spot: #1163 out of 2940.

Woman in the Dunes (1964)

IMDb plot summary: An entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.
Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. Starring Eiji Okada and Kyôko Kishida.

I knew absolutely nothing about this going into it. My reaction to it is... a little torn. I love a lot of it -- it brilliantly builds this very distinct location. I could almost feel the sand watching it. And I enjoyed the process, and could see how this could be someone's favorite movie. But it never gelled with me emotionally as much as I wanted it to. More of an instance of quietly nodding and thinking, "Ah, yes, that was good," but without hitting any deeper emotional connection for me, which is surprising and kind of disappointing. I suspect it's one that will climb higher on my chart with a little distance -- we shall see.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Woman in the Dunes > Interiors
Woman in the Dunes > Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Woman in the Dunes < Breaking Away
Woman in the Dunes < What We Do in the Shadows
Woman in the Dunes > Brave
Woman in the Dunes < Open Your Eyes
Woman in the Dunes < A Raisin in the Sun
Woman in the Dunes > La La Land
Woman in the Dunes < Dark Passage
Woman in the Dunes < The Great Race
Woman in the Dunes < Autumn Sonata
Woman in the Dunes < Deadpool
Final spot: #631 out of 2939, or 79%. That is much higher than I thought it would land, but I think I'm OK with it.

Sliding Doors (1998)

IMDb plot summary: A London woman's love life and career both hinge, unknown to her, on whether or not she catches a train. We see it both ways, in parallel.
Directed by Peter Howitt. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, John Hannah, John Lynch, and Jeanne Tripplehorn.

This is a very cool concept for a movie, one that I've seen done several times since then (and frequently referenced as being "Sliding Doors" stories, so this has definitely left its mark on pop culture). That being said, the stories they choose to tell after the two paths diverge aren't that interesting. They follow very typical (and even very similar) narrative paths. Maybe they were trying to make some kind of point about small changes making a life seem radically different, but I just kind of felt like I was watching two different drafts of the same uninteresting romance. I would have loved to see a tone shift or a drastically different outcome rather than the tedious "will that dude leave the woman he cheated on Gwyneth Paltrow with?" question. Disappointing.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Sliding Doors < Interiors
Sliding Doors > Pretty in Pink
Sliding Doors > Deceiver
Sliding Doors < Aladdin
Sliding Doors > Bobby
Sliding Doors < After the Thin Man
Sliding Doors < The Man in the Iron Mask
Sliding Doors < The 5th Wave
Sliding Doors > Lust for Love
Sliding Doors > 10 Things I Hate About You
Sliding Doors > Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Sliding Doors > Checking Out
Final spot: #1733 out of 2938.

Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990)

IMDb plot summary: A collection of tales based upon the actual dreams of director Akira Kurosawa.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Starring Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baishô, Mieko Harada, and Chishû Ryû.

I've never seen a Kurosawa I didn't like, though I was a little nervous as this one got going and I realized it was a series of fable-like dreams rather than a strong narrative. However, I shouldn't have been nervous. Kurosawa is a unbelievably compelling storyteller, even when there isn't much story to be had, and I ultimately really enjoyed this. I liked that while there were some prevailing themes throughout (particularly toward the end, with the final three all looking at man's relationship to nature), there was a lot of variety in the tone of the pieces, from sad to scary to triumphant to peaceful. This film is going to sit with me for awhile.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams > Incredibles 2
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams > Rock of Ages
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams < E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams < Shoplifters
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams > The Bells of St. Mary's
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams < Philadelphia
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams < The Goodbye Girl (2004)
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams > The African Queen
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams > The Great Race
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams > Key Largo
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams > Elf
Final spot: #620 out of 2937.