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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Adding to the list

Ten more movies made to love

 (The Spokesman-Review)
Dan Webster Movies & More Staff writer

Welcome to another chapter in the ongoing cinematic saga “100 Movies That You Need to See Before You Die.”

Though not meant as a list of the Best 100 movies ever made, these recommendations are must-sees for any film- appreciation course. Some film fans might not necessarily embrace, say, “Irreversible” or “Oldboy” – two films that rank among my first 30 choices – but I’m convinced they would learn something worthwhile from the experience.

You can access my first 40 by going online at www.spokane 7.com/blogs/moviesandmore/ archive.asp?cat=100movies.

I’ve tried to avoid the standard kinds of classifications. Instead, I work with themes: “Movies That Make You Think,” “Just When You Thought You’d Seen Every- thing” and “The Lonely Hero.”

For movies 31 through 40, my theme is “Love Will Find a Way – Or Not.”

“City Lights” (1931) – Charlie Chaplin plays his trademark Tramp character, a good man who struggles to find the funds for a blind woman’s eye operation. The film’s heartwarming yet open-ended finale would have driven George Carlin to tears.

“Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944) – One of MGM’s great musical stars, Judy Garland, is the focus of this family-friendly film. The musical benefits from the gravity of Leon Ames and the comic presence of then-7-year-old Margaret O’Brien. But it is Garland who gives the film its sweet – cynics might say maudlin – base.

“Raising Arizona” (1987) – Joel and Ethan Coen’s film stars Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as a mismatched couple who, frustrated at not being able to conceive a child of their own, kidnap a rich man’s son. The love affair at the film’s heart manages, despite the overall comic exaggeration, to feel as real as Hunter’s hick-town accent.

“The Killing Fields” (1984) – Roland Joffé’s movie follows the real-life stories of American reporter Sydney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and Cambodian journalist Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), following the takeover of the country by the murderous Khmer Rouge. Besides documenting a 20th-century horror, the film explores the lengths that friends will go to help one another.

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” (1988) – Based on the novel by Czech writer Milan Kundera, Philip Kaufman’s film centers on the relationship of a doctor (Daniel Day-Lewis) with the two women he loves (Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin). Set during the Prague Spring of 1968, Kaufman’s film is a penetrating study of love and life under oppression.

“Annie Hall” (1978) – Woody Allen’s Oscar-winning (Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay) romantic comedy centers on the struggles that insecure comic Alvy Singer (Allen) has with the bubbly/insecure Annie (Diane Keaton, Best Actress). The film demonstrates how hard it is to make relationships work, especially when they’re wrong from the start.

“The Searchers” (1956) – John Ford’s Western features John Wayne as a bitter Civil War veteran whose rage grows during the years he spends searching for his kidnapped niece (Natalie Wood). The image of Indians isn’t exactly progressive, but Ford is a master at portraying both the beauty of Monument Valley and the depths of obsession.

“La Dolce Vita” (1960) – Italian director Federico Fellini explores a world of tired excess, made poignant by its taking place just 15 years after the horrors of World War II. Marcello Mastroianni portrays a journalist who so loses his way that love can’t save him, giving us an existentialist lesson that might have made Albert Camus smile.

“The Seventh Seal” (1957) – So visual that it became an instant cliché, Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” asks a direct question: Why does God allow horrible things to happen? Bergman may not offer any satisfying answers, but he sure knows how to ask the questions.

“Chinatown” (1974) – Roman Polanski’s film centers on L.A private eye Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) who, caught in the tangled affairs of rich guy Noah Cross (John Huston) and his daughter (Faye Dunaway), stumbles onto the L.A. water grab. Other than the obvious final lines of dialogue, this is period filmmaking at its best.