This non-exhaustive list, which identifies several genres and nationalities, invites you to watch films that are each real treasures
The tree of life (2011)
Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2011, this film is an ode to life, describing in ellipses the youth of an architect from a large city in the United States. All this part of life that forms the adult, then offers a cosmic epic and a questioning of the meaning of life on earth. It is also a portrait of the very harsh upbringing of a middle class American family in the 1950s and 1960s. The film is carried by Brad Pitt as a very authoritarian father, Jessica Chastain as a loving and sensitive mother and Sean Penn as an adult growing up who immerses himself in his childhood. Rarely has a film spoken of childhood with such strong emotional and sensory density. Terrence Malik culminates in his way of filming nature to talk about human feelings. A hymn to life that questions and overwhelms the viewer, not to mention the hovering soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat that transcends emotion. An essential film.
Old Boy (2004)
This Korean movie is a true action movie classic. This action film features Oh Dae-Soo, an uneventful family man, who is kidnapped one day for no reason. He learns on television (his only link with the outside world) that his wife has been killed. He also becomes the main suspect. Locked up for 15 years, this father will nourish a devouring revenge, which will keep him alive. Once released without explanation, his rage is expressed. One of the greatest action scenes ever made below, makes this movie definitely worthy of this list. Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004.
The Big Bellezza (2014)
Film about a great journalist with irresistible charm spending his time doing social events. It is these worldliness of which he became the king, which made him climb in this high Roman society. Wore acid men of this great bourgeoisie, steeped in vices and desires. Rome has never been so well filmed, a crazy pleasure for the eyes in front of all these immense Roman palaces and these delightful gardens where all this little world bathes. The actor Toni Servillo (Jep Gambardella) immerses us in this world of which he has understood all the codes, the portrait of a sometimes nostalgic man at the dawn of an inevitable old age. This film goes beyond the craziest party scenes, with music that makes you want to take off. Irresistible world with decadent manners. Paolo Sorrentino amazes us, sometimes considered as Fellini’s heir, especially with this film which can make us think of Mastroianni in the DolceVita. Oscar and Golden Globe for best foreign film in 2014.
Good Morning England (2009)
Probably the movie with the best soundtrack of all time. Composed by Hans Zimmer, it traces all the best rock and pop songs from the 1960s and 70s. The viewer is immersed in this era, when England, still very puritanical, waged war on pirate radio stations broadcasting rock’n roll. This is the story of Carl, a young man of 19, who comes to spend a stay on this Radio Rock boat to learn about adult life and the music of geniuses. The crew is a cocktail of extremely endearing, funny and “rock’n’roll” actors. Philip Seymour Hoffman (the Count), Bill Nighy and Kenneth Branagh are absolutely memorable, the life of this crew simply makes you want to do the same as them. Richard Curtis, the director, achieves a humorous and musical feat.
A Prophet (2009)
One of the best French crime films of all time. Directed by Jacques Audiard, this film revealed actor Tahar Ibrahim to French cinema. True immersion in the heart of the French prison environment where gangs are rampant. The young Tahar Rahim plays Malik, a young man of 19, who has to serve 6 years. Quickly under the yoke of the Corsican clan, of which Niels Arestrup plays the kingpin, the young man will learn quickly and gain confidence in this incredibly violent environment. A strong, poignant film which unveils one of the best French actors of his generation and a Niels Arestrup at his height. A great lesson in cinema. The film won the grand prize at Cannes in 2009 and won 9 César in 2010.