Top30 Favorite Film Discoveries of 2013
25. The Quiet Family
24. Eternal Summer
23. Under the Hawthorn Tree
I had avoided Zhan Yimou’s Under the Hawthorn Tree (山楂树之恋) for quite a while because a lot of people I know didn’t have much kind things to say about it, but I gotta admit I was deeply moved by the story. Admittedly, it may fall into The Notebook territory, but the ending floors me. AND IT’S A FREAKING TRUE STORY.
For any of you tragic romantic suckers.
There’s also a very beautiful, albeit VERY SPOILERY, music video here.
22. Parineeta
Ooh, the delicate art of Parineeta [1]. Though Saif Ali Khan and (surprise!) Sanjay Dutt are good in here, this one just cemented my love for Vidya Balan after catching Kahaani.
21. Lajja
For many many years, I felt ashamed of liking melodrama. Cinephiles have spoiled my movie-watching, so there are times I questioned my enjoyment of films such as Lajja. It’s BIG on the telenovela aspect when Manisha Koirala is trapped in an abusive marriage to a loaded (I suppose, NRI?) Indian man. She flees to India back to her parents who reject her for bringing shame to the family, flees her parents and husband into different smaller Indian communities where she meets other women in different peril.
It’s incredibly depressing but, at the same time, an incredibly satisfying girly fist-pumping journey. I denounced, shouted at the screen, cheered, danced, gave some more outcries, denounced and cheered some more.
I also fell in love with Madhuri Dixit and Manisha Koirala a little bit more.
20. Doña Bárbara (1943)
Don’t think that I’m a man-hater or anything, but~ Oh.Mah.Gosh. The way Maria Felix delivers lines in Doña Bárbara: “Qué assssco de hombre.” I just couldn’t escape her awesomeness. I didn’t know Mexican classic cinema could deliver that.
19. Tuvalu
18. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S
I never EVER in my life would have imagined someone like Sanjay Dutt could make me think of the word “endearing” when watching them on-screen. But thug Murli Prasad Sharma’s — aka. Munna Bhai — love for his parents is just that. Plus, there’s his whole bromance with Arsha Warsi’s Circuit. They kill me.
17. Center Stage (1992)
16. Omkara
Yay! Magadheera! :D
@Jenna, I find Telugu movies hard to find if they’re not on YouTube. I’m gonna watch some Ram Charan films when I find the time.
Great list, and yes, very Indian film heavy. But there are a lot of good films on that list! I see a few on there from other countries I have to check out now. :)
@Jenna, except for both the titles in Spanish, everything else is quite easy to find with subtitles. I’m actually surprised Maria Felix films are so hard to find.