Miss Profe’s Film Faves

Giving props to Lucky White Girl, who has recently posted an installment of her greatest hits, I was inspired to do the same. However, unlike LWG, I am not sure if I will come up with 100. We’ll see.

Anyhoo, here they are. I have seen many of these films several times. They’re that good.

Aimee and Jaguar. 1999. A German film set during World War II, and was written and directed by Max Färberböck. It tells the real-life story of the relationship between Lilly Wust and Felice Schragenheim.
21 Grams. 2003. A drama written by Guillermo Arriaga and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. It interweaves several plot lines in non-linear fashion, and tells of the consequences of a tragic automobile accident and the people who are brought together.
Kurosawa. 2001. Originally broadcast on PBS, this film is recognized as “the definitive documentary on the life and work of Japanese film master Akira Kurosawa.”
25th Hour. Spike Lee. The morality tale of a young man who has 24 hours before going to jail.
She’s Gotta Have It. 1986. Spike Lee. Spike’s first film, shot in black and white. It’s a comedy-drama about a sexually independent woman.
Straight Out of Brooklyn. 1991. Matty Rich. Matty shot this film in his grandmother’s apartment when he was 17. He tells the story of the life of a teenager in a NYC housing project. Raw and gritty. Critically acclaimed film.
American History X. 1998. Directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna, this film tells the story of a reformed Neo-Nazi who is trying to save his brother from a white supremacist group.
Bamboozled. 2000. Spike Lee. A very satirical film about a modern-day minstrel television show and the fallout it creates.
The Believer. 2001. Based on a true story and written and directed by Henry Bean, the film tells of the life of Danny Balint from fervent religious student to rising star in a neo-fascist political movement. Lots of twists and turns.
Downfall. 2004. A German film written by Bernd Eichinger and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. Told from the point-of-view of Traudl Junge, Adolf Hitler’s personal secretary, the film presents the last days of Hilter and Nazi Germany.
Vera Drake. 2004. Set in England in the 1950s, it is the story of a woman whose beliefs and practices run counter to the societal expectations of her times.
The Celebration. 1998. Set in Denmark, it is the story of a very dysfunctional family at the celebration of the patriarch’s 60th birthday. Fascinating, riveting, and emotional.
Dance With A Stranger. 1985. Set in England during the 1950s, it tells the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in England.
A Huey P. Newton Story. 2001. Another Spike Lee joint, it is Roger Guenveur Smith’s dynamic one-man performance on the thoughts, philosophies, history and flavor of Black Panther co-founder and American revolutionary Huey P. Newton.
Lost and Delirious. 2001. Directed by Léa Pool. Set at a girls’ boarding school, it is the story of the relationship of two girls as observed and told by their roommate. As a teacher, the story touched me very deeply. Piper Perabo is riveting.
The Long Good Friday. 1980. Directed by John Mackenzie. I am not sure why I like this film so much. I have seen it at least five times. Perhaps because it stars Bob Hoskins in the lead role. It is the story of a London gangster trying to become a legit businessman. Lots of mystery and intrigue. Helen Mirren plays the wife, and she is superb.
Bully. 2001. Based on the true story of Bobby Kent, and the events leading to his murder in 1993 by seven teenagers. Dark, depressing, and compelling.

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