Citizen Kane (1941)

AFI Top 100: 1

Nominee

It has taken a number of viewings (namely three) but Citizen Kane is actually the greatest film ever made...at least that I have seen so far....WHY YOU MAY ASK??? The amount of precision and care and the willingness to be innovative in a time when making movies was formulaic.

The script is soooooo sharp, sometimes it states things that it doesn't really need to because we already figured it out from the shots but besides that we have a level of wit and heightened drama that makes great entertainment.

Then there is the acting. The cast is practically all unknowns, which is nice because we have no previous recollection of any of their work so it does not distract from the story. They provide the emotion that is needed to tell this story while also having a profound understanding of how their parts are adding to the piece, every character seems and is important and they all provided what was required.

The storyline is also intriguing being driven by pure curiosity. What keeps us in our seats? We want to know how he ended up the way he did, and what is rosebud. Those are the only two things keeping us there. There is nothing fancy about it.

Lastly but most importantly (I could go on for hours about this movie but I am cutting myself off) THE SHOOTING!!! Gorgeous, wonderful, rich, innovative story telling. Every shot you could pause the screen and examine every inch of the frame. You will find endless amounts of flawlessly made choices in each one. Which is why you can watch it every time and pick up on something new! A movie that is a new experience every time is hard to find. This is one of them.

Overall: A phenomenal commentary on a life done in a sincerely profound and genuine way. A must see. I might just go watch it again myself.

Awakenings (1990)

Nominee

This a story about the human experience, about how we connect to each other on such poignant levels of understanding, and what the acts of one other person can do to our lives.

Dr.Sayer, played by Robin Williams, is a man who in some ways is just as cut off by society as the catatonic patients he has been given to work with, and for that reason he is willing to put in the time to try to give them what he is having trouble obtaining for himself: human contact. He begins with Leonard Lowe (Robert DeNiro) slowly showing that the simplest things stir him back into our world such as music and physical touch. This leads to a very subtle but strong commentary on what we take for granted and how to best live our lives.

This whole movie could have been dreadfully cliche but it wasn't. The shooting was honest and simple it was not looking to be something grand because like the message of the story, even the little things can mean so much. So the shooting was kept to simple shots that highlighted faces and moments. The acting was along the same lines, it sought just to be real and haunting. I would like to bring up one moment when you see the seamless connection between the shooting and its relationship to the acting, when Leonard sees his mother for the first time in years. He spreads out his arms to embrace her and we see his face from the angle where his mother would be standing. We feel we could just step into the screen and give him that hug.

Robert DeNiro was heart retching in his fight for a life worth living. Also, I feel they always bring Robin Williams in when they need a funny guy, or the outside the box thinker (e.i. Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting). This movie was before the other two so his performance is probably the least polished out of the three but you can see how this was a needed step in his process toward Good Will Hunting.

Overall: This movie brings a very strong important message to the viewer. And it is simply to live, to live and feel every moment of your life. This and the fact that it was done in such a genuine and soft way, I can see how a movie like this might end up being overlooked. However I think so far it should have won over Dances with Wolves. This movie was not meant to be a grand spectacle, it was meant to reach out to you, and I received it whole heartily.