It’s getting late in the season, and most of you (though probably not as many as you’d think) have already finished all of your holiday shopping. In the last minute rush, though, things get kind of foggy, and you’re more likely than ever to make woefully undercooked decisions that seem borderline psychotic the instant that ripped open wrapping paper reveals them to your friends and family. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t take risks, as most of the best presents are completely unexpected, and demonstrate that you trust in the receiver’s intelligence and sense of adventure (which might be worth it alone). Even if stores have everything on their wish list in stock, you might want to think twice. Titles here are linked to their Amazon pages.
If they ask for The Pacific, try
Come And See
If all they’re looking for is sheer breadth and comprehension, you might want to stick with the mainstay World at War or the more recent WWII in HD (which I really can’t recommend highly enough). But if you’re looking for a raw, intense war film, you’d be hard pressed to find one that delivers harder and faster than Come and See. Though it has virtually nothing to add to the general understanding of the war, director Elem Klimov was so determined to get authentic reactions from his actors that he had live rounds of ammunition fired at them. Most Americans seem to think of the war as an idyllic, simpler era, but if this film is any indication, the former Soviets demonstrate that the only real feeling that they had towards it was really, really pissed off (the original title was Kill Hitler).
If they ask for Iron Man 2, try
Darkman
For some reason, Hancock is still one of the highest selling DVDs on Amazon two years after it came out on home video. I don’t know why; I haven’t seen it. But from everything that I’ve heard about it, I’d rather be watching Darkman, Sam Raimi’s first stab at the superhero film. Long before anything was rebooted or had the messy air of dignity thrust upon it, Liam Neeson was a superhero with a replaceable face out to seek revenge against the mob that caused the lab accident that…do you really need to hear the end of a sentence that contains both ‘Liam Neeson’ and ‘lab accident’? You shouldn’t, but in case you do, a pre-Fargo Frances McDormand also appears in the film as his wife. Imagine what Spider-man would have been like without all that moping (but still plenty of high wire melodrama). Got it? It’s Darkman.
If they ask for Glee (in any of its incarnations), try
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
I realize that I’m getting away from the original notion of films for the drama lover, but then again, it’s hard to think of a musical that doesn’t have some pretty heavy stuff going on. I mean, a lot of the time, there are two people that want to get together, and they can’t for an easily surmountable reason. At the very least, they treat whatever’s going as high drama, but damned if they’re not going to sing about it. For anyone enamored with Glee (something that is apparently the case for reasons I’ll never understand), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a perfect addition/antidote. The problems faced by a young Catherine Deneuve are nothing new, but instead of bursting into song when the feeling strikes her, she sings throughout the entire film, a test of musical dexterity that the film is amazingly able to pass.
If they ask for Toy Story 3, try
Grave of the Fireflies
A lot of people claimed after Toy Story 3 that they had seen the most depressing animated film ever made. Those people have not seen Grave of the Fireflies. Set in the Japan immediately after World War II, Fireflies focuses on Seita and Setsuko, two siblings struggling to survive in the barren and empty post-war landscape. But unlike Toy Story 3, whose melancholy seems to come out of nowhere (did you expect for the lead characters to trapped inside a giant furnace when you went into the film?), Fireflies paces itself well, letting you know well ahead of time the kind of odds that these kids are up against and hitting each beat with deadly accurate precision.
If they ask for Inception, try
Twelve Monkeys
You might not be able to draw a direct line of influence between Inception and Twelve Monkeys, but the spirit of questioning reality and intellectual adventure is easily the same. But if Inception represents the carefully posed questions of a thoughtful academic, Monkeys is the delusional ravings of a belligerent madman, totally unsure if what he’s saying counts as funny, scary, or simply nonsensical. It’s also Terry Gilliam’s best film, probably because it’s his most coherent without sacrificing his inclination towards wacky ideas (Brad Pitt’s explanation of the ‘probability matrix’ might be his crowning moment as an actor). It’s also your only opportunity to see Bruce Willis drool all over himself, and pull a tooth out because he’s convinced that there’s a transmitter in it. Inception only wishes it had that.
If they ask for The Blind Side, try
Hoop Dreams
Hollywood has always struggled with representing racial issues, but it’s mostly settled on channeling them into sports films, where elaborate metaphors for harmony and integration can be found in athletic victory and teamwork. Though it’s not purely a Hollywood film, Hoop Dreams manages to nail the role that the sports industry (and it surely is that) plays in sewing our social fabric, and it only takes three hours of your time to do it (which is still shorter than the time commitment to the average game). Even though a number of serious issues are dealt with (drug addiction, poverty), they never play out in political terms, nor do they minimize the reality breadth or depth of larger issues involved. This wouldn’t mean anything if the film weren’t involving, and I guarantee you, by the time that the hour-mark passes, you will be wishing success on these two boys like you didn’t even for Rocky.
If they ask for, Twilight: Eclipse, try
Let The Right One In
The protagonists of Let The Right One In are younger than the ones in the Twilight series, but you wouldn’t think it; they’re smarter, stronger, and far more mature in the way that they go about their cross-species relationship. It’s totally platonic this time around though, but that doesn’t mean that its fangs are any less sharp: these vampires have their bloody process worked out to a cold exact science (that doesn’t involve sparkling). But there’s also a refreshing change of spirit that Twilight fans would probably appreciate. While the romance of Edward and Bella preaches the gospel of restraint, The Right One boldly advises you that when you’re faced with something challenging and strange, you should go for it.
If they ask for Harry Potter, try
Beauty and the Beast (La Belle Et La Bete)
None of the Harry Potter films are shorter than two and a half hours in length. La Belle et la Bete is a mere 90 minutes in length, but it manages to explore a world no less dense than the one in Harry Potter, and pack in even more inspired acts of magic (the mirror alone is worth the price of admission). In spite of this, the film never drags, and moves with a brisk pace that even the later Disney animated films that it inspired would be envious of. The plot will be familiar to anyone who has seen the musical, but the humor, melodrama, and impressive production values (all the more impressive for having been made in 1946) would seem impressively realized in any era.
If they ask for Avatar, try...
Dead Man
Though Avatar was frequently accused of stealing its plot from Dances With Wolves, the whole white guy learns the ways of the people he’s supposed to be destroying motif has been used countless times over the years. But out of all of these adventures, none had the courage to go further than Dead Man did. Part western (Johnny Depp’s William Blake finds himself on the run after shooting a man in self-defense), part art film (the black-and-white compositions, though just as handsome as Avatar’s, might try the patience of some viewers), and part vision quest, Dead Man has just about everything that your friend complaining about the state of current Hollywood filmmaking could want. And for anyone else, it also features Johnny Depp years before he was Jack Sparrow, reducing the risk that anyone will have anything to complain about.
If they ask for "whatever", try...
Heavenly Creatures
This is admittedly more of a personal favorite than a recommendation that should necessarily be foisted on everyone you know, but hear me out. Everyone you know is probably familiar with Peter Jackson’s later work, but his later success hasn’t really expanded awareness of his earlier films beyond those who already knew about them, which is too bad. Heavenly Creatures takes Jackson’s mastery of (and obvious love for) practical effects and merges it with the heart-breaking story of two mom-slaying teenagers more organically than he (or anyone else) has managed to since. Even as the two lead characters (young Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet, sharing lesbian kisses way before it was the cool thing to do) sink into a fantasy world of their own making, Jackson never loses sight of what they are looking for, or of the mania that propels them to such conclusions. In summation, it is a harrowing, often funny, and strange experience that hits you from way out of left field, and it’s unlikely that anyone you give it to will fully see it coming. Trust me, they’ll thank you for this one.
