“Times are hard for dreamers…”
There was a time when I used to think the questions, ‘what three things would you take to a desert island?’ or ‘what five people would you have dinner with, living, dead or fictitious?’, were particularly interesting and philosophical. I still think the same way; however, the question now seems to be tainted with tragedy. I think of those five people around the dinner table, how Bill Hicks was taken away from us so soon, and what it says about me as a person when I would like to have dinner with an animated blue fish (Dory out of Finding Nemo). Similarly, with the case of the desert island, I get depressed. Ever since watching Castaway, and having it drilled into me by Lost, I see how the idea of a deserted tropical island is actually a fate worse than death.
Truth be told, I’m taking this exercise in ‘deciding on your favourite films’ far too seriously. But maybe I need to take it seriously. When listing the films I would take to the island, my mind turned to those I admired the most. Films which I consider to be my favourites but which I hardly watch because they depress me. But they are also films that I have a great affinity for. They attune to my sense of being lost and alone, they connect to the part of me that will always be a dreamer. But, thinking literally about what life would be like on a desert island, my mind turned to happier films. Sure, they wouldn’t be my favourites, but at least they would make me feel good. Ghostbusters, American Graffiti, Star Wars and even A Cinderella Story were jotted down on my mental list…and were then scribbled out. In the end, I realised, as potentially depressing as they are, those films I love, those are the films I cannot live without. I’m a loner, and the films I love, are about loners. And ironically enough, I think, at my most alone, I would want them with me. On that note, let us begin…
Before Sunrise/Before Sunset
You got me, I’m trying to smuggle in an extra film. But I figure, it’s the same story, there must be a loophole somewhere. I originally watched Before Sunrise on Sky television when I was a young teenager. I can’t remember if I liked it, I can’t remember what I thought about it. But I do remember that the idea of only two characters talking for the entire film didn’t seem to faze me. In 2003, a friend was enticing me into Richard Linklater, and pointed out Before Sunrise to me. I knew I’d seen it before, somewhere. I watched it again and fell in love with it, as I fell in love with Before Sunset some years later. I have no reasoning for why this is so, or why it deserves to come to the island. I suppose, because in times of loneliness, Jesse and Celine make great conversationalists.
Bringing Up Baby
This is a film that needs to come to the island purely on the basis of entertainment. There is not a funnier film that is acted more superbly than this one. It isn’t my favourite film, I don’t have one, but it is one of the best films ever made. Grant and Hepburn are fantastic and to leave them behind would be a great loss.
Donnie Darko
I’ve watched Donnie Darko less than ten times in my life. But I own four copies of the DVD, and no, they weren’t badly thought out birthday gifts. There’s something incredibly insightful and multi-layered about Donnie Darko. Something, which, when it stops being entertaining, will be able to occupy me for hours of film analysis. I suppose the reason I love it so is because it appeals to a certain part of me. The part that feels doomed. I’m a big believer in logic, but also in fate. And this film combines them and connects them to make one of the most unique stories a film has ever told.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
As mind-bending and depressing as this film has the potential to be, it’s still one of my favourites. I love the story, especially for its philosophy around the idea of memory. And the question of whether we would still go ahead with something if we knew it would eventually cause us harm. Would you go out with someone you really liked, if you knew they would eventually drive you crazy? It’s a film that shows that life is in the living and not in outcomes. I think it may give me pause for thought while alone on the island. And ironically, it might make me less depressed.
Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo has to be one of my favourite films ever. I’m a big scaredy-cat about a lot of things in life, and weirdly enough this film actually made me a little less scared. I think it’s the character of Dory that really does it. People believe that stupid, rash judgements are a bad thing, but Dory has no frame of reference. So not only does she rush into potentially perilous circumstances, she also takes a chance on something that will work out in the end. The film is also a good lesson in the importance of trust and belief. You just have to “keep swimming”. A handy mantra should I decide to try and get off the island… (escaping ‘the others’ and the what-not).
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
It was a toss up between this and Shaun of the Dead, but I figure, if I’m going to smuggle my Spaced Collector’s Box Set onto the island, I’ll have my Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright fix all worked out. Truth be told, the first time I watched Holy Grail, I almost turned it off halfway through. I was ready to hit the ‘off’ button when a small white rabbit began attacking grown men. I’ve never laughed so much. Then the more I watched it, the funnier it got. I love the Monty Python boys purely for the talent of being absurd and then pointing out the stupidity in the absurdity: “You’re king? Well, I didn’t vote for you”.
The Philadelphia Story
This is possibly one of the most well-executed films to have ever been made. From scriptwriting (it was originally a play) to acting, it is perfect. My greatest reason for loving this film, however, lies in only one scene: when James Stewart’s character ‘Mac’ get’s drunk and decides to interrogate Cary Grant’s ‘C. K. Dexter Haven’. Not only is this the best drunk acting an actor has ever produced but it is probably some of James Stewart’s best acting, and definitely some of the best acting the world has ever known. I love this scene, for being real, for being entertaining, and most of all, for being believable.
Spirited Away
I love this film, purely and honestly love it. I was a little freaked out the first time I watched it. Some of the more outlandish sequences were things that I’d actually dreamt. Feeling some kind of kinship with Miyazaki, I then went on to watch everything else he had to offer, but nothing can beat Spirited Away. An excellent story, it is philosophical about what it means to cope by yourself, but it’s also excellent in its creation of an alternate world. A world that doesn’t really need to be judged or explained, it just is. And the beings in it, just are…
The Shop Around The Corner
This was one of the films I first saw when I was trying to watch everything James Stewart had to offer. Hard to come by - it isn’t available on UK video or DVD - it has taken on an almost supreme status in my consciousness. Its lack of popularity hasn’t allowed any critics to condemn or destroy it so it remains pure in that way. When watching it, I quickly realised that this was probably the film You’ve Got Mail was based on, but that didn’t stop me (I don’t mind You’ve Got Mail, I do mind Meg Ryan). It is perfect, it’s warm and witty and wonderful. This was probably what romantic comedy should be. Not some schmaltz dished out by Hollywood, but an honest story. A story, which, as fantastical as it seems, also appears to be the perfect romantic story. I would take this to the island, because although it wouldn’t teach me how to build a makeshift cabin, it would keep me happy.
Waking Life
There are three good reasons for taking this film to the island. Firstly, it is visually superb. Secondly, because it will teach me and get my mind thinking. And thirdly, because it has to be one of the most brilliant films ever made. Waking Life is truly an amazing film; some critics trashed it for being an ‘over-blown, arrogant, philosophy lesson’, but I say nay. Waking Life is beautiful, in all the ways a film can be beautiful. Everything that is spoken is beautiful; all the people are beautiful. And all the while, the film is based around the idea that the dream world is not a subconscious dream state, but is an actual place. A place that exists between our world and the next, a place where you are free of your body. Where adventures can be taken and where existence can be replaced with knowledge. There might not be psychotropic drugs on the island, so this will keep me occupied.
And so you see, I’m sort of a mixed bag. I like my heart-warming Classical Hollywood but I also like my dream-state loner stories. I suppose that’s what appeals to me. I’m a dreamer. I like imaginative adventures into places outside of the natural world. I suppose I like films which don’t only take us into a fictionalised version of our world, but into a different world entirely. I like to leave my body and spin around on the ceiling. If you haven’t seen any of these films, I urge you to. Then we can have a big non-drug induced fantabulosa party on the ceiling of our collective subconscious. “They may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…”
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