Welcome to MovieJawn’s first ever Sound & Vision Poll, where our writers share why they love their 10 favorite movies of all time!

by Ashley Jane Davis, Staff Writer

I must be honest about how I rate movies. For me, it’s all about the emotions and the characters. If the movie makes me experience deep emotion? I’m sold. If I like the characters (or find them intriguing), I will happily sit through anything. What about all the other important aspects of filmmaking, you ask? Yeah yeah, I know, I love when they’re great too. But that’s a bonus. They just don’t mean as much to me. 

I don’t care if an idea seems silly. I don’t care if nothing seems to happen. I don’t care if a scene goes on too long. I don’t care when a filmmaker includes things that don’t contribute to the plot. I don’t care if there are plot holes. And most importantly, I don’t care if a movie makes no sense! As my guy David Lynch says, “I don’t know why people expect art to make sense. They accept the fact that life doesn’t make sense.”

That being said, here are my top ten picks, featuring emotions and characters I just love to spend time with:

Tokyo Story (dir. Yasujirō Ozu, 1953)

I love every Ozu film that I’ve seen because they all gently reveal the wonder of everyday life. Most days of our lives are very ordinary, and my philosophy is to see the beauty of that – in the good and the bad. Sure, this movie is about family and generational divides, but I love watching because it causes me to reflect on the cycle of life. The thing I love the most about Tokyo Story is that it is not emotionally manipulative. Ozu is not telling us how to feel or hinting that someone is right, and someone is wrong. He just allows us to feel. I wish a lot more directors would learn from him. What a beautiful thing to love, and help others realize that they are important to us.

Ponette (dir. Jacques Doillon, 1996)

Sitting with grief is so very human. It aches and it lingers, because we have love for someone and don’t know where to put it. Love not expressed eats the soul (more on that later!). I don’t really have proper words to express how much this film means to me. The absolute miracle of this movie is that we never hear an adult’s point of view. Adults love to think that they know everything (they don’t) and love to give their opinions, but guess what! Not here!! I think kids are incredibly wise and in tune with the things in life that really matter. Ponette’s journey in search of her mother was one of the most healing things I’ve ever watched.

In the Mood for Love (dir. Wong Kar-wai, 2000)

I am a certified expert of longing, having it be my daily norm for 30+ years. I first saw In the Mood for Love at the most intense peak of my longing years, and it just about broke my heart. Now that I’ve moved on from longing, I admit that this movie doesn’t feel the same to me as it once did. But now I can admire the beauty of the film itself, and remember what this all felt like, grateful to be where I am now.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (dir. David Lynch, 1992)

If you didn’t know, Laura Palmer is actually my guardian angel. I love her more than any character I have ever seen or read about. This film allows us to see Laura in the extremely rare moments where she is really herself (when she is writing in her diary). As with any movie, but especially a David Lynch movie, there are about a million ways to interpret this. My choice is to see Laura protecting her loved ones, breaking a horrible family cycle of abuse, and finally witnessing protection herself – something she never experienced from anyone on earth. 

Do The Right Thing (dir. Spike Lee, 1989)

I don’t think this movie will ever stop being relevant. There are so many injustices millions of people face daily that I will never understand. I don’t know what it’s like, but I know that I hate it. Disapproval of injustice leads to action, and action leads to change. I am so humbled by this incredible movie.

Winter Light (dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1963)

In the film’s opening mass scene, the camera follows the attendees. Together, yet alone. No sense of community, but instead tremendous loneliness in a search for hope, each person living in their own heads. It made me deeply reflect. Why was I looking to others to give my life purpose? Watching Winter Light shook me. I finally felt it was okay to have these doubts, it was okay to be finished with the phony performance of that religion. However, there is a warning here too - what Tomas could not do was unravel himself from his own problems to make space to be compassionate. He stopped connecting with others. Bergy reminds me – never forget compassion!

Rear Window (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)

Ah, here’s a rare favourite where I dislike the main character. For me, this movie is all about the surroundings. First, it’s the other humans in Jeff’s apartment, Lisa and Stella. He is lucky as hell to have these wonderful women in his life. But another draw for me is the sense of community. My favourite shots are of the courtyard - scenes of folks just living their own lives in their apartments. The mingling of the music with street noises and conversations – just thinking about the atmosphere of it all is very comforting to me. I mean ya, besides the murder. I find people endlessly fascinating. Being around them, but from a distance? This is living!

Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)

Earlier I mentioned that unexpressed love eats the soul. And so does fear. This movie is powerful, and I wish I heard folks talking about it more. It shows how judgmental and hateful people can be when they think they know best, but ultimately our decisions are our own. What’s more important – avoiding judgment? Or being true to ourselves? Emmi and Ali are a couple I root for. Neither one is perfect, and their relationship definitely has trials. But they are not looking for perfection. When I first saw this, it planted a seed, and ultimately grew to me transforming my own life. This film is quite honestly life-changing for me. 

The Innocents (dir. Jack Clayton, 1961)

Is this the 40th time I am mentioning this movie in MovieJawn? Probably. The more I think about it, the more layers unfold to me. Currently I’m feeling that this movie is about the reckoning of our shadow selves. We see it with lil Miles, and we know Miss Giddens is next. I very much feel that this reconciliation is a critical task of life and for that fact, I love watching art that makes me sit with these feelings. Oh, and I love being wrapped in the spooky gothic atmosphere!

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (dir. Steven Spielberg, 1982)

Where Laura Palmer is my guardian angel? E.T. is my Heavenly Father. Spielberg is nothing like Ozu and his movies are extremely manipulative, but dammit, I’m okay with that just this once (I mean it). E.T. – like, the actual being – has taught me SO much about life. I’m not kidding, folks. I mean, we’ve established by now that I am moved by kids dealing with grief, and it’s so true that our real family can fail us, but E.T. opens up a galaxy of healing possibilities. An intelligent creature who takes time to learn from and love lesser beings, and a kid who dearly wants to help this creature rather than own something for himself? That’s real love.