by Niel de la Rouviere

Created on: January 18, 2009

Something as subjective as a best movie ever category is so hard to claim, thus I will try best to reveal what are my best movies ever. There is one director that has captured my imagination and holds the top spots for my best movies and this genius of a man is Richard Linklater.

He provokes discussion long after the movie has ended and leaves with you with a sense of awe. My three favourites from him are Before Sunrise, Waking Life and Dazed and Confused. All these movies lack blockbuster computer generate graphics and epic wars and rather opts to go straight to core. It focuses on fundamental human interaction. The dialogue and characters in these movies are extremely well crafted.

Waking Life, probably the weirdest art movie ever, focuses on a kid who apparently just died and now he lives in a Waking Life similiar to lucid dreams. It uses rotoscoping, which traces all the frames with animation, similiar to A Scanner Darkly, to great effect, as it adds to dream-like state of the movie. This kid then meets all these characters in extremely incoherent fashion while they provide the most profound philosophical questions and statements ever captured on film.

Before Sunrise is about a couple who meets on a train and decide to spend one night in Venice and then never see each other again. This almost far-fetched romantic idea is all hold together just by the dialogue. It is amazing what this couple gets up to while they walk the streets of Venice. They talk about their lives, their hopes, fears and beliefs. Very thought provoking. This movies has the best quotes. Go check them out here.

Dazed and Confused is a movie about teens on their last day of school. Nothing really happens in the movie, but it somehow manages to portray the live of teens perfectly. It is one of those movies that one can watch over and over and still take in the amazing atmosphere. The music is exceptionally suited as it has great 70's rock and roll hits. It is also thought provoking and provides one with memorable moments and quotes.

All these films shares the common thought provoking experience and afterwards it feels not as if you have watched a movie, but rather a captured glimpse into these character's lives. Waking Life is perhaps taste, but I would definitely urge you to go watch Before Sunrise, its sequel Before Sunset and Dazed and Confused as they will surely change your life.

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