5. The Suspended Vocation (1978; dir. Raoul Ruiz)
Probably one of the most complex films of the 1970s, “The Suspended Vocation” is a film that discusses politics and religion with intriguing visual and narrative choices.
Directed by Raoul Ruiz, the movie follows the relationships between members of the Catholic Church.
With a very unique atmosphere, great production design and cinematography, “The Suspended Vocation” is a very difficult film to describe due to its complexity, but is without a doubt a visually stunning film that is definitely worth watching.
4. The Patience Stone (2012; dir. Atiq Rahimi)
Directed by Atiq Rahimi and based on his homonymous novel from 2008, this is one of the most powerful movies of 2012.
Starring Golshifteh Farahani in an amazing performance, “The Patience Stone” follows the story of a woman who needs to take care of her husband who, with a bullet in his neck, is in a vegetative state. As times goes by, she starts telling her husband how she feels, something she could not do before.
With a great script by Rahimi and Jean-Claude Carrière, “The Patience Stone” has truly great cinematography by Thierry Arbogast and is a very visually stunning film that should definitely be watched.
3. Funeral Parade of Roses (1969; dir. Toshio Matsumoto)
A very important work of the Japanese New Wave, “Funeral Parade of Roses” is a film that had great influence on “A Clockwork Orange,” among other works.
With remarkable cinematography by Tatsuo Suzuki and amazing direction by Toshio Matsumoto, this film should definitely be considered among the most important movies from the 1960s, a decade that had many extremely important films.
“Funeral Parade of Roses” is a visually impressive film and is definitely a movie that should be watched.
2. Entranced Earth (1967; dir. Glauber Rocha)
One of the most important movies in Brazilian cinema, “Entranced Earth” might not be as remembered as “Black God, White Devil,” but is definitely another highlight in the filmography of Glauber Rocha.
A very political film, “Entranced Earth” follows the story of Eldorado, a fictional Latin American country with a very complicated political environment. In this scenario, Paulo Martins (Jardel Filho) is a journalist who finds himself between the elites and the masses.
With astonishing black-and-white cinematography and great dialogue, “Entranced Earth” is another masterpiece by Rocha and a movie that every cinephile should watch.
1. The Angelic Conversation (1985; dir. Derek Jarman)
Derek Jarman is a director who’s made some of the most intriguing visual compositions ever seen in the history of film.
In “The Angelic Conversation” we are able to see the story of a man following his love. With stop-motion photography and Judi Dench reciting 14 of Shakespeare’s sonnets, this is one of the most intriguing films directed by Jarman.
With such incredible metaphors, this is one of the best movies in Jarman’s filmography and a very underrated film (the IMDb rating for the movie is 5.4).
“The Angelic Conversation” is a very poetical and visually stunning film that definitely should be watched by any cinephile.
Author bio: Vítor Guima is a filmmaker, writer and musician. Every day he watches a movie, reads a few pages from a book, listens to an album and freaks out with the feeling of not having enough time to see everything. You can follow him on Instagram on @ovitorguima.