Five Films to Make You Seem More Interesting at Parties

Everybody wants to have read the best books, watched the right films, and binged the most beloved television shows. We have to consume art as a function of being human. In that spirit, we want to consume the best art possible and have others see us as intellectual peers. This can be accomplished in many ways; whether you consume various Criterion DVDs, go to a local film festival or university run cinema, or just become a picky film watcher. This takes up a lot of time, effort, and money, and you will still be behind the latest craze. For those who want to cover their bases I refer you to these five categories, and five film examples, ensured to at least make you seem like a film aficionado for those brief conversations at family get-togethers or hipster house parties.

Independent Angst

Kicking and Screaming (1995) dir. Noah Baumbach

People love independent films. To have seen an indie is to be cutting edge, intellectual, and strident. If you want to name drop an independent film that’s more experimental watch a Harmony Korine or Alex Ross Perry. If you want something more mainstream go with the Duplass Brothers, Joe Swanson, or Todd Solondz, who all make exceptionally sincere yet moody films. Kicking and Screaming was made twenty years ago but it is increasingly relevant in our current times. The story centers on a group of recent college graduates as they try to figure out the trajectory of their lives, some finding their path whiles others do not. It is also a great introduction to Baumbach, who went on to direct The Squid and the Whale, Frances Ha, and Mistress America.

Foreign Comedy

Priceless (Hors d’Prix) (2006) dir. Pierre Salvadori

Classic foreign films are extremely high profile and every film buff has at least watched a handful. You can name drop some Bergman or Kurasawa, and of course you will receive a head nod that says, “Yes, good, you’re not a complete idiot,” but it will not give in to awe. For that to happen you have to mention a foreign comedy. Comedy is a cultural and autonomist genre that often doesn’t translate for Americans. If you find a foreign comedy funny you will be seen as knowledgeable in other countries’ culture, and therefore you are learned. Other options include any work by Jean-Pierre Jeunet of Amelie fame, Trollhunter, or I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK. Priceless stars Audrey Tautou and France’s Jerry Seinfeld, Gad Elmaleh. Elmaleh performs slapstick like a Buster Keaton trained clown, while also giving emotional resonance in his performance as a waiter turned gold digger. Both of these actors have become quite famous in recent years, and name dropping either will earn you kudos.

Pre-code Hollywood

Baby Face (1933) dir. Alfred E. Green

Having seen an old film is definitely impressive, but having seen an old film that was created before the Hays Code and government censorship is even better. These films were much less restrained than later ventures, and they showed everything from the silhouettes of naked women and polyamory to promiscuity and even prostitution. Other viable candidates include I Am a Fugitive from a Chang Gang, Gold Diggers of 1933, and Scarface. In one of Barbara Stanwyck’s earliest roles she plays Lily Powers, the daughter of a man who pimps her out at his Prohibition Era speakeasy. Under the teachings of Nietzsche she leaves home and sleeps her way to financial independence. The film is especially well known, as its production led to the beginnings of film censorship and the ruminations of our current ratings system. Dropping its name shows a love for film history as well as a taste for infamy.

Obscure Horror

House on Haunted Hill (1959) dir. William Castle

Horror is a dicey genre to bring up in mixed company. Some people love a good monster movie, perhaps an early slasher, but most don’t like the recent stuff. Film buffs usually like their horror to be attached to social issues, like Night of the Living Dead, which starred the first African-American leading character, or Videodrome, which centered on sensory overload in the television era. This film is tame by comparison, but it is historically relevant and its exhibition is infamous. William Castle was famous for creating gimmicks around the showing of his films. For this film he put a string from the top of the screen to the projector and had a skeleton fly over the audience. For his film The Tingler he had buzzers attached to the bottoms of some seats that would “tingle” during pivotal moments in the film. This film also stars Vincent Price who is a seminal horror camp star, and it’s a literary adaption from Shirley Jackson’s The House on Haunted Hill.

Avant-Garde

Synecdoche, New York (2008) dir. Charlie Kaufman

This category is the hardest to define, and find contemporary examples of. You can start with the original European movement of the 1920s and watch René Clair and Hans Richter films, or fifties era Jacques Cocteau, Stan Brakhage, or Andy Warhol, or the emersion of queer avant-garde in the 1980s, with artists such as Barbara Hammer and Su Friedrich. This film may be the most palatable and amusing of the bunch. Kaufman’s work is in itself hard to classify. With writing credits such as Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, you can clearly imagine how enjoyable and intellectually stimulating his directorial debut is. Not enough people have seen this film and experienced its strange twists and turns. You will garner extra gravitas if you spot the recurring visual gags, or understand the various themes relating to mortality, choice, and how art blurs the line between reality and fiction.

There are many other films that I have recommended as essential viewing, such as The White Ribbon, The Red Shoes, The Conversation, or Akira. Choosing what to watch is difficult nowadays. You want to watch something that you’ll truly enjoy, but is also culturally relevant, and that can be a struggle. At least with the five examples I’ve given you, you will undoubtedly enjoy your time spent watching them. Others’ admiration isn’t the only reason to watch film, and shouldn’t be the criterion for what you watch either. Comment below with your film suggestions to further discussion.