40. Ida (2013, Pawel Pawlikowski, Poland)

This multiple awarded film continues to cast its spell on me regardless of how many times I see it. Who can resist this strong and complex drama, that opens so many issues at the same time? Filmed with such austerity that you cannot do much else than feel and contemplate. Frames are kept so minimal that you can’t escape the heavy weight of the story. Set in 1962 it revisits difficult issues of recent Polish history through two women, the 18-year old Anna and her aunt. Anna is an orphan, who has grown up in a convent and is at the verge of taking her vows. Before she does, the Mother Superior of the convent wants her to visit her only remaining relative, her aunt Wanda. Wanda is a desillusioned former prosecutor, once a fervent young communist, now having lost her faith in Stalinism. Through her Anna discovers that her real name is Ida and that she is born Jewish. Together they go on a road trip to find the place where Anna’s parents were killed and are buried. Through their journey we are confronted with the question what you do with the past once you’ve re-discovered it. Can you make peace with it and how?

39. Timbuktu (2014, Abderrahmane Sissako, Mauretania)

Timbuktu is an amazingly filmed, poetically told story of a country, Mali, hanging in the balance between hope and despair. It starts with a running gazelle in the desert, it ends with a young girl running into the desert…towards life or death? The time in between those two scenes is filled with the story of different people living in the city of Timbuktu. Among them the oppression and hardships caused by Islamist extremists becomes harsher and harsher. Sissako shows us many examples of a rich tradition, innocent joys and a caring family life trampled upon and shot to pieces by fanatic invaders acting on the basis of their religious ideology. His anger about beauty and joy destroyed by harsh suppression and his compassion for his people so rich in tradition, music and joy cannot be expressed more eloquently! An extraordinary film!

38. House of Hummingbird (2018, Bora Kim, South Korea)

House of Hummingbird is the semi-autobiographical debut film of 38-year old Korean film director Kim Bora. It is a lovely story of trying to find yourself in a harsh social time and climate. The 14-year old Eunhee is the youngest in a Seoul middle-class family. Her parents are caught up in the chase for upward mobility in the economically expanding South Korea of the 1990’s. Her childhood gets lonely and crushed in a family environment where there is no place nor energy for personal interest and love. Eunhee is the little bird, who is desperately looking for friendship and protection. She walks the streets of Seoul, feels lonely and meets disappointment in the relationships she engages in. Hope starts to shimmer when a new tutor at her school starts to ask her the right questions about her hopes and about the inside of her heart. House of Hummingbird teaches us in a very softly spoken manner that everyone needs someone who takes a true interest, offers a smile and asks a helpful question.

37. Margaret (2011, Kenneth Lonergan, USA)

Among the three films Kenneth Lonergan so far has made (You Can Count On Me (2000), Margaret (2011) and Manchester by the Sea (2016)) I regard Margaret as his masterpiece. Lonergan has run into regular difficulties with Hollywood’s production companies about artistic freedom. Margaret took three years of legal processes before it was released. And even then Lonergan was not happy. He felt that the story demanded the full 186 minutes and should not be shortened!

Margaret starts with a tragedy where 17-year old high school student, Lisa Cohen, unintentionally plays a role in a fatal traffic accident. It marks the start of her struggle with facing her guilt which no one else seems to see or take seriously. The case is officially closed, but not for Lisa. She is driven to act and draws into unpleasant and destructive confrontations one person after the other. Lisa is a teenage New York girl, plunged into adulthood with very little that has healthily prepared her for that. This film shows how hard it is to have a meaningful conversation and to listen well and to process what is said. It is about evasiveness in conversation, about misinterpretation and manipulation. What a script! Look, listen and learn!

36. Oslo, August 31 (2011, Joachim Trier, Norway)

Joachim Trier’s second film, Oslo, August 31 is about one day in the life of Anders, a recovering drug addict. This is the day that he returns from his treatment center to Oslo for a work interview and to see old friends. It deals with the events and conversations of that day. His psyche is fragile and his struggle is not only with finding a job and rejuvenizing his relationships, but also with the meaning of all that. He spends this day searching for his past life. His friends have moved on, built a family, are established in their work and although they are glad to see him again it only reminds him of the attachment, the love and the hope that he lacks. At the end of the day he ends up in his childhood home, alone and empty, and he takes his final shot.

Starting with hope, ending with tragedy, this film kept me thinking about the life-saving importance of intimacy in relationships, what we can we do to attain them and how we can hold on to them.