When I see a magazine promising me a list of the 101 Greatest Films I've Never Seen, I usually don't expect very much. They're usually full of things like the early films of the notably unknown Martin Scorcese, or are breathless about films I saw in a multiplex in the 90s.
But when Sight and Sound does it, like it did in an issue a few months ago, it really is 101 films I haven't heard about. Its list - an off-shot of its perennial Greatest Movies Ever that it does every decade - really is films of the unknown.
It's fucking intoxicating. Of the 100 films it listed, I've only heard of 20 or so, and have only ever seen half a dozen of them. There's great films from all over the world, from the masterpieces from Africa to the groundbreaking genius in Indian cinema. The films that are pure abstract art, conveying complex themes and messages that are more universal than any dialogue.
I'm always absolutely fizzing to get out of my comfort zone, and desperate to see something like the guerilla documentary Czech Dream; or the unnerving chills of The Halfway House, or the sheer artful power of Quick Billy.
There is some concern that the only film I'm actually really familiar with on this list is Bad Boy Bubby, because holy god, you don't forget that film once you've seen it, but we'll let that go. (Good boy, Bubby.)
Because there is just so much more to see, so much more out there, and I can spend the rest of my life catching up with all the masterpieces I've missed. It's always a good use of time.
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