Musical
Jalsaghar ( The Music Room)/1958/Bengali
FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir: Satyajit Ray
Why FiC recommends?
1) This is a film about a fallen aristocrat whose belief system constantly gets disrupted in a changing socialist India.
2) The film is an Ode to Indian Classical Music and consists of memorable performances by some of India’s greatest musicians.
Whale Music (1994)
FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir: Richard J. Lewis
Why FiC recommends?
1) As a cinephile, finding a movie this original is something to sing about. It’s weird movie, true; but this film has created a world that is wonderful and bleak. The direction is beautifully good, the cinematography is perfection, the screenplay is professionally written, and the connection between all of the characters are just so enduring. It is a film that you will not regret giving a shot.
2) The music in this alone is worth seeking this picture out for. The soundtrack of Rheostatics is brilliant, the moments that make this film a musical are the ones that keep the story alive with moments of joviality and enthusiasm.
Space Is the Place (1974)
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: John Coney
Why FiC recommends?
1) The earth cannot move without music. The earth moves in a certain rhythm, a certain sound, a certain note. When the music stops the earth will stop and everything upon it will die. -Sun Ra, Space is the Place.
2) A rare, unmissable trash-culture, sci-fi classic tantalizing glimpse into RA’s fantastical world. One of my favorite musical bios of all time which offers sharp social commentary and a stylish Afrofuturist vision.
Book of Days (1989)
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Meredith Monk
Why FiC recommends?
1) At first glance, it seems like any other experimental drama with medieval theatrics, but it is more than just that. Meredith Monk masterfully directs a flawless combination medieval musical along with a contemporary music theatre with a pseudo-documentary feel about the joy and suffering of human nature.
2) The film draws parallels between the Middle Ages, a time of war, plague, and fear of the Apocalypse. This is an astonishing fiction-within-fiction visual play that ingeniously implicates the viewer supported with highest moral and artistic integrity.
King Of Hearts (Le roi de coeur) /1966 / French
FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir: Philippe de Broca
Why FiC recommends?
1) As an anti-war theme film, “King of Hearts” does not use cold, blood and violence to show the blood red line. This film conveys that message while being utterly charming, it hides the cruel incidents that have happened and using mental institutions as a metaphor for the world outside.
2) King of Hears is a cult film full of absurdness, love and warmth, but also full of cruelty, but its process is beautiful which is an absolute joy to watch.
Through Eyes of the Dead /1999 / English
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Jim Van Bebber
Why FiC recommends?
1) Killjoy vocalist of the band, hardcore gorehound when it comes to extreme metal and his love for the genre got him associated with Fred Vogel (August Underground) of Toetag pictures and Cult filmmaker Jim Van Bebber to create Through Eyes of the Dead.
2). Any Necrophagia will appreciate this documentary, each song has its story, and you hear all of them with tribute to Lucio Fulci featuring clips from The Beyond and also from Cannibal Holocaust, a wet dream for death metal fans and gorehounds!
Dancer in the Dark/2000/English,German,Czech
FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir: Lars von Trier
Setting: Suburban/Small-town
Why FiC recommends?
1) Cinema fraternity should thank those few directors who bring in a sudden new dimension to cinema possibilities. Writer-Director Lars Von Trier belongs to that group. Dancer in the Dark is yet another gem in his filmography.
2) What to say about Bjork! A lifetime performance as an actor and as a music composer (and singer) a soul squeezing contribution.
3) Not an easy watch! better keep some tissues for the tears. The movie is intentionally tailored that way!
Searching For Sugar Man/2012/English
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Malik Bendjelloul
Why FiC recommends?
1) Time and again documentaries have proven that real life can be stranger than fiction.This is one such story of two fans who set about to find their musical idol whose life is nothing short of an enigma.
2) The songs throughout the feature adds beautifully to the atmosphere of the proceedings and can be counted as another leading character in itself.
LETO/2018/Russian
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Kirill Serebrennikov
Why FiC recommends?
1) It is beautifully shot and is a perfect ode to youth and rock in Soviet Russia.
2) There are filmmakers who have contributed to this genre, but Serebrennikov may be the only one to have succeeded in this initiative of linking music to political protest.