My Criterion Top 10

One of the many features that makes the Criterion Collection amazing is their recurring Top 10 series. They ask various pop culture personalities (mostly film) to supply a list of their 10 favorite Criterion films. It’s a great way to learn about important and/or unique cinema. Most importantly, I love that it’s a synaptic slice of the writer’s movie psychosis. Criterion offers such a wide variety of genres, themes, and directors that choosing 10 specific films says something about your personality. In the coming days and weeks, I’ll be presenting The Criterion Top 10 Series, a series of articles from many of my very favorite film writers, critics, and theorists on the internet and in my circle of friends. Strap yourself in because the next several days are going to feature some incredible writing about some equally incredible films. To kick it all off, here is my own Criterion Top 10.

The Recurring Motifs of French Cinema

Watch any genre or sub-genre enough and you’ll eventually pick up several recurring elements and themes. Prime example: cop films and low angle shots, occasionally of helicopters. Hot Fuzz (2007) famously spoofed it from Bad Boys (1995). Having watched an absurd amount of French films in the last 50 days, I can assure you that French cinema is no different. Here are some recurring themes that appear all over the history of French cinema.

Saturation: Devouring The Complete Jean Vigo

I spend most of my November looking forward to the colossal feast that awaits on Thanksgiving at the end of the month. The anticipation builds, and my stomach’s excitement is palpable. The holiday finally arrives after weeks of waiting and my plate quickly fills with the Titans of Thanksgiving- turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes. And all of them disappear in a horrifying flurry, victims of a 30 day hunger pang. It’s all so delicious. But at some point, the stomach becomes saturated. Despite the bursts of flavor coming from my plate, the meal gradually becomes less enjoyable. By the time it’s over, I’m stuffed, left clinging to the memories of the first incredible bites to wash away the still delicious but far less enjoyable final portions. That is precisely how I felt after watching all four of Jean Vigo’s films back to back to back to back.