226. Love suicides (2009)

Country: Malaysia
Directed by Edmund Yeo

Malaysia has a very interesting new wave movement with a dozens of young directors to produce quite interesting films, one after the other. Some of these gems are short movies because when you are making art, that as we know often is unpopular, it is not easy to find the budget for many full length films. Love suicides, addaption of a story of Yasuhiro Kawabata, it is not a very exeptional film but still it deserves to be in this list becauseof the minimal and beautiful way that depicts the destruction of ourselves when we can't deal with the loss of our loved ones

You can watch the film here: https://youtu.be/b-gvYajdxSk

225. Late spring (1949)

Country: Japan
Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

One of the greatest Ozu movies, among these that gave him a reputation of one of the best directors of all time, Late spring is a masterpiece that is really hard to be analysed with words. Once more, while you watch it, you are amazed of its simplicity that is able to incorporate complex social ideological comments, of how touching it is to the point that makes you weep, of how powerfull the direction is with every detail carefully calculated, how captivative is the film as well the face and smile of its leading actress. Who cares for fancy scenes, intense editing, sex and violence, impressive stories: the action here is umbeatable even if seems that nothing special is happening

You can watch the full movie here: https://youtu.be/aQMQnHyUwJM

224. I am fine (2009)

Country: Thailand
Directed by Tanwarin Sukkhapisit

With this simple three minute film, directed ironically in front of the democracy monument, Tanwarin Sukkhapisit makes a loud political statement about the lack of democracy and freedom in her country and the passive way, incorporated in the Thai culture that people accept the seizure of their rights. Directed seven years ago the film is like to be directed yesterday as it catches exactly the current situation in Thailand: nothing changed during this time if not everything got even worst

You can watch the film here: https://youtu.be/ycZeXFwWhYY

223. The seashore village (1965)

Country: South Korea
Directed by Kim Soo-Yong

In beautiful black and white , with addictive landscapes of sea that awakes in you feelings of fear, awe but also of a lost paradise, Kim Soo-Yong makes a captivative film that is full of the power of the nature. A nature that is not only the sea and the wind but can be also the human desires and the woman's sexuality. The first half of the film is really amazingly powerful. The second loses a lot on intensity, get overdramatized, has many weeknesses but it ends nicely. Anyway, some scenes of the film are clearly scenes of a masterpiece

You can watch the full movie here: https://youtu.be/BwbQgeavk-Y

222. Disorder (2009)

Country: China
Directed by Weikai Huang

In the chaotic and diverse Chinese urban landscape disorder very often is taking place as if the civilization had failed, as if the chaos can command anytime our modern lives that are promised to be without negative surprises. Wekai Huang edit masterfully the footage from various clips of other cinematographers and presents a documentary that , with its slight irony, gives you a bitter feeling for the modern world

You can watch the full movie here: https://new.vk.com/video3936658_157387441

221. Agrarian utopia (2009)

Country: Thailand
Directed by Uruphong Raksasad

Banks and landlords exploit the poor farmers to tbe point that they struggle just in order to survive. The two conflicting political parties of the country just give to them big words and empty promises trying to secure their vote. Uruphong Raksasad with this documendary-like film presents with accuracy the hardships of the farmers in modern Thailand. But at the same time documents the beauty of the nature, the magnificent rural landscapes , a world and a way of living that soon it will belong to the past

220. Seven samurai (1954)

Country: Japan
Directed by Akira Kurosawa

The ultimate action film, having all, richness of characters, breath taking battle scenes, direct and indirect non stop action, suspense, questions of morality and self identification, poetical beauty, solid plot, 'Seven Samurai' is a legendary movie that remains fresh and powerful, no matter the 62 years that passed since its production

219. A short film about the Indio Nacional (2005)

Country: Philippines
Directed by Raya Martin

To be honest I didn't like the film, as I don't appreciate in general what I have seen so far from Raya Martin's work. Not as poetical I was expected, not as convinsting, it reminds a rather uninspired student film than a real art work of a talented director. However, as the film has some interesting sides, a powerfull introduction and some good moments but most importantly it represents an avand garde movement in the Filippino cinema, I decided to include it in this list: Raya Martin with this film helped for new roads to be opened and this can't be totally underestimated

218. Hungry stones (1960)

Country: India
Directed by Tapan Sinha

Based to a short story of Rabindranath Tagore 'Hungry stones' is a film that begin with many expectations but let you disappointed at the end. It is the kind of film that you call a missed opportunity as it had the potential to be a great one but it wasted it. However, even like this, it deserves to be in this list: it's something captivative on it, it has a raw mysticism, it gives you a spooky feeling that makes you feel uncomfortable, it gives you a sadness about the time that pass but also about your dreams that are unfulfilled

217. The circle (2000)

Country: Iran
Directed by Jafar Panahi

The first film of the director where he abandons the child characters and began to deal with social issues having problems with the autorities. The circle is an almost devastating movie where all the women who are pictured lose themselves in a circle of desperation without way out. The film is really dark and pessimistic , giving almost no hope, except of the scene of the arrested girl who lights up a cigarette: an act that for the whole kength of the film many other femmale characters hesitated to do in public. Panahi makes one more jewel for the Iranian cinema: as always you wonder how a such simple film can be that powerful

You can watch the full movie here: https://youtu.be/XFzpBf9SaWo

216. The ceremony (1971)

Country: Japan
Directed by Nagisa Oshima

So many years passed since I watched this film that it is really difficult to recall many things. However, this that stays with me is that watching the film was quite captivative. Oshima here with this intelectual, innovative, powerfull, bold style of him attacks the most sacred institution of Japanese society, the family. Secret and lies are revealed but in this case is not just a political satire of the burgeois class, of the dying clans that used to be well asimilated to the Japanese political system. Oshima gives to us a sadness as well, the film is working in a second existencial level quite well