301. Madhumati (1958)

Country: India Directed by Bimal Roy According to Indian cinema critics Madhumati is one of the most influential Indian films of all time: not only the theme of the movie but also its style gave inspiration to countless upcoming Indian directors. Watching the film almost 70 years later, apart of the usual Bollywood cringe at times, still you can appreciate the beautiful expressionist black and white photography and framing, the noir, goth and paranormal elements, the poetical side of a film that is made for the satisfaction of the most simple audience but still can communicate with a more sophisticated one

300. Death at an old mansion (1975)

Country: Japan Directed by Yoichi Takabayashi A stylish, with many intense, beautiful, well directed moments and an interesting plot,crime film, Death at an old mansion is one of the most notable movies of Takabayashi,a director who never fulfilled the initial high expectations but who rarelly directed boring and average movies either

299. City after dark (1980)

Country:The Philippines Directed by Ishmael Bernal A legendary film, voted repeatedly as one of the very best Filipino movies ever made, City after dark or Manila by night, as is its alternative title, is a multi-narrative of people connected mostly each other by lies and exploitation, living a rather marginal life, fighting to escape from the poverty, in the ruthless nightlife of unseen, underground Manila. Prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, junkies, abortions, crimes, gay sex, violence, everything that the Marcos regime of the era tried to hide under the carpet, are exposed here in a bitter drama that played a big part on the evolution of the Filipino cinema to adulthood

298. Symbol (2009)

Country: Japan Directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto Although Symbol is the definition of a film that has zero artistic value and you can easily call it not only "bad" but also idiotic, I think that still has a place in a list like this because as soon it unfolds you want to watch it with the addictive way that you want to watch a reality show, moreover it's quite weird and this weirdness makes it somehow interesting. Dont try to find anything deep on it: the plot vaguely reflects the stages of human life and even the stages of human history and that's all

297. Rainy dog (1997)

Country: Japan Directed by Takashi Miike One of the most memorable early films of Takashi Miike, where,as usually does, blurs the line between a commercial and an artistic approach with some occasional sparks of genius here and there. Many weaknesses, many things that we have seen countless times before, however the film has some moments of real magic that you can't ignore. Moreover the feeling of rainy Taipei never has captured so beautifully: you almost have the illusion that you are there

296. Suzaki paradise, red light district (1956)

Country: Japan Directed by Yuzo Kawasima The film that Kawasima himself, a director that was a very important influence for Shohei Imamura,loved the most among the 50 movies that he directed, Suzaki paradise is one more black and white film of the era, reflecting the ethical dilemmas, recession, fight for survival and desperation of post war Japan. Not a masterpiece but without a doubt a compact, very well constructed ,balanced movie with a vivid realism and a solid plot that keeps you interested from the first frame to the last

295. Ring : Kazenban (1995)

Country: Japan Directed by Chisui Takigawa The first and totally unknown internationally adaption of Koji Suzuki's novel it was a TV horror film that without doubt deserves a mention. It's the most faithful version to the book and it has many raw and unrefined elements that makes you feel somehow tensed up. Dont expect too much but if you liked the famous version of The Ring you should watch this one as well as its approach on the story is also interesting

294. High and low (1963)

Country: Japan Directed by Akira Kurosawa No matter how much you admire or you like High and Low, one thing is certain: it's a film that every future director, if not any artist, has to watch and study to learn from it. The way that Kurosawa builds the tension, the way that, even in theatrical scenes, he compacts massive amounts of pure action,the way that he transforms the existential and ethical dillemas of the protagonists to a social commentary, the way that he deals with such serious issues offering at the same time so much entertainment, is nothing short of amazing

293. 27 Down (1974)

Country: India Directed by Awtar Krishna Kaul The first and last movie of a very promising director who died too early, 27 Down is a bitter film about the crushed dreams of the youth under the extreme social and financial pressure of the Indian patriarchal society. The young protagonist of the movie keeps asking himself in vain who he is and where he is going as he is unable to shape his identity himself and his father chooses his job and even his wife in an arranged marriage. With beautiful black and white photography, artistic framing and a strong documentary-like feeling, 27 Down has a special place in the filmography of Indian cinema even if the various weaknesses that it has prevent it from being something even greater

292. Death on a full moon day (1997)

Country: Sri Lanka Directed by Prasanna Vithanage A summary of a war: a coffin with the remains of your precious one, who joined the army as the only way to make a living, covered by a national flag. A loss that you refuse to believe and comprehend:the loved person is still vividly alive in your mind. The poverty: its not even time for mourning, you have to fight in order to survive. A powerful comment with the less possible drama but full of emotion for the ongoing at the time Sri Lankan civil war that was only pain for the impoverished simple people, without any value or benefits. Prasanna Vithanage, makes his miracle again, creating a little gem out of nothing (the film had a budget of just 80.000 usd). Its surprising how he makes you to feel so engaged with characters that he is not analyse at all. Its beautiful how he makes you to smell the wet soil under the rain, feel the wind and the dust, listen the little voices of the nature. Living is too amazing to waste it in a war that is not your war

291. A separation (2011)

Country: Iran Directed by Ashgar Farhadi While most of critics got very impressed with the way that the director blends so effortlessly all the social-economical issues of modern Iran to the plot, things related with the law,the religion,the position of the women,the unequality etc, what rather engages farther and deeply the viewer, at the point that he watches the whole film glued to his seat with his heart racing, is the universality of the human condition that the movie exposes, the accuracy of the feelings of people who aim for the happiness with good intentions and genuine emotions to get lost finally in the complicity of comflicted interests, social norms, ethical dilemmas and different points of view. Even if you really intent to do the right thing and everyone arounds you does the same (a rare, ideal condition) life still seems absurd and painful and this realization is devastating. Not enough words to praise this film: its a masterpiece at any aspect