friday flicks – 5 movies to watch at least once in your lifetime

A very sad truth of life is this: no matter how much free time we have, we’ll never be able to watch all the great movies that cinema has to offer. We can add plenty of new titles to our never-ending watchlist in hopeful optimism, but let’s face it – we’d be lucky to get through one quarter of it by the time we croak.

In an attempt to save you some time, we’ve jotted down our recommendations of must-watch flicks that won’t just impress your film-nerd mates (and Letterboxd followers) – they might just become your new favourite movies. Peruse through our picks below!

THE RED SHOES Before Natalie Portman gave a ripper performance of a highly-strung perfectionist ballerina in Black Swan, Scottish actress Moira Shearer was on the scene in 1948’s technicolor drama-horror, The Red Shoes. This movie follows aspiring dancer Victoria (Shearer), brought to her physical and mental limits by her demanding director Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), who implores her to choose ballet over love. It gets pretty bonkers from there. The concept of watching a movie older than 70 years is a bit daunting due to the  sociological perspectives of the time (it’s all but implied that Boris is gay, but The Hays Code meant it couldn’t be explicit), but don’t fret – this dreamy flick is a colourful, magical and surreal classic. We reckon that you’d be pretty hard done by not falling in love with this kaleidoscopic beauty, so we suggest checking this one out at the earliest chance you get.

CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 Now to a movie almost completely devoid of colour comes Cleo From 5 to 7, an iconic fixture of the French New Wave (basically, a film movement in France during the '60s  – ask your snobby cinephile friends about it) that explores identity, mortality and the human condition through a specifically feminine lens. Directed by legendary filmmaker Agnes Varda, this movie follows the titular Cleo (Corinne Marchard) throughout her day while she waits to hear about a daunting health update from her doctor, watching how she interacts with the people she meets along the way and how, by the end, she’s had her life philosophy and sense of self completely transformed. OK…we know that it doesn’t sound all that interesting from the output, but don’t skip out on this one: we guarantee that this intimate flick is nothing short of timeless, beautiful and shockingly ahead of its time.

ALL THAT JAZZ Don’t be dissuaded by the fact this 1979 flick just so happens to be a musical-theatre romp – we reckon that even the most hardened movie-musical hater can find a lot to love about this semi-autobiographical drama film. Directed by legendary choreographer, dancer and filmmaker Bob Fosse, this film (which is somewhat based on Fosse’s own life working within the entertainment industry) follows Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) working as a director for a new glitzy Broadway show and as an editor for his latest film, while simultaneously coming to terms with his own mortality via hallucinogenic dance numbers and chatting it up with an angel of death (played by the remarkable Jessica Lange). It sounds like a lot (and frankly, it is), but it’s an outstandingly honest fantasy-biopic that has a lot to say about the creative process (and how incredible artists really can be such incessant assholes), while looking like the prettiest bloody film ever made. There’s not much else we can say about this one since the visuals and acting chops are just too dang good to be put into words, so do yourself a favour and watch this one ASAP.

9 TO 5 This iconic movie stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly ‘literal angel of our modern world’ Parton, so do we really need to convince you to give this one a watch? In case you need a little extra push, here’s a little bit about the plot: three office workers team up to deal with their “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” boss after sharing a joint, with the trio soon working together on improving their workplace’s morale and tying up their said boss in a hang-glider and dog collar combo inside his home. It’s pretty much the most perfect movie that ever exists. Plus, the campy ’80s fashion and Dolly Parton’s discography make it that much sweeter.

MULHOLLAND DRIVE Oh, David Lynch…what are we going to do without you? If you’ve yet to enter the dreamlike world that is Lynch’s iconic filmography, then let us recommend arguably his greatest flick, Mulholland Drive. This 2001 film, starring Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts and – we still can’t get over this – Billy Ray Cyrus, is pretty much impossible to explain. Set in Hollywood and chock-full of mystery, Mulholland Drive is practically the most Lynchian movie to ever exist (meaning that the ending and the film’s meaning is still being disputed among arty film-lovers to this very day). We hope you folks know that we mean that as incredibly high praise. Plus, it’s due to this movie that Hannah Montana came into existence, which frankly makes it just that much more incredible.