RARE FIND FILMS LIST
Warning: This list may lead you on a journey deep into filmdom, from which escape is not assured. Enter with caution, and remember to leave a trail of popcorn so you can find your way back out.
For quick view, skip down to the Rare Find Films List.
For the commentary about the lists, sit back and read on...
LISTOPSIS
A rare find is what I call any artwork which has a unique, standout or peculiar quality. Rare Find Films (marked here with a "₰" – the symbol for the now-antiquated German pfennig penny) are motion pictures which may not be generally well known, or have been lost in time, but which have a distinct value or quality, and which possibly deserve more recognition than they are afforded. I love little discoveries like this, and sharing them with other "gem-seekers" is one of my main motivations in compiling such lists.
[The list itself is actually a subset of Sret's Compendium of Moving Pictures (CoMP), a catchall database of any film, TV show or other type of video recording which I’ve personally found valuable, or at least interesting. By sorting the database’s columns, you can also view additional lists-within-the-list, including the Timeless Pieces (movies I hold in the highest regard, scored based on 3 key criteria), PF1 (my current personal favourites) and Rare Find Films – the main subject of this article.]
MUSE ON SCÈNE
(Maybe only the film students out there will get that headings' play on words – please don’t grammar-police me!)
With me, entertainment is all the more enjoyable when you can take something away from it – something which provokes thoughts, prompts conversations and produces action in one’s self, for the betterment of mankind. Idealistic? Pageant speech? Asking a bit much from just a good night out?
"Film is incredibly democratic and accessible, it's probably the best option if you want to change the world, not just re-decorate it."
— Banksy
Films change people, people change the world. In the vein of the aforementioned artist, let's get a little bit weird. I believe films are a parallel reality. They literally show us an alternate universe. Yes, yes, the actors are acting, and yes, yes, the directors are directing, and yes, yes, the scripts are being "played" out — yet, it is actually happening. In a very literal sense, movies are a reality playing out in real time in front of a real audience. Some would even say they are merging realities: materially affecting our universe in a rapidly quickening cycle of cause and effect. And as opposed to verbally "telling" a story, vividly "showing" an event – through realistic or abstract reenactment – has tremendous power.
The earliest creators of what is now textbook theatre understood well its power to entertain, teach, persuade, and reproduce its content in its viewers. Compelling, well composed subject matter enters the psyche and takes up a working residence on a subconscious level. If it's particularly graphic or emotionally resonant, that power is ingrained deep, and often provokes an extreme response, either positive or negative. There have been studies on this (and I may post them later) but without labouring the point, lets just say that those who downplay the effects of cinematically portrayed events are probably living out their own bias rather than championing "real life". To be challenging evidenced effects of psychological dissemination with “Its just make believe” misses one the most basic of life's tenets, namely, that ideas affect and change people. In her book Big Magic (2015), Elizabeth Gilbert, describing ideas as energies wanting to be made manifest, says "an idea can be escorted out of the ether and into the realm of the actual". That is what films do; that "actual" has a flow on effect. To deny the compelling power of the enactment (on screen, stage or street) is to underestimate the power of the human subconscious.
Think about it: what is happening around you that is absolutely not reality?
Do you remember any riveting conversation after which you determined to be different? That idea led to changes. Additionally, what about the subconscious and subliminal signals. Can you recall the occasions wherein you discovered that you were fulfilling what someone suggested without having made a conscious decision to alter your conduct? It happened because a part of your mind was changed. If this change of behaviour can happen via a school teacher, a book, a nightmare, a conversation or an experience, it can happen through absorbing video. And it does.
A medium like this (now there’s another metaphorical spark, perhaps for another time...) should not be wasted with degrading, mediocre and base ideas, but valuable, noble and life affirming content. But what is life affirming, valuable and noble? Isn't that subjective? How do we quantify the effects of entertainment as content?... Isn't that to judge a person / person's creation?
Well, yes and no. With the amount of misuse of the term nowadays, most any opinion can quite easily be taken as judging, instead of as observing, assessing or learning. And that is why I'm not going to draw any parallels between your conduct and your entertainment diet. That's not my purpose. But I will draw conclusions about myself, based on my experience, observation and dutiful consideration of the forces prevalent in life and thought. This is how I determine, for myself, what constitutes a “valuable” film, or song, artwork: the quality of the change I see in myself – and in people who take in its message – determines to a large extent its inherent value (albeit while also weighing up other life forces at play).
For those reading all this and asking “Isn’t this just a list?" or maybe "What’s so intriguing about lists?” Well, if a list is “a series of… items written or printed together in a meaningful grouping or sequence so as to constitute a record” (Dictionary.com) then it has meaning and function. Lists are a way of organising our thoughts on a topic. They are also a useful revelation of one’s inner priorities and processes. They are a reflective tool, and a communicative tool. Lists are a very efficient method of enquiry. So not only is understanding and making sure that my inner record is in a healthy state good housekeeping, it’s helping me know myself better.
“Know thyself, by listing thine all-time favourite movies”
— Ancient Inkan proverb.
(No not really, I just made that up).
So what are the following lists about? Moving art. Timeless ideas. In my view, wherever there are evidenced results of more love and compassion and freedom for humanity, I call this “timeless”. Something with a significant degree of virtue and quality.
A word regarding an artwork's quality. We all know that not everything on every film is “nice”, nor is it all to my taste, nor does it necessarily share my worldview, nor do I agree with all of it. However, any diligent student of literature, art and thought will tell you that an effective work has a consistent thread weaved through it, a core drive to it, a "theme with variations", which finds its expression often not in an immediate, or literal sense, but over time: through exploration, using the tools and features of the form, building a layered narrative, etc. You don’t necessarily perceive a truly brilliant thing immediately. Or, you perceive part of it, but you get more later. Quality, in this context, is not about taste nor worldview – its about depth and delivery.
While I do favour timelessness over quality as a general guide, a work which effectively combines both does indeed get my attention. I want to promote that kind of experience. Why? Because I want more such quality art made, as opposed to regressive, senseless, uncourageous work. Why? Because I believe that every little filmlet is part of a ubiquitous global proliferation of little holy grails, and I do not want them filled with wastage. These little cups can contain and represent truth, freedom, love – the elixirs of life – why fill them with sewage? This is my shared quest: To find the pinnacle of endeavour, to find what brings life to humanity, and serve it up with caviar. To put it another way, I love to search out the type of consumption which elicits the best performance in each one's life. And truly, time will tell the quality of your intake.
In summary, this is a list about art that I hope changes minds for the best. It is therefore a definitively personal list. It's what I like, not what I think you will like. Having said that, if you seek qualities which truly contribute to the greater good – be it through a historical tale, a probing documentary or an hour of full-belly laughter – I hope you find something here. At least to talk about with your friends, or provide your own comments about. I would love to hear about any Timeless Pieces, Rare Find Films or Moving Pictures you come across. Email me at paul@paulsret.net.
THE RFF (₰) LISTS
RARE FIND FILMS: TOP 25
(feature length)
RARE FIND FILMS: TOP 15
(short / non-feature)
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