Welcome to MovieJawn’s first ever Sound & Vision Poll, where our writers share why they love their 10 favorite movies of all time!

by Jaime Davis, Staff Writer

Making a top 10 favorite film list, for me, is quite a difficult task, one that fills me with dread, waves of anxiety, and compels me to stress eat 4 Hershey’s Nuggets all at once. This is because my faves list can shift and shape up differently depending on the year, time of day, my mood, whether I’ve had my Tim Horton’s coffee yet, etc. So this was a toughie, but I *think* I succeeded. For this year’s MJ Sound & Vision poll, I focused on the films that continue to stay with me, that live rent free in my brain year after year, watch after watch. The below list features a collection of movies that have grabbed me firmly, squarely, and to this day, have never let go. All of them are what I would call perfect films; mostly because they seem to fit all of my personal movie needs, but also because they are just straight up lovely to behold! 

In the Mood for Love (dir. Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)

Wong Kar-Wai’s stunning In the Mood for Love is at the top of my list because it’s the most glamorously beautiful film I’ve ever seen. It proves just how frustrating and painful and hot the longing between two people can be, in this case a married man and a married woman, caught in an unfortunate love square. Maggie Cheung and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung: both are the most beautiful people in a movie, ever. The costuming: the chicest. That score coupled with slow motion: iconic. That title: accurate. Because every time I watch I want to fall in love again and again and again with these characters, the film, 1960’s Hong Kong, Wong Kar-Wai, my wife, the world, everything!

Ponette (dir. Jacques Doillon, 1996)

A lot of the films on this list make me cry the most, so maybe that says something about why they’ve been able to stick with me for so long? Ponette is one of those films that makes me weep just enough to go through one entire box of tissues during a watch. It’s just one of the saddest films I’ve ever seen, but it’s also hopeful and philosophical and inspiring. Featuring one of the most intense, nuanced, and rich performances from a child actor I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching, the film follows a young girl on her own personal journey after the untimely death of her mother. I’m warning you: if you watch, put the tissue box right next to you. You will need them. 

The Red Shoes (dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948)

The first time I saw The Red Shoes was on Turner Classic Movies when I was in high school and I completely fell under the film’s spell. I love watching anything dance-related, and I blame The Red Shoes for my eventual undying devotion to Center Stage (2000). The story follows Vicky, a young dancer and her tragic love for both Julian, a composer, and the world of ballet in which she finds herself firmly ensconced. Thanks to the powerful ballet director, Lermontov, and his jealous, selfish yearnings to have Vicky all to himself, she finds herself in a push-and-pull between her marriage and her desire to be a prima ballerina. The ending sequences are hypnotic, sublimely shot and acted, and of course, incredibly sad. It’s awfully compelling watching Vicky come to the incredibly painful realization that she can never have both Julian and ballet - it’s one or the other, or, even sadder, none at all. 

Monsoon Wedding (dir. Mira Nair, 2001)

This is another film I can’t get through without crying my little eyes out. But the good news is these are tears of joy! Monsoon Wedding is full of exuberance, life, cheer, and features one of my most favorite original soundtracks to a movie ever. There is certainly a fair share of drama along the way as we follow a thoroughly modern family in New Delhi leading up to the wedding ceremonies of their daughter Aditi to Hemant, a marriage arranged by their parents. Aditi has been in love with her unavailable boss for ages but it’s time for her to settle down. Helping nurse her broken heart through what should be one of the most exciting times of her life is her cousin Ria, who attends university in the US, and an entire extended family who have flown in from multiple points across the globe. What ensues is one of the loveliest films with equal parts comedy, drama, and romance. The romance in this! It’s so lovely to watch Aditi and Hemant begin to bond; but my absolute favorite parts feature the love blossoming between quirky wedding planner Dubey and the family maid, Alice. Every time I watch these two, I cry. And cry. And cry! And then I laugh-cry because this film is just so damn charming.

Chungking Express (dir. Wong Kar-Wai, 1994)

Another Wong Kar-Wai stunner! Equally as romantic as In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express showcases love in ways that feel moody, unconventional, and downright cool. How can you not fall in love with Qiwu, who buys a can of pineapples with the expiration date of May 1 every day, in part to soothe the pain after his girlfriend, May, breaks up with him? How can you not fall in love with the mysterious woman in a blonde wig, running around Hong Kong to save herself from a nasty drug kingpin? But really, how can you not fall in love with the love story between Tony Chiu-Wai Leung’s handsome, confident police officer and the cool, manic pixie dream girl Faye? By the film’s end, I’m totally swooning over their ending and thinking I would never turn Leung down if he asked me on a date.  

The Changeling (dir. Peter Medak, 1980)

If I had any shred of talent to make movies, this is the type of film I’d want to make. It’s lean style, streamlined script, and amazing performance from George C. Scott all come together to satisfying ends in this supernatural film from director Peter Medak. I love a good ghost story, and The Changeling never disappoints me in the spooky department. But what I love even more is the straightforward way in which the script tackles the horrors of working through grief. It also features a compelling family mystery that examines the madness that ensues when secrets are buried deep for decades. 

All That Jazz (dir. Bob Fosse, 1979)

I have two words for you: Ann. Reinking. While she’s not the main star of All That Jazz, she absolutely rules. Bob Fosse’s singular genius is on display here - known more widely for his choreography, as a director he created a film language all his own. From the opening “On Broadway” sequence, to the “Everything Old is New Again” dance duet between Reinking and Erzsébet Földi, to the far out “Bye Bye Life” segment, Fosse created a wonder of a film unlike any other I’ve ever seen. 

Imitation of Life (dir. Douglas Sirk, 1959)

A tear jerker of the Sirkian kind! I can’t get through a viewing of Imitation of Life without grabbing for the Kleenex. Yes, Lana Turner brings the drama and Sandra Dee brings the teen tears in this melodrama from master director Douglas Sirk. The film is plot-heavy, thanks to the book on which it’s based, written by Fannie Hurst and originally published in 1933. Tackling taboo topics of the time period, the film deals with race, passing, class, sexual harrassment, domestic abuse, and gender issues. Like I said - there’s a lot going on!

My favorite character is Annie, a hardworking single mother who’s been raising her white-passing daughter, Sarah Jane, all on her own. Up and coming actress Lora (Lana Turner) and her precocious daughter Susie (Sandra Dee) take Annie and Sarah Jane in when they have nowhere to go. As Lora’s star rises, Annie eventually takes on the role of maid and caregiver, much to the chagrin of Sarah Jane, who fully intends to pass as an adult, forsaking ties with her Black mother. By the end of the film, Annie believes Sarah Jane is better off without her, but it breaks her heart for the last time. When Mahalia Jackson appears on screen to sing “The Trouble of the World” and Sarah Jane tearfully returns, I reach for tissue after tissue. It is truly one of the saddest movie moments and one that will never leave me. 

Michael Clayton (dir. Tony Gilroy, 2007)

George Clooney is so good at playing the titular Michael Clayton in Michael Clayton - it makes perfect sense that the movie should be named after him. He’s a man so good at his job as a corporate fixer at a powerful, prominent Manhattan law firm that they’ll do almost anything to keep him, yet he’s so bad at managing his personal life that he’s gambled his way into debt (in more ways than one) and is a sputtering, fizzled out facsimile of a brother, son, father, and friend. In his quest to make up for his shortcomings, he tries to save his work colleague, Arthur (an excellent Tom Wilkinson), who’s lately been suffering from mental health concerns, namely manic episodes during depositions. Arthur holds the key to bringing down U-North, a multinational agricultural corporation (think Monsanto but slightly more sinister). The film also features a flat out fantastic Tilda Swinton as Karen (of course), U-North’s uppity, in-over-her-head chief legal counsel. Every time I watch, and I’ve watched a lot, I get so caught up in the deft direction, smart script, and stellar performances (including Sydney Pollack! I love Sydney Pollack) that it’s almost like I’m watching for the first time all over again - even as I head through each twist and turn, it all feels new and fresh. (Side note: if Sydney Pollack is acting in a film, I will most likely love that film as a result). 

Quiz Show (dir. Robert Redford, 1994)

Quiz Show has been slightly forgotten, but is ripe for revisiting. The story surrounds the absolutely true quiz show scandals of the 1950’s, namely NBC’s Twenty-One, which rigged itself so that the more gentile contestants fared better than their Jewish counterparts. The film stars a talented array of performers from John Turturro as real-life Herb Stempel, a Jewish Twenty-One champion who was unceremoniously ousted for the more polished, pedigreed Columbia University professor Charles Van Doren (a dashing pre-Voldemort Ralph Fiennes, hubba hubba). Rob Morrow plays Richard Goodwin, a newbie Congressional lawyer who becomes obsessed with rumors of cheating in quiz shows and who eventually cracks everything wide open. Director Robert Redford (yes, that Robert Redford) helms the film in such a tightly controlled way - everything is meticulously detailed, thoughtful, and expertly executed. He manages to take what could be considered dry, procedural material and shades it with so much humanity that it becomes fascinating to behold. And Martin Scorsese and Barry Levinson play small parts in it! There are certainly quirks within the film, namely how sympathetic the film is towards Van Doren’s plight as poor little rich boy, while Stempel is painted less sympathetically. But it’s a fantastically nuanced tale of anti-semitism in America, a tale of who the “good” and “bad” guys are thought to be in America, and what it means to cheat and be cheated.