Benny Safdie names his five favourite movies
Over the years, Benny Safdie, in addition to his brother and creative partner Josh, has established himself as one of the big players in the new movement that seems to be taking place in cinema. His work as a director, actor, screenwriter and editor shows that Safdie is here to make a serious impression on the industry.
And so far, it’s proven to be true. His directing on the likes of Heaven Knows What, Good Time and Uncut Gems has been well admired, and his acting, particularly in Good Time and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza and Oppenheimer, has also been praised.
In even such a short period of time, Safdie has offered his fair share of contributions to the world of contemporary cinema. While that’s true, it’s also clear that he is something of a classic cinephile and once stated his five favourite movies of all time in a feature with Le Cinema Club.
Safdie starts things off with what he considers “probably the best movie ever made”, Robert Bresson’s 1956 French prison film A Man Escaped, based on Andre Devigny’s memoir. Devigny was a French Resistance fighter in World War II who was held at the Montluc prison by the German forces. Safdie said he cries “every time when they hit freedom”.
He follows up with another French movie, Jacques Tati’s 1953 comedy Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, which was the first time Tati introduced his iconic, pipe-smoking titular character before appearing in Mon Oncle, Playtime and Trafic. “When the vacation ends in this film, I was left feeling like I’d met a good friend,” Safdie said. “I can’t wait to show this to my son.”
Flashing forward some two decades, Safdie then picks out Wim Wenders’ 1976 German road film Kings of the Road, which completes his ‘Road Movie trilogy’ along with Alice in the Cities and The Wrong Move. Safdie called it “the adult Alice in the Cities,” noting: “The saxophone, Rüdiger Vogler and his portable 45 player, and friendship. What more do you need?”
Around the same time as Kings of the Road was released, another of Safdie’s selections also came out, Robert Altman’s 1975 satirical musical comedy-drama Nashville, which focuses on several figures in the country and gospel music in the Tennessee city over five days. Safdie wonders “how the hell” Altman managed to do it, saying, “All the characters have inner emotions, and that song ‘I’m Easy’ is so intense! If it’s playing in theatres, I go and see it just to visit that world.”
Safdie rounds off his list of favourites with Mike Leigh’s Nuts in May, which is the 12th episode of season six of the BBC anthology series Play for Today, telling of a couple battle to enjoy a camping trip. “This is Mike Leigh at his best,” Safdie said. “The way characters are mixed together is like a chemistry equation. It’s also hilarious.”
Benny Safdie’s five favourite films:
- A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson, 1956)
- Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953)
- Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
- Kings of the Road (Wim Wenders, 1976)
- Nuts in May (Mike Leigh, 1976)
