Claire Denis names her five favourite movies of all time
Continuing the work of the French New Wave movement whilst adding a sprinkle of contemporary zest, Claire Denis is one of the most innovative filmmakers of modern cinema. Rising to popularity in the late 1980s, more recently Denis has earned global recognition, working with such Hollywood icons as Robert Pattinson, Margaret Qualley, Benny Safdie, Juliette Binoche and Mia Goth.
Helming the Palme d’Or nominee Chocolat in 1988, her feature film debut, Denis followed up this success with the magnificent Beau Travail over ten years later. Known for her flowing, almost fantastical display of reality, Denis’ vision has earned her credit as one of contemporary cinema’s greatest minds, later making such greats as 2008’s 35 Shots of Rum and 2018’s High Life.
It was shortly after the release of 2018’s Pattinson-starring sci-fi that she took the time to sit down with Le Cinéma Club to talk about five of her all-time favourite movies, treating fans of her unique style across the world.
The Hu Bo movie An Elephant Sitting Still is the first choice on her list, a complex, near four-hour-long film that tells the story of four lives in China whose tricky days intersect. “Little by little, we follow characters into the city at dusk,” the director states, dissecting the film’s mood, “We discover this mysterious Chinese city, enclosing the different strata of China’s history, buildings under construction and ancient territories, and it is only once night has fallen that we see the elephant”.
Her second choice is a slightly more mainstream pick, opting for the Jim Jarmusch movie Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp. “Beyond the fact that I love Jim as you love a friend,” Denis started, “It’s also his collaboration with Robby Müller on this film; the beauty and poetry of the screenplay; the idea that the past lies somewhere in the earth, near the totems, the Native Americans…For me, cinema and its characters, like that of Johnny Depp, have an immortal quality”.
Sticking with another American filmmaking icon, Denis’ third choice is the Robert Altman movie McCabe & Mrs. Miller. An alternative western, Denis says of the movie, “This film is so beautiful, so erotic. I am obligated to use the term erotic because, in this film, there is life, emotions and the absolute beauty of desire…There are few actors, like Julie Christie and Warren Beatty, who can create and express desire so well. And then there is the scenery, the cinematography”.
Her penultimate pick takes things back to the mid-20th century, with Denis discussing Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1959 film Suddenly, Last Summer. “I skipped school with a classmate to go see this ‘interdit’-rated film – which made it feel more important to us,” the director stated, “These magnificent actors who are at the same time so fragile. These are films that have profoundly marked my own sexuality”.
The final film to grace Denis’ list is the Hal Hartley romance Trust, starring Edie Falco and Adrienne Shelly. Speaking about the movie, the French filmmaker stated that the movie was “The first Hal Hartley film I ever saw. It felt like whiplash, to marvel at this film that said so much about friendship, with such simple means and such a beautiful mise-en-scène”.
Check out the full list of Claire Denis’ full list of favourite movies below.
Claire Denis’ favourite movies:
- An Elephant Sitting Still (Hu Bo, 2018)
- Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 1995)
- Mccabe & Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)
- Suddenly, Last Summer (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1959)
- Trust (Hal Hartley, 1990)
