Hirokazu Koreeda names the 10 greatest films of all time
Cinema has the power to be simultaneously life-affirming and quietly devastating, and this duality is best represented by the infinitely nuanced filmography of Hirokazu Koreeda. Dealing with universal themes such as human mortality, love, loneliness, childhood and the frameworks of modernity, Koreeda’s films have touched the hearts of audiences worldwide. Often cited as a successor to the legendary Yasujirō Ozu, Koreeda is one of the few remaining luminaries of contemporary cinema.
Last year, Koreeda released his first venture into Korean-language filmmaking – Broker. Although it was far from one of his best efforts, the film explored an important subject – the existence of baby boxes which facilitate the anonymous abandonment of infants. During an interview earlier this year, Koreeda opened up about the powerful sociopolitical discourse that he wanted to generate with his latest directorial effort.
The auteur told NME: “What I envisioned was that this film would start with Soo-jin (played by Bae Doona) saying: ‘Don’t give birth to something if you’re just going to abandon it.’ I believe that view represents what most of the audience would have, whether it be Japan or Korea. But I wanted it to really change in the course of two hours of the film. The film is really about how Soo-jin starts being critical of the mother abandoning the baby, but also the birth mother who needed to give up the babies. I wanted those two women to come closer together [throughout the film]. At the end, both mothers think about what is best for the baby. I wanted the audience to go on that journey too.”
2022 also saw the release of the BFI Sight & Sound poll, to which Koreeda contributed by listing his ten favourite films of all time. Ranging from Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford to Robert Altman and Jacques Becker, the Japanese director’s selection should be essential viewing for all film fans. However, one conspicuous thing about Koreeda’s list is the absence of Asian films, especially since he has cited visionaries like Mikio Naruse before.
Check out the full list below.
Hirokazu Koreeda’s 10 favourite films:
- Antoine and Antoinette (Jacques Becker, 1947)
- Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927)
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948)
- 3 Bad Men (John Ford, 1926)
- His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
- To Be or Not to Be (Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
- Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
- They Live by Night (Nicholas Ray, 1948)
- Short Cuts (Robert Altman, 1993)
- Hangmen Always Die! (Fritz Lang, 1943)
After Broker, Koreeda is set to add to his filmography with a new project that is set to come out this year – Monster. Despite the absence of Asian films from his top 10 list, Koreeda is definitely influenced by Asian cinema and is also concerned about the future of Japanese cinema. During the same conversation with NME, the director commented on the current state.
Koreeda said: “It would be great if a lot more directors and actors could go overseas to work and really diversify the market. A big difference that I felt in South Korea compared to Japan is that a lot of the crew members or the creatives have studied overseas in the US, and Hong Kyung-pyo – the director of photography on Broker – studied in the US and came back. So they have a different mindset, different perspectives. It showed as well, so if that could happen in Japan, maybe that would be a good thing too.”
