My 3rd to 5th Favorite Motion Pictures

5. The Sting (1973)
Don't blink! You just might miss something! George Roy Hill's story of two small time con artists trying to hit the big time is thoroughly entertaining. Several shifts in the plot keep you guessing until the climax, and even that has a surprise ending.
Winner of 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, The Sting, is an intricate comedy caper deals with an ambitious small-time crook (Robert Redford) and veteran con-man (Paul Newman) who seek revenge on the vicious crime lord who murdered one of their gang. How this of charlatans puts "the sting" on their enemy makes for the greatest double-cross in movie history.
The first time I viewed this film, I enjoyed it, but I was thoroughly confused. I even said to my friend, “The bad guys won?” And he said: “No, don’t you get it?” And I said: “I guess not.” So we watched it again. After that, I loved the film and enjoyed it more with each subsequent viewing.
Right from the start, the movie let’s us know we’re in for a treat. The title cards, that start out by giving us a brief glimpse of the tale, and then proceed to divide the movie up into chapters (much like Babe), which is very much in keeping with the 1920s “feel” that The Sting is going for. Then there’s Scott Joplin's ragtime accompaniment – one of my absolute most-favorite soundtracks.

4. Memento (2001)
Here we have the epitome of “original screenplay”. Most notably, this entire neo-noirish film plays out in reverse order; that is, the very first scene you see is the last one to happen chronologically. In fact, the very first scene is entirely played backwards – so the very first frame you see on the screen shows the last thing to happen to the characters in the story. Like Citizen Kane, Memento is brilliant not just for its great plot, but for the way the story is told.
This would be good enough for my top fifty, but Memento really outdoes itself in that the main character, Leonard Shelby, (sorry if I’m spoiling something here) has amnesia, and is unable to create new memories. In that way, we experience the disorientation and vulnerability Leonard feels. We are not sure who to trust, or what will come next, and with each scene we must take a few seconds to reorient ourselves as to where things are in the stream of time.
Memento also features stellar cinematography – chromatic changes during flashbacks, great camera work and a gritty feeling for the haunts Leonard finds himself in.
Isn’t it weird that I had no trouble following this film, and yet couldn’t figure out the Sting? The biggest complaint I hear about Memento is how tough it is to follow…but I had no difficulty. In fact, I even enjoyed given it the extra thought and attention it demands. Backwards seems to suit me, I guess.

3. La Vita é Bella (Life is Beautiful) (1998)
“An unforgettable fable that proves love, family and imagination conquer all.”(tagline)
When my wife and I first went to see the film at the theater, there were twenty people in the audience. Once everyone realized it was a non-English film, and that they would have to read subtitles, exactly half the people in the audience got up and left. I was glad for myself, because I like a theater as empty as possible. But I gotta think those people who left made the dumbest decision ever in their history of film watching.
This is one of those movies that have a lasting effect on you. While watching it, I found that it has less to do with the war and more to do with the human feelings and the beautiful relationship between loved ones. The holocaust provides the ultimate context, that brings and highlights the story and adds yet another deep dimension to the movie. No such piece of art has ever before combined laughter and tears of sadness in me before and that is the miracle of the movie.

In the first half of the film, we can and delight at the immense comedy talent of Benigni, who plays Guido. Unlike so many modern movies there is nothing crude or course, his is simple innocent humor, making it all the more effective. The way he ties together little strands in the film to create comedy elements shows a great writing ability, and a mastery of timing when it comes to their execution on screen. Various incidents related to the rise of anti-semitism and fascism in Italy show that there are sinister forces at work which come to the fore in the second segment. Even the two segments themselves are melded together perfectly, and I have never seen a more clever way of showing the passing of time.
During the second half, the emphasis shifts. The comic moments are still present - Guido's translation of the rules of the camp is particularly notable - but it becomes somewhat more difficult to laugh when we consider the gravity of what is going on. We see that this is a film about human spirit above all else. Guido not only appeals to the audience due to his comedy and sheer pleasantness, but also in the way that he loves his family and the measures that he will go to to protect them.
Some have decried the addition of humorous elements to something as grave as World War II and the Holocaust. Those people are idiots. Benigni is not here making fun of the plight of those who suffered in the camps, he is showing what it means to be human, and how we can find happiness(and beauty, I guess) in life no matter what may happen to us. Life is really beautiful as you watch Guido's relentless efforts to make a lovely exciting experience of the concentration camp to his son. You get exhausted just watching him going through his painful day and yet you smile as he speaks to his son and makes him laugh. One can go on forever describing the creativity of this movie, but one will not be able to capture all its beauty in writing.
From the moment the credits rolled, I proclaimed this to be the best non-English film and the best motion picture ever created during my lifetime. I laughed, I cried, I loved this film. If you only ever see one subtitled film in your life, this is the one to see.