I recall this being a film that I was comfortable with discussing how emotional it made me, (which would probably be on a milestone outside of film) and it struck me just how much emotion and culture could be packed into this medium.

Probably on every single male film buffs list (for good reason), this still has a special place in my heart and holds up extremely well. Works well as another film that sits in the middle of a venn diagram milestones of emotional development and film appreciation.

What else can ya say, probably was my first real favorite film as a teen.

Was probably the best written film I had ever seen at the time, and hey it’s still pretty damn snappy.

May have supplantedShawshankonce I saw this. Showed me how emotionally devastating film could be and how effective it could be used as a vehicle for powerful messaging. Still haven’t rewatched because it’s that hard of a watch.

First time a film blew my mind probably, and I have a lasting love for space so it made it that much better.

Was the culmination of me being able to be freely emotional with/about films.

At some point I sought this out based on things I heard online as a really online teen and it still sits as my favorite, partly because it’s been with me so long, but it’s deserved.

IfSchindler’s Listintroduced the idea of film as a political vehicle thenDo the Right Thingthrew a match onto the kerosene soaked idea of any so-called “convention of political film.” Plus was a part of why I pursued law in my undergrad.

Is by my count my first foreign film (I wrote a retrospective review of it when I rewatched it recently) and while it didn’t hit me so much at the time this one stuck with me more than I realized.

While still one of my earlier foreign films this one hit me at a time when I could be said to be at a crossroads developmentally. This film sent me down a path of artistic discovery.

IfRomastarted me down a path of artistic discovery then this one started a new era for me. It started a hunger for the best films I could find.

This and its two sister films are still one of my favorite film experiences ever but more importantly I subscribed to the Criterion Channel to watch this and the rest is history.