4º – Happiness (Todd Solondz, 1998)
Bringing several fragments of the lives of diverse characters, the film shows the inherent human quest for the figure of happiness, exposing, in fact, exactly the opposite. Bold, ‘Happiness’ is a work that makes explicit every erratic arc contained in a pathological traditional society. A film that mixes comedy and drama, always using the rotten side of humanity.
3º – The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009)
Shaping up in a small German village shortly before the outbreak of World War I, the story shows the local residents’ attempt to discover those responsible for strange and cruel acts. Directed by Michael Haneke, ‘The White Ribbon’ starts from an individualistic premise, sketching a figure of evil that fits into a single individual, to a collective, terrifying point of view, denouncing evil as intrinsic to our origin. A great movie, which, however, charges a lot psychologically from its viewer.
2º – The Hunt (Thomas Vinterberg, 2012)
After being accused by a child of an abuse he had not committed, a quiet teacher will have his life completely altered, seeking, now, a way out of the almost irreparable damage of that fact. Pearl of the Danish cinema, ‘The Hunt’ denounces the collective stupidity contained in a society, studying every destructive meander that comprises the behaviors of various individuals who act with a mass mentality.
1º – The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford, 1940)
After having his land usurped cowardly, a family will have to cross the country in an old truck looking for a new place to live. John Ford’s masterpiece, ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ is a film that unfortunately remains current, with cruel themes that continue to act in the same way, only exposing a frightening panorama on the human steps in the world.
