I have always had a hard time with the ‘favorite movie’ question, because there are so many reasons to watch a movie. Books are different – the books I enjoy reading again and again are usually also books I consider to be brilliantly written and composed. Music is a little trickier because there are the bands and musicians one loves and admires, and then there are ‘guilty pleasure’ songs, pop with hooks you can’t get out of your head (I actually don’t really buy into this distinction – there are many pop artists whose work I admire no less than famed composer X).
With film, though, I think you need at least two lists, maybe three. There are films I admire and recognize as brilliant, but good lord I would never curl up with them on a rainy night at home. Example – Close-Up, which is an incredible film by Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami that everyone should be required to watch (perhaps twice in order to understand it). Then there are movies I grew up watching every weekend of my childhood, in a continuous loop, that aren’t blowing any minds but that I love. Example – The First Wives Club, which I inexplicably identified with at a young age. Then there are a few that are BOTH of these things – these films are rare and, I think, the greatest. Example – E.T., I never don’t laugh, and I never don’t cry.
