My most favorite films of all time in history

When teaching my students, I always make the difference between films one likes (because they struck some particular cord in the viewer) and the films that are well made (because of how deftly they accomplish what they intended to).

In that sense, a century and a decade of that particular form of art and entertainment described as the movies, has left thousands of works that transpire pure genious. Enlisting them, even in no particular order, seems, thus, an excersize in futility.

Listing, however, the 20 works that I like the best (or liked crazily at the moment I saw them) seems not only possible, but useful. Here they go, in no order. (Given the subjective nature of the list, might my subjective comments be forgiven).

1. Cidade de Deus (directed by Fernando Mireilles and Katya Lund) - Perfect (not thanks to Mireilles, it now seems).

2. Kôkaku kîdotai (directed by Mamoru Oshii) - Best SciFi movie EVER (and that comes from a hard fan of Star Wars and 2001: Space Oddisey).

3. Dracula (directed by Todd Browning) - Browning and Freund might have hated each others guts, but they made an awsome film, and Philip Glass made it even better.

4. Tokyo Ga (directed by Wim Wenders) - Wenders makes a film about Ozu. 'Nuff said.

5. Oktyabr (directed by Sergei Einsestein) - If no one saw this is better than Potyomkin, its for prejudices against its subject matter.

6. I Walked With A Zombie (directed by Jacques Tourneur) - This movie has so much things I love, I should have made it. Actually, I should.

7. The Big Sleep (directed by Howard Hawks) - Bogey and Bacall are the best onscreen couple ever, Hawks kicks ass and nobody can write dialogue like Faulkner.

8. Last Days (directed by Gus Van Sant) - Van Sant is the only director that can pull well a movie where nothing really happens.

9. In the Mood for Love (directed by Won Kar Wai) - Won Kar Wai will live on as a master of the craft even if he had only made crap after this (though 2046 and My Blueberry Nights both rock).

10. Rearview Window (directed by Alfred Hitchcock) - Classic Hollywood at its absolute best, plus Grace Kelly is like the most beautiful woman ever.

11. Il Divo (directed by Paolo Sorrentino) - This movie should have won avery award possible and then some. And whoever rejects it because of its complicated plotting, should learn Italian political history instead.

12. This is Spinal Tap (directed by Rob Reiner) - Its amps go up to 11.

13. Rebel Without a Cause (directed by Nick Ray) - Who cares about the fact this is the only other James Dean movie? All right, he's good (but Nick Ray's better!).

14. Léon (directed by Luc Besson) - If anybody aspires to build up an industry outside of Hollywood, they better listen to Besson.

15. Abre los ojos (directed by Alejandro Amenábar) - You think this could not be a better movie and then the SciFi twist happens. Fuck you, Matrix.

16. Midnight Cowboy (directed by John Schlesinger) - The darkest, brightest look into the 60s.

17. La montaña sagrada(directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky) - Jodorowsky was way ahead of everyone... back in the 70s.

18. Female Trouble (directed by John Waters) - I never thought raping and mutilation could be so damn funny.

19. Match Point (directed by Woody Allen) - It's curious that Woody Allen's best film is the one in which nobody plays him.

20. Der Krieger und der Kaiserin (directed by Tom Tykwer) - If I ever direct anything as brilliant, I can die the next day.