My most important film isn't my favorite one.
It's not the best film I've ever seen.

However, the most important film in my life is a fairly obscure Russian film from 1938: Alexander Nevsky.

This film, along with Ivan the Terrible Parts I & II, is my father's favorite movie of all time. It's directed by Sergei Eisenstein, and has all sorts of political subtexts (Russians v. Germans, a simple fisherman rising up to lead his people etc) that seemed tailor-made to appeal to Stalin's tastes. It was fantastically advanced for its time, and is still fantastically dramatic and exciting today.

Why is it important to me: well, when I was a child, living in America whilst my parents were lecturing at various universities, the local library in Boston started to show matinee films every Saturday, projected in one of the reading rooms. I must have been about 5. My father heard that it was on, and decided that since it was his favorite film, I simply had to see it whilst I had the chance (it wasn't even available on VHS back then, so it was a rare chance to see it).

I vividly remember everything: the musty, dusty smell of the leather seats, the utter silence from the small but reverential audience (most of whom were in their 50s or older: I was the youngest in there by a good 40 years), and the occasional creaking sounds of bookshelves settling. The film started, the crackly strains of Prokofiev's score crept out, and I was lost for the next 80 minutes. When the scene of 'the battle on the ice' got into full swing, I was almost jumping up and down in joy, such was its effect on me. The room was completely dark, but by the flickering light of the projector, I could see my father's face in profile; he was utterly rapt, and at the end, we both just sat in awed silence for a few minutes, before gathering himself and taking me home. Usually I'd want to go to the children's section and get a book out, but today I just wanted to walk home with him and talk about the film. He asked me which bits I liked, and was gratified to hear me say "every bit!"

This wasn't the first film I remember seeing, but it was the first that I wanted to talk to my father about again and again, asking him all about Alexander Nevsky, who he was, and why he was so important. This was also the first classical music that got into my bones, flowed through my veins and made me want to play an instrument. I felt like the orchestral textures had been hot-wired into my body, and was desperate to experience that sound again.

It's a film that makes me supremely happy that my father is my father: he exposed me to culture extremely early (well, both my parents did), and took me to see a film that many parents might think too grown-up for their 5 year-olds; by having faith in my ability to understand, he didn't patronise me as so people his age seemed to do, and made me realise that he thought my opinions and tastes were worth consideration, even though I was a child.

So, this film is important to me because it is a reminder that my father is simply a wonderful man. No matter how many arguments we've had in the past, or how many times he's infuriated me (or I him), all I have to do is start watching it, or listen to a recording of the score, and I'm transported back to that darkened library, sitting next to the comforting presence of my father and having a whole new world of images and sound opened up to me.

I'm welling up a bit as a write this. How soppy. I'm going to think of a list of other films I love later.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Thu 17 Jul 2008, 15:23, 2 replies)

the score
I went to a perfromance of the score a couple of years back. Haunting stuff. Prokofiev was pretty nifty.
( catness, Thu 17 Jul 2008, 15:27, closed)

I'd love to be able to say "Eisenstien was a genius"!
However, I know of Alexander Nevsky thanks to Tom Clancy extensively referencing it in Red Storm Rising.

It's on the list of "PJM's films he needs to see before he dies".
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Thu 17 Jul 2008, 15:30, closed)