25 Movies You Should Watch
A few years ago I was asked what my favorite movie was and my answer totally embarrassed me. My knowledge of cinema was pretty surface level. Basic. Unsophisticated. Mainstream. Yuck.
So, I did something about it.
I discovered the power of The Criterion Collection, got some incredible recommendations from both Jackson Todd and my cinephile-adjacent wife Eleanor and we started watching good movies again.
Below you’ll find a list that definitely doesn’t even scratch the surface of a complete best-of list or include all the movies we’ve watched, but these are the films that managed to stick with me for one reason or another. They are beautiful, outlandish, interesting, subtle, over the top and challenging at times, but the rewards are infinite.
Kill some scroll fatigue, settle in, hit the lights and watch a damn movie.
Here are 25 great ones. And what does this have to do with your surf life? This has everything to do with surfing.—Travis Ferré
1. Control directed by Anton Corbijn. Whenever I’ve had a bad day, I simply watch this scene from Control and I become invincible again. I’ve squeezed nearly two decades of inspiration out of this movie. I wish I made it and was in it. Imagine being Sam Riley (who shares my birthday btw) and gotten to play Jack Kerouac and Ian Curtis. Damn.
Watch the trailer here.
2. Beau Travail directed by Claire Denis. A beautiful poem of a film that has my favorite ending scene of all time. I could watch Denis Lavant act all day.
Watch the trailer here.
3. Holy Motors directed by Leos Carax. I had no idea what I was in for but I haven't seen many films like this. It’s completely bonkers and brilliant. Denis Lavant steals the show once again.
Watch the trailer here.
4. Tár directed by Todd Field. Cate Blanchett’s acclaimed performance of famous composer is well-worth the time. Explore the nature of power and sound.
Watch the trailer here.
5. Pina directed by Wim Wenders. I don’t think there is a film more spellbinding than this. I think about this movie every day. It was meant to be a documentary on Pina Bausch but she died unexpectedly. Wenders planned to cancel the film but her dancers convinced him to carry on as a way of memorializing Bausch and some of her choreography. The results are incredible.
Watch the trailer here.
6. Blow-Up directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. A fashion photographer thinks he has unwittingly captured a murder on film. But the real story is Antonioni’s cinematography and style. His first film in English.
Watch the trailer here.
7. The Swimmer directed by Frank Perry. Based on the 1964 short story by John Cheever, this surrealist drama sees Burt Lancaster's character Ned “swim home” through a series of pools. His reality isn’t perhaps as glamorous as the never-ending cocktail hour he seems to be enjoying.
Watch the trailer here.
