Colin Farrell Reveals the Two Films He Thinks You Need to See | Sorry Not Sorry
Colin Farrell has been in a fair few great movies of late, but he has two recent recommendations he simply had to share.
Whenever JustWatch gets the chance to sit down and speak to those in the industry we like to find out what their ‘sorry, not sorry’ guilty pleasures are. Whilst most filmmakers and actors share their darkest and potentially most shameful movie loves, such as Ryan Coogler proclaiming his love of a Mandy Moore tearjerker, Colin Farrell took a different approach.
Speaking to him, alongside his Ballad of a Small Player co-star, Fala Chen, and director Edward Berger, Farrell instead picked two brilliant movies that have perhaps not received as wide an audience as they should have.
The two movies in question were Perfect Days and All of Us Strangers. Farrell’s first pick of Perfect Days was also the top selection of Fala Chen with her screaming, “You stole my answer!”
That the co-stars both had the same thought process to highlight an underseen gem rather than true guilty pleasure demonstrates how in sync the two are. This is a vital quality when it comes to acting, and their ability to still be simpatico, months after filming, is just a tease of how well the duo work together on screen in Ballad of a Small Player.
Watching ‘All of Us Strangers’ And ‘Perfect Days’ Had Colin Farrell Reaching For His Phone
Directed by Wim Wenders, Perfect Days chronicles the simple life of toilet cleaner Hirayama. The camera follows him as he goes about his daily routine; Perfect Days is more of a serene slice of life rather than anything overly dramatic. With its slow pace and striking visuals, Perfect Days fits perfectly alongside other movies in Wim Wenders’ filmography, such as Paris, Texas and Until the End of the World. For Colin Farrell, Perfect Days is “a really special film”. Explaining why it speaks to him, Farrell continued, “It has so much in it. It’s all in kind of whisper tones, and it’s a very gentle narrative.”
Farrell’s second choice of All of Us Strangers from director Andrew Haigh is equally slow-paced and visually striking, but the emotional heft is far more extreme. Based on the novel of the same name by Taichi Yamada, All of Us Strangers sees writer Adam confronted with his tragic past at the same time that he begins to connect with his new neighbour, Harry. A beautiful exploration of grief, loneliness, and connection, making it through All of Us Strangers without bursting into tears is near impossible. The impact of All of Us Strangers was not lost on Farrell, with him sharing the profound effect that watching both movies had on him: “When I came out of both of those films, I remember very clearly trying to think who I loved enough to text immediately that they should see those films.”
In contrast to his lead actor in Ballad of a Small Player, director Edward Berger took a different approach to his pick. Rather than go for an underseen gem, he settled on Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. The movie was once considered an abomination, but is now viewed by audiences as one of the greatest movies ever made and regularly features in critics’ lists of the best films in cinematic history. Most recently, Scott’s sci-fi epic came in at number 54 in Sight and Sound magazine’s Greatest Films of All Time list, which was voted for by a collection of filmmakers and critics. Given the reverence for Blade Runner now, it is strange to think it was ever hated, something that Edward Berger is equally bemused by. He told us: “Today you look at it and go, how is that possible?!”
More Slow But Beautiful Movies To Seek Out
During Blade Runner’s original release, famed critic Roger Ebert commented on the film's slow, tedious pace, but admitted that the visuals were stunning. This review reveals connectivity between Berger’s pick and those chosen by Farrell. If you share their appreciation for a sedentary paced film bursting with beautiful images, why not check out Train Dreams, Lost in Translation, and Arrival.
Train Dreams stars Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier, a landworker at the start of the 20th century. The film charts pretty much the entirety of Grainier’s life, but does so at a gentle pace with several moments surrendered to explore and enjoy the nature that surrounds him. The cinematography is simply stunning and the whole movie has an unexpected calming influence. It is not quite as charming as Perfect Days, but it is a movie that is still well worth seeking out.
Sophia Coppola’s Lost in Translation finds an older actor connecting with a young woman as they both find themselves adrift in Tokyo. As with All of Us Strangers, Lost in Translation focuses on loneliness and the power of connection. The film made a star out of Scarlett Johansson and proved that Bill Murray was capable of more than making us laugh. Though not as devastating as Andrew Haigh’s film, Lost in Translation retains a bittersweet edge to it, and even over 20 years later, audiences are desperate to know what Murray’s character whispers to Johansson’s during the finale.
Denis Villeneuve's Arrival was far better received than Blade Runner, but still has not been as widely seen as it deserves to be. Featuring a stunning performance from Amy Adams, Arrival is a deeply emotive science-fiction story that hones in on humanity despite the inclusion of extraterrestrial beings.
