The Cinematic DNA of Sinners

Sinners, which shattered the record for Oscar nominations, refuses to be just one thing - and that is precisely why it manages to mean so many different things to so many people. In an attempt to deconstruct the cinematic DNA of the motifs running through Ryan Coogler’s film, we put together a cinematic “playlist”: a selection of films that may not necessarily resemble Sinners, but enter into a dialogue with its many layers and points of fascination.

The Piano Teacher
4.2
333 reviews

The Piano Teacher

Michael Haneke20012h 11mSocial Issues, Drama

In this true masterpiece of a film, made even more memorable by the collaboration between director Haneke and Isabelle Huppert, emotional detachment, the oppression of impulse and the painful realization of another's need play off each other, in an unforgettable artistic and revelatory event. — A middle-aged piano teacher works at a Vienna conservatory and lives with her cantankerous, elderly mother; her father resided in psychiatric asylums for years. The teacher is deeply solitary and her sexual oppression is expressed through sadomasochistic and voyeuristic behaviors, as well as self-harm. When a younger student expresses interest in her, the teacher consents, but the relationship soon goes to extremes. — Grand Prize of the Jury | Cannes Film Festival | 2001 Best Actress (Isabelle Huppert) | Cannes Film Festival | 2001 Best Actor (Benoît Magimel) | Cannes Film Festival | 2001

Black Narcissus
4
59 reviews

Black Narcissus

Michael Powell19471h 41mDrama

The end of colonialism, but also the clash of religious faith and impulse are uniquely captured in the thrilling film by the leading directorial duo of Powell and Presberger, which won a prestigious Academy Award for Photography for its unique depiction of the Tibetan landscape. — In a remote Himalayan monastery, an order of English nuns struggle not only with the wild beauty of the primitive landscape, but also with the sexual awakening caused by the arrival of an agnostic man. — Best Cinematography | Oscars | 1948 Best Set Decoration | Oscars | 1948 Best Cinematography | Golden Globes | 1948

Tabu
3.8
52 reviews

Tabu

Miguel Gomes20121h 58mPeriod Piece, Romance, Drama

The greatest love stories have yet to be told. An elderly woman embarks on a long journey and thus unleashes a grand, tender, peculiar, unique second part in a film for which just one time is not enough. — A woman spends her retirement years taking care of the people around her. Most of all, she's troubled by her lonely neighbor, an eccentric 80-year-old who believes her maid is using voodoo on her. The old woman wants to meet a man from her past, so the retiree and the maid join forces to help her find him. The man has a story to tell. A story that unfolded 50 years ago, before the Portuguese colonial war, and begins as follows: "He had a farm in Africa, at the base of mount Tabu..." — Alfred Bauer Award | Berlin International Film Festival | 2012 FIPRESCI Prize | Berlin International Film Festival | 2012 Audience Award | Las Palmas Film Festival | 2012

La Llorona
3.7
75 reviews

La Llorona

Jayro Bustamante20191h 37mPolitics, Social Issues, Thriller

Not the ghost story you expect. A terrifying 16th century myth turns into a political allegory and metaphysical thriller in the hands of the talented up-and-comer, Jayro Bustamante, whose every new film is a surprise. With awards in Venice and San Sebastian. — In 1980’s Guatemala, Alma and her children are murdered during a military operation led by dictator Enrique Monteverde against the local Mayan population. 30 years later, the general who ordered the attack is found not-guilty, and Alma returns to the world of the living to haunt him. — Best Director - Giornate degli Autori | Venice Film Festival | 2019 Fedeora Award | Venice Film Festival | 2019 EFADs-CAACI Award | San Sebastián International Film Festival | 2018 Official Selection | London Film Festival | 2019

Let the Right One In
4
166 reviews

Let the Right One In

Tomas Alfredson20081h 54mDrama, Horror, Fantasy

Αward-winning and globally beloved, bearing the stamp of an instant classic, Thomas Alfredson's masterpiece holds a prominent position among the most original and tender interpretations of the vampire myth. — Oscar, a neglected boy, finds love and redemption through Eli, a beautiful yet peculiar girl. — Jury Prize | Tribeca Film Festival | 2008 Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film | BAFTA | 2010

City of God
4.7
579 reviews

City of God

Fernando Meirelles20022h 10mCrime, Drama, Action

In one of the most classic films of the world cinema of the '00s, a glance at organized crime against the background of Rio’s favelas turns into an epic of conflicts of jaw-dropping beauty. Nominated for 4 Oscars, including the Award for Best Director for Fernando Meirelles. — In the poor favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer documenting the increasing drug-related violence in his neighborhood. Zé is an ambitious drug dealer who uses Rocket and his photos as a way to increase his reputation as a war breaks out with his rival. The conflict will be sweeping. — Nomination for Best Director Oscar | Oscars | 2004 Nomination for Best Original Screenplay Oscar | Oscars | 2004 Best Editing | BAFTA Awards | 2003 Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film | Golden Globes | 2003 Visions Award - Special Mention | Toronto Film Festival | 2002

Black Girl
3.9
77 reviews

Black Girl

Ousmane Sembene19661h 5mDrama, Social Issues, Classic

Valuable both cinematically and culturally, the Film Foundation's restored print of this landmark African cinema film is a must-watch, a haunting yet liberatingly decolonized look at the oppression of black people. — Diouana is a young Senegalese woman living in a poor village near Dakar hoping to find a job. Soon, she starts working for a French family who suggests she join them in Antibes to look after their children. But Diouana soon realizes that her boss has brought her only to serve them, without any respite. — Best French Film | Jean Vigo Prize | 1966

The White Ribbon
4.6
106 reviews

The White Ribbon

Michael Haneke20092h 24mDrama

Michael Haneke's magnum opus is a multidimensional study on the causes and birth of fascism, a film that travels into the past to highlight urgent and timelessly topical concerns about violence and all forms of terrorism, a pure and undisputed masterpiece. — Germany, just before the First World War. A series of unexplained events disrupt the daily social life of a Protestant village, centred on a group of young children. — Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film | Oscars | 2010 Nomination for Best Cinematography | Oscars | 2010 Golden Palm | Cannes Film Festival | 2009 Best Foreign Language Film | Golden Globes | 2010 FIPRESCI Prize | San Sebastian Film Festival | 2009

The Color of Pomegranates
4.5
170 reviews

The Color of Pomegranates

Sergei Parajanov19691h 19mClassic, Music, Biography, Drama

"Like opening a door to another dimension". This is how Sergei Parajanov's legendary film was described by Martin Scorsese, whose Film Foundation oversaw the restoration of this unique cinematic treasure, which almost magically transforms the poetry of words into a poetry of images. — The life of the Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, from childhood to death. His spiritual journey, artistic endeavors, and inner conflicts within the cultural and historical context of 18th century Armenia.

Raw
3.7
309 reviews

Raw

Julia Ducournau20161h 39mHorror, Extreme, Crime

Cannibalism as the perfect allegory for maturation and sexual awakening. A young vegetarian studying to become a vet, starts feeling... hungry. A triumph of Belgian fantasy cinema for extreme viewers. — A promising 16-year-old student from a vegetarian family of veterinarians enters a merciless, dangerous and seductive world, as she begins her studies in veterinary medicine. Her first week is filled with strange rituals. Determined to be accepted, she renounces her principles and tastes raw meat for the first time. She will soon face the consequences of her actions as her true nature emerges. — FIPRESCI Prize- Critics' Week | Cannes Film Festival | 2016 Best First Feature Award | London Film Festival | 2016

They Live
4
294 reviews

They Live

John Carpenter19881h 34mAction, Horror, Sci-Fi

Globalization, consumerism, and the dead ends of modern lifestyle enter the mixer of an explosive satire and produce a vitriolic yet unbearably entertaining film that ranks among the best moments in John Carpenter's career. — A worker from Los Angeles accidentally finds a pair of special glasses on the street that were probably never meant to come into his hands. Wearing them, he can see the subliminal messages behind every billboard or government announcement that nurture a world of people who stop thinking. Soon, he discovers a group of aliens behind this plan and takes it upon himself to awaken humanity.

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