feeling

thought-provoking

1 book2 films

film2016

Arrival

Denis Villeneuve

The twist recontextualises everything, but unlike most films with twists, the rewatch is better than the first viewing. It becomes a film about accepting loss rather than escaping it. Amy Adams carries the whole thing with barely any dialogue. Villeneuve at his most precise.

★★★★★5.0

thought-provokingemotionalslow-burn

stayed with me

film2019

Parasite

Bong Joon-ho

The most purely constructed film I've seen in years. Bong choreographs class anxiety like a thriller — every scene plants a seed that detonates later. The genre shift halfway through is genuinely shocking even when you're expecting it. I've seen it three times and I still notice new things.

★★★★★5.0

thought-provokingdarkfunny

stayed with me

novel1994

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Haruki Murakami

The most Murakami of all Murakami books — which is either a recommendation or a warning depending on you. Reality dissolves slowly enough that you don't notice until you're already in the well. The war sections hit like cold water. I've thought about the man at the bottom of the dry well more than once since.

★★★★½4.5

darkthought-provokingslow-burn

stayed with me