Are all movies Films? I went to see the "Constant Gardener" last night and when I left the theater I said, "That is the best Film I have seen in a long, long time. Needless to say I didn't say that when I left the theater after seeing "Bewitched". It wasn't even a good movie. So what is the difference? First off Films are good and they are a delight to watch on so many levels. For example, "Constant Gardener" was was a geo/political polemic. It was also a discourse on ethics and morality not to mention an exploration of courage and of how far one can go for what one believes in. It was a love story, tender and touching and surprise, surprise not illicit or pornographic. It was filled with contrasts. The music was awesome and was used effectively to delineate the different cultures in the film. Color was used in a similar way. Flashbacks artfully gave us the history we needed and not at all confusing. There was with a mixture of intimate handheld camera work and wide expansive shots of landscapes. I could watch this film a hundred times and want to see it again. And more importantly I could learn something from it every time. The narrative was compelling but it was the form of the art that took my breath away. That is a film. A movie is something you rent when you are board and want to be entertained. I don't think you can go away from a movie and be changed on some elemental level, you can't help but be when you see a film you love.

5 favorite films (not in a linear order of best to worst)

1. Constant Gardener
2. Dr. Strangelove
3. Them ( I include this as it was a film that affected my life from childhood on. It is probably a movie, but what did I know)
(It is the one about the ants that mutate because of atomic testing an important issue to me as a kid who lived in the
middle of no where and down wind from Nevada). Ultimately we all live down wind, don't we?
4.
5.
I have to think about the rest. Help me out here.