Zosoforum

Usually when people describe a narrative of their country they refer to books or poems

Not many people use films, probably due to their often narrow focus on a select few countries and the general expense with needed requisite skills to make one. So theirs not too many to choose from for a lot of people.

Even so what (up to) 10 films would you use to describe the history of your country/people ?

Would you take a literal approach or a more abstract one ?

I think for Britain (from my limited film knowledge):

1. 28 Years Later
2. Excalibur (1981)
3. Cromwell (1970)
4. Master & Commander : The Far side of the World
5. Oliver! (1968)
6. Zulu
7. 1917
8. Bridge over the River Kwai
9. Clockwork Orange
10. Trainspotting

I do think A Man for All Seasons (1966) should also be here somehow.

Maybe add Four Lions (2010) as well.

I will try to approximate something for France:

1. Seul Contre Tous
2. La Septième Compagnie
3. Amélie Poulain (boring choice I know)
4. Les Tontons Flingueurs
5. Rien à déclarer
6. OSS 117
7. Delicatessen
8. La Haine

Someone with a more in-depth knowledge of french cinema can probably add more. Probably either something by Godard or with Louis De Funès in it.

For the US, I wanted to limit myself to one contemporaneous movie per decade. It's less comprehensive and limits the historical scope to the 20th century. But I think it makes for an interesting challenge to see what best reflects the zeitgeist of its time.

1. The Immigrant (1917)
2. The Crowd (1928)
3. Scarface (1932)
4. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
5. A Face in the Crowd (1957)
6. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
7. Zabriskie Point (1970)
8. RoboCop (1987)
9. The Insider (1999)
10. Southland Tales (2006)