By Jasmine Kim

2014 has blessed us with a great variety of films that have us begging for more. From comedy sequels to teen drama tear-jerkers to scientific concepts that make us doubt our whole existence, our film world has definitely branched out. In a society where we have already lost hope in creative new movie concepts, we can always depend on the independent film industry to make something new out of the old. This year, I was taken by surprise with the amount of creativity these filmmakers contributed to our film industry, and some have been recognized for their individuality.

Only Lovers Left Alive

This movie follows a darker twist on the vampire fad that followed Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight trilogy, with the help of better actors and a deeper plot. Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton take on the main character roles as depressed musician lovers living across the world from each other in an anti-contemporary society. The film itself first premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival after struggling for seven years to get complete funding. It seems unfortunate that the film struggled so much at the beginning and it makes sense that funders didn’t want to risk their money on another vampire movie, but I feel like this movie reminds us what a vampire movie should really be, not some amateur teenage romance story. As the film revolves around the lives of two musicians, the soundtrack is very different and experimental, as the aural aesthetic takes on a cryptic style that supports the tone of the story perfectly. All of the characters seem to host old souls and have contemplation sewn into their foreheads throughout the entire movie. The film is very “drool-cool,” with a slow-moving vibe and not much action, drawing watchers in with the personal and self-reflective tone of the movie.

Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer, an American movie directed by Korean Bong Joon-ho, questions the idea of class structure by comparing it to living on a train. Basically, a climate change experiment kills all life on the planet with snow except those who boarded the bullet train. A class system emerges throughout the fifty-something years on the train, and the story forms when the people on the back of the train fight their way to the front, while the snow outside seems to be melting. Like his other movie, The Host, Bong Joon-Ho not only uses the same Korean actors but takes us on the same emotional roller coaster that he is famous for. You will think everything will turn out as you expect, but Bong will take you by surprise as per usual and leave you speechless. Bong also doesn’t forget his Korean culture and incorporates a solid amount of the Korean language in the film, reminding us that when the end of the world comes, not everyone will be speaking English. The film plays on color as well, with a lot of contrast between the bright white outside of the train, the muted palette of the lower-class cars, and the progressively vivid colors revealed further on in the train.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Directed by Austinite and Longhorn Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel gives us another perfectly symmetrical movie with a fast-paced plot to please our eyes and our minds. The story is a lobby boy’s narration of the life and times of Gustave H., a legendary concierge of The Grand Budapest Hotel between the world wars. Ralph Fiennes takes on his role flawlessly as Gustave H., and leaves his audience on the edge of their seats with his performance. Tilda Swinton also graces us with her presence in this film, disguised as an old woman in love with Gustave. Anderson incorporates the same music producer as his other movies such as Moonrise Kingdom and Fantastic Mr. Fox, Alexandre Desplat, who used an orchestra for this film. There are flamenco guitars, church organs and a classic piano to create scores that range from Baroque-style waltzes to haunted house theme music. He even weaves in yodeling into the soundtrack in such a way that it doesn’t seem as absurd as you would expect. Personally, I saw this movie while studying abroad in Angers, France and the vibrant and astounding color scheme looked even better in the cold and rainy weather of Europe.

Frank

Frank was by far one of my favorite movies of this year, simply because of its pure weirdness. The plot is of an average guy who joins an eccentric psychedelic band and meets a strange group of people, the leader being a man who wears a giant papier-mâché head named Frank. You can already tell that this movie will leave you guessing for the whole 95 minutes, and it will. The character of Frank is actually based on a real guy named Christopher Mark Sievey, also known as Frank Sidebottom. Sievey was an English musician and comedian who was the singer and front man of The Freshies, a band from the 70s and 80s. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and even mentions South by Southwest and shows little bits of downtown Austin. Weirdly, you can see all of Michael Fassbender’s acting skills and detect Frank’s emotion and facial expressions without any problem even through the giant fake head he wears throughout the whole movie, and if that doesn’t sound like superb acting skills, then I don’t know what to tell you. I guarantee you, the absurdly large amount of emotional outbursts and twists and turns throughout the film will get you attached to the band, especially Frank’s character. This whimsical and quirky film with its own realistic twist will leave you humming the band’s strange songs for the rest of the day.

Nightcrawler

Presented at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, this film sheds light on a career that the public tends to overlook and is not afraid to give the audience goose bumps. Taking videos for the breaking news in the world of Los Angeles crime journalism, Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom makes himself the main character of his story. The whole concept of the film is creepy and restless, and it doesn’t help that Lou is an insomniac. The director plays on color a lot throughout this movie, as the majority of the film takes place in the middle of the night, and he incorporates very little bits of bright color adding on to the disturbing characterization and plot. The concept itself is very new and hasn’t been used yet, so it is very thought-provoking and is able to capture the audience’s attention easily. While I was watching this movie, I started feeling psychologically disturbed as the line between what was personally and professionally acceptable was blurred in the eyes of Lou Bloom. Overall, the plot, score and color make the film very thought-provoking and capture the audience’s in regards to how the main character acts the way he does, and leaves watchers questioning the nightlife of journalists.