lee pace broken in body & heart telling a story both to & with a radiant little girl with a broken arm is in turns striking in its imagination & scope & sheer beauty , & devastating in how his deep sadness seeps into the gorgeous fantasy he‘a creating for them both . tarsem takes a childlike emotional truth & pairs it with some of the most stunning imagery i’ve ever seen in a film (& all shot on [24] locations) there’s truly nothing else like it even 18 years later . if you can , try to catch one of the showings of the new mubi 4k restoration that’s still making its way through repertory/art focused theatres .
as an aside the costumes are also absolutely incredible thanks to the genius of eiko ishioka
second rec is columbus which i’ve talked about before but i think is under seen . quietly beautiful & thoughtfully crafted gem of a movie that encourages you to take care & contemplation in the way you view your surroundings , your relationships with others , & yourself .
as a bonus you may find john cho incredibly charismatic & hot in a sad way in this which i enjoy in a movie but your mileage may vary