Listing these moved my thinking from the typical to edgier films, from traditional guy/gal stories to father/son relationships, and on to Brokeback Mountain. And there are twelve films listed in no particular order. The listed names are the “active ingredients” of the films—the actors, writers, directors, and places that made a particular film work for me. May be updated and reposted.
Bread and Tulips (Bruno Ganz, Licia Maglietta, and Venice)
Notting Hill (Hugh Grant, Roger Michell, and Richard Curtis)
Life is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni)
Ordinary People (Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore)
Educating Rita (Michael Caine and Julie Walters)
Moonstruck (Cher, Nick Cage, and Olympia Dukakis)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (more Hugh and more Richard Curtis)
Persuasion (Ciarán Hinds and more Roger Michell)
About a Boy (even more Hugh and Nick Hornby)
Stage Beauty (Billy Crudup and Claire Danes)
Casanova (Heath Ledger, Sienna Miller, and more Venice)
Brokeback Mountain (more Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal)
