Happy Fathers' Day! Last month I listed "9 admirable movie moms"--and, like moms, there are probably a lot more memorably bad fathers in film history than good ones (There Will Be Blood being probably my most recent favorite cinematic example of unfortunate daddying), though the dad who repents of his poor parenting may be the most common--think Darth Vader, for instance, or Henry Jones, or several of those listed below. In any case, and without further ado, here are 11 great films to pop in the DVD player to celebrate with dad.
The Bicycle Thief (a.k.a, Bicycle Thieves) - One of the most beautiful father-son dynamics ever captured on film. If you doubt, just watch that scene in the restaurant, with the cheese pizza. Beautiful, gently funny, and deeply heartbreaking--and genuinely one of the greatest films ever made.
Big Fish - Tim Burton's best? Very possibly. A magical movie about the beauty of storytelling, and the reconciliation between a father and the son who learns to understand him on his own terms.
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Field of Dreams - One of the most famous movies about fatherhood--and rightly so. A fairy tale for modern America that's genuinely magical, Field of Dreams is the sort of movie that would make Frank Capra proud.
Fly Away Home- What a lovely, lovely movie. Jeff Daniels, one of our better actors, delivers one of his best performances as a man learning how to be a father. The parallel with his daughter, whose mother dies in the opening moments of the film, learning how to be a mother to the flock of geese, is beautiful. Incredible cinematography and a rich, beautiful score round out this marvelous tale from director Carroll Ballard.
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The Godfather - At the heart of the classic, archetypal mobster movie is a dad trying to provide for his children--and devastated when he finds both his career and his family crumbling around him. "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
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Life is Beautiful- The film is justifiably controversial, but no less sweet--a tragicomic parable that is surprisingly complex in its ethical implications. After the startling shift in tone midway through the film, the story becomes that of a father (Begnini) trying to shield his son from the horrors of the world long enough for him to stay alive. What the naysayers of the film fail to notice is that it never totally validates the father's fantasizing--what makes the film beautiful is that it celebrates his intentions, and their positive consequences.
Pinocchio - Disney took the fascinating black hilarity and magic of the Collodi tale and turned it into a terrifying and ultimately redemptive spiritual fable. Whether Geppetto is a lonely guy who wants to be a father or an allegory for humanity's shared Father, he's one of the most purely good characters ever put on film.
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Popeye - Altman's brilliant live-action cartoon-musical (lauded as either one of the best or one of the worst films ever made, depending on who you ask) tells the story of two sets of fathers and sons. Probably my favorite Robin Williams performance, and definitely my favorite Shelley Duvall performance. The visuals, the songs, everything here is terrific.
The Royal Tenenbaums - Perhaps Wes Anderson's best film, and perhaps Gene Hackman's best performance (a masterful balancing act of depth and caricature), as the slacker patriarch (Royal Tenenbaum) of a clan of geniuses, seeking to bring his family together again. Maybe the best repentant dad in film history; "I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum," the Owen Wilson character says. Hackman's response: "Me too. Me too."
Tender Mercies - Robert Duvall's best performance, Tender Mercies is a rarity in American film--a quiet character study that unfolds with everyday pacing. There is little in the way of plot here, just life, as Duvall, a former country singer, tries to find a new life--unlike most movies, however, the "new life" here is much quieter, and much more real and honest: he lives with his new wife behind the gas station they own and operate, and he tries to reconcile with his child without forcing their relationship. Horton Foote, who won a well-deserved Oscar for the screenplay, also adapted Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird--and with it, the character of Atticus Finch, one of the quintessential good dads.
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The Wrestler - Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke knock one out of the park here--a stunningly real, naturalistic story about a man torn between his former life as a celebrity and his current one as an everyday Joe, in many ways it's Tender Mercies the tragedy. Rourke's scenes with Rachel Evan Wood, who plays his estranged daughter, are some of the best in the entire film.
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