What makes a noteworthy film

I am of the opinion that to truly capture my attention, a movie must show these qualities that differentiate itself from so-called 'commercial' films. I prefer movies with solid acting, a coherent plot, and characters that I actually care about. The setting must not overpower the characters or the story, but rather enhance it to their mutual benefit. I prefer nuanced leads who are neither black or white, but a bit of both. The secondary characters shall not be extraneous or so called 'cannon-fodder', but contribute an equal (but lesser) share than the protagonist does. The overall atmosphere of the movie to me, must convey that sense that I am emphasizing with the characters or the situation presented.
  
A 1902 french silent film called "Le voyage dans la lune", relies entirely on pantomime,narration and a musical score. I liked the score of the film since it, more than anything else directed which emotions the viewer was to feel at any one point. I particularly liked the contrasting images between the exterior of the moon and the interior. I particularly liked the dream sequence also, since it seemed to give an additional 'layer' to the story. In fact, this movie is not so much an adventure story as it is about layers, and how many need to be peeled back.

I also watched the 1903 American film entitled "The Great Train Robbery". I really liked how this film conveyed action and suspense without the need for dialogue. I like the pacing of the film, because no moment is wasted. I appreciated the ending scene, and how cleverly it can be used in the construction of the film. I feel that the inclusion of a shot that can be used either as an opening or a cliffhanger is impressive. What I thought noteworthy is that the majority of the screen time is spent upon the antagonists, perhaps even setting them up to be antiheroes.

I present now two films that meet my criteria for noteworthy films. I'm going to talk about how they've influenced me, but first an introduction to number one:

1.


Napoleon Dynamite was, and is to this day one of my all-time favorite movies. The characters, the atmosphere, the setting, all combine to create the perfect combination. The movie details the daily life of an average, underachieving, high school misfit. Each conversation he attempts is full of awkward silences, long pauses and genius one liners. This movie succeeds because the audience emphasizes with the protagonist, identifying themselves with his plight. All of the side characters actually contribute, or at the very least have integral/hilarious scenes or interactions with the main character. I also really like the setting of rural Idaho to further highlight the protagonists isolation and detachment from the mainstream society.

2.


The second movie that has influenced me greatly is Die Hard. The atmosphere of this movie is purposely claustrophobic, to engineer a sense of suspense into the proceedings. This movie may have been marketed as an ordinary action movie, but to me Die Hard is so much more than that. I really liked the fact that both the protagonist and the antagonist were equally memorable. It is not the action sequences that set this movie apart, rather it is the antagonist(Hans Gruber), who nearly steals the show away from the hero(John Mcclane). However, I like that the viewer finds himself greatly interested in the fate of both characters, which to me is the proof of good scriptwriting.