Little Dieter Needs to Fly

Dir. Werner Herzog
1998

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As depicted by Herzog, Deiter Dengler is a man with a traumatic past who nonetheless remains curious, optimistic and enlivened by the world. The final shot is ecstatic but also a gentle reminder of the mortality of man; even surrounded by his dreams, he stands in a graveyard.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Dir. Andrew Dominik
2007

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Monster's University

Dir. Dan Scanlon

2013

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We start and end on scene of near painterly tranquil. In between we're treated to cutesified grotesqueries (the birds in the first shot are soon to be revealed as three-headed, fang-bearing monsters) and the painful knowledge that just because you try hard at something, doesn't mean you'll get good at it. This message, a rare one in children's cinema, is delivered with a light touch: the autumnal imagery of the opening image sets the stage for a lot of softly lit near photoreal animation; but it's nevertheless conveyed deftly.