"Let’s see, number two… see I don’t know what order to put these in, but let’s have [laughs] — it’s going to be a really weird top five — Muppet Christmas Carol. It’s just so good. It’s got a bit of everything: brilliant characterization, great songs; just beautifully shot. A warm, cozy, nice feeling, I think is what that film is. And Michael Caine is good. I think it’s great the way they used a lot of the different Muppet characters in the story, and they kind of fit with the characters — you know, you’ve got the old guys as the ghosts; it just all worked so well. Beautifully done. Love it."

"In my top three love stories. Narciso Yepes’s legendary score gives this juvenile romance its fame and contributes to its magic, but the movie is an entity of perfection. The artistic direction is meticulous and inspired; there’s a vanguard oneiric look to the film. Brigitte Fossey delivers an endearing and incredibly mature performance, and looks the epitome of femininity despite her—gulp—six years of age. Great opening sequence depicting the 1940s French exodus from Nazi occupation. Genuine and sensible study of youthful mores; creative representation of the children’s universe. Stunning grace and poetry. Heartbreaking departure scene. I love that film. It makes me want to be a pretentious critic."

"Another film that always floats around in my top five would be a film by Lasse Hallstrom called My Life as a Dog, which is not such a well known film but it was probably the one that brought him most to prominence. It’s a coming-of-age story, really, of a young boy with a very sick mum, you know, trying to find their way in the world, a young child finding their own way in the world, and seeing the exploration of space as a metaphor for their own dreams and adventures. I just think it’s a very poignant and evocative film that’s stayed with me for many years."

"Insane and amazing corporate nightmares. My dad took me to see this when I was only ten, which was maybe not the best parenting decision. I was already devouring all manner of movies by then, but I don’t think I’d seen anything that was so funny and so shocking at the same time. It’s a popular film, but it still strikes me as weirdly underrated and misunderstood. Oddly, the regular R-rated version is way more hard-hitting than this uncut one. It turns out the ultraviolent stuff they had to cut out of the movie was so over the top, it sort of made it goofy."

"Hugo Santiago was obsessed with the flowers of the jacaranda trees that he remembered from the streets of his dear Buenos Aires. Hugo had shown me an Edward Hopper painting I had seen before without ever noticing its compositional mystery: a monochromatic tendency disrupted by a hint of a new color. There’s a curious red square that makes the chimney on top of the house stand as a key to unlock a private mystery. For the mise-en-scène of what ended up being his last film, Hugo chose the jacaranda’s hue: purple. For my new film, Isabella, I chose purple in his honor."

"“Redoubt” isn’t Matthew Barney’s finest work (“River of Fundament” would be on my top 10 of the decade list I haven’t bothered to make), but his control of rhythm, editing and non-verbal storytelling is unmatched. I wonder what it would be like if he made one of those Pixar shorts that play before features. As a rule, I generally try not to put movies by close friends on these lists but I’ve known Daniel Schmidt since we went to NYU together and couldn’t believe the leap forward he (and Gabriel Abrantes) made with “Diamantino.” I think these two would be a swell double feature. Speaking of double features…"

"“Redoubt” isn’t Matthew Barney’s finest work (“River of Fundament” would be on my top 10 of the decade list I haven’t bothered to make), but his control of rhythm, editing and non-verbal storytelling is unmatched. I wonder what it would be like if he made one of those Pixar shorts that play before features. As a rule, I generally try not to put movies by close friends on these lists but I’ve known Daniel Schmidt since we went to NYU together and couldn’t believe the leap forward he (and Gabriel Abrantes) made with “Diamantino.” I think these two would be a swell double feature. Speaking of double features…"

"This is from a fantastic 1950s film that exposed Brazilian music to the outside world. It's the story of Orpheus set to Brazilian carnival, and it's very beautiful, melancholic, and full of these really captivating rhythms. I got into it first on tour doing OK Computer, a time where I felt very lost, personally and emotionally, which felt ridiculous when I was on the top of the world with my band. Inside, I needed to sort my shit out, and this album allowed me to cry. A few years later, my first son kicked for the first time when he heard his, and that's why we called him Salvador.
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