I love Michael Haneke, probably because he so skillfully makes me hate everything else. There is not a bad film on this list.

Not so much a nihilistic director himself, so much as one who creates films that often explore the depths of the systemic nihilism of the characters.

Isabelle Huppert and Benoît Magimel in The Piano Teacher (2001)

He is a man full of contradictions - his extended bout with depression has been well documented, yet he has fostered a reputation as an impish prankster. His films (particularly recently) explore themes of feminine self hatred as a means of feminine empowerment. Within many of his stories, good deeds and intentions bring bitter retribution upon the doer. Look, even, at the recent Cannes furor - he long believed he was Jewish by heritage, and then turned around and referred to himself as a Nazi. 

But all this aside, one thing that can truly be said about Lars von Trier is that his talent his immense. He has many detractors (and vocal ones, at that), but he is brilliant with fastening a tale, from the esoteric timeless noir of debut The Element of Crime, through his bare minimalist Dogme 95 days, and onwards into the often painterly compositions that can be found in recent works such as Antichrist. I would consider him the greatest contemporary filmmaker, and as far as living directors are concerned, second only to Jean-Luc Godard, and even surpassing brilliant European contemporaries like Michael Haneke and Bela Tarr. 

So without further ado, here is a ranking of the films I have seen by this most recent to adopt the stories moniker of the Melancholy Dane, to be adopted with each new one I see. And here's looking forward to Nymphomaniac.

Note - if you haven't seen the films, don't look at the parts marked with spoilers - these aren't minor plot happens, and are frequently the endings of their respective films.

Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves (1996)

A humble list detailing my personal favorite directors whose high point in film I believe to have occurred in the 21st century. (For example, I love Quentin Tarantino, but as I believe his high point was with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, I will not be including him on the list). Same story with David Fincher, David Cronenberg, The Coen Brothers, etc. My personal favorite film by each is listed in every entry.

Here is the time where I foolishly attempt to not only pick my 100 favorite movies, but also to rank them, starting with the best and moving on down to 100. This is extremely naive of me, and at the end of the day, completely meaningless. And yet, I feel the compulsion, so I must follow this trail to its end.

Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, and Roland Toutain in The Rules of the Game (1939)

If you ask me, Ingmar Bergman is far and away the most brilliant director to have ever set images to film. His movies are rich in symbolism and subtext, while simultaneously delivering beautifully written characters and powerful instances of wrenching emotion. All of his films that I've seen I'd say are worth seeing (so even the bottom of the list is still good), and at the top are some of the best works of art the medium has ever seen.

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