Alicia Malone

“The one that immediately got my eye and that I feel like I have to take is a good Australian classic, Breaker Morant. A great war film, also a great courtroom drama, and this is one that I appreciated much more as I grew older because we used to watch it at school a lot, and at first I thought it was a boring war movie, but the more that I watch it, the more I get from it, and particularly having such great Australian actors like Bryan Brown and Jack Thompson. That's going in the bag.”

“Oh, what do we have here? I know that probably a million people talk about Eraserhead, but this was my first experience of David Lynch, and I was probably way too young to see it. Freaked me out. I couldn't quite wrap my head around what was going on, but to me, it was one of the gateways into this whole world of arthouse film, just having that idea of there are other things besides Hollywood movies, and the fact that movies don't always have to make you feel a certain way, like always feel good. It can make you feel confused and also maybe a little bit sick, too. So I'm going to take that one. Got nostalgic value.”

“So this was actually the first-ever Criterion Collection DVD that I got in Australia, and I had built up a pretty good collection in Australia, and then I had to sell everything when I moved to America because I only took two suitcases to come here. So this is my favorite Akira Kurosawa film. I think it's one of his most watchable. If you've never seen Kurosawa—of course you guys all have, but the people who've never been introduced to him—I often cite this film because it's such a human story. It's also a good Christmas tale, almost like A Christmas Carol, and just such a beautiful way of looking at life and someone's impact on other people's lives after their death. So I'm going to take that, and so I can start my new collection.”

“Lady Snowblood, yeah. That's such a cool film. I remember seeing this on the big screen in Australia, in Canberra, when I was a teenager, and walking out wanting to be an assassin with a sword. She is just awesome.”

“Weekend, Jean-Luc Godard. Morbid, dark, really great satire, and one of the best, like, long tracking shots I've seen in a film. Biggest car accident that I've seen in a film. Also has that very stylish feel of Jean-Luc Godard, but post-apocalyptic movie that takes really unexpected turns. Love Weekend.”

“Gilda. Love Rita Hayworth, and she's someone who, the more that I read about her background and things that I never knew when I watched her films when I was younger, it makes me kind of sad for her. And I think Gilda is one of those movies where she could obviously relate to the character because she is kind of portraying this goddess character, she's really insecure on the inside, and so when I watch it now I see the real Rita beneath the Gilda. And obviously I was inspired by her with the red hair.”

“His Girl Friday, classic screwball comedy, of course. This in particular, I remember watching this when I was really young, and this is one of the examples I always cite about why representation's important, because seeing Rosalind Russell as a reporter, I remember so distinctly watching it and thinking I could be like Hildy Johnson.”

“One last Australian film from 1970s, Walkabout. A very dark movie, one by Nicolas Roeg, who was British, but he really managed to capture Australian outback perfectly.”