Now I have a far better method of determining whether my flashbacks work or not.

I wouldn’t call LONE STAR one of the best but it surely is one of my favorite movies, too. He is indeed an auteur and a great one.

One of the best movies I’ve seen in the last 15 or so years that wonderfully incorporates flashbacks is John Sayles’ “Lone Star”. And yes, John Sayles is an auteur, demonstrated by the fact the flashbacks occur form various points of view. :)

One of the reasons it works so well is because the movie is a mystery that has its main character exploring his father’s past, believing he was responsible for the murder of the town’s sheriff (his father being a deputy at the time), from an objective view (how others saw him) – all the while exploring it subjectively from his own memories as well, both of which come into conflict.

Great, great multi-layered film worth checking out if you haven’t seen it. Here’s the trailer: https://www.reelz.com/trailer-clips/24226/lone-star-trailer

I still need to see THE IRON LADY! But I’ll keep looking out for flashbacks I like and add them here in the comments.

I watched BLUE VALENTINE two weeks ago and tried hard to like it – but I failed. It’s one of those movies where I wonder… “Why?” It didn’t give me any insight in the human condition, instead confronted me with situations and experiences that our real lives have no shortage of. It’s a very well made film on every level but the story left me stone cold. The flashbacks were fairly well integrated but I really didn’t give a darn about how these characters got to the point of their relationship in the present. I get that without explanations…

The same week I watched PRECIOUS. I cannot describe the gamut of emotions that movie unleashed. There’s mythical storytelling for you. I didn’t share a single experience withPrecious’ ‘real life’, thank God, but the film resonated on a much deeper level about themes such as validation, self-esteem etc. Supreme storytelling. There were a few very brief flashbacks, peppering very subtle exposition into the story. It worked a treat.