1993; the year I was born. I wish there was something interesting about it but from my research the most exciting things to happen were Uranus passing by Neptune (which happens once every 171 years) and the Super Mario Bros movie coming out.
Year of the Rooster? More like year of the snooze fest.
Nonetheless, here’s a list in no particular order I compiled of my five favorite films from 1993.
Groundhog Day
I love time travel movies because of the crazy antics the characters get into. In life every action we take affects the future, while in these type of films I get to see an immediate reaction which gives me instant gratification. Groundhog Day has a different approach by limiting the story to only 24 hours. It might seem like a bad idea, but the writers have the main protagonist actually learning new skills during his time in limbo, like French or ice sculpting, so it never really feels like a waste of time. It essentially shows us alternate realities based off the same day, while Phil alone retains his memories. This makes it into my top 5, simply for introducing me to the concept of time.
Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan
Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan changed the way I viewed the world and art. Growing up, I assumed that the only country that existed was Canada because it was all I knew. It wasn’t until I saw this movie in its original Japanese dub that I broadened my horizons. That’s also when I became aware that art is just art, no matter where it comes from. It gave me the push I needed to go out and read/watch more varied content. Dragon Ball was also something that tied different generations of my family together. My uncle would take my brother and me to the library and introduced us to the manga, and a few years later, my older cousin showed us the anime.
The Sandlot
“Heroes get remembered, but legends never die” The Sandlot is perfectly encapsulated by that one quote. I tend to see the final results instead of all the hard work needed to arrive to that point, and this movie constantly reminds me that every great figure was once a kid. The only reason I like revisiting this story every couple of years is just to see the chase scene.
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park was a game changer! I didn’t even have an interest in history or dinosaurs until I saw this movie. At first I thought they were made up inventions from some old man’s mind like dragons. When my older brother explained to me that they were real and that the last one had just recently died in a Canadian zoo, my world came crashing down. I didn’t know animals could go extinct and I felt guilty because I had the notion that I had killed it by simply knowing about its existence. It’s kind of like when I thought James Avery died and I went to look him up and found out he died that day. You just can’t shake the feeling that you’re somehow responsible. Yes, I now realize dinosaurs died millions of years ago, but at the time I believed everything my brother told me.
Schindler’s list
Earlier I wrote 1993 had nothing of value to offer to the world, but I lied. I was first introduced to Schindler’s list in my grade 10 history class in high school. I never finished watching it in that class which I was okay with because of how haunting it was. The tension throughout was enough to make me sick. I did eventually finish the movie in my grade 12 English class which also helped me notice some details I previously skipped over like the little girl in red and her ultimate fate. I’m of the opinion that this movie is something that should be watched once so as to never forget the atrocities of the past. Never more than once though, unless you somehow forgot about its existence, because this is just too much to stomach.
