Toni Dimkov

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Wings of Desire

Inspired by art depicting angels visible around West Berlin, at the time encircled by the Berlin Wall, Wenders and author Peter Handke conceived of the story and continued to develop the screenplay throughout the French and German co-production. The film was shot by Henri Alekan in both colour and a sepia-toned black-and-white, the latter being used to represent the world as seen by the angels. A story for all time.

Paris, Texas

Road movie directed by Wim Wenders and starring Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, Nastassja Kinski, Aurore Clément and Hunter Carson. The screenplay was written by L. M. Kit Carson and playwright Sam Shepard, while the musical score was composed by Ry Cooder. Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton), an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family. Fantastic movie monologue. An intimate universe. Lost and found, in and around yourself.

Apocalypse Now

American epic psychological war film directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, and Dennis Hopper. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola and John Milius with narration written by Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, with the setting changed from late 19th-century Congo to the Vietnam War. The film follows a river journey from South Vietnam into Cambodia undertaken by Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen), who is on a secret mission to assassinate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a renegade Army Special Forces officer accused of murder and who is presumed insane. Inside the world drama. Absolute cinematic value.

The Deer Hunter

Epic war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were changed forever after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Savage, with John Cazale, Meryl Streep, and George Dzundza playing supporting roles. The story takes place in Clairton, Pennsylvania, a working-class town on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, and in Vietnam. A different view of life and war.

Once upon a Time in America

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life. A movie that can change the way of thinking in anyone's life.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach as "the Ugly". The film is known for Leone's use of long shots and close-up cinematography, as well as his distinctive use of violence, tension, and highly stylised gunfights. A movie you wish would last even longer than it does.

Andrei Rublev

Soviet epic biographical historical drama film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and co-written with Andrei Konchalovsky. Andrei Rublev is set against the background of early-15th-century Russia. Although the film is only loosely based on the life of Andrei Rublev, it seeks to depict a realistic portrait of medieval Russia. Tarkovsky sought to create a film that shows the artist as "a world-historic figure" and "Christianity as an axiom of Russia's historical identity" during a turbulent period of Russian history that ultimately resulted in the Tsardom of Russia. A beautiful picture of medieval painting, life and philosophy. A lot of faith. The hand of man moved by the hand of God.

The Matrix

Science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in The Matrix film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. It depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, the Matrix, which intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source.When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias "Neo", uncovers the truth, he joins a rebellion against the machines along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix. Transition to the new century. Are we all living in a matrix? Now!

Taxi Driver

Travis Bickle is a 26-year-old honorably discharged U.S. Marine and Vietnam War veteran suffering from PTSD and living alone in New York City. Travis takes a job as a night shift taxi driver to cope with his chronic insomnia and loneliness. He frequents the porn theaters on 42nd Street and keeps a diary in which he consciously attempts to include aphorisms, such as "you're only as healthy as you feel." He is disgusted with the crime and urban decay he witnesses, and dreams about ridding "the scum off the streets". De Niro's iconic role. You talkin' to Me? Rebellion against the system. It should still last today.

The Last Emperor

Epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted from Puyi's 1964 autobiography, and independently produced by Jeremy Thomas. The film depicts Puyi's life from his ascent to the throne as a small boy to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Chinese Communist Party. It stars John Lone in the eponymous role, with Peter O'Toole, Joan Chen, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun, Vivian Wu, Lisa Lu, and Ryuichi Sakamoto; who also composed the film score with David Byrne and Cong Su. It was the first Western feature film authorized by the People's Republic of China to film in the Forbidden City in Beijing. The end of the history of a perfect civilization.

Further remarks

The selection of films is based on a personal and intimate story related to world cinema. Each of the selected films played a key role first in my personal worldview, and certainly had an impact on world cinema.