2017 "Best Quest for Identity Films"

A still from the Dardenne Brothers' film "The Unknown Girl."

In the archetypal quest for identity, the young hero embarks on a perilous journey and, in the popular parlance, “comes of age.” This is a patriarchal view of the quest for consciousness and meaning. In my book, Cinematic Quests for Identity: The Hero’s Encounter With the Beast, that process, which I call the “Great Round” (after Eric Neumann’s illustration in “The Great Mother”) is a lifelong endeavor, an undertaking that heals the hero’s psychological wounds. In the book, I discuss the ways in which the conventions of the quest, drawn from Ancient Greek tragedy, myth and folklore, and Medieval epic poems, are adapted to the cinematic art form.

One of these conventions is the appearance of the “Beast of individuation,” a person who compels the heroic personality to confront their wounds. He or she signals a return to the past, always a dangerous enterprise in which the hero enters a temporary state of confusion. The past and the present co-exist. Not every hero survives and some quests end in despair or madness. Regardless of the outcome, heroic personalities seek a conscious existence and are therefore singular—and inspiring. My list of “2017 Best Quest Films of the Year” is not one filled with stories of knights in shining armor, but rather of tales of protagonists who undertake a quest for meaning.

And, there are 13, in alphabetical order.

A still from Edoardo De Angelis's "Indivisible."

Links to my coverage of these movies, or to the dates of Facebook posts (my page, MariaGarciaNYC, is devoted to quest films), follow.

A Woman, A Part: Facebook post, March 21st

Felicite (Director Interview): http://www.filmjournal.com/features/mothers-quest-alain-gomis-f%C3%A9licit%C3%A9-chronicles-african-womans-drive-save-her-son

Future Perfect: Facebook Post, March 14th; L’Ultima Parola, http://mariagarciawriter.blogspot.com/2017/03/new-directorsnew-films-2017.html



Indivisible: See Facebook post, May 30th (Director interview appears in Fall 2017 issue of Ambassador Magazine)

A still from Paolo Virzi's "Like Crazy."

Like Crazy: http://www.filmjournal.com/reviews/film-review-crazy

Menashe: Facebook Post, July 24th

No Dress Code Required (Director Interview): http://www.filmjournal.com/no-dress-code-required-follows-quest-two-men-marry-mexicali

Polina: Facebook Post, August 23rd

Raising Bertie

The Unknown Girl (Director Interview): http://www.filmjournal.com/features/search-dardenne-brothers-unknown-girl-revisits-their-theme-ordinary-people-facing-moral

This Time Tomorrow: http://www.filmjournal.com/features/mothers-quest-alain-gomis-f%C3%A9licit%C3%A9-chronicles-african-womans-drive-save-her-son

Patti Cakes (Director Interview): http://www.filmjournal.com/features/rap-goddess-danielle-macdonald-delivers-breakout-performance-geremy-jaspers-patti-cake

White Sun (Director Interview): http://www.filmjournal.com/features/rite-passage-deepak-rauniyar-nepal-set-drama-white-sun-blends-personal-and-political