4. Director - Franz Kafka's It's A Wonderful Life
Imagine combining It's A Wonderful Life, Shakespeare in Love and The Metamorphosis. Then imagine that this entire thing is set in a tenement house that belongs in a Tim Burton movie. The film is Franz Kafka's It's A Wonderful Life, and while Peter does not make an appearance, this is the means by which he became "Academy Award winner Peter Capaldi." He is the directorial genius behind this 23-minute short, and it is best described as mixed media. Like paintings that include watercolors, charcoal and newspaper, this film does not focus on one medium. We have the silent-movie-style strokes of genius in which Gregor Samsa awakes as things like a giant banana or a kangaroo. We have the dark and dreary garret in which Kafka is groping for inspiration. The extreme closeups belong in Les Miserables, and that adds to the slightly comic horror. We even have a cheerful holiday party that looks like something out of the Nexus from Star Trek: Generations. We all suffer Kafka's interrupting guests and neighbors as much as poor Kafka himself. The entire thing is a slightly-more-than-snigger-worthy work of art and well worth watching if you have ever enjoyed or endured The Metamorphosis.