If there’s one thing Hideo Kojima loves, it’s movies. The acclaimed creator of Metal Gear and Death Stranding takes every opportunity he can to talk about his favorite films and their impact on his life and career, be it in his collection of essays, his “Brain Structure” podcast, or excitedly recommending movies from none other than the fabled Criterion closet.
On Thursday, the 61-year-old video game designer appeared in a new video produced by the French pop culture outlet Konbini as part of its ongoing celebrity-focused “Video Club” series. The video features Kojima walking through JM Vidéo, one of the oldest and one of the few remaining video rental shops still in business in Paris, recommending his favorite films by French directors.
“During my childhood, Japanese ’50s and ’60s movies were awesome, as were the French ’50s and ’60s movies, and most creators of today originate from those movies,” Kojima said when asked why he chose to focus specifically on recommending French directors. “The French Lumière brothers created movies about 120 years ago, and there was a golden era of French movies, Japanese movies, etc. and then Hollywood movies came in. Even when I rewatch them now, they are great, new, and original, so that’s why I wanted to introduce these French movies to the younger generation. I was really influenced by them myself, so most are classics.”
Kojima’s energy is positively infectious throughout the video as he buzzes through the shelves, cherry-picking his selections and giving brief yet passionate explanations behind why he likes a particular film and what it means to him.
The biggest takeaways? His favorite Léa Seydoux film is 2012’s Sister directed by Ursula Meier, and he really, really wants to meet Leos Carax some day. “I really love his works, but I haven’t met him yet,” Kojima says. “So if you are seeing this, please contact me!” Here’s hoping he gets his wish.
You can find a list of Kojima’s recommendations below and where you can stream or rent them, in case you’re looking for something to watch this weekend:
Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) — Dir. Jean Cocteau
Available to stream on Max and Criterion Channel
The Hole (Le Trou) — Dir. Jacques Becker
Available to stream on Criterion Channel
The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la peur) — Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
Available to stream on Max and Criterion Channel
Alphaville (Alphaville: une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution) — Dir. Jean-Luc Godard
Available to rent on Amazon and Apple
Nouvelle Vague — Dir. Jean-Luc Godard
The Night Is Young (Mauvais Sang) — Dir. Leos Carax
Available to stream on Hoopla
Eyes Without a Face (Les yeux sans visage) —- Dir. Georges Franju
Available to stream on Max and Criterion Channel
La Jetée — Dir. Chris Marker
Available to stream on Criterion Channel
Le Samouraï — Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
Available to stream on Max and Prime Video
Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour l’échafaud) — Dir. Louis Malle
Available to stream on Max
Enter The Void — Dir. Gaspar Noé
Available to rent on Apple
Barbarella — Dir. Roger Vadim
Available to rent on Amazon and Apple
The Deep Dark (Gueules noires) — Dir. Mathieu Turi
Sister (L’Enfant d’en haut) — Dir. Ursula Meier
Available to stream on Kanopy and rent on Amazon and Apple
Fantastic Planet (La Planète sauvage) — Dir. René Laloux
Available to stream on Max and Criterion Channel