00:00Why do we get to all these feelings?
00:06Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the times when a movie
00:10used the fourth wall break to dramatic and heartbreaking effect. Spoilers ahead, so beware.
00:15So what's the answer? That's what I keep asking myself. What's it all about? Know what I mean?
00:23Number 10. It's Up To You. JFK
00:27Oliver Stone's controversial, paranoid political thriller follows a New Orleans lawyer determined
00:32to uncover the truth behind the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
00:37In character as Jim Garrison, Kevin Costner delivers his closing remarks to a courtroom jury.
00:42Authority forgets a dying king. This was never more true than for John F. Kennedy,
00:49whose murder was probably one of the most terrible moments in the history of our country.
00:54Having presented his evidence to the court, just as the movie has to us, he challenges the jury
00:59and everyone on earshot to pursue justice, even if it comes at a great personal cost.
01:04That's not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
01:08Do not forget your dying king.
01:13The burden of standing up to the powerful is a shared burden.
01:16He ends this impassioned speech looking directly at the camera. It's a challenge to us, too.
01:21Nothing as long as you live will ever be more important. It's up to you.
01:30Number 9. Top 5 Things I Miss About Laura. High Fidelity
01:34Rob Gordon works at a Chicago record store, and seems to have a top 5 list on every possible topic.
01:40Frequently throughout High Fidelity, Rob breaks the fourth wall,
01:44addressing us directly with his musings of love, relationships, and music.
01:48Can you see your name on that list, Laura? Maybe you'd sneak into the top 10.
01:55Being dumped by his girlfriend Laura changes him.
01:57Framed by the Chicago skyline, Rob recites his new list, Top 5 Things I Miss About Laura.
02:03Two. She's got character. Or at least she had character before the Ian nightmare.
02:08She's loyal and honest, and she doesn't even take it out on people when she's having a bad day.
02:14That's character.
02:16He can barely get it out without wincing at how vulnerable he's being.
02:19But for a guy who seems disconnected with nearly everything,
02:22hearing him finally be grateful and open about his life marks a big change in him.
02:27Number 5. She does this thing in bed when she can't get to sleep.
02:30She kind of half moans and then rubs her feet together an equal number of times. It just kills me.
02:36Number 8. Choosing the Real World. The Purple Rose of Cairo.
02:41This in-universe example of a literal fourth wall break is also pretty heartbreaking.
02:46Cecilia is a working class woman in a terrible marriage who finds her only refuge in the movies.
02:51When the main character of her favourite film literally climbs out of the screen to romance her,
02:56it's everything she could ever want.
02:58You know where I come from, people, they don't disappoint. They're consistent. They're always reliable.
03:04You don't find that kind in real life.
03:07You have.
03:09Soon she's locked in a love triangle between a fictional character and his fictional world,
03:14and the very real actor who plays him.
03:16Last week I was unloved. Now two people love me. And it's the same two people.
03:23For the first time she decides to choose the real world instead of the fantasies of the movie theatre.
03:28See, I'm a real person no matter how tempted I am. I have to choose the real world.
03:36I loved every minute with you. And I'll never forget our night on the town.
03:427. Be Kind, Rewind
03:45Funny games.
03:46A family is taken hostage by two sadistic murderers in this Austrian psychological thriller.
03:51But if you think it sounds like your average home invasion tale, think again.
03:55Not only is it incredibly disturbing, it's also constantly playing with your expectations.
04:05The killers gleefully break the fourth wall several times,
04:08letting us know how much they're enjoying themselves.
04:10But the most devastating instance may be when the family finally gains the upper hand
04:15and takes their revenge on one of their captors.
04:23This doesn't last.
04:25One of the killers presses the rewind button on a remote,
04:28literally rewinding the movie to essentially revive his partner in crime.
04:32Whatever fate awaits our heroes, we realise there's no escaping it.
04:416. What Now? The 400 Blows
04:44François Truffaut's semi-autobiographical film follows Antoine Doinel,
04:48a young boy who turns to crime.
04:50The troubled youth bounces from misadventure to misadventure
04:53as his family, school and the authorities seem unsure what to do with him.
05:03Antoine doesn't seem too sure what to do either.
05:06At the end he escapes the reform school he's been shipped off to
05:09and ends up on the beach, which he's always wanted to see.
05:19But once he fulfils that goal, he looks into the camera,
05:22still unsure of what he wants, where to go or what to do.
05:25He's free, but lost.
05:325. The Ambiguous Ending – Little Women
05:41Greta Gerwig's take on Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic
05:45is both a retelling and a commentary.
05:47As Jo March presents the story of Little Women in a novel form to a publisher,
05:52she receives notes on its ending.
06:03This is played parallel to a scene that finds her family pushing her to realise
06:08she's in love with the departing Professor Bear.
06:11Telling it this way acknowledges that this is a story
06:14and the audience has expectations on how the story should end.
06:27You get swept up in the stirring train station love scene
06:30between Jo and the Professor, but the whole time you're aware that this is all a story.
06:34It's a departure that even fans of the source material still argue over.
06:504. All This Unused Life – Shirley Valentine
06:53This underrated romantic comedy first had a life on the West End,
06:57before moving to a Tony-winning run on Broadway.
07:00Both times, actress Pauline Collins played the role of Shirley Valentine,
07:04a bored housewife who takes a chance on a Greek holiday.
07:07I thought, why am I so terrified of being on my own?
07:10I'm an expert at it.
07:12And then I started to relax.
07:14She also stars in the movie adaptation,
07:16which keeps the play's humorous and devastating asides to the audience.
07:20Halfway through the film, Shirley laments how she feels
07:23she's cheated herself out of the life that she wanted.
07:26I've led such a little life.
07:30And even that'll be over pretty soon.
07:33She delivers her regrets right to the camera,
07:35looking right at us as she realizes she's lived a small life.
07:40That's where Shirley Valentine disappeared to.
07:44She got lost in all this unused life.
07:473. The Speech – Barbie
07:50After Barbie enters the real world, she faces a crisis of confidence.
07:54The pink utopia of femininity is crumbling around her,
07:57and she no longer feels useful or even beautiful.
08:00What? You're so pretty.
08:02I'm not stereotypical Barbie pretty.
08:05Note to the filmmakers, Margot Robbie is the wrong person to cast
08:08if you want to make this point.
08:09Narrator Helen Mirren's funny, fourth-wall-breaking comment is hilarious,
08:13but it sets the stage for America Ferreira's lauded monologue
08:16about the contradictions of womanhood.
08:18And you can never say you want to be thin.
08:20You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin.
08:25Her character Gloria is not just speaking to Barbie here.
08:28Her frustration feels bigger than the story of the film.
08:31While it may not be a traditional break,
08:33the way the whole scene plays with the fourth wall
08:35means it's constantly toeing the line.
08:37It's too hard, it's too contradictory,
08:40and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you.
08:43And it turns out, in fact, that not only are you doing everything wrong,
08:46but also everything is your fault.
08:492. Hitting the Wall – The Truman Show
08:51Having figured out his entire life has been a lie
08:54manufactured for a television audience,
08:56Truman Burbank makes his great escape.
09:04Leaving his hometown for the first time,
09:06setting sail on a stormy sea,
09:08he literally crashes into the fourth wall.
09:10To his horror, Truman realises that even the horizon, the ocean,
09:14and what he thought was the sky, is fake.
09:19He tries to punch through the wall,
09:21hoping to emerge into real life.
09:23It's a painful and profoundly philosophical moment.
09:26It's also one of the moments that made audiences see Jim Carrey
09:30as a gifted, dramatic actor.
09:32In case I don't see ya,
09:34good afternoon, good evening, and good night.
09:37Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
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09:42And as always, thanks for watching.
09:481. Let Us All Unite – The Great Dictator
09:52In 1940, America had yet to enter the Second World War,
09:55and the horrors of the Nazi regime were yet to be fully known.
09:59The Great Dictator sees a Jewish barber
10:01swapping places with a Hitler-inspired tyrant.
10:04In the meantime, it might be a good idea
10:06to take a look at some of the most famous
10:08and most controversial films of the 20th century.
10:11Let's take a look at some of the most famous
10:13and most controversial films of the 20th century.
10:17In the meantime, it might be advisable
10:19for you to dance with Madame Napoloni.
10:21Huh?
10:22It will carry weight.
10:24You mean I will carry weight?
10:28Silent Master comedian Charles Chaplin
10:30set out to satirise fascism,
10:32but in the last minutes of the movie,
10:34the barber in disguise makes a plea for humanity
10:37to unite against tyranny.
10:39Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men,
10:41machine men with machine minds and machine hearts.
10:45You are not machines.
10:46You are not cattle.
10:47You are men.
10:48Gathering power and passion,
10:50Chaplin looks into the camera,
10:51breaking character to deliver a message
10:53that's bigger than the story of this movie.
10:55His impassioned words still have a haunting power
10:58eight decades later.
11:00Let us fight for a world of reason,
11:02a world where science and progress
11:04will lead to all men's happiness.
11:07Soldiers, in the name of democracy,
11:10let us all unite!
11:13What's a fourth-wall break that you will never forget?
11:16Sound off in the comments below.
11:18Right after I got here,
11:19I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce
11:21and I got egg noodles and ketchup.
11:24I'm an average nobody.
11:27Get to live the rest of my life like a schnook.
11:30Do you agree with our picks?
11:31Check out this other recent clip from MsMojo,
11:34and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
11:36to be notified about our latest videos.
11:42.
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