Goodbye, 20th Century! (1998)

What a weird movie. On the last day of the 20th century, Santa Claus decided the whole world was on his naughty list, and went on an apocalyptic rampage, plunging the world into a permanent time limbo in which the survivors were damned to eternal life. It is in the year 2019 that our story begins, before flashing back to 1919, and then forward to 1999. Roughly, the story revolves around Kuzman, who is trying desperately to break the curse placed upon him so that he can die, but it is also the eternal story of human folly, and just a generally screwed up movie. The whole thing is shot in bright colors, the camera is constantly moving and tilting at odd, nausea-inducing angles, and on some level, this really should not be as good as it is. In fact, in some ways, it is really terrible, and full of that smarmy self-indulgence that dominates mainstream art cinema, but Goodbye, 20th Century! is just too much fun to hate, it demands to be loved. Sure, there are other films where Santa goes on a homicidal rampage, but do those films feature punk renditions of Frank Sinatra's My Way, slapstick comedy at funerals, the glorification of incest, or prophet barbers? No, exactly. That is why this film is great, because it features all of these things and more! It is rude and crude, but also beautiful in its own unique way.