Though Ben Gibbard is known for his music in Death Cab For Cutie and the Postal Service, the man also appreciates cinema. In 2009, he made his acting debut in John Krasinski’s David Foster Wallace film adaptation Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. Today, he revealed his favorite movies in the Criterion Collection’s Closet Picks series.
His picks included Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel, the 1968 music documentary The Complete Monterey Pop Festival, Tsou Shih-Ching and Sean Baker’s Take Out, Jules Dassin’s Brute Force, Aki Kaurismäki’s Le Havre, Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy, and Martin Bell’s Streetwise.
While discussing Streetwise, Gibbard got choked up. “This one was shot in Seattle — where I live — in the early 80s,” he said. “It follows a number of homeless youth through the city and it’s a really beautiful film. It’s a really important film, I think, not only just in general as we try to figure out how to solve this issue of homelessness in this country, but also how it affects young people.”
He added, “This is a subject that’s near and dear to my heart because my sister has worked in youth homelessness for a long time.” Watch the full video below.
