A great year for movies.
Not that you'd particularly know it from the Oscars. An unusually
bland, safe, and boring selection this year. Yeah yeah, they chose
some "darker indie films" but what choice did they have? The studios
produced so few good movies this year that the Academy's back was to
the wall. And they still punked out.
At least the Oscars give me an excuse to air my Best Movies of the
Year list since I was too far behind in my viewing to post it in
January. Still haven't seen Cache, Mysterious Skin, and a few other
celebrated films. But this year's crop was so strong that my picks for
11-20 could have easily been my Top 10 in just about any other season.
And there were plenty of wonderful movies that didn't even make the
list, from fun popcorn fare like Batman Begins to smart political
thrillers like Syriana, Munich, and The Constant Gardner to quirky
gems like You Me and Everyone We Know. Anyhow, the list:
1) The Century of the Self
Visionary doc about the direct role Freud's theories have played in
advertising and gov't, tracing Freud's nephew Alan Bernais - who
invented the term "public relations" and was later employed by the CIA
- and his daughter Anna, who was also hired by the government in the
late 40s and whose ideas about therapy were based on her beliefs that
analysis should help people conform to their environments and smooth
over any deviations. Also looks at the 60s backlash against these
ideas and how radical politics were later co-opted by the
self-centered pursuits of EST in the 70s and by advertisers who hit
upon the idea that people can be made to feel like they are expressing
their individuality through purchases. Commodify your dissent, indeed.
The movie comes full circle by examining the Clinton and Blair
governing philosophies of marketing political initiatives to target
demographics. Even-handed, dense with factual backup, and filled with
startling images and juxtapositions, director Adam Curtis unrolls his
four hour narrative in an always entertaining and striking manner.
2) Memories of Murder
A straightforward but hardly simple police drama that seems familiar
at first but slowly reveals itself to be one of the most trenchant
character studies, haunting crime stories, and layered meditations
about obsession in ages. Filled with both unexpected humor and horror,
it's also a very subtle critique of Korean history.
3) 2046
Long rumored, many years in the making, Wong Kar-Wai's lovelorn epic
bounces between Hong Kong in the 60s and the sc-fi world of the
future. One of the most visually ravishing films ever made, it's
brimming with terrific performances, dense narratives, and creates a
sense of loss and longing so palpable you're sure those emotions have
taken shape right in front of your eyes.
4) A History of Violence
A taut thriller worthy of Hitchcock. About how you can have two
different personalities and be completely sane. Among other things. A
perfect 90 minutes.
5) Old Boy
A cold-blooded Jacobean revenge tale worthy of Webster. With a nod to
Tarantino and set in modern day Seoul. Virtuoso filmmaking.
6) Chain
Half-doc, half-drama, Jem Cohen spins a one-of-a-kind tale about
people marooned in the nowhere zone along those endless, lookalike,
mini-mall stretches of highway. Are you in New Jersey or the outskirts
of Brussels? It all looks indentical and feels numbingly the same.
Shot on locations in 10 countries and over 100 suburbs, it's a
singular tour de force.
7) My Summer of Love
Ah, the throes of teenage passion. This sun-drenched, delicate wisp of
a film embodies those times when play-acting at being in love crosses
the line into something else. Faking it so real you're beyond fake.
And then back again.
8) The Holy Girl
With novelistic density, this film unspools its soap-opera plot in the
most oblique manner possible while still making it magnetic. The
story: Girl who lives in hotel has vision of Virgin Mary and falls for
older guy who molested her but really wants her mother. The result:
The transubstanciation of pulp into art.
9) The New World
Terrence Malick's worst movie, which means it's still one of the most
stunningly beautiful and jaw-dropping things you'll ever see. Career
performance by 15-year-old newcomer who plays Pochahontas. Filled with
lovely longeurs, radical editing, and an emotional whallop of an
ending.
10) Werner Herzog trifecta: Grizzly Man; Wheel of Time; The White
Diamond
None of these by themselves might been so high on the list, but
together they attest to the continuing vitality and strangeness of The
World's Greatest Documentarian. Herzog avoids the "facts of the bean
counters" for the "ecstatic truth." Filled with oddball digressions
and searing images, deadpan humor and moments of pure visual rapture.
THE BEST OF THE REST:
11) The Beat My Heart Skipped
12) Brokeback Mountain
13) Last Days
14) Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
15) Tropical Malady
16) The Squid and the Whale
17) Capote
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