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My Top Ten Overlooked Films of the Decade
It's that time for the top films of the last decade lists.
There are some pretty interesting lists, with many of the same films - justifiably - appearing on more than one list. Since critics such as Roger Ebert and TIFF and TimeOut included films I might have put in this list (including Le fils, Syndromes and a Century, and Silent Light) they can't really be said to be overlooked.
The same is true with more widely marketed and acclaimed films such as In the Mood for Love, Habla con ella, Mulholland Drive, Yi Yi, Born in Brothels, 49 Up, Frozen River, Departures, and the first two of Gus Van Sant's "silent trilogy," Gerry and Elephant.
Still, some good ones have been missed, and rather than do another such list, I have been spending the last 2-3 weeks reviewing many of the last decade's best and my favorites. So herewith is: My List of Top 10 Overlooked Films of the Decade
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329393/
Truly one of the finest films made in India in a long, long time, perhaps since Benegal's Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda in 1993 (yes, I exclude Mani Ratnam), Mr. and Mrs. Iyer is certainly the most subtle depiction I have ever seen of inter-language, -religion, -region and caste relations in a film. Many of the scenes, especially on the bus, remind me of my own experiences as an outsider learning the intricate ways of Indian culture, multi-lingualism, and living with the threat of terror.
We waited a long time for director Aparna Sen to reclaim the wonder of her debut 36 Chowringhee Lane and it was worth the wait. To me this is not just an overlooked ten best, but one of the top ten best films of the last decade in any language, from any country.
De fem benspænd (2003) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0354575/
Ever the provocatuer, Lars von Trier's documentary The Five Obstructions, while apparently on the nature of film making, is really about the entire process of creativity in any medium. A profound examination of the role and necessity of "obstructions" - creative limitation and discipline - it is by turns humorous, insightful, banal, even sadistic. This is a must-view for anyone interested in film or the creative process.
Land of Plenty (2004) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382357/
Predictably, Americans ignored this perceptive Wim Wenders meditation on the nature of 9/11 among his adopted countrymen. Like his mentor Antonioni's attempt to hold up an external metaphorical mirror to American indulgence and obsession of the 1960s in his critically clawed film Zabriski Point, Wenders, as an intelligent outsider turned resident, has something profound to tell us about ourselves. We would do damn well to listen. Both our shame and our fundamental fear and paranoia are clearly portrayed. How brilliant that this film can sum up America's 9/11, both cause and effect, with the simple thump on the top of a television set. But such medicine we need, however distasteful the draught.
Here is part of an interview with Wenders about the making of the film:
Maria Full of Grace (2004) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390221/
Having garnered a bushel of awards, including a well deserved Oscar best actress nomination for Catalina Sandino Moreno in 2005, I was rather surprised at its absence from any of the major decade best of lists. Joshua Marston has made a beautiful film about someone who simply wants a better life, threading a story through a minefield of political topics without ever falling for the over-simplistic, easy answer. It leaves both Maria and us with the complicated answer to an unclear question, much like life itself.
Thomas est amoureux (2000) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0262826/
It is hard to do science-fiction comedy. It is even harder to make a film entirely in "subjective camera" mode, where we never see our main character but see everything from his/her point of view. Put them both together, in French, and you have one of the funniest films ever on the near future. In the vein of Sleeper and Seksmisja, Thomas est amoureux is a spoof on the logical result of an entirely mediated world where we all live alone in our own space and communicate only via screens with one another. We see Thomas and his hilarious interactions (intentional and otherwise) with all manner of people including his mother, his therapist, his insurance agent, various dates from a virtual dating service, and even a vacuum repairman. It is touching and very, very funny - an overlooked gem of the genre.
Rain (2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287645/
Better known now perhaps for her recent film Sunshine Cleaning, New Zealand director Christine Jeffs's film Rain is a sensitive and knowing capturing of that crucial coming-of-age moment of a young girl discovering both her parents' realities and her own womanhood. It is about the death of Innocence one remembered Summer, about a threshold of curiosity and experience that, once crossed, can never be uncrossed. It features a tremendous performance by the young actress Alicia Fulford-Wierzbicki as the lead character Janey.
Man Push Cart (2005) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464105/
Roger Ebert chose director Ramin Bahrani's 2007 film Chop Shop among his top ten films of the decade, but I have to say I still prefer Bahrani's earlier breakthrough film as one of my overlooked favorites. Unlike the constantly queasy handheld trendiness of the later film, Man Push Cart is classically beautiful in composition and heartbreaking in its depiction of the life of Ahmad, who has a story from his past that he cannot quite come to tell anyone, not even us, the audience. We know he was hurt, we know some things have happened, and we see how he is crippled in his heart - and even though he knows it too, he cannot quite seem to overcome it. How director Bahrani has captured repeatedly the simple everyday details of work is magical. And such routine is the one thing Ahmad has to cling to as he struggles each day with burdens both internal and external.
La stanza del figlio (2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208990/
Like Maria Full of Grace, The Son's Room was lauded when it came out, then seemingly it and its well deserved Palme d'Or were forgotten. Too bad, since it is a wonderful portrait of a family in the every day mundane ups and downs of lives well adjusted and as happy as can be, until they suddenly become unknit by a single act of fate. The final, silent shot of the film of them walking on the beach says everything that needs be said to anyone in such a situation.
Wendy and Lucy (2008) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152850/
Filmed in my hometown of Portland by local filmmaker Kelly Reichardt from a story by writer Jonathan Raymond, this is the team that brought us the wonderfully calm and quiet Old Joy in 2006. The second overlooked film on my list that stars Michelle Williams, it is a slow, meditative story on how we manage to hold it together, even when the bottom seems uncomfortably near, and we are forced to sacrifice, for its own good, something dear. And how, even the smallest gift, given with compassion, can show the way. Visually, it reminds me much of the beauty of the films of Jon Jost, especially the Tom Blair trilogy, and captures the soggy heart of Oregon so well.
Yuva (2004) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382383/
Indian director Mani Ratnam is best known, probably both in and outside of India, for his so-called "Terrorism Trilogy" especially the final, allegorical film Dil Se. But I find his ensemble film about the Indian young generation one of his best and most complex. Yes, it straddles, with its set pieces, pop sensibility, and melodrama, as perhaps only Mani Ratnam can, the world of Bollywood production values with the sensibility and preoccupations of Indian independent ("parallel") cinema, but that's what makes it so delicious.
Honorable Mentions
There are some pretty interesting lists, with many of the same films - justifiably - appearing on more than one list. Since critics such as Roger Ebert and TIFF and TimeOut included films I might have put in this list (including Le fils, Syndromes and a Century, and Silent Light) they can't really be said to be overlooked.
The same is true with more widely marketed and acclaimed films such as In the Mood for Love, Habla con ella, Mulholland Drive, Yi Yi, Born in Brothels, 49 Up, Frozen River, Departures, and the first two of Gus Van Sant's "silent trilogy," Gerry and Elephant.
Still, some good ones have been missed, and rather than do another such list, I have been spending the last 2-3 weeks reviewing many of the last decade's best and my favorites. So herewith is: My List of Top 10 Overlooked Films of the Decade
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329393/
We waited a long time for director Aparna Sen to reclaim the wonder of her debut 36 Chowringhee Lane and it was worth the wait. To me this is not just an overlooked ten best, but one of the top ten best films of the last decade in any language, from any country.
De fem benspænd (2003) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0354575/
Land of Plenty (2004) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382357/
Predictably, Americans ignored this perceptive Wim Wenders meditation on the nature of 9/11 among his adopted countrymen. Like his mentor Antonioni's attempt to hold up an external metaphorical mirror to American indulgence and obsession of the 1960s in his critically clawed film Zabriski Point, Wenders, as an intelligent outsider turned resident, has something profound to tell us about ourselves. We would do damn well to listen. Both our shame and our fundamental fear and paranoia are clearly portrayed. How brilliant that this film can sum up America's 9/11, both cause and effect, with the simple thump on the top of a television set. But such medicine we need, however distasteful the draught.
Here is part of an interview with Wenders about the making of the film:
Maria Full of Grace (2004) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390221/
Thomas est amoureux (2000) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0262826/
It is hard to do science-fiction comedy. It is even harder to make a film entirely in "subjective camera" mode, where we never see our main character but see everything from his/her point of view. Put them both together, in French, and you have one of the funniest films ever on the near future. In the vein of Sleeper and Seksmisja, Thomas est amoureux is a spoof on the logical result of an entirely mediated world where we all live alone in our own space and communicate only via screens with one another. We see Thomas and his hilarious interactions (intentional and otherwise) with all manner of people including his mother, his therapist, his insurance agent, various dates from a virtual dating service, and even a vacuum repairman. It is touching and very, very funny - an overlooked gem of the genre.
Rain (2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287645/
Man Push Cart (2005) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464105/
Roger Ebert chose director Ramin Bahrani's 2007 film Chop Shop among his top ten films of the decade, but I have to say I still prefer Bahrani's earlier breakthrough film as one of my overlooked favorites. Unlike the constantly queasy handheld trendiness of the later film, Man Push Cart is classically beautiful in composition and heartbreaking in its depiction of the life of Ahmad, who has a story from his past that he cannot quite come to tell anyone, not even us, the audience. We know he was hurt, we know some things have happened, and we see how he is crippled in his heart - and even though he knows it too, he cannot quite seem to overcome it. How director Bahrani has captured repeatedly the simple everyday details of work is magical. And such routine is the one thing Ahmad has to cling to as he struggles each day with burdens both internal and external.
La stanza del figlio (2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208990/
Wendy and Lucy (2008) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152850/
Yuva (2004) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382383/
Honorable Mentions
- Vendredi Soir (2002) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295743/
- Man from Earth (2007) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/
- Wit (2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243664/
- Kippur (2000) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218379/
- Quiet City (2007) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0914382/
- Decasia (2002) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303325/
December 20, 2009
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November 29, 2009
Randy Thornton
Learning isn't something you do, it's a way you live.
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