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Saw Bubble and really enjoyed it, though it won't be on my list. Soderbergh has been so dogged about forging an interesting career for himself that, by sheer force of will, he seems to have transformed himself into an interesting director (if not always a consistent or even a particularly good one). What's impressive for me about this film is how its aesthetic evolves from the circumstances and constraints of the project (budget, locations, use of non-professional actors) rather than being imposed on it. A disappointment for hard-core auteurists perhaps, but I like the diversity this brings. And he's a really effective, no-nonsense editor.

Star Spangled to Death is going to have to be my #1 for this list. When the DVDs came out I thought it was one of the most astonishing things I'd ever seen*. I got it back out again recently to see how it held up and read even more of the "flash texts," and my jaw is still on the floor. This is virtuosic filmmaking -- incendiary, hilarious, working on so many levels simultaneously throughout. It is never incohesive, but nor is it neat, with the disorder of "Limbo" and the refusal to acquiesce in easy answers about anything. Impossible to do justice to it in a short post so I'll just stop.

*It's a little hard to say this, however, because it's so incommensurable vis-a-vis other films, even many experimental ones in certain respects.

Old Joy
This didn’t strike me as immediately as Wendy & Lucy did (hardly a bad thing; it may actually bode well for its final placement) but I certainly was taken by the Oregonian landscape travel symphony and the unwritten conflicts between the two males. I begin the film thinking Kurt is the one who has it figured out, the one who has settled into his pattern of living, the fun one, the lively one (maybe this shows my own manipulation/expectations via American buddy movie clichés) and that Mark is the out-of-touch, stodgy, set-in-his ways guy. As it turns out, Kurt is confused and grasping, taking a weekend getaway with an old friend as a last ditch effort to try and make some sense of who he is, while the whole time building a façade of the poet observer who’s quietly “just livin’, dude.” I at first took Mark’s calls with his wife as his keeping a foot in the real world and avoiding completely connecting with the old friend, the wise one, in front of him, but as the film progressed I saw that Mark is actually far more certain about who he is and can even sense a great deal more than he says about Kurt. One could go on and on micro-analyzing the interactions and pauses. Ultimately I think that’s what I love about this film: it isolates a limited interaction between two people who have some history together, gives very little by way of tangible backstory and lets the audience read the truthfulness or false-honesty of these men over the course of the film. I think the minimalism of “cinematic expression” or “drama” helps keep the film focused, where even the extended Kurt wandering sequence at the end nearly speaks too loudly…but not quite.

Russian Ark
I knew the “gimmick” going in but that did not stop me from loving this film. Actually, the singular point-of-view gave the film a rhythm that any cut would have shattered and kept me glued to the screen due to the audience as camera, experiencing a dream of Russian history (even knowing nothing about Russian history…which I read is one of those arbitrary prerequisites thrown up against the movie). If this film was only noteworthy for the technical achievement I believe it would still find an honorable mention spot somewhere on my list. But it hit me so much harder emotionally than a flashy exercise would.

Who’s Camus, Anyway? [owed to zedz]
A sharp and insightful look at film school students, obviously made by someone a level removed from them. Not that the film isn’t empathetic or overly critical, but the film is just so cohesive and it did seem that there were several sharp barbs thrown toward the idea of formal film education. One was the preoccupation the students have with their sexual relationships (does this director ever do any thinking about the script he’s about to shoot?); another was the ways students understand or misunderstand film history (“who directed Adele H.....Godard?”); yet another was the final amazing sequence whereby the lines between film and reality blur into a subconscious whole, perhaps a jab at the attempts at realism in film (or misunderstandings students have about film realism viz handheld cameras, documentary naturalism, etc.). At first I though the professor subplot seemed out of place but thinking on it further, it fits perfectly within the world of sexual encounters (real, imagined, failed). It could also be another subtle barb, as if the professor personifies the destiny of one if not several of the would-be filmmakers. Obviously I see this less a movie about making a movie and more about the world in which a Japanese student film might be made. Switch a few of the cultural parameters, add even less film literacy and several go-getter Hollywood pragmatists and this could be at any film school in the states. Thanks a lot zedz: I can’t say I would have come by this film had you not made a glowing recommendation (and strong-armed a viewing by having seen the Bickford film).

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Sorry Gregory: I doubt I will be able to see Star Spangled to Death before the lists are due. It looks dense and beautiful and I look forward to watching it sometime.

LQ and swo: I'll be getting along to the films I owe you sometime soon.

life_boy wrote:Sorry Gregory: I doubt I will be able to see Star Spangled to Death before the lists are due. It looks dense and beautiful and I look forward to watching it sometime.

I hope you do -- but at the same time, despite my glowing praise above, it's not a film I'd recommend to one and all on the forum. I certainly don't mean to underestimate anyone; it's just that my reasons for loving it are so personal. It'd be hard to even begin express why the relationship between Sims, Smith, and Jacobs in the film (their roles) is so significant to me. Anyway, it is indeed a beautiful film, and I was caught off guard by how beautiful it became as the filmed footage gradually spread into the film.

Is there any way to see Star Spangled to Death besides shelling out $80 for a DVD of it here?

swo17 wrote:Is there any way to see Star Spangled to Death besides shelling out $80 for a DVD of it here?

This IS the price for individual purchasers who wish to watch the film at home -- the instiutional price (allowing non-commercial showings by libraries. schools, etc.) is 10 times higher. It may be unwise on the part of the rights holders, but this expensive DVD is presently the only legal option for home video purposes.

The AV Club beat us to the punch. Decent list...although 25th Hour, number 2? I see it got some brief yet intense praise in this thread, looking forward to seeing it.

Quick note to recommend adding Lance Hammer's Ballast to the long list of 'For Your Consideration' titles. Another strong regional indie, with good acting and creative use of the cinemascope frame.

I doubt I'll have room for more than a couple of these on my own list. At the moment I haven't even managed to squeeze in Ira Sachs' Forty Shades of Blue, even though it features two of my favourite performances of the decade.

Der Verruckte, das Herz und das Auge (Annette Jung and Gregor Dashuber, 2006) A wonderful, short animated version of Poe's Tell Tale Heart. Declaration of interest - I was on the jury of the Guernsey Lily festival which awarded this top prize, and then took one of the directors around the island when she came over for the ceremony. It's very funny (owing more to the Warner's tradition than - what I know of - the European or Disney ones) and well worth catching. Has a very good chance of making my list.

Eel Girl (Paul Campion, 2008) Well made short by Weta technicians, and a nice little nasty surprise. It amounts to a 1 joke film (it's only 5 minutes), but it is fun and the effects are impressive. Overall though, it feels more like a calling card to Hollywood than anything else.

Anyone voting for Kings and Queen? I wish I made it a swapsie earlier but it's kinda too late. I just revisited this film and it completely floored me. It took me several viewings to begin to digest and understand all the things the film's stuffed with. The shading of the film's emotions is staggering and brilliant: one scene late in the film left me feeling very physically sick but then I was instantly returned to feeling joyous in the following scenes. A Christmas Tale is just as magnificent but not as meaty as Kings and Queen. I can't recommend Desplechin's gorgeous family epics enough.

I'll definitely be voting for Kings and Queen and A Christmas Tale, and it's possible that depending on how things get towards the bottom of the list I might even squeeze Esther Kahn in there.

Michael wrote:Anyone voting for Kings and Queen? A Christmas Tale is just as magnificent but not as meaty as Kings and Queen. I can't recommend Desplechin's gorgeous family epics enough.

I really need to watch these, they've been on my list of stuff to get through before the end of this year but that deadline is fast approaching and the list doesn't seem to be shrinking.

zedz wrote:At the moment I haven't even managed to squeeze in Ira Sachs' Forty Shades of Blue, even though it features two of my favourite performances of the decade.

I assume one of the two is Dina Korzun's. What's the other one? I thought Torn and Burrows were great, too.

Boy A (knives' swapsie)

I thought it was a good film that could have have been very good. The cast was great with the standouts being Mullan and Garfield. I've come across a few people that had problems with the cinematography, but I thought it was rather good. I'm not so sure the narrative structure is effective, but probably best since in a chronological telling the beginning might seem like a perfunctory prologue because of the subsequent jump in time. Anyway, the structure wasn't my major beef. That would be the film's final scene.


Other viewings:

Secret Sunshine

Didn't like Oasis, but this one I can get behind. For a few minutes there, I thought the film was going to turn into a thriller or a drama like High and Low. I didn't know the basic story beforehand. The only thing I knew was that it won an award or two at Cannes. What I liked about he film was that it didn't take cheap shots at the character's move towards religion as means of coping with grief. There are two scenes in the film that are some of the best I've seen this decade.


Man Push Cart

Outstanding. Just as I had remembered it being. I'm saddened by the lack of reviews for Bahrani films in this thread. I hope that many of you have given Man Push Cart a chance, but just haven't written a little review. The critical reception of Chop Shop and Goodbye Solo gives me peace of mind, but I feel that Man Push Cart is his best film. It's currently sitting in my top ten. By the way, Kiarostami liked Chop Shop.

Secret Sunshine -- a remarkably morally complex film. Believe it or not, the book this was based on was _bleaker_.

Mise En Scene wrote:

zedz wrote:At the moment I haven't even managed to squeeze in Ira Sachs' Forty Shades of Blue, even though it features two of my favourite performances of the decade.

I assume one of the two is Dina Korzun's. What's the other one? I thought Torn and Burrows were great, too.

Torn. Burrows was okay, but I thought he had the weakest role, whereas Torn is given his head. And even with Rip Torn at full roar I think Korzun might outstrip him by opting for a different register entirely. What could have been a terrible clash of acting styles works beautifully because they're both so aware of one another and how their characters fit together into the film.

zedz wrote:

Mise En Scene wrote:

zedz wrote:At the moment I haven't even managed to squeeze in Ira Sachs' Forty Shades of Blue, even though it features two of my favourite performances of the decade.

I assume one of the two is Dina Korzun's. What's the other one? I thought Torn and Burrows were great, too.

Torn. Burrows was okay, but I thought he had the weakest role, whereas Torn is given his head. And even with Rip Torn at full roar I think Korzun might outstrip him by opting for a different register entirely. What could have been a terrible clash of acting styles works beautifully because they're both so aware of one another and how their characters fit together into the film.

Torn's performance in that film is criminally overlooked. Most if not all reviews that point out the acting mentioned Korzun and Burrows.


Last night I watched:

Postmodern Life of My Aunt (Ann Hui)

My library catalog's synopsis and the film's title made it seem like the nephew was going to play a huge part. Instead, the film is about the aunt (a very good Siqin Gaowa). The film progresses from a light drama-comedy to drama. During the course of the film, we learn more about the independent aunt. The film's final shot is one of my favorite final shots of the decade. While this film was worth watching, this wont' be placing.


July Rhapsody (Ann Hui)

What a fantastic supporting performance by Lam Kar Yan! Are there any other performances by her I should seek out? Wasn't expecting this film to be a little creepy and unsettling. Netflix's synopsis made it sound something more platonic. The film gave me something which I felt was a little refreshing from a moviegoer perspective: a married couple not in love accepts that without bitterness. Jackie Cheung and Anita Mui turn in fine performances. I liked this one a little more than Postmodern.


Bordwell in calling Hui's The Way We Are as Hong Kong's closest equivalent to an Ozu film has me thinking of buying it. Is it making anyone's list?

The Hui film that will definitely make my list is July Rhapsody -- this one is more Naruse-esque tha Ozu-esque. I like Postmodern Aunt a lot -- but it probably won't squeeze onto my list. My DVD copy of the Way We Are was defective -- but it wasn't worth sending back to YesAsia (in HK) and I haven't found another copy. From what I saw, I can't imagine it pushing ahead of July Rhapsody (which is one of those films that just linger and linger).

Any films from Spain and Italy making anyone's list?

I've seen Sex and Lucia, Almodovar's stuff, and a handful of Italian films. The only one that might make my list is Golden Door. I'd love to see some great stuff from those areas.

From Italy, The Best of Youth has a fighting chance. I recently rewatched it, and I think my in depth analysis posted on the first page of this thread still stands:

six hours of watching Italian people do stuff that is totally worth it for the last five minutes

Also, it's gotten a lot of crap elsewhere on the forum, and I don't think it will make my list, but Gomorrah really is quite good.

From Spain, I've got nothing, unless you count Mexico as part of Spain, in which case, everything by Reygadas is in strong contention.

Marco Bellocchio's career resurgence comprises My Mother's Smile, Good Morning Night, The Wedding Director and Vincere, all of which will probably make my list.

I haven't seen Golden Door, but Crialese's Respiro (2002) is lurking around the bottom of my list. So is Ferzan Ozpetek's La finestra di fronte (Facing Windows, 2003).

Spain

On my LONG shortlist and all almost certainly in my final fifty:

In the City of Sylvia - Guerin
Lifeline - Erice (segment of one of the Ten Minutes Older films)
Birdsong or Honour of the Knights - Serra (I may end up tossing a coin over these)

Italy

Niente. I had to double check, but there isn't even a single Italian film among the 150 or so I'm trying to whittle down. Not that I've been avoiding Italian films or anything, but nothing I've seen this decade has struck me as good enough.

zedz wrote:Italy

How about The Best of Youth?
I haven't seen it yet, has anyone here?

Munyurangabo

Well this was a toughy to find, without having to buy. I was afraid from the descriptions this would be a poor City of God ripoff, but at the very least it isn't poor. In fact I'd say it's the best recent film I've seen tackle any sort of issue concerning the third world. By saying this is how people are here in spite of the past rather than saying these poor people need help because of the past really sold the film to me. It didn't hurt to have a lead character type that I always enjoy. The only thing I wasn't 100% on was the cinematography which has been done to death and again this decade. Another small problem I had with the film is that the story fell into a few of the Huck Finn cliches this sort of film often ends up in. It didn't take away much though in part because it went way back to the Huck Finn structure which is part of the reason I think I liked so much more than Hotel Rwanda, City of God, ect.