25. 13 Assasains (Japan, Dir. Takashi Miike)
This is the type of film where you can look at the title and immediately know if you’re interested or not. There are 13 fucking assassins and they are assassinating people. If you don’t like samurai films, or assassin films you’re probably not gonna be feeling this one but for the audience that this one appeals to it really does it’s job. In many ways Miike making a samurai movie is a perfect formula, his ultra violent vision combined with the insane badass characters he often creates fit perfectly into this world and add up to make one hell of a fun time.
24. Hugo (USA, Dir. Martin Scorsese)
To some this film came out of left field in Martin Scorsese’s filmography. Yes, it”s a kid movie, but the reality is moreso than any film Marty has made in a long while Hugo is very close to this directors heart. This is a statement for film preservation disguised as a love letter to cinema disguised as a kid’s movie. We all know Marty is a massive student of film, and is all for the preservation and restoration of film, so it shouldn’t be much of a shock that his passion project looks like this. There are moments of sheer beauty in Hugo, moments that will live on with Scorsese’s legacy, moments that make you appreciate this fantastic art form, and moments that, as much as anything in 2011, made your jaw drop.
23. Leap Year (Mexico, Dir. Michael Rowe)
Leap Year is everything an Inarritu film strives to be, brutal in it’s sheer honesty, painful in it’s portrayal of the human condition. This is the female version of Shame(a film I think you may be reading about soon), a woman who goes from sex partner to sex partner. What director Michael Rowe has created is a film that is probably more real than it can afford to be, something worth admiring but never is it enjoyable. Approach with caution.
22. The Artist (France, Dir. Michel Hazanavicius)
The Artist has to be the most crowd pleasing film of 2011. Charming, exciting, warm, and at times melodramatic, this film has everything an American audience needs to pay attention, well, besides words. Yep, the Artist is silent, and as big of a gimmick as that may sound it isn’t. The Artist expands on the wonderful premise to create a modern day silent film by injecting a sense of earnestness not seen in American cinema’s in quite a while, these actors aren’t winking at the camera, they bought in. Director Michel Hazanavicius created something magical, a movie going experience that is un rivaled in today’s day and age.
21. The Arbor (England, Dir. Clio Barnard)
The Arbor tells the story of the late playwright Andrea Dunbar, and her struggles with crippling depression. The way it decides to tell her fascinating story is through actors lip syncing stories told by actual people. In a year full of wild ideas, this may have been the wildest. But it works, and after a while you forget about the entire novelty and just become immersed in this brazen film. Describing some of these scenes would be a difficult task, and that speaks to how creative they are. More than anything though the Arbor works as a mood piece, dreadful and foreboding, this film leaves you with a melancholic view of 1980s England.
20. I Saw the Devil (South Korea, Dir. Kim Ji-woon)
I Saw the Devil is, in many ways, the logical conclusion of every South Korean revenge tale we’ve seen in the last decade. Kim Ji-woon takes the violence up to 11 and the results are something that comes off as almost satirical. At the core of this film is the face off between a secret agent (Lee Byung-hun) and a mass murderer(Choi Min-sik). From there it turns into a sort of cat and mouse game, with a gorey nightmarish twist. I Saw the Devil is highlighted by it’s strong performances and the over the top violence that you will only see in a South Korean film.
19. We Have a Pope (Italy, Dir. Nanni Moretti)
The election of a new pope is a process I knew almost nothing about before viewing this wonderful film, but like the best of Moretti’s work, We Have a Pope educates while satirising. And, of course, like the best satire, this film also serves as an entry of it’s own in the political drama genre that it is poking fun at. Reminiscent of last year best picture winner The King’s Speech, We Have a Pope takes a look at a newly elected pope’s struggle with adjusting to his new duties and his relationship with his therapist. At times laugh out loud funny, at times truly heart felt, this film balances the line between drama and comedy as well as any film of 2011.
18. Melancholia (Denmark, Dir. Lars Von Trier)
2011 was the year that cinema became obsessed with the end of the world. At least 4 films I can think of featured themes of the apocalypse, and when Melancholia was described to me as Lars von Trier’s take on the end of the world I honestly wasn’t all that interested. I finally sat down and gave von Trier the benefit of the doubt, and once I got past the usual Trier annoyances I found a story that was much simpler than just the apocalypse. Yes, the backdrop is the end of the world, but the films central theme is depression, and how it overtakes everyone around it. Melancholia isn’t a perfect film, it’s first act drags, and at times, like all von Trier films, it is self indulgent, but the final act will stay with you for weeks, maybe even months. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the beautiful imagery of the world ending, really spectacular stuff.
17. A Cat in Paris (France, Jean-Loup Felicioli)
Leave it to the French to deliver the year’s best animated film. Given, this was a weak year for animation, but nevertheless A Cat in Paris stands out as a riveting, beautiful, mystery film that almost anyone can find something to enjoy in. This film takes place in one evening in Paris, and it’s centered around a murder mystery, as this plays out we are treated to some stunning scenery, depicting one of the most enchanting places on earth. This clever juxtaposition is one of the many subtle touches injected into the heart of A Cat in Paris making it one of the most fully realized films of the year.
16. Shame (England, Dir. Steve McQueen)
2011 was the year of Fassbender, and he was at the peak of his Fassbendery awesomeness here. Shame is about sex addiction, but it is in no means sexy, it’s rated NC-17 for it’s graphic sex scenes, but no one is going to be aroused by this film. No, this is a dirty, seedy depiction of an issue that the majority of the American public have no clue about. With his second film Steve McQueen(no not that one) has once again shown he’s a director with an incredible attention span, the anti Danny Boyle, he is making films for those brave souls that are willing to watch a 21 minute, one take dialogue scene. Sign me up.
15. The Future (USA, Dir. Miranda July)
With the Future Miranda July’s films have officially become an acquired taste. There is clearly a level of pretentiousness here - there is a talking cat named paw paw narrated by July herself - but there is also genius within this dark comedy. The directors signature cuteness is all there, but the Future is tonally far more serious than her previous film, I cried harder at this ending than I did all year. This is a wonderfully ambitious film, and not all of it works, but in those moments of clarity you know that this is the work of a real auteur.
14. The Kid With a Bike (Belgium, Dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
If you know anything about the history of film The Kid With a Bike should feel familiar. Of course this film takes a lot from Vittorio De Sica’s 1948 masterpiece The Bicycle Thief, and in the hands of lesser directors the idea of modernizing such a classic film would likely fall short. But the Dardenne Brothers can do know wrong, they pack so much thrill and heart into this films 87 minutes. Headed by some incredible performances by its central cast, the Kid With a Bike is an admittedly slight work but even a minor Dardenne film is better than 90 percent of what else is out there.
13. Snowtown (Australia, Dir. Justin Kurzel)
Around the final act of Snowtown we see a snake slowly approach a mouse and sink it’s teeth into it, the camera doesn’t flinch, you’re forced to watch this horrific act in all it’s morbid glory. This act in many ways sums up this film, it’s a certain type of brutal that you just can’t look away from, it slowly unravels and becomes more and more grotesque. Snowtown tells the true story of an Australian serial killer’s reign over a small town in the 1990s. It’s narrative is fractured, you see pieces of the destruction that this one man is causing, sweeping several young men up in his wave of chaos. It is an unsettling experience, and even moreso when you find out this is all true. For it’s gritty cinematography, and it’s superb acting, Snowtown works as a disturbing one time only film.
12. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Turkey, Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Some may say Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is an endurance test clocking in at a tedious 157 minutes, at times it’s not easy to sit through, not just because of the length but because of the unsettling film making. As viewers we have an automatic clock in our head for each scene, we see so many movies we are accustomed to a scene of dialogue going on 2-3 minutes, but once these scenes start dragging on for 6-7 minutes, or 8-9, our heart starts to race and we begin to anticipate dread. This tactic is used frequently by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan in this film and it’s a really clever touch, he mixes his steady cam shots with his hand held shots, and this is also a bit jarring. You’ll begin to notice these subtle things because the plot is a little dense, but its helped along by it’s directing, and it’s interesting murder mystery plot.
11. Meek’s Cutoff (USA, Dir. Kelly Reichardt)
With Meek’s Cutoff director Kelly Reichardt has become the queen of Neo-Neo Realism. She is the master of halcyon historical dramas, and this is her clicking on all cylinders. The stakes get no higher than in Meek’s Cutoff, a story of a group of settlers attempt to find supplies to keep them alive for another season. This dreadful predicament is brilliantly cut by Reichardt’s slow burn, never rushing to the finale, she lets everything play out to it’s conclusion for her viewers, it’s unrelenting in that way. Meek’s Cutoff is, in a word, captivating.
10. Le Havre (Finland, Dir. Aki Kaurismaki)
Sometimes the cynicism of modern cinema just gets you down. Well, don’t fret, we’ve always got Aki Kaurismaki! Le Havre warms the heart, a touching tale of an immigrant hiding out with a sick elderly man in France. Few films this year really show the positive side of humanity, and even more, the way it’s shown is so brilliant in it’s subtly. Kaurismaki perfectly captures France, you really feel a part of this wonderful city, you can smell the little shops, and breathe that terrific French air. Le Havre is a fairy tale for adults, told through the eyes of a director with real warmth in his heart, this is pure cinematic magic.
9. A Separation (Iran, Dir. Asghar Farhadi)
As a movie buff I often rely on films to educate me on issues I’d be otherwise ignorant to. Case and point: A Separation, which shines a light on the moral fiber of an Iranian couple suffering through a traumatic experience. I feel like I’ve seen this before, well, at least the American version, but one of the many reasons I love this film so much is because it shows me a new culture, and the way things are handled in that culture. Moreover these characters are as real as you’ll see in movies today, there is no bad guy, no good guy, just humans, and that’s just as compelling as any caricature laden over the top drama.
8. Drive (USA, Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn)
Drive’s biggest problem was in it’s marketing. American film viewers thought they were in for a fast and furious style action flick, instead they got an art house film dressed up with a slick, neon 80s sheen. There was actually a law suit filed over this film because of it’s false advertisement, this is the trouble with modern movie goers not being familiar with today’s directors. Nicolas Winding Refn has brought us the brilliant Pusher trilogy, Bronson, and Valhalla Rising. Drive is his American debut, and he teamed up with one of the finest actors of our generation. The results are phenomenal, we got a taut, stylish crime thriller. Refn tells his story with intimate moments - awkward smiles, hushed dialogue - that are cut with brief moments of his extreme ultra violence. More than anything else Drive is as cool as ice, it’s character’s are down right entertaining, and the soundtrack is the best of the year.
7. The Descendants (USA, Dir. Alexander Payne)
Alexander Payne is one of my favorite directors today. I adore Sideways and Election for their satirical elements, and Payne’s razor sharp jabs at his protagonists. So when I sat down in the theater to see his latest film, The Descendants, I was expecting a ton, and I prepared myself for his unique aesthetic. After the first 15 minutes of exposition I was panicking - “no, no, this has to be good”. Eventually though I warmed up to it enough, but I still left unsatisfied. But as days and weeks went on the Descendants still haunted me, I had to give it another look. I went into my second viewing with a new lens, and I was completely floored by it’s emotional weight, and the beautiful execution. This is a much more mature Payne film, the comedy isn’t nearly as overtly comedic, but it’s still there, and that’s where the Descendants works the most, in it’s casual moments where Payne’s distinctive narrative beings to shine through. I firmly believe that in the years to come this film will be look back on as an American masterpiece, the acting, the directing, the story telling, this is the stuff we go to the movies for.
6. Attenberg (Greece, Dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari)
With last year’s Dogtooth(my favorite film of 2010) and now Attenberg, Greece is starting to carve out a wonderfully strange new wave of cinema. Wonderful in their unconventional directing - the way these directors frame their characters is something to behold - and in their fiercely creative story telling. Strange in their odd character quirk’s and in their out-of-left-field human interactions. Attenberg doesn’t quite reach the heights of Dogtooth, and it’s ambitions aren’t nearly as great, this is simply an interesting look at family and even morso sexuality in Greek culture. Like the best foreign films that you somehow stumble upon, this film seems like it comes from a different planet, it creates it’s own style and refuses to conform to typical film conventions. In one moment you’ll be giggling to yourself, and in the next you’ll be gasping outloud.
5. Certified Copy (France, Dir. Abbas Kiarostami)
There is a scene at the beginning of Certified Copy where the two main characters take a car ride, it’s about 15 minutes, nothing but talking, but Abbas Kiarostami works his magic and creates a classic scene; He starts by shooting the two with a straight on shot from the exterior of the car, you see the couple through the windshield, there are reflections of Tuscany shadowing the two, fantastic. Then he moves to a close up of each, switching back and forth we see reaction shots for a while as they deliver some great lines back and forth. Finally he goes to an extreme wide shot as we see the full image of the beautiful country side. This sequence is everything I love about film making, and it sums up what makes the direction in this film so wonderful. As for the story, I don’t want to spoil anything, but it starts as a couple walking through Tuscany discussing art and love, and it quickly becomes a guessing game for it’s viewer. Thought provoking, and a great time, Certified Copy is a film that you’ll have so much fun dissecting for hours after you watch it.
4. The Turin Horse (Hungary, Dir. Bela Tarr)
Earlier I talked about Once Upon a Time in Anatolia being an endurance test, but in reality, to most, the Turin Horse likely makes that film look like Transformers. Yes, Bela Tarr is back, the daring director of the 7, yes 7, hour epic Satantango, and he’s come bearing cinematic gifts. The Turin Horse, like most of Tarr’s films, is one continuous shot after another, and I’d have to say each one is just as awe inspiring as the last. The film is shot in stunning black and white, which matches it’s stark tone. Tarr has said this will be his last, and I feel a similar pit in my stomach hearing that as I did when Lynch announced he was hanging it up. This is one of the most talented directors to ever live, and the Turin Horse, while not his best, is, if it must be, a fitting close to an already incredible filmography.
3. The Four Times (Italy, Dir. Michelangelo Frammartino)
This is the silent film of 2011 that American audiences would be afraid of. You see, the Four Times doesn’t feature eccentric acting performances, a playful score, or even a traditional three act structure. No, the Four Times is a meditation on Pythagoras’ four-fold transmigration theory…yes, that’s what it’s about. I mentioned there isn’t a traditional three act structure displayed in this film, but there is a three act structure, the film is broken down into three parts. Part 1: A story about a sick goat herder who believes he has found a cure to his illness in the dust of a church floor. Part 2: We follow a young goat from it’s birth. Part 3: A study of a tree, which, after being cut down is put up in the town square, and eventually is made into coal for a fire. Yep, this may seem dull to some, but I found something so powerful in this film, it’s a low key look at life in a few forms, and suffering, human or otherwise.
2. The Skin I Live In (Spain, Pedro Almodovar)
Going into my showing of the Skin I Live In the person taking my ticket told me and my parents “I’ve heard this movie is crazy”, I had heard the same thing, and with an Almodovar you’re certainly expecting nothing less. There are those moments of craziness, that’s for sure, but this is so much more of a mature film than some of the reviews would indicate. Pedro Almodovar is one of the best working directors today, and this is his Frankenstein, a modern day tale of revenge, obsession, and perverse sexuality. The best body horror film not made by David Cronenberg in a long while. But the real treat of the Skin I Live In is the way Almodovar weaves in an out of these complex story lines, always staying a scene ahead of the viewer, and when the film finally beings to gallop into it’s final stretch, and all the pieces start to connect there is nothing you can do but drop your jaw in absolute stunned admiration.
1. The Tree of Life (USA, Dir. Terrence Malick)
It was my number 1 from the moment I walked out into the rainy streets of Orlando, a feeling I’ll never forget. My world was so different, I could barely speak, I had to get to the car, talk to someone, do something, cry, gush. The first thing out of my mouth was extreme hyperbole “the greatest American film ever made”. But damn it, in that moment I felt it. Much has been made about the comparisons between Malick and Kubrick, and as far as ambitions go that is fair, both make films that serve as art, that are ponderous views of the world, fractured narratives, but the comparisons should end there. Kubrick is a perfectionist, each shot carefully framed, every moment played out just as he saw it in his head. Not Malick, no, Malick is much more content letting the beauty of nature take its course, he freely positions his camera here and there, and lets everything play out, rays of light pierce nearly every frame. This is used to great effect, Malick is transcendent in the directorial field, this is life on camera, you are the director, I am the director. I don’t care if it’s pretentious, this is everything that is right with art, this is beauty in film form. I could write for days about the themes of religion, creationism, evolution, but that’s pointless(and I’ve already wrote over 1500 words on it), The Tree of Life is an intimate film, each viewer finds their own meaning in it. It’s a rare thing for a director to have his own idiom - Lynchian, Kubrickian - I am here to say that the Tree of Life is fucking Malickian.
