Yes, I'm aware that I'm late on the "Best Of" train, but there were a few films which I needed to see before being comfortable with my list. Good thing too, since most of them ended up on the list after all.
It's still January, though, and in honor of the (relatively) new year, I offer my selections for the best films from the last year of the Nothing Decade. Enjoy.
Honorable Mentions:
Duplicity was a romantic gem that featured dangerous characters and the games they play on one another. The final shot of this film is one of the iconic moments of the year.
I may be the only one who doesn't feel strongly about the subject matter of The Cove. It goes back to my confusion at people demanding that their tuna be "dolphin safe" when thousands of animals still end up being killed. It is, however, refreshing to see people take huge risks for their political convictions, and the intensity of the film's execution is undeniable.
Some films set out to tell a story, while others seem to capture a state of mind. The Headless Woman is definitely one of the latter. The most powerful opening sequence of the year gives way to a largely uneventful portrait of a character almost confronting her own guilt.
The Limits of Control seems to have split audiences, and it's not difficult to understand why. Like The Headless Woman, not a lot happens, but if you're willing to go with it and are of the right disposition, then the film definitely offers its worth.
Every best-of-list has at least one film which it was painful to cut. In my case that film was Shane Acker's 9. I'm not sure why this didn't connect with audiences, but I was more emotionally attached to those sock-puppets than most human characters this year. It takes the same material that WALL*E wove into a subversive satire of plutocracy and instead tells an epic fable.
10. Me and Orson Welles - Richard Linklater
Conventional reaction to this film seems to be that Linklater's latest film is little more than an excuse for a brilliant supporting performance. "Not so," I say. While Christian McKay's depiction of Orson Welles is unmatched this year, the film has much more to offer, constantly introducing elements that cast previous actions into different (often darker) light. It's a battle of egos that favors Welles at the moment but would whittle away his pride in the decades to come. Most noteworthy, however, is the pitch perfect portrayal of a masterpiece being built beat by beat from the ground up, a brilliant mind realizing the greatest of possibilities.9. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done - Werner Herzog
With the success of Avatar, it's being debated whether great imagery can compensate for a less-than-stellar story. Herzog's latest (and strangest) suggests that it can. His direction and Peter Zeitlinger's cinematography take a cliched hostage film and imbue it with the awe and reverence of a religious ceremony.8. Sita Sings the Blues - Nina Paley
2009 was its own golden age of animation, and it's a testament to the quality of its animated films that this isn't my favorite of the year. A revisionist adaptation of a classic Hindu story, this is the most original film of the year, combining fantasy, slice-of-life drama, romantic comedy, and literary criticism. It went under almost everyone's radar, but you can watch it here, free of charge.7. The Fantastic Mr. Fox - Wes Anderson
I feel like this is the film that Anderson has been building toward his entire career. With his other films, I often feel that his style gets in the way of his stories. Whether it's the switch to stop motion or the higher stakes involved, this film seemed to tap into all that was awkward or awesome about my childhood.6. Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino
In a year where even some of the best films seemed to lack clear visual direction, Quentin Tarantino rode in on cloven hoof to remind everyone what great films are supposed to be. Inglourious Basterds is a mad celebration of all things cinema and its importance in our lives.5. The White Ribbon - Michael Haneke
This film is supposed to be about the birth pangs of National Socialism in pre-Great-War Europe, but there are many ways to come to that conclusion. Is it that the paranoia of the townspeople leads them to seek scapegoats or that their reluctance to pursue true wrongdoers lets their violence spread? I suspect that your interpretation is supposed to reveal something about yourself, but I'd question whether this is even the best way to address the film. In any case, it presents a brilliant portrait of a society on the crest of perhaps the most significant cultural shift in human history.4. The Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow
The best-reviewed film of the year continues director Karthyn Bigelow's tradition of making films about people on the fringes of sanity, who turn their backs on normalcy to lust after intense physical experiences. It follows a bomb disposal expert whose disregard for his safety places himself and his fellow soldiers in great danger. On the other hand, it makes him one of the few people capable of executing the most dangerous job in the world, saving many lives in the process. The Hurt Locker left me winded with its unflinching portrayal of this character and its visceral action and suspense.3. Humpday - Lynn Shelton
Probably the best overlooked film of the year (minus the better ones I may have overlooked), Humpday is a beautiful little film about two friends, whose paths in life have widely diverged, trying to reconnect with each other. With their dicks! Not only is this the funniest film of the decade, but the characters reveal their innermost vulnerabilities through through some of the best improvised dialog I've ever encountered. The final sequence of the film practically killed me, it was so funny, yet the comedy is not through punchlines or elaborate set-pieces It's just two people talking to each other at their most exposed. I imagine this is the type of film Judd Apatow wants to make when he grows up.2. Up - Pete Docter
I didn't think they made films like this anymore, but Pixar, as usual, has put the rest of Hollywood to shame with its ever-improving storytelling and produced a film about which I can honestly say, "I laughed; I cried." I imagine that the heartbreaking early sequence showing Carl and Ellie's marriage will be fondly remembered by generations of parents, as their children fall in love with Dug the talking dog. This is a film about the sweetest kind of love, and it inspires that in its viewers.1. Goodbye Solo - Ramin Bahrani
As much as I think that films hold no obligation to realism, achieving it is something to admire, and no one does it better than Ramin Bahrani. Like Bahrani's previous films, Goodbye Solo is largely concerned with capturing moments of genuine experience, but it does so within an engaging story of an uneasy friendship. The final scenes of this film are absolutely heartbreaking, perfectly expressing loss at its most basic level, the absence of something that you feel should be there.
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