So Yong Kim's 2006 debut "In Between Days" followed the trials, tribulations and awkward attempts to move towards adulthood of a young immigrant Korean girl. Lonely and disconnected from her surroundings, she stumbles through her wintry surroundings and continuously misses opportunities to take decisions and act on them. It didn't exactly feel like a tourist board video for my home of Toronto, but it obviously wasn't made to be that - it showed how cold and distancing a big city can be.
Her follow-up, 2008's "Treeless Mountain", moves its main characters out of the city - this time into the countryside near Seoul. Focusing on two young sisters who get sent to their uncaring Aunt's house when their Mom simply cannot take care of them anymore, it's a beautiful portrait of the little joys of childhood as well as some of the biggest fears. There's much more to say about the way the camera just inserts itself into the lives of the two girls (Jin and Bin), how wonderful the two performances are and how terrible adults can behave, but I'd rather put up these gorgeous shots of the sky that are inserted throughout the film. I'm a city boy, but the sky just looks different when the skyscrapers are removed - bigger, more complex and definitely more lovely.
My favourite is the one at the beginning of this post as it comes just as the girls go through yet another transition...As the sun peeks out from the gloomy clouds, it feels like there's some hope and happiness on the horizon.
Peter Rosen's 2006 documentary "Who Gets To Call It Art?" mixes a portrait of Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Henry Geldzahler, the general artistic scene of New York in the early 60s and the wide influence of Pop Art. Unfortunately, that wide scope waters down the film's impact and it feels like it leaves out lots of interesting stories and details. However, if it doesn't quite bring you right into the early exciting days of a NY art scene that was breaking away from conventions or give you a full understanding of the mainstream acceptance of many Pop Art images, it still provides countless opportunities to showcase some lovely, interesting and intriguing paintings.
Here's a few of the many paintings found in the film - across several styles and covering influential painters as well as those who strove to break new ground. I don't necessarily love all of these, but they made people think and discuss the meaning of art and their personal perspectives on it (the film touches briefly on some of the very negative - and quite entertaining - reviews of several modern pieces). If you can create a passionate response from someone via your own creativity, than I think you've every right to call it art.
When looking back at a year's worth of movie-watching, I prefer to take a leisurely walk through all the films I saw - not just the ones released in the calendar year. I actually do have a Top 10 for this year, but I'll start instead with my list of favourite non-2009 films I saw for the first time since January '09.
Favourite First Time Viewings of Older Films in 2009
Danger: Diabolik - Might have been one of my favourite Bava films except for a callousness by the lead character that didn't jibe with the silliness and candy colours of the rest of the film. But I can forgive it that - this looks amazing and I desperately want his hidden lair.
I'm A Cyborg But I'm OK - Chan-wook Park's first film after his Vengeance trilogy got a lot of pummeling by critics when first released. I thought it was sweet and handled it's mix of fantasy and reality in wonderful ways.
A Matter Of Life And Death - A beautiful magical film by The Archers, but what isn't?
Daisies - Who knew that an experimental film from the New Wave of Czech cinema of the 60s could make me laugh out loud for a full minute during its opening scene and then keep me engaged throughout the rest of its seemingly random events and even more random colour schemes. But it did.
Role Models - Paul Rudd just simply makes me laugh. Especially when he's involved with silly comedies that are also quite smart. The female characters were somewhat short changed here (whereas "I Love You Man" provided fuller more interesting females), but there's still a good deal of heart amongst all the funny.
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown - Immediately became my favourite Almodovar and set me off on a bit of a mini-festival of his films. I found other favourites like ""The Flower Of My Secret" and "Volver", but nothing quite as funny and different as this one.
Timecrimes - I love time travel films. And this is a good one.
The Demon - Harrowing in many ways, this late 70s Japanese film is not explicitly violent, but contains scenes that I just can't imagine any North American film ever including. My review at J-Film Pow-Wow.
Detective Bureau 2-3: Go To Hell Bastards! / 3 Seconds Before Explosion - The two best film titles ever. Both released at the same time by Kino, each is pure fun and almost non-stop action (cheesy or otherwise). My reviews at J-Film Pow-Wow: here and here.
Portrait Of Hell - There's some terrific imagery throughout the entire film - ghostly presences, fiery hellish scenes and really effective use of lighting. While society crumbles around him and poverty overcomes most everyone else, a Japanese Lord refuses to see it and asks a painter to create a portrait of paradise. My review at J-Film Pow-Wow.
The Space Amoeba - If you can't have fun with this movie than you need to take stock of your life. My review at J-Film Pow-Wow.
Take Aim At The Police Van - My favourite from the most excellent Nikkatsu Noir set released by the Eclipse line. Yes, I'm biased by the fact it's by Seijun Suzuki, but there's a reason he's one of those "I'll watch anything he's ever done" directors. My review at J-Film Pow-Wow.
Pusher II / Pusher III - I had previously seen and enjoyed "Pusher" and finally got around to its 2 sequels. The first film was a bad week in the life of a pusher, but the second and third amp up the tension and the litany of strange and horrifying events that occur to their lead characters (each film follows a different person that was introduced in the original).
House (Hausu) - Possibly my favourite film experience of the year (maybe longer). Though I now own a copy of this incredibly over-the-top ball of weird and wonderful, I'll wait until a true pristine and proper release comes out before giving it a full post of its own. If you think I've had image heavy posts in the past, just wait until Criterion releases this puppy later this year.
Scream Blacula Scream - "Blacula" is a fine entry in the blaxploitation canon, but its follow-up bumps up the camp a bit, notches up the clever filmmaking and gets William Marshall to give it all he has. Supreme fun.
Frightmare - One of those "where did this come from" films that surprised me during my Horror marathon through October. I'd had this Peter Walker film on my to-see list for some time, but had forgotten why I had placed it there in the first place. I loved its mix of camp and creepiness and it didn't cop out to any easy resolution. In fact the true horror doesn't happen until the final decision at the end.
Triple Lion Dance - My first experience with Kabuki Theatre. Gorgeous. Reviewed here.
The Thief - A pretty solid Noir that stumbled across my path and hooked me with its little gimmick of having no dialog. This limitation of no spoken words likely helped the filmmakers end up with a fast moving and lean thriller – there’s few wasted scenes and a good solid build up of tension which made a pretty basic story all the more compelling.
Dear Zachary - Like most people, I've cried during a film before. Whether it's something that tweaks a personal memory, something that goes after my "parent triggers" or simply because the on-screen emotions are amplified by music, I will occasionally shed a tear or get a big old lump in the throat. But I've never openly wept. Until now. This is a highly manipulative documentary, but days later I still couldn't really talk to anyone about the film for fear of choking up all over again. I'm not sure that's what I would call a recommendation, but there you have it.
Camera Buff - My first Kieslowski outside of his famous ones ("Three Colours" trilogy, "Decalogue" and "Double Life of Veronique") and it'll certainly not be the last. It chronicles one young man's fascination and obsession with filmmaking and though his documentaries are accurate slices of life, they may not be showing exactly what the powers that be would like. But it's more complicated than that...
Urgh! A Music War - OK, this wasn't a first time viewing as I had seen it theatrically back in the early 80s, but I thought perhaps it may be lost to the absurdities of music rights and licensing. However, Warners saw fit to release it through their Archives series and I can't thank them enough. It was buckets of fun to revisit the music and the performances from this rag tag assembly of artists (the live footage is taken from a couple of larger festivals). Not to mention Gary Numan's little car.
Favourite Performances of 2009
Female: Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air); Doo Na Bae (Air Doll); Kara Hui (At The End Of Daybreak)
Male: Michael Jai White (Black Dynamite); Brendan Gleeson & Jim Broadbent (Perrier's Bounty); Peter Capaldi (In The Loop)
On-screen Couple: Lina (Helena Yaralova) and Yigal (Dror Keren) from Five Hours From Paris - you know you like the characters when you really hope that the film ends up as an unrealistic feel-good they-get-together-in-the-end story. Honourable mention to Verona and Burt (Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski) from Away We Go.
Favourite Films of 2009
10. The Loved Ones (review) This little Aussie horror is not afraid to show familiar scenes in different ways – in fact, it embraces the chance to do so via its choices of framing, editing and pacing. It takes its time, uses long takes and builds up its head of steam through story and character. The dysfunctional relationship at the heart of the main story keeps the viewer always a bit off balance and usually laughing while they attempt to right themselves. Surprises, gore, plenty of humour and plenty of uncomfortable wincing.
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox I love Wes Anderson’s style so I’m absolutely biased up front. If he seems to bring similar framing tactics, long tracking shots, whip pans and rat-a-tat dialog to everything he does, that’s OK by me because it seems to work every single damn time. Even when the whole film is done with stop motion animation. I can’t wait to see this one again.
8 . Adventureland The characters in Greg Mottola’s "Adventureland" feel like real people. They aren’t completely innocent or completely evil – they do stupid things, react in ways they regret later and all have a great deal of warmth along with their many flaws. That’s kind of comforting and why I loved spending time with them.
7. Love At The Twilight Motel (review) Alison Rose’s "Love At The Twilight Motel" was initially pitched as being about the 20 motels located on 8th street in Miami that set their rates based on hourly occupancy. One can easily envision a rogue’s gallery of characters and bizarre situations to be found at these motels that might provide a glimpse into the vast depravity of humankind. Instead, we get seven very intimate stories from seven different patrons of these establishments – all of whom are missing something in their lives. If perhaps they don’t realistically believe they will find love at the motel, every single one of their stories touches on lost loves, hopes for love and love betrayed. It’s beautifully shot, very moving and seriously deserves much wider distribution.
6. Micmacs (review) Jean-Pierre Jeunet knows how to please his fan base. His latest (whose full title is actually "Micmacs a tire-larigot") is chock full of his patented set design, quirky characters and Rube Goldberg type apparatus along with, from start to finish, more inventiveness and creativity than many directors manage in their entire careers. Jeunet isn’t bringing a whole lot brand new to the table, but it’s superbly entertaining, constantly surprising and left me grinning ear to ear.
5. Soul Kitchen (review) Family. Food. Music. Sex. Depending on the person, each can be thought of as a kind of “food for the soul”. They all make up significant parts of Fatih Akin’s latest film which focuses on many of the joys of life. It’s filled with great characters, contains numerous zigs and zags on the path from A to the inevitable B and celebrates the nourishment that body and mind require.
4. L’Enfer D’Henri-Georges Clouzot (review) “You have to see your madness through“. By the time famed director Henri-Georges Clouzot actually utters this philosophy regarding how artists should approach their work, this documentary look at his failed dream project has already given you a taste of how much he himself believed it. By pulling together footage shot before the project was abandoned (a mix of outdoor shots and test footage for the delusional dream sequences), the film brings you right to the brink of Clouzot’s own madness.
3. Best Worst Movie (review) I love bad movies as much as the next person, but I don’t quite revel in them. I had feared that "Best Worst Movie" would focus on the fans of "Troll 2" (widely considered one of the worst films ever made and the subject of this doc) – those who can only laugh AT movies and those who have an ironic “isn’t this great” viewpoint. Many of the fans of "Troll" 2 do indeed show up in the film, but there’s an honest genuine love for “their” movie that they want to share with everyone. It becomes apparent very quickly that "Best Worst Movie" is about the people behind it – an affectionate, sweet, sometimes sad and often times hysterically funny look at a group of people who had such great intentions…and failed miserably.
2. Up Pixar sure makes it easy to include their films in end of the year lists – gorgeous graphics, high-energy action, lots of good humour and subtlety in both character and emotion. A smile rarely leaves my face during one of their films and I have to think that’s worth some pretty high praise. "Up" is yet another example. They still haven’t failed me.
1. Black Dynamite (review) Easily the most fun I’ve had at the theatre in years. Partially, no doubt, due to the wonderful Toronto After Dark audience who ate it up, but the credit of course goes to director/co-writer Scott Sanders and star/co-writer Michael Jai White. Their homage/spoof of 70’s blaxploitation films finds the perfect balance between poking fun at the genre while also paying respectful tribute to it. These are guys who know and love these films and this translates into tears-streaming down your face laughter and a wealth of fun action.
Honorable mentions: Castaway On The Moon, Ashes Of American Flags, Iron Maiden: Flight 666, Grace, I Love You Man, Air Doll, The Headless Woman, Black, Perrier’s Bounty, Inglourious Basterds, The Misfortunates, Five Hours From Paris, (500) Days Of Summer, The Cove, Away We Go, Funny People, Star Trek, The Box.
Resolutions?
To close off the year, a quick look at how I ended up doing on my movie related resolutions from an early post last year:
1. See more films in the theatre - If you include all the festival screenings I attended (TIFF, After Dark, Hot Docs, Shinsedai & Reel Asian), I did great! If you don't, I ended up where I was last year - about 1 a month. I need to rectify this! Particularly since my entire top 10 were theatrical showings.
2. See more films from certain directors: Claude Chabrol, Aki Kaurismaki, Michelangelo Antonioni, Satyajit Ray, Peter Greenaway, Nicholas Ray, Eric Rohmer, Claire Denis - I caught 3 Chabrols (each better than the one before - and now "Le Boucher" just arrived and I'm eager to see it), 2 by Denis (I've got a ways to go before I fully understand what she's doing, but I'm still curious...) and 1 by Ray. Nowhere near what I had intended, but it was a start.
3. See more Canadian cinema with a particular emphasis on Quebec films - This one got away from me as well...I saw some, but still not as many as I would like. I really need to catch up on older Canadian films and I've finally got a book on Canadian Cinema so I've got my sights set again.
4. See more Classic era comedies from the 30s and 40s - "Talk Of The Town", "Easy Living", "Nothing Sacred", "Desk Set", "Design For Living", "Merton Of The Movies" and some others...Pretty good. I've got "The Merry Widow" on the PVR, so I should try to tackle that soon and continue catching up with the many I still haven't seen.
5. See more of those unwatched DVDs hanging around the house - Yeah right. Everybody talks about this but no one ever does anything about it.
6. See more films with my son - Yep, we managed this one pretty well as we bounced between his choices (usually animated) to silly comedies of the 80s ("Adventures In Babysitting" was a big hit) to a couple of classics (he loved the ending of "A Christmas Carol"). He's just on the cusp of being able to appreciate a wider set of films, so we'll see where he leads us...
7. See more "Microcinema" - Nope. Nothing. Damn shame.
8. See more non-region 1 DVDs - Woo Hoo! Region free player acquired and "You, The Living", "Survive Style 5+", "Kuroneko" and "In The City Of Sylvia" purchased almost immediately. Of course, the first of that list is coming out in R1 this month, but that's OK - I'm just happy more people will finally be able to see it.
9. Don't tell people how many movies you watch - Not a peep from me...
My only new resolution is to not make any further resolutions until I've completed my previous resolutions. So I should be good for awhile...
Movies have changed drastically over the last 10 years (special effects capabilities, cheaper equipment, distribution channels, etc.), but the most important things have stayed the same: their ability to evoke moods and feelings, to transport you to foreign or fantastical worlds, to entertain and to make you think.
Here are some of my favourites of the last decade:
20. Memento
A brilliant usage of the medium of film to not only tell a story, but to put you in the shoes of its main character. The backwards walk through events which led up to the opening of the movie were a perfect way of bringing the viewer a sense of what it must be like to have no short term memory.
19. Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
This documentary is about the rise and fall of one of the first independent cable movie networks, but it's really two very different things at once: 1) the tragic story of its founder and 2) a love letter to the movies, the passions they stir in us and how thrilling it can be to discover new favourites.
18. The Taste of Tea
A tale of a Japanese family who are wrapped up in their own personal issues and problems until the head of the family is able to show them how to enjoy the simple things in life. Warm, wonderful, funny and surreal. And I can watch this scene over and over...
17. Spellbound
Bowling For Columbine may have been the big boost to documentaries in the last decade, but I see this incredibly entertaining look at the U.S. National Spelling Bee as one of the most influential. By focusing on the people, it takes a relatively mundane topic and makes it pretty damn interesting and even exciting at times. In its wake there have been docs about crossword puzzles, scrabble, children's ballroom dancing, parrots and a font (and each one pretty damn good).
16. Linda Linda Linda
You want a coming of age film for teens? Nobuhiro Yamashita knows how to make them. A sweet story about 4 young girls practicing for a battle of the bands competition, Yamashita allows the camera to linger with these characters and lets us get to know them.
15. Synecdoche NY
I'll still be digging through the multiple layers this film contains years from now.
14. In the Shadow of the Moon
Stunning footage of one of humankind's greatest technological feats with commentary from the incredibly intelligent men who were part of it. Fascinating and jaw-dropping. Reviewed previously here
13. Brick
Modern Film Noir in a high school setting with a sharp, witty script. It shouldn't work, but it does like gangbusters.
12. A Gentle Breeze in the Village
A beautiful sweet tale of a young girl transitioning from her one room schoolhouse into adulthood. It's a crime this isn't available to a wider audience. Reviewed previously here.
11. Mulholland Drive
There's good reason this is topping so many Best of Decade lists. Whether you seek to unlock all its mysteries or to just let it wash over you, in the end you'll likely have had a very satisfying trip.
10. You, The Living
Find enjoyment in life where you can and make the most of it. Because time is ticking. Reviewed previously here.
9. The Incredibles
Though it's even more fun to watch Pixar's multi-hued wonders with kids next to you, it's by no means a requirement. I had to include at least one them in my list and could have chosen randomly from their productions so far, but I return to The Incredibles the most often due to its great characters, solid story and incredibly fun and well-realized action scenes.
8. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Maybe it's the music. It wouldn't be the first time that my feelings toward a film have been radically changed simply due to its music. Whatever the case, I get a grin as wide and as goofy as Everett and Delmar's whenever I watch this.
7. Punch Drunk Love
As great a depiction of what love feels like (the wooziness and the invincibility) as I've seen.
6. Ocean's Twelve
I've talked ad nauseum about how I feel about this film. An experimental art film that is hugely entertaining.
5. The Royal Tenenbaums
Some poeple hate Wes Anderson's stylistic touches. Others are simply tired of them. I love every last one of 'em.
4. Amelie
A feel good movie for sure, but when it's made this gorgeously with a main character this enchanting, I'm completely sold.
3. Almost Famous
My comfort food film. I know this kid. I was very much like this kid. When the needle drops on The Who's "Tommy", I can feel the goosebumps he was getting on his arms.
2. Lady Vengeance
A masterful use of style to convey one woman's long tortured journey to achieve redemption. Again, the music in the film is a huge contributing factor (positions 2 through 8 all have music as a huge component).
1. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
You had to see that one coming...The greatest love story of the past decade. A beautiful ode to the importance and joy of the journey of a relationship - it's not about where you end up, it's the ride you take on your way there. Michel Gondry's direction and mix of digital as well as old school effects creates the unpredictable mess of a memory in Joel's head. A film and story that will never tire me.
And a further list of 30 others to make a nice round Top 50 (though I'm not ranking these - I've put them in alphabetical order):
9/11 - An amazing document of a terrible day.
The Aristocrats - Much filthier than I usually enjoy my comedy, but the interest comes from watching different comedians approach improvisation and their craft in general.
Battle Royale - Kinji Fukasaku's last great movie.
Before Sunset - It's not often that a filmmaker can revisit characters that he had left a decade previous and manage to make their story even more compelling.
Black Dynamite - Not just the funniest movie I saw in 2009, but one of the funniest of the last 10 years.
C.R.A.Z.Y. - This is why I need to see more Quebecois films.
Chacun Son Cinema - 34 short films by 34 different directors about loving the cinema.
Dancer In The Dark - I'm undoubtedly affected by a film's style and I found the musical by way of Dogme 95 idea unique and strangely effective.
Deadline - Remarkable documentary about the last 2 months of the term of the governor of Illinois and the decisions he has to make regarding the prisoners left on Death Row.
Donnie Darko - Yes, I'm one of those people that got caught up in Richard Kelly's wormhole.
Finding Nemo - Very funny (great voice work by Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres), gorgeously rendered and with a scene near the end that kills me every time.
The Fountain - A stunning soundtrack to one of the more misunderstood films of the decade.
Gosford Park - Robert Altman's last three films were all great, but this was the best of them.
High Fidelity - Really liked the book, loved the movie.
Let The Right One In - My preferred version of a modern vampire tale.
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou - I kinda already explained this above...
No Country For Old Men - Almost as great as O Brother, Where Art Thou?, but in a totally different way.
Nobody Knows - Akira is 12 and has been left in charge of his three younger siblings (all from different fathers) by his selfish mother in this tragic and very moving story.
Only Human - It's hard to merge subtle comedy with slapstick and yet this Spanish film seems to do it effortlessly.
Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer - Tom Tykwer's stylish and very disturbing tale of a man determined to create the ultimate scent.
The Prestige - Any story that can incorporate Nikola Tesla into it is fine by me.
Primer - I'm a sucker for time travel stories especially when they overlap on themselves like this low-budget labyrinth.
Pulse - Still wondering if I should have included Kiyoshi Kurosawa's incredibly creepy ghost story/doomsday scenario in my Top 20.
Silent Light - Beautiful.
Songs From The Second Floor - I now have an idea what purgatory might be like.
Spirited Away - The sheer amount of creativity and imagination put into this film and its characters is staggering.
Still Walking - Hirokazu Kore-eda has the ability to tell simple stories in very engrossing and compassionate ways.
Survive Style 5+ - Explosions of colour and fun.
The Triplets Of Belleville - A unique visual style combined with fantastic music create one of the best animated movies of recent times.
United 93 - Even knowing the tragic outcome, the film delivers some of the most tense scenes of the decade.
And a random selection of others that simply jumped to mind because of moments, sequences or just feelings that they gave me:
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
49 Up
Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy
Anvil: The Story Of Anvil
C'est Pas Moi Je Le Jure
Calle 54
Country Wedding
Dear Zachary
Funky Forest
Ju-On: The Grudge
Plages D'Agnes
School Of Rock
Seance
Soul Power
Stevie
Stone Reader
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance
Tears Of The Black Tiger
Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby
Uzumaki
WALL-E
Werckmeister Harmonies
I don't know about you, but that was a helluva decade for film.
