(Finding and reposting many video essays lost when iKlipz went under. This one was originally published ,here.)
Rescued, restored: My best of 2008
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"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy is a long shot." -- Buster Keaton
"There's nothing I like less than bad arguments for a view that I hold dear." -- Daniel Dennett
"Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out." -- Martin Scorsese (2007, but I've been harping on it for years)
"If you know exactly what you're going to say before you say it, why bother? (Also, holds true for writing and filmmaking.)" -- Errol Morris
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No love for "Synecdoche, New York"? Sheesh!
I didn't know that Still Life aka Sanxia Haoren (#7) was from 2008, I thought it was originally released in 2006. Anyway, I only saw it recently, which is shame because it turned out to be one the more exciting Chinese films of the decade.
Agree with you about In Bruges about being no. 1 last year. One of the best contemporary ones I have seen in a while.
(just checked on IMDB, #7's US release was in 2008.)
You acknowledged 5 of my favorites from last year: CHE, A CHRISTMAS TALE, THE FALL, IN TREATMENT, and SHOTGUN STORIES. Last year was not a bad year, but the scale was definitely tipped towards movies that generally don't reach the mainstream easily.
JE: True, but that's not something I ever take into consideration. The only criteria are 1) whether a movie played to the public during the year -- doesn't matter for how long or on how many screens; and, of course, 2) whether I was able to see it -- either in a theater or on DVD or On Demand. That's it. If it was available and I was able to see it, then I can consider it eligible. (I try to see as much as possible, based on what I've read and what others have told me I really NEED to see for consideration.) Eventually, they all become available to everybody (on cable/sattelite or DVD -- "Christmas Tale" has just become a Criterion release), so I hope these lists serve to recommend good movies to people, whether they were widely released or not.
"Crash" was such a great movie, it deserves to be right at the top of this list even though it was released long before 2008. It's just that good.
I'm just curious if there are any 2008 releases you have seen since the end of 2008 that you would consider worthy of this list. Rachel Getting Married? I loved it, although I'm still not sure if I would consider it on the same level as In Bruges or Still Life.
JE: That's happened to me before. Naturally, I catch up with films from the previous year that I wasn't able to see before I made my list. And I've seen some good stuff from 2008 since I compiled this one, but nothing that would change my mind about it.