MSN's Dave McCoy writes:
Saying that we've come up with the 12 best films of the decade is pretty hilarious when you get right down to it. You can't take the thousands of films released in the past 10 years and say, "Yes, these by far represent the greatest cinema had to offer!" Hell, if you quizzed the 12 of us right now, we'd probably give you completely different lists than the ones we delivered in early December 2009. But, you can't say it isn't fun, right?
This reminds me: How the hell did I manage to omit Laurent Cantet's 2001 "Time Out"? You can find the aggregate ballot results here, individual contributors' lists here.
After the jump: The composite list, my list, and my capsule appreciation of "Caché":
MSN Movies: Best of the Decade:
1) "No Country for Old Men"
2) "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
3) "Zodiac"
4) "Mulholland Dr."
5) "The Lord of the Rings - The Trilogy"
6) "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"
7) "Oldboy"
8) "Million Dollar Baby"
9) "There Will Be Blood"
10) "Caché"
11) "Wall-E"
12) "Pan's Labyrinth"
That's a pretty mainstream list (hey, it's for MSN) -- and so is mine:
Jim Emerson's MSN Best of Decade:
1) "No Country for Old Men"
2) "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"
3) "Caché"
4) "Zodiac"
5) "A Serious Man"
6) "Mulholland Dr."
7) "Brokeback Mountain"
8) "Pan's Labyrinth"
9) "Birth"
10) "24 Hour Party People"
"Caché" (Michael Haneke, 2005)
Rarely has the path of discovery from first image to final image been as convoluted and deeply mysterious as the one that winds through Michael Haneke's "Caché" (aka "Hidden"). The picture begins with a seemingly ordinary establishing shot: an exterior of a jumbled block of Parisian townhouses and apartments. Birdcalls echo through the streets and alleyways. The credits read out across the screen until they cover most of it (like one of Charles Crumb's later comics panels) and then they fade away, leaving us with that same image. What are we looking at? What are we looking for? A woman comes through a gate and walks out of the frame. A boy on a bicycle rides through. "Well?" says a man's off-screen voice. "Nothing," says a woman's. The scenario that initially emerges is straight out of David Lynch's "Lost Highway": a video tape (the one we've been watching) has been left here, in front of this flat occupied by Georges and Anne Laurent (Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche) and their teenage son Pierrot. The tape, and childlike drawings featuring splashes of blood, hint at something terrible hidden in Georges' past, and that of France, as well. How much will be revealed? And what are we witnessing in that bedeviling final shot, a revelation so subtle some viewers actually missed seeing it, perhaps assuming the movie was over? Like many great movies, "Caché" teaches you how to watch it as you watch it, and the experience is riveting in part because it is not easily explained away. -- Jim Emerson
34 Comments
*You can't take the thousands of films released in the past 10 years and say, "Yes, these by far represent the greatest cinema had to offer!"*
Sure you can. It's not that tough either. When did people become so terrified by the thought of making judgments? Or, in this case, why do many people feel the need to apologize for making judgments? It's essential to living a healthy and meaningful life. By the way, Nickelback stinks.
You'd have to limit yourself to evaluating "the greatest cinema that I have seen" which is a major limitation. And with the understanding that your judgment might change over the years and with time to reflect and learn more.
But judgment is good. Death to relativism! And bring on more lists.
Considering your top pick, Jim, you're obviously just an Oscar kind of guy. :)
Great individual list, Jim. I see we agree on No Country, Zodiac, Mulholland Drive. I'm also a huge fan of A Serious Man, Pan's Labyrinth and Brokeback. Three Burials was terrific, as well. Cache, though. Man, as hard as I try, I just can't get into it. It doesn't unsettle me, doesn't provoke me. Doesn't lure me in. It just bores me.
Unreasonably happy that Eternal Sunshine came in #2. I don't know what my top ten for the decade would look like, but at least the top two would definitely be there--probably Cache as well, though I don't know.
I like the list quite a bit, mainstream though it is, and have seen 11 of the 12. (I'm not going to admit which one I haven't seen, because I'm reasonably sure I should have.)
Jim's list is quite nice as well. There's just a lot of good in this decade....
It's curious to me that only three of these films are non-American. I was just reading the TIFF's best films of the decade - out of 54 films, only 7 or 8 are American. Different tastes? Different parameters? Were you free to chose anything? Just wondering.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2009/11/23/tiff-list.html
How come there's always an unuttered American hegemony? That's my main problem with these lists - they always seem to assume that US filmmaking is universal by its (film) language alone, and that, say, Chinese, African or Russsian films are somehow less valuable because they speak to the viewer in a different way. But I guess I can find a similar kind of national bias in lists made by Chinese, African, and Russian critics...
An interesting list, not too many surprises. The Onion's A.V. Club had Eternal Sunshine as their number one. I enjoyed the movie but I wonder if it owes some thanks for the recognition it has been receiving to the fact that it came out early in the decade. We've had a while to assess it's impact on the film industry (if indeed that is among the criteria for making a "best of" list). You have to wonder if perhaps there are some more recently released films whose impact hasn't quite been realized yet.
I'll leave the top 10 selections alone (obviously some great films on both lists) but I would like to point out one selection that will be on my top 10 of the decade:
Frost/Nixon
I just finished writing an updated review after watching the dvd with Ron Howard commentary and I am even more enthralled with this film than when I first watched it on opening weekend.
I am a little surprised to not see this film mentioned on a single individual list.
I was glad to see Dave McCoy list In Bruges on his list - I'm not sure if I could give it a top 10 but it is great to see it on there.
Both of those films represent to me the type of films that many movie-goers simply ignore or missed.
While certainly not in the running for best of the year, I'd like to throw out the one film for 2009 that I wish more people would see: The Great Buck Howard. Is it a masterpiece? No, it is not 'great' - but it is a film that nobody saw and I think most people would enjoy. Malkovich is outstanding as the washed-up mentalist.
Thanks for giving 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE some love, Jim. I'm also glad to see so many picks for OLDBOY for THREE BURIALS...
Kim Morgan's lists are always interesting to me, her year-end stuff that is, and this decade-length one is no different. I doubt I'll see another list this year containing both WERKMEISTER HARMONIES and BATTLE ROYALE.
As for the American hegemony, I think it's a simple case of us being Americans. It's not that we're disinterested in other countries' films, it's just that, like many other things in life, we're not as exposed to really difficult to find stuff. Hell, until the 70s and 80s, most people only knew about Mizoguchi and Kurosawa outside of Japan and super-fanzoid film circles. At least now I can say I have seen and enjoyed Ozu. There's nothing really outrageous about it, especially since CACHE seems to be coming in on a lot of lists, and that's in French, made by an Austrian.
I agree with Andrey. It's understandable on composite lists by American critics that American films will dominate because those are the films most likely to have been seen by everybody who voted. However, it does seem that the individual lists, Jim's included, are suspiciously American/British-heavy.
When I submitted my Top 100 of the Decade list, I got some complaints that the list has "too much foreign stuff." The implication being that I had some bias against American film. I pointed out that 55 of my 100 movies were English-language which, in fact, shows a depressing bias in favor of Anglophone cinema. But I think the "unuttered American hegemony" Andrey refers to leads people to believe there should be a much higher baseline of English-language films. "Only" 55%? But English-language are so much more _important_ than just 55%!
Not that I'm angling for any particular distribution. But I assume the 55% number just reflects the fact that I haven't seen nearly enough recent films from, say, China or Turkey (just to pick two examples.) That's a matter of availability - only a handful of American-based critics have an opportunity so see many of these movies.
I think this quote: "You can't take the thousands of films released in the past 10 years and say, 'Yes, these by far represent the greatest cinema had to offer!'" Is a simple, elegant way of saying "By definition, any honest 'Top 10 films of the decade' list is going to actually consist of the 10 films most fondly remembered by the compiler(s) of the list at the time of the list's writing, selected only from the intersection of the subset of films actually seen by the compiler(s) and the subset of films known (or believed) by the compiler(s) to have been released in the past 10 years, and will by necessity omit films not seen by the compiler(s) or which the compiler(s) believe were released more than 10 years ago or which the compiler(s) forgot at the time of the list's creation."
In that spirit, unless people think he's intentionally omitting foreign films he actually liked more than American films that did make the list, I don't see what the problem is.
Wouldn't you agree that Nicole Garcia's 2002 film "l'Adversaire", which is based on the same story as "Time Out", is the better of the two?
JE: I'll have to see "l'Adversaire"!
Did you mean Robert Crumb or have I never heard of Charles Crumb?
JE: Robert was inspired by the drawing of his older brother Charles, whom he considers the original artist in the family. You must see Terry Zwigoff's top-notch documentary, "Crumb."
Where's Inglorious Basterds? I'd add District 9 for sure.
Interesting choices.
Man, I love that "Zodiac" is getting recognized in these kind of lists. When it came out, it didn't seem to get much attention. I thought it was the best movie of 2007. Definitely better than the awfulness of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
I agree with most of the selections in both lists except for the sadistic, pointless "Pan's Labyrinth" and the ordinary, paint-by-numbers "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (on MSN's list, not yours). I'm wondering where "The Royal Tenenbaums" is, one of my favorite movies of all time. I'll throw out some more that I think should be considered for the top ten, or at least the top twenty: "Synecdoche, New York", "The Lives of Others", "Brick", "The Prestige", "Children of Men", "Adventureland", "The Wind that Shakes the Barley".
The love for "Eternal Sunshine" has always puzzled me. It always felt like a showcase for Gondry's special effects than an actual film.
My choices:
1. Memento
2. Requiem for a Dream
3. Oldboy
4. The Wrestler
5. In the Bedroom
6. The Departed
7. Good Night, and Good Luck
8. Children of Men
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
10. No Country for Old Men
Next films, alphabetically: A History of Violence, The Dark Knight, Mulholland Drive, There Will Be Blood, Traffic, WALL-E, Zodiac
It seems like both Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Mulholland Drive are both favorites in many critics poll on the best movies of the decade.
Personally, I love them both, so I am glad to see them on there. But I am still surprised that so many critics have so much love for both films.
What, no "Spider-Man 2"?
(...Should I admit I ask that seriously?)
Glad to see "Zodiac" rank so high, though. If pressed to choose, and if I decide to be honest enough to put aside personal love and not go with "Spider-Man 2," I might have to say it's my favorite of the decade. I'll never be able to listen to "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and not think of it again.
Kris, Spider-Man 2 would be on my list, and I say that in al seriousness.
It's hard to come up with a definitive top-10 list, but this is how it would look like for me right now (it could change tomorrow); (no specific order)
*Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (just edging out Hero)
*LOTR
*Kill Bill Vol. 1
*Mystic River
*Pan's Labyrinth
*The Lives of Others
*No Country For Old Men
*Spider-Man 2
*The Incredibles
*Into The Wild
It's a really rough list, but here's what mine is so far:
1: Memento
2: Requiem for a Dream
3: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4: Kaïro
5: The Wrestler
6: Pan’s Labyrinth
7: No Country for Old Men
8: The Dark Knight
9: Once
10: Children of Men
List-making is fun, indeed:
1. Mulholland Dr.
2. Amelie
3. Inland Empire
4. Before Sunset
5. City of God
6. Lost in Translation
7. Children of Men
8. Hero
9. Roger Dodger
10. Oldboy
A list without Werkmeister Harmonies is not only lacking one of the great movies but is a little hard to take seriously. It is nice to see that Mulholland Dr. makes it on most lists. Synecdoche, New York, Gosford Park, INLAND EMPIRE, Lost in Translation, and In the Mood for Love deserve to be on there. Also, any list with Million Dollar Baby on it is just...wrong.
Since we're all comparing lists, I'd go with:
1. Tropical Malady
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. No Country for Old Men
4. Pan's Labyrinth
5. In the Mood for Love
6. Kill Bill, vol. 1
7. Talk to Her
8. Gosford Park
9. You Can Count on Me
10. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Just missing the cut: Before Sunset, Spirited Away, Gone Baby Gone, There Will Be Blood, and Brokeback Mountain.
I would never pretend at this point to say that these are the "best" movies of the decade, though some of them surely are, so I'll say these are my personal favorites. These are the films that I've had intense desire to see over and over again.
Zodiac
Adaptation.
No Country for Old Men
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
All the Real Girls
The New World
Kill Bill, vol. 1 & 2
The Royal Tenenbaums
Marie-Antoinette
Junebug
I am particularly gratified to see "Zodiac" on the composite list. This is the one movie that I have tried to convince everyone to see at least twice. It might have been dumped off in Feburary during its theatrical release, but I suspect that it will gain in stature as we have more time to reflect and see it again.
I do need to go back and see "Three Burials" again. I managed to catch it at the theatre, but unfortunately the screen was slanted on a diagonal and the sound was messed up, causing a major distraction for me. Needless to say, I've never gone back to that particular theatre.
Oh, what the hell. My 10 movies I thought of at this particular moment that I loved the most this decade list:
1) "Spider-Man 2"
2) "Zodiac"
3) "Minority Report"
4) "Where the Wild Things Are"
5) "The 40-Year-Old Virgin"
6) "The Royal Tenenbaums"
7) "Munich"
8) "Brick"
9) "Lord of the Rings Trilogy"
10) "Signs" (I will argue to my deathbed that this is Shaymalan's best... which may not be saying much to many people, but I hold "Six Sense" and "Unbreakable" in high regard).
Honorable mentions that I just can't bring myself to add to my list: "No Country for Old Men," "In Bruges," "Brokeback Mountain," "Kingdom of Heaven: The Director's Cut," "Black Hawk Down," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Into the Wild," "Catch Me if You Can," "Spartan," and maybe (after I had more time to let them sit with me) "A Serious Man" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox."
@Kris Pigna
I like "Signs" too. I haven't watched it in a few years and I'm interested in seeing it again.
Not only do I love lists, I love compiling them and placing little checkmarks next to the movies I've seen. I'm definitely going to move "Zodiac" and "Mulholland Drive" to the top of my queue. Here's my two cents (in alphabetical order):
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Almost Famous
The Dark Knight
High Fidelity
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Pan's Labyrinth
Spider-Man 2
Up
WALL-E
The Wrestler
I am always baffled at the absence of "City of God" on any list...
Top Ten of the 2000s
1. City of God
2. The Aviator
3. Pan's Labyrinth
4. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
5. Minority Report
6. In America
7. Letters from Iwo Jima
8. Munich
9. The Dark Knight
10. No Country for Old Men
Honorable Mention: The Grey Zone, There Will Be Blood, Almost Famous, Mulholland Drive
JE: I recall liking "City of God" more than I thought I would when it started. Not a fan of that jackhammer style of filmmaking. Reminds me of Tarantino wannabes like Guy Ritchie or Danny Boyle (or the Wachowskis). I think it would have been a better movie if it had been less over-directed.
1. The Lord of the Rings (trilogy)
2. Moulin Rouge!
3. Children of Men
4. Brokeback Mountain
5. Mulholland Drive
6. Lost in Translation
7. Adaptation / Eternal Sunshine (can't decide)
8. Talk to Her
9. Avatar
10. Where the Wild Things Are
(#'s 9 and 10 may get higher with time)
Others: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, There Will Be Blood, Traffic, Amelie, Amores Perros, Kill Bill (1&2), Cache, The Incredibles
Ok, I'll take my turn...(in no particular order)
LOTR trilogy
Gladiator
No Country for Old Men
The Dark Knight
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Shrek
Ratatouille
Kingdom of Heaven: director's cut (a travesty this wasn't in theaters)
Master and Commander
Thank You for Smoking
I'm glad to see Zodiac and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada on these lists. Terrific films that didn't get nearly enough accolades.
No one anywhere has mentioned The Passion of the Christ in their Decade 10 Lists. How soon we all forget!
"Three Burials" was a great film indeed.
1. Werckmeister Harmonies
2. Inland Empire
3. The Brown Bunny
4. Songs from the Second Floor
5. Dogville
6. Trash Humpers
7. Adaptation
8. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
9. A Serious Man
10. There Will Be Blood
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