somehow dp!
The Top 10 of the Decade:
In the Mood for Love (2000) – Wong Kar-wai
Devils on the Doorstep (2000) – Jiang Wen
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) – Bela Tarr
Yi Yi (2000) – Edward Yang
Mulholland Drive (2001) – David Lynch
The Pianist (2002) – Roman Polanski
Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) – Peter Jackson
The Weeping Meadow (2004) – Theo Angelopoulos
Caché/Hidden (2005) – Michael Haneke
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – Guillermo del Toro
Interesting for me, is that I wouldn’t yet rate any of these as a 5/5 film. 2000 was a very good year, and had the best films, overall.
Alternative Top 10:
The Name of A River (2002) – Anup Singh
Russian Ark (2002) – Alexander Sokurov
Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2003) – Wang Bing
4 (2005) – Ilya Khrzhanovsky
New World (2005) – Terrence Malick
Bab’Aziz: Prince That Contemplated His Soil (2005) – Nacer Khemir
Inland Empire (2006) – David Lynch
Syndromes and a Century (2006) – Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Diving Bell & the Butterfly (2007) – Julian Schnabel
La Antena (2007) – Esteban Sapir
For those looking for less usual fare. These I am picking mainly for stylistic reasons, but they don’t replace the first list – just an interesting adjunct. 4, for example, was perhaps the most interesting film visually of all I have seen from the decade, but not one I will soon revisit. Inland Empire I first thought too diffusive and at times incoherent, but it later grew on me.
Honourable mention – for various reasons:
Memento (2000) – Christopher Nolan
Amélie (2001) – Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Spirited Away (2001) – Hayao Miyazaki
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) – Steven Spielberg
The Hours (2002) – Stephen Daldry
City of God (2002) – Fernando Meirelles
Adaptation (2002) – Spike Jonze
Whale Rider (2002) – Niki Caro
Russian Ark (2002) – Alexander Sokurov
The Name of A River (2002) – Anup Singh
Dogville (2003) – Lars von Trier
Lost in Translation (2004) – Sofia Coppola
Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2003) – Wang Bing
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring (2003) – Kim Ki-duk
3-Iron (2004) – Kim Ki-duk
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – Michel Gondry
Innocence (2004) – Lucile Hadzihalilovic
2046 (2004) – Wong Kar-wai
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Alfonso Cuarón
New World (2005) – Terrence Malick
4 (2005) – Ilya Khrzhanovsky
Bab’Aziz: Prince That Contemplated His Soil (2005) – Nacer Khemir
Inland Empire (2006) – David Lynch
Syndromes and a Century (2006) – Apichatpong Weerasethakul
The Fountain (2006) – Darren Aronofsky
Still Life (2006) – Jia Zhangke
Babel (2006) – Alejandro González Iñárritu
Children of Men (2006) – Alfonso Cuarón
The Fall (2006) – Tarsem Singh
Atonement (2007) – Joe Wright
Diving Bell & the Butterfly (2007) – Julian Schnabel
La Antena (2007) – Esteban Sapir
I’m Not There (2007) – Todd Haynes
Rachel Getting Married (2008) – Jonathan Demme
City of Life and Death (2009) – Lu Chuan
Seen, but not on the list:
No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Synecdoche New York, The Departed, Gangs of New York, The Reader, The Wrestler, Slumdog Millionaire, etc.
Most regret not having seen yet:
Amores Perros (2000) – A. G. Inárritu
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) – Alfonso Cuarón
Lives of Others (2006) – Florian Donnersmarck
Silent Light (2007) -Carlos Reygadas
Four Months, Three Weeks, and Two Days (2007) – Cristian Mungiu
Waltz With Bashir (2008) – Ari Folman
White Ribbon (2009) – Michael Haneke
Antichrist (2009) – Lars von Trier
Strange, as I saw almost none of these in the theatre and generally waited for DVD release or saw them streaming. It wasn’t a decade that compelled me to go out to the theatre, as the malls during this period were just filled with CGI films or vacuous Hollywood fodder. I am not a fan of all the animated Disney fare or Batman reruns. Sure, I did catch some of the Harry Potter films at the theatre, but mainly for the great British actors doing cameos. Of course, LOTR had to be seen in the theatre to fully appreciate the production, but that was an exception.
Oophs: When I was cutting and pasting the above list, I noted too late a typo for Bab’Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul it should read – not ‘Soil’, of course. Soil would make it into some sort of ‘agricultural’ movie, or something about a prince who tries to cultivate a garden in the desert, perhaps. Completely changes the meaning, ha!
10. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – (Ang Lee)
9. 21 Grams (A. G. Inárritu)
8. In The Mood For Love (WKW)
7. The New World (Terrence Malick)
6. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)
5. Memento (Chris Nolan)
4. Old Boy (Park Chan-wook)
3. Punch Drunk Love (PTA)
2. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)
1. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch)
I’ve got a rediculous amount left to see before I can be even half way to claiming I’m content with my noughties list but at the moment my Top Films would look something like this;
1. The Fountain
2. Enter the Void
3. Spirited Away
4. Eureka
5. Werckmeister Harmonies
6. My Winnipeg
7. The New World
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
9. Let the Right One In
10. Silent Light
11. A Serious Man
12. Heima
13. Innocence
Sorry, I couldn’t stop at just 10…
I am reviving this thread so as not to interfere with Adam Cook’s recent poll results thread. I have seen several films since last posting here from the decade, and completely forgot an important film to add to my own above posting. Looking through TSPDT? list of 21st Century films made me reconnect with a very impressive film from Canada that gets little mention: Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) – Zacharias Kunuk. This is an intriguing retelling of an Inuit myth, done with Inuit actors and in the Inuit language. Like Whale Rider, it is a re-evaluation of native culture that is authentic and profoundly rooted in respect for the imagination of its source material and milieu. A great film that seems to have slipped by without much notice here.
I have seen (or remembered) several films that need to be added to my own above list of films as significant addtions to best of the decade:
Cafe Lumiere (2003) – Hou
Millennium Mambo (2001) – Hou
Piano Teacher (2001) – Haneke
Waking Life (2001) – Linklater
L’Intrus/The Intruder (2004) – Claire Denis
Amores Perros (2000) – A. Gonzalez Inárritu
Four Months, Three Weeks, and Two Days (2007) – Cristian Mungiu
Lives of Others (2006) – Florian Donnersmarck
Of these, the Roumanian film Four Months…made the greatest impression. Here is a film that feels very real, almost documentary quality in its authenticity. Not a false or contirved note in the whole of the film. Certainly one of the very best of the decade, as I have often heard it mentioned here. Btw – my own poll list was different than my above top 10, as I keep changing my mind as I explore and re-evaluate. What a good decade for film it was! Please feel free to add to this thread or any other threads in this Best of Decade heading. We need to pointout the significant finds from this period that may have passed some by.
I am still exploring, myself!
Brokeback Mountain
The Pianist
Amelie
There Will Be Blood
Wall-E
The Beat My Heart Skipped
Zodiac
In the Mood for Love
Bad Education
Rachel Getting Married
Let the Right One In
“The New World”
“Zodiac”
“The Fountain”
“Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World”
“There Will be Blood”
“Caché”
“Paprika”
“The Prestige”
“Mulholland Drive”
“Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence”
“Apocalypto”
“A. I. Artificial Intelligence”
“The Pledge”
“Unbreakable”
Here is my stab at this… these by no way my opinion of the most important films, just what I think are the best.
1. Children of Men (2006) – Cuaron
2. Up (2009) – Doctor
3. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – Del Toro
4. Death at a Furnal (2007) – Oz
5. Kekexili: Mountian Patrol (2004) – Lu Chuan
6. 49 Up (2005) – Apted
7. Undertow (2004) – Green
8. Death Proof (2007) – Tarantino
9. Rambo (2008) – Stallone
10. Passion of the Christ (2004) – Gibson
There are a lot of interesting lists on here, I will definitely check out some of these films…
Children of Men
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Pan’s Labyrinth
Lord of the Rings
Kill Bill
No Country For Old Men
A Serious Man
There Will Be Blood
Punch Drunk Love
Mullholland Drive
The Pianist
Freedom (Bartas)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Talk To Her
Wendy and Lucy
Memento
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
This is not an ordered list. It’s a list of all the films of the decade I consider ‘Exceptional’.
Mulholland Drive
Y Tu Mama Tambien
I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone
Tropical Malady
Head On
A History of Violence
The Beat That My Heart Skipped
The Power of Nightmares
Lust, Caution
Dogville
(Not in any particular order) (The most well done that I have seen)
Elephant
The Pianist
No Country For Old Men
Dark Knight
Diving Bell and The Butterfly
(500) Days of Summer
Memento
Crash
Donnie Darko
Mystic River
a bit late but…
01Inglorious Basterds Quentin Tarantino
02GOODBYE, DRAGON INN Tsai Ming-liang
03KILL BILL: VOL. 1 Quentin Tarantino
04Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Springr Kim Ki-duk
05AVATAR James Cameron
06Lord of the Rings Trilogy Peter Jackson
07MULHOLLAND DRIVE David Lynch
08COLLATERAL Michael Mann
09LA CIÉNAGA Lucrecia Martel
10LES GLANEURS ET LA GLANEUSE Agnès Varda
(Films I’ve seen)
McBean
Okay, I’m going to keep this to ten. All good lists should be tens :o)
1. There Will Be Blood (P.T. Anderson – 2007)
2. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke – 2009)
3. No Country For Old Men (Joel/Ethan Coen – 2007)
4. Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho – 2003)
5. OldBoy (Park Chan-wook – 2003)
6. Songs From The Second Floor (Roy Andersson – 2000)
7. Yi Yi (Edward Yang – 2000)
8. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr – 2000)
9. Bab’Aziz – The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul (Nacer Khemir – 2005)
10. Inland Empire (David Lynch – 2006)