Top Films of the Decade

The top 25 films of the decade. Some factors I took into consideration were: how many times I’ve seen the movie out of my own will; did I cry; did I toss and turn in my sleep the night after watching the movie saying “oh my GOD what a good movie”; did it spark my interest beyond a cerebral appreciation of the movie; did I actually like it (as opposed to, liking a movie that I should like). In other words, it’s a completely personal and subjective list that obviously leaves out many fine films of the decade.

25. Battle Royale (2000) dir. Kinji Fukasaku

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-T7yPJVvXw

24. Cinderella Man (2005) dir. Ron Howard

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlbHzcH4VJY

23. Knocked Up (2007) dir. Judd Apatow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlBR-T8gdFo

22. WALL-E (2008) dir. Andrew Stanton

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZisWjdjs-gM

21. Letters From Iwojima (2006) dir. Clint Eastwood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr59K1j-P44

20. Hula Girls (2004) dir. Sang-il Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nHakMqGbbg

19, 18, 17. Lord of the Rings (All three…)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7YllAOqpF4

16. Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) dir. Jim Jarmusch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxYRsqkRS_k

15. Monsoon Wedding (2001) dir. Mira Nair

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIY22dv3Xok

14. Memories of Murder (2003) dir. Bong Joon-Ho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtOutxGJK5o

13. Black Hawk Down (2001) dir. Ridley Scott

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUJ6cxWdZwA

12. Lost in Translation (2003) dir. Sofia Coppola

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNn-2CTXzAw

11. Finding Nemo (2003) dir. Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfgeIZyrIM0

10. Be Kind Rewind (2008) dir. Michel Gondry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOKFV0XNZA

This film suffers from many imperfections. The only thing I really ask for is that Jack Black’s character be more likeable in this movie. However, I think this movie is still one of the most formally interesting of the decade. This whole idea that we should remake films by putting ourselves in them. Not a new idea, but that’s the whole point, I think. Sometime in the near future making movies will be a communal process and we’ll get together to have movie parties. A fitting film for the youtube epoch.

9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) dir. Michel Gondry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GiLxkDK8sI&feature=related

On a snowy Boston night we went to go see this movie… and then we did it again on another snowy Boston night. That’s two treks to the theatre in shattered-glass-cold weather. Michel Gondry is such an interesting director. People say his “tricks” are “gimmicky,” but I disagree. Given all the technology that’s at our disposal, I think it’s amazing when I leave the theatre thinking, how did he do that with the camera?

8. Spirited Away (2001) dir. Hayao Miyazaki

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIaBn9Emmlw&feature=related

This is what anime is good for, a serious attempt at unrealism. Neither is it because I don’t like “realism” nor is it because I want to “escape from reality.” I think it’s because I relate to unrealistic movies in a way to access some very real part of myself and my experience. Take this movie, for example. At some level it’s adventurous, fantastic, and mysterious. On another plane it’s a very relatable tale about a little girl (the subtle details in the beginning, flowers with a goodbye card for Chihiro, hint at the fears of any little kid moving to a new place, losing her parents, etc.). Totoro is another movie in which Miyazaki’s fantastic style and the rich content of childhood come together to make the film a wonderful one.

7. In the Mood for Love (2000) dir. Wong Kar Wai

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa0JAvjx05c&feature=related

Inexplicable. Wong Kar Wai’s love for jazz makes itself known in this film. And, like many jazz tunes, at some point I ask myself whether I’m pretending to like something that’s actually really boring, obscure, and long. But sometimes, I actually do like what I’m listening to / watching. And, like those great jazz tunes that I actually like, the film shuts off my brain as I indulge in its stylish maneuvers.

6. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) dir. Guillermo del Toro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYiSlkvRuw

What a serious encounter with the absurdity of the world through the fierce imagination of Guillermo del Toro. In the great tradition of Don Quixote, the Spanish speaking world has always produced amazing works in which the horizons of myth and reality collide. Whereas I find the cold calculations of my brain to be quite frightening, I find comfort in these ingenious moments of magic and mystery.

5. Last Life in the Universe (2003) dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU2QhICrdgY

A love story starring my favorite Japanese actor today, Tadanobu Asano. The acting is excellent and the movie is stylish and filled with a melancholic feeling. That’s really all I want in a movie.

4. Linda Linda Linda (2005) dir. Nobuhiro Yamashita

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VXqG7rwSDI

I once overheard a conversation that went, “the difference between a film and a movie is that a film is something you can watch over and over again.” That’s as logical as the conversation I overheard about a 50 pound burger. In all honesty, though, there is something about this movie, “Linda Linda Linda,” that has made it very watchable. The awkward moments, oh teenage love! Sometimes I look in the mirror and think, I really am still fifteen years old.

3. No Country for Old Men (2007) dir. Ethan and Joel Coen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBqmKSAHc6w

A near perfect movie. Also, to reprise my statement on realistic movies, I think this is one of the most realistic movies ever made. A modern tragedy if there ever was one in which fate and the whims of the world hunt down man like an animal, like he was nothing. To borrow some language from Susan Sontag, Llewellen doesn’t act the part of the hero but he is one.

2. Yi Yi (2000) dir. Edward Yang

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8SRSJFd_Ks

This film made me obsessed with framing. Each shot is carefully crafted to tell a story in itself but there is never the sense that there is too much going on. The film doesn’t feel didactic or obscure, but rather it feels personal and always new. Each time I was this movie, I peel back another layer of myself in the angles, pacing, etc.

1. The Taste of Tea (2004) Katsuhito Ishii

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCMCu8c1Uho

Quirky and silly but still sincere. I still haven’t “figured out” this movie and I hope I never do.