I'm really stretching this sucker out. I figured since the Top 20 are getting progressively verbose, I'd break them up into groups of five. You know, to save you the reading time. In any case, I warned you the rambling would only get worse from here, so here are numbers 20 through 16.
20. There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson is one of those filmmakers who drives me absolutely crazy because it is so obviously clear that his abundant talents dwarf those of most other middling, hack directors of his generation working in Hollywood. The guy isn’t even 40 yet for crying out loud. And yet, I’ve never truly connected with any one of his five films on the emotional level required for me to genuinely love them. I saw “Hard Eight” - his first film - in college and was amazed that a 25 year old could make such a compelling and confidently executed film. “Boogie Nights” seems to be everyone’s favorite from his resume but, to be honest, that film - as stylistically amazing as it is - leaves me a little cold. “Magnolia” is my favorite of his films because I thought it did the best job combining aesthetically dazzling filmmaking with emotionally resonant storytelling. I’m not sure whether “There Will Be Blood” eclipses “Magnolia” for me yet, but I know everyt ime I happen to see it airing on cable, I can’t help but stay and watch it for a little while. Now it may be possible that this is simply due to Daniel Day Lewis’ decade-defining performance as Daniel Plainview... but, then I ask myself: “Who wrote his lines and directed him?”
19. The Prestige - I’ve already written about how much I love this movie (found here) and will - on some days - call it my favorite of Chris Nolan’s films. On some days.
18. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - It took me two girlfriends, four false starts and five years before finally seeing this Kaufman/Gondry gem from start to finish. Long story, but it was worth the wait. I’ve never seen a film so accurately express the pain and misery of a broken heart in such an artistically invigorating way. And while I tend to vacillate on whether the technical wizardry Gondry puts on display here is excessive or proper, there is no denying that it is so astonishingly well-suited to Kaufman’s sensibility. By the way, Charlie Kaufman is, for my money, the screenwriter of the decade. I won’t even bother arguing on this one. He makes me sick.
17. Amelie - If no other film this decade captured the suffering love’s end can produce like “Eternal Sunshine,” then no other film this decade captured the dizzyingly joyous whimsy of love’s beginning - while simultaneously creating an iconic cinematic character - quite like "Amelie." I don’t know one person - male or female - that didn’t immediately fall in love with Audrey Tautou after seeing this film, and rightfully so. But why don’t people talk about Jean-Pierre Jeunet more? Is this left-over animosity for "Alien: Resurrection?" I mean, look at his resume... “Delicatessen,” “City of Lost Children,” “Amelie” and “A Very Long Engagement” (which I think is underrated). I haven’t seen “Mic Macs” yet, but I know I will. I’m a bit puzzled by this omission of neglect. But back to Audrey Tautou... seriously, if Daniel Plainview is the defining male performance of the decade, is Amelie Poulain the corresponding female performance of the decade? And if not, then who? I have only two other candidates, respectively, that are worth arguing about (in my opinion), but we’ll save them for later.
16. Suzhou River - One of the coolest aspects of my cinephilic experience this past decade has been my rediscovery of mainland Chinese cinema. I really loved the films of the late 80s and 90s - especially those from Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige - but sort of lost track of the country’s next generation filmmakers until a couple years ago when I began getting serious about catching up again. Like their predecessors, this new class of Chinese auteurs have a thing for neo-realism, which I totally respect and appreciate, but do not love. This, I think, has less to do with aesthetics - since Jia Zhangke’s films (particularly “Still Life”) for example, while realist, are absolutely gorgeous - than subject matter. So I suppose it’s not a surprise, then, that my favorite film from China’s latest class of auteurs is this is stunningly designed, neo-realist take on noir from Lou Ye. This may be the first film I can remember that is shot entirely in the first person; a tired cliche in music videos and commercials but used to spectacular effect in this, a narrative feature. A mystery thriller feature at that. And the fact that it is partly a homage to “Vertigo,” one of my top ten favorite films? Pure icing.
Ken Cheng
Los Angeles, CA
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