1/06/2005

*THE YEAR IN FILM, 2004*

I see a pattern emerging: Yet again, I saw more first-run films that played in Boston this year than ever before. As of today, I'm at around ninety if you add in everything I caught up with on DVD.

I'm skeptical to deem this the Year of the Documentary, because that's as arbitrary a designation as, say, the Year of the Woman (remember how they trotted 'em all out on the Oscars a decade back?). True, more people probably saw-- hell, noticed documentaries this year (which is encouraging), but the really great films I saw make up a disparate bunch.

2004 wasn't one of those knockout, magical alignment-of-the-spheres years for film like 1999 or 2001, and unlike the last four years, there wasn't an obvious choice for my absolute favorite. Since The Best Music of 2004 kinda burned me out on tight little capsule reviews, I'm attempting a slightly more conversational, essay-like format this year. (Also, expect an addendum if THE WOODSMAN, NORTE MUSIQUE, and other 2004 films I haven't seen yet turn out to be very good). Without further ado, here are...

MY TOP ELEVEN FILMS
Because it goes up to eleven:

1. THE RETURN
2. TARNATION
3. BEFORE SUNSET
4. SIDEWAYS
5. DOGVILLE
6. THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU
7. UNDERTOW
8. THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD
9. MOOLAADE
10. GOODBYE DRAGON INN
11. DIG!

Ten months now since I saw THE RETURN, and it still remains firmly etched in memory, more so than anything else except for maybe TARNATION. I've desperately wanted to, um... return to it, but it hasn't screened anywhere else since, and a US DVD release date is still nonexistent.

If I could vividly remember my dreams, I'd like to think various images from this film still permeate them: the young brother, Ivan, left alone on a pier at the end of a violent sea at what could be the Edge of the World; the incessant, drenching rain that reappears throughout; the prodigal father's smoldering, unapproachable expressions (and glimpses of tenderness within them); the tracking shot of the masterfully executed climactic chase on the deserted island.

Like the work of Russian master Andrei Tarkovsky, director Andrei Zvyagintsev's debut feature is enigmatic and puzzling, full of long takes, pauses, situations that don't reach their logical conclusions and a fair amount of foreboding doom. But he's far more accessible and approachable and less wrapped up in his own metaphysical riddles. I love this film because it truly goes out a limb without ever seeming ridiculous or contrived or even pretentious. At the end, we're left with a slowly waking dream where the intense emotional journey far outweighs any literal outcome.

If anything, TARNATION suggests an even wider emotional palette. You could call Jonathan Caouette's poetic and associative collage of photos, videotapes, found footage and pop songs a documentary; I call it an autobiographical psychological portrait, a cinematic hallucinogenic, the ultimate underground non-fiction film. The hype regarding how Caouette stitched this together using iFilm for only $218 was inescapable and I dread the scores of inferior knockoffs to come. But TARNATION isn't self-indulgent wankery; Caouette has a life story worth hearing, and his act of artistic catharsis is the year's most innovative film, and at times, the most affecting as it traces his relationship with his mother.

BEFORE SUNSET and SIDEWAYS were technically romantic comedies (if I had to decide where I'd stock them in a video store), yet they seemed so far away from your average Meg Ryan or Kate Hudson vehicle. I don't think the world (apart from director Richard Linklater and co-stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) was wishing for a sequel to BEFORE SUNRISE (1995), a cute if slight film about a man and a woman who meet in Vienna, spend one exquisite night talking, talking, talking, and then part ways, presumably forever. What makes BEFORE SUNSET so revelatory, apart from the real-time pacing, the obvious chemistry of its two leads and a brilliant, daring ending, is simply how much Linklater has to say about the passage of time and getting older.

Much more explicitly comedic, SIDEWAYS is this year's buzz-building equivalent of LOST IN TRANSLATION: a generally plotless character study that places its leads on vacation (in this case, Californian wine country) and observes as they attempt to get over themselves and make connections. As expected, director Alexander Payne takes a more acerbic route than Sofia Coppola, and his humor is a shade darker, often sadder. But SIDEWAYS carries the spirit of those lovingly rambling, intelligently written, engagingly quirky early '70s films (HAROLD AND MAUDE, perhaps), and its cumulative pull and crisp, light touch make it a resonant, beautiful story worth returning to as much as ANNIE HALL.

The year's most controversial, polarizing film? DOGVILLE, which you either loved or hated with a passion. I stand by my earlier comment that everyone should have gone to see Lars von Trier's bold, disturbing masterpiece instead of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. I don't always enjoy movies that make me squirm (esp. the loathsome REQUIEM FOR A DREAM), and I can't say I embrace von Trier's misogyny. But before you dismiss DOGVILLE for its conceptual stunts or three-hour running time or as an anti-American diatribe, listen to the wise conclusions he makes regarding utilitarianism and cruelty inherent in human nature. It's not a pretty picture, but it leaves everything out in the open for all to scrutinize, audaciously examining what people choose to see and to ignore.

Wes Anderson burrows further down his own rabbit hole with THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU, and that's not a criticism. For me, Anderson's films don't seem contrived because you always feel that he loves and believes in his characters, even if they are occasionally assholes (and Steve Zissou often complies). In addition to the 1000+ words I've recently written on this, I'll just add that movies were meant to conceptualize/realize worlds like this one, and I suspect it'll age nearly as well as the more contained universe of 111 Archer Avenue in THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS.

David Gordon Green is a director I've previously admired more than embraced, but his southern gothic UNDERTOW is his first effort that I've unconditionally loved. Well, maybe I still don't get why the young brother keeps eating all that lead paint when, hello, he KNOWS how sick it's making him! But this strange, enchanting, out-of-time take on NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is a spooky, underappreciated gem with an outstanding lead performance from Jamie Bell that should shock anyone who remembers him from BILLY ELLIOT (and silence those who thought he was unworthy of an Oscar nomination for that film).

Next to THE LIFE AQUATIC, Guy Maddin's THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD was the year's most anticipated release, and it did not disappoint, voluptuous beer-filled glass legs and all. Maddin's deliberately antiquated style is as ingenuous and unparalleled as ever, but he's finally come up with a narrative as involving and intelligible to boot. This also features what is perhaps the year's finest cast, from Mark McKinney's pimp of a songwriter to Isabella Rossellini's regal, tiara-sheathed, ultimately tragic beer baroness heroine.

A film about female genital mutilation rites in a remote Senegalese tribe isn't going to pack them in at the Loews (or even the Landmark). That's a shame, because Ousmane Sembene's masterful MOOLAADE is an uplifting feminist fable where you can feel the world shifting, evolving, even, from an established set of social mores to the next frightening, thrilling, unforeseen level.

I "turned" this list up to eleven, because the next two films are equally deserving of the last slot. The first, Tsai Ming-Liang's GOODBYE DRAGON INN channels the Taiwanese director's obsessions (rain, crumbling landmarks, disconnectedness and Jacques Tati) into a meditative tone poem for the movie theatre-as-cultural cathedral. In my opinion, it's not as disciplined as his last film, WHAT TIME IS IT THERE, but still pretty stunning, as it ends up conveying an entire world of stories and a lifetime of emotions within its spatially constricted borders.

DIG!, on the other hand, swirlingly taps into the zeitgeist of trying to be a rock and roll star (or an iconoclastic musician) in the post-alternative rock fallout of the late '90s. Tracking the topsy-turvy relationship between two bands with eccentric names (The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre), Ondi Timoner's documentary plays like a deeper, up-and-comer's version of BEHIND THE MUSIC. Stuffed with fascinating personalities (particularly mad genius BJM leader Anton Newcombe), cool music and lots of fizzy energy, it's an important, entertaining time capsule.

THE NEXT TEN FILMS
Honorable Mentions (in order):

Mike Leigh's VERA DRAKE featured a remarkable lead performance from Imelda Staunton and the sensitive, fine-tuned attention to character and class difference you'd expect from Leigh. It just misses the top eleven because it's lacking something his last film had, the less accessible but somehow more powerful ALL OR NOTHING.

TIME OF THE WOLF was eerie and unsettling, a much more plausible take on impending apocalypse and societal breakdown than THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW; it also boasted the year's most inventive cinematography.

Need I go on about MONSTER, a 2003 film that didn't open in Boston until January? Except to say that I still can't believe what Charlize Theron, an actress of previous little consequence, pulled off. What a stunning transformation (and if you still don't believe it, go see AILEEN: LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER).

THE INCREDIBLES flew leaps and bounds ahead of previous Pixar entry FINDING NEMO (all it lacked was Ellen DeGeneres), thanks to Brad Bird, our finest contemporary animator outside of Hayao Miyazaki.

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND was both a tease and a trip, an epic Chinese box and hall of mirrors, at once the year's most cerebral and silliest film, with an uncommonly subdued Jim Carrey proving he's not just a comedian, or a mimic, but an actor.

As with MOOLAADE, I can't imagine many people went to see MARIA FULL OF GRACE on a first date (at least intentionally). No matter; Joshua Marston's more-riveting than-depressing film about Colombian drug mules is the year's most assured debut (outside of Jonathan Caouette, anyway).

As literary bio-docs go, BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS is one of the best ever: it moves you to rush out and devour the subject's back catalogue, even if you've never cared to before.

I HEART HUCKABEES gave ETERNAL SUNSHINE a run for its money in the silliness department, but it had the year's greatest, most insane cast, and Russell should be celebrated merely for making a film about exploring ideas in such less-than-sunny times.

The uncharacteristically plot-driven BAD EDUCATION frankly lacked the emotional impact of Pedro Almodovar's last two or three films, but it made for a scintillating, pulpy concoction nonetheless, with Gael Garcia Bernal delivering his best work thus far in the unlikely guise of drag queen Zahara.

Compared to the definitive SHERMAN'S MARCH, I guess BRIGHT LEAVES was minor McElwee, but Ross' latest cinematic memoir felt like a cherished visit from an old friend. Revolving around his family's forgotten place in the tobacco industry, McElwee proved he still does the documentarian-as-subject thing better than anyone else.

OTHER FILMS I ENJOYED
These receive 3.5 or 4 stars/cats/everlasting gobstoppers from me (out of a possible 5), in alphabetical order:

The Agronomist, Being Julia, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Broadway: The Golden Age, The Corporation, Crimson Gold, End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones, Father and Son, The Fog of War, Goodbye Lenin, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, A Home at the End of the World, House of Flying Daggers, How to Draw a Bunny, Incident at Loch Ness, Kill Bill Volume 2, Kinsey, Last Life in the Universe, Lucas Belvaux's The Trilogy (particularly After The Life), The Manchurian Candidate, Millennium Mambo, Napoleon Dynamite, Nosey Parker, Primer, Screaming Men, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, A Very Long Engagement, The Yes Men.

TOP REPERTORY SCREENINGS IN BOSTON:

1. AU HAZARD BALTHAZAR (Kendall Square)
I suspect a Criterion Collection edition of Robert Bresson's masterpiece is imminent.

2. CHELSEA GIRLS and LONESOME COWBOYS (Harvard Film Archive)
Man, won't any Warhol ever get released on DVD (or even VHS)?

3. THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (Kendall Square)
As painstaking and eloquent a re-creation of war as you're likely to see.

4. SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS (Museum of Fine Arts)
Silent cinema had no place to further develop after this symphonic, heartbreaking work of art.

5. THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG and PLAYTIME (Brattle)
France probably never looked so lovely or strange.

*****

The aptly named A DIRTY SHAME easily wins the dubious distinction of the year's biggest disappointment, not to mention most wasted opportunity. Obvious, tired and screamingly one-note, John Waters was once capable of so much more than this. The only thing salvageable from such a mess is Tracey Ullman's giddy turn as the wonderfully-named Sylvia Stickles.

OVERRATED:

FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (although who really cares, post-November 2?)
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (though pretty to look at)
HERO (doubly so)
THE DREAMERS (I enjoy Roger Ebert's criticism, but I wince when he gives 4 stars to crap like this)
GARDEN STATE (the compromised ending nearly sinks the entire film; no wait, it does sink it)

UNDERRATED:

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (you either get in touch with your inner geek and get it, or you don't)
A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD (not a perfect adaptation, but likable, restrained, and effectively poignant)
THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (wait another year or two and I bet this'll have nearly as a fervent a following as THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS does now)

*****

BEST ACTOR: Paul Giamatti (SIDEWAYS)
He's come a long way since PRIVATE PARTS: who ever knew Pig Vomit had it in him? Even better than his turn as Harvey Pekar in last year's AMERICAN SPLENDOR, Giamatti comes off like a more tragic, less hammy Richard Dreyfuss.

(Also good:)
Jamie Bell (UNDERTOW)
Konstantin Lavronenko (THE RETURN)
Bill Murray (THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU)
Takeshi Kitano (THE BLIND SWORDSMAN: ZATOICHI)
George Lyford (NOSEY PARKER)
Jon Heder (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE)
Gael Garcia Bernal (BAD EDUCATION)

BEST ACTRESS: Julie Delpy (BEFORE SUNSET)
So much more than a pretty, glistening face, Delpy is this film's soul. Watch as she wants to comfort Ethan Hawke in their cab ride, but hesitates, knowing the moment's complexity and comprehending how a wrong gesture could ruin everything. Oh, and her song at the end moved me to tears.

Imelda Staunton (VERA DRAKE)
Isabella Rossellini (THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD)
Nicole Kidman (DOGVILLE)
Catalina Sandino Moreno (MARIA FULL OF GRACE)
Fatoumata Coulibaly (MOOLAADE)
Charlize Theron (MONSTER)
Annette Bening (BEING JULIA)
Anne Reid (THE MOTHER)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Willem Dafoe (THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU)
You'd expect Dafoe to steal every scene he's in, but as Klaus Daimler, he's never been as scrappy, funny, or just gosh darn lovable. His climactic confrontations throughout the film are both side-splitting and, in a way, tender.

Peter Sarsgaard (KINSEY and GARDEN STATE)
Mark Wahlberg (I HEART HUCKABEES)
Thomas Haden Church (SIDEWAYS)
Dustin Hoffman (I HEART HUCKABEES)
Macaulay Culkin (SAVED!)
Steve Coogan (COFFEE AND CIGARETTES)
Gilbert Melki (LUCAS BELVAUX'S THE TRILOGY)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Sissy Spacek (A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD)
A tiny, truncated role for Spacek, but she invests so much passion in it you wish they would've built the entire film around her. After the pot-smoking-in-the-boys-bedroom scene, wouldn't you just love to have her for a mom?

Virginia Madsen (SIDEWAYS)
Maria de Medeiros (THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD)
Cate Blanchett (COFFEE AND CIGARETTES)
Patricia Rae (MARIA FULL OF GRACE)
Sandra Oh (SIDEWAYS and RICK)
Isabelle Huppert (I HEART HUCKABEES)

BEST DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater (BEFORE SUNSET)
Guiding his two leads to career performances, Linklater takes a big risk by attempting a sequel few thought was necessary. I've heard people erroneously call some sequels "better than the first", but this is one of the few and proud second cinematic chapters, an American equivalent to an Eric Rohmer film, a work of beauty and grace.

Jonathan Caouette (TARNATION)
Andrei Zvyagintsev (THE RETURN)
Wes Anderson (THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU)
Lars von Trier (DOGVILLE)
Guy Maddin (THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD)
Michael Haneke (TIME OF THE WOLF)
Tsai Ming-Liang (GOODBYE DRAGON INN)
Brad Bird (THE INCREDIBLES)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jurgen Jurges (TIME OF THE WOLF)
I doubt I'll ever forget a scene from this film that begins in total darkness. Then, a flame emerges near the right background, so slowly and ominously, gradually revealing its impetus. That final, undulating tracking shot out the train window is similarly sinister and hypnotic.

Christopher Doyle (HERO and LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE)
Mikhail Krichman (THE RETURN)
Baek Dong-hyeon (SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER... AND SPRING)
Tim Orr (UNDERTOW)
Liao Ben-Bong (GOODBYE DRAGON INN)
Lee Pin Bing (MILLENNIUM MAMBO)
Luc Montpellier (THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Lars von Trier (DOGVILLE)
Just when you can no longer bear von Trier's parable of cruelty and power, it thrillingly turns back on itself into a cathartic, blazing conclusion that's the polar opposite of BEFORE SUNSET'S in temperament, but just as surprising.

Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy (BEFORE SUNSET)
Vladimir Moiseyenko, Aleksandr Novototsky (THE RETURN)
Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach (THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU)
Charlie Kaufman (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND)
Shane Carruth (PRIMER)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor (SIDEWAYS)
For a plot that doesn't strain for any high concept... for that lengthy, intimate scene where Giamatti and Madsen talk in metaphor and end up bearing their souls to each other... for the uproarious engagement ring retrieving scene... for the bittersweet, delicately-handled ending.

Guy Maddin (THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD)
Krzysztof Kieslowski (BIG ANIMAL)
David Gordon Green and Joe Conway (UNDERTOW)
Michael Cunningham (A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD)