Friday, December 31, 2004

re-post & revised: top 10 movies of 2003

Before I compile my 2004 Best-Films-of, I'm revisiting my 2003 list as I finally had the chance to see most of the movies I wanted to see on dvd.

*****

2003 was a very strong year. Normally, high quality films such as Finding Nemo (#16) & Magdalene Sisters (#17) would find itself on my top 10 list. I'm in awe that Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (#15), the best in the trilogy, is not in my top ten. What travesty! My defense is that there are so many great films this year.

One observation I noticed is that if 2002 was a year for foreign language films, 2003 seems to be the year of wonderful documentaries. Three are in my top twelve, garnering very little press attention.





Runner-up: 12. Spellbound
A documentary following 8 children, each from different background, preparing for a National Spelling Bee. How exciting, right? The most surprising of all is that this is the most suspenseful film of 2003. It had me at the edge of my seat. I have great affection for every child featured in this documentary. When each is defeated, we feel the pain of disappointment of being close but not close enough. [Spoiler alert] As it turns out, the winner is one of the 8 kids.



Runner-Up: 11. Kill Bill: Volume One
Minimal plot. Mostly fighting. Sassy dialogue. And a whole lot of fun. Stylistically done Tarantino way. There's even room for some anime.


The TOP TEN

10. Girl with a Pearl Earring
Kudos to the casting director for perfect casting. Unrecognizable is Colin Firth as Dutch art master Johannes Vermeer. However, the real story here is his muse played by Scarlett Johansson. As peasant maid Griet, she has very little dialogue but can tell a thousand words with a simple stare or a quiet tear. One of the things I loved about this film is the unspoken relationship between the two leads. Despite their different backgrounds, they understand each other and the film suggests that they could very well be soulmates. The ending scenes imitating the real painting is haunting. I congratulate the art director who created a film that is faithful to the paintings. In a very evident way, the look of this film is a tribute to Vermeer himself.



9. Monster
I don't need to write anymore about this film because there's already so much publicity to go around as Charlize Theron is being touted to win an Oscar. One of the most heartbreaking scenes occurs when Charlize as serial killer Aileen Wuornos encounters a decent man who wants to help her. But, it's too late. Her mind is already made up and rather than challenge her perception that all men are evil, she kills him anyway. Love the sinner, hate the sin.

8. Mystic River
Clint Eastwood does a masterful job directing this film. Great ensemble acting. Roger Ebert writes that "this could have been a crime thriller or a police procedural, but Eastwood turns it toward almost Shakespearean tragedy, as each man's character plays out in his fate."



7. Lost In Translation
This film works on so many levels, #1) as a travelogue of Tokyo nightlife, #2) as a comedy in the differences between two cultures and #3) above all, a friendship between two lonely people. They end up finding each other in a society alien to them. Bill Murray gives a wonderfully affecting performance. Also, I'll forever remember Scarlett Johannson's undies (not in a perverted sense).

6. Love Actually
If I were a paid movie critic, my credibility would be shot down for putting this film so high up on my list. It's an imperfect film that has a little bit of everything: drama, laughter and even music. And maybe it has a little too much of every thing as the film is over 2 hours and 30 minutes. But I left the screening feeling invigorated. I forgave the director/screenwriter Richard Curtis. He is the best screenwriter when it comes to romantic movies. He's definitely in his element here. Hook, line & sinker, I was charmed. While there were many characters, by the film's end, you knew every single one. Though critics might bash this film, this movie took a lot of risks and it paid off. This is a movie that pays homage not just to romance, but to on screen movie romance of the past.



5. 21 grams
3 people. 3 intersecting storylines. 3 tragedies. All told in a non-chronological puzzle-like order, leading to a fascinating movie experience. This seems to be director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's expertise. There are scenes where we know very little and there are scenes when we know more than the characters themselves. Worthy of repeat viewings as the acting resonates with so much intensity.


4. Stevie
This is a film no one will ever see. Steve James, the director of Hoop Dreams makes the heartbreaking documentary of the year featuring Stevie Fielding, who as a child was beaten, raped, and made the circuit of foster homes. At taping, Stevie was 23 and facing charges of molesting an 8-year old girl.

While there is a running time of 140 minutes, I was glued. There are powerful moments of genuine honesty from the most unusual characters. Two notable characters are Stevie's girlfriend, Tonya and her bestfriend. I had doubts about the filmmaker's motives to expose the life of Stevie. Was it for his gain to create a provocative film? Or was he saying something more personal and important? After seeing the deleted scenes, particularly a conversation with a radio talk show host, I'm happy to say it's the latter.


3. Capturing the Friedmans
The film can be frustratingly ambiguous, without having any real concrete answers. Nevertheless, I admired how director Andrew Jarecki constantly teased us with little tidbits from both sides: which side is telling the truth? And you find yourself seesawing.

In the end, I was quite fascinated by the family's dynamic, especially the close-knit relationships of the three brothers that I started rooting for them regardless. For the few who have seen this film in theatres, make sure you catch the dvd release as it gives an additional mesmerizing look which heightens the film experience to another level. The supplemental features, most notably are the discussion forums and additional unseen footage definitely add significant weight to the film. This is a compellling piece of work - to witness a real family fall apart as they go through some horrendous circumstances. The courage displayed by jesse friedman and the sacrifice of his father was heart-breaking.


2. Whale Rider [read the review]
I was wisked away on the other side of the world in an exotic culture-specific, almost magical, partly mythical tale with the Maori tribe of New Zealand.

This film has the most heart-breaking scene in recent memory involving Keisha Castle-Hughes as Pai, reciting an essay which pays tribute to her people and her missing-in-action grandfather. She is strong-willed and wise to see right into her grandfather's heart and not harbour resentment toward him despite the fact that he constantly dismisses her. At film's end, it's inevitable that Pai will grow to be a great leader of a tribe who will thrive with her direction.

Koro, the grandfather, played by Rawiri Paratene plays a tricky role in showing his disappointment with the demise of his bloodline and his resistance to Pai's ambitions, tempered by his tenderness and love towards her. He deserves an oscar just as much as she does. It was incredibly haunting to witness each person walk out of the theatre touched by the courage of one little girl wise-beyond her years.


And the movie of the Year is:

1. City of God [read the review]



Wow! Filled with such exciting energy from beginning to end. Familiar yet what fresh filmmaking! By the time the credits rolled, I had to stand up and give the director, Fernando Meirelles , a standing ovation. Don't miss this film.

//posted on 12/31/2004 01:07:00 AM. I want to hear from ya - Send me an e-mail.