2000s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 2)

An ongoing project to survey the best films of individual decades, genres, and filmmakers.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

2000s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 2)

#1 Post by zedz » Thu Jul 09, 2009 5:15 pm

Your ballots for the 2000s list are due at the end of January 2010. PM them to me.

THE RULES

1) Each individual list is to comprise no more or less than 50 films, ranked in your order of preference. If you haven't seen 50 films from the decade that you think are genuinely great, don't bother voting. (If you are currently in this unfortunate position and want to rectify that before the end of January, then this is the thread for you!)
2) Any feature film, documentary, experimental film, short film, music video, TV miniseries, TV movie or TV special released in the 2000s is eligible.
3) Television series or seasons / episodes of television series are not eligible.
4) The date given on imdb is the relevant date for determining eligibility, even when it's clearly wrong.
5) Two-part films released separately (e.g. Eisenstein's Ivans) count as one film. Trilogies (e.g. Ray's Apus) count as separate films.

In this thread you can recommend a favourite film, report back for good or ill on something you've seen, propose a 'swapsie' (somebody watches one of your favourite overlooked films if you watch one of theirs). This time around, I'd like to discourage posting your own full or partial lists until the vote is concluded. In an ideal world, all recommendations should be backed up with an explanation of why you particularly like a particular film.

Please bear in mind that many of the films likely to be included in this discussion could already have their own threads in the "New Films" subforum. Your comments may be worth copying to those threads, where future generations are more likely to find them.


THE SWAPSIES

Over the past few lists projects, a system of ‘swapsies’ has evolved. The idea of this is that one contributor will nominate a specific film they value highly – generally one which it is assumed that other participants might have overlooked or not seen – and that if somebody watches that film, the person who nominated it has to watch the viewer’s nominated film, if they haven’t already seen it. (In the event that somebody has nominated multiple ‘swapsies’, you only have to watch one of them!)

All participants are encouraged to provide feedback on the film in the List discussion thread (or the film’s dedicated thread, if it has one).

I’ll try and keep track of the various ‘swapsies’ in this initial thread post. If you want to participate, post your selection in this thread. If I’ve missed you out, or have got details wrong, PM me.

Murdoch – Under the Sand (Ozon)
LQ – The Gleaners and I (Varda)
GringoTex – Drama / Mex (Naranjo)
ptatler – Time Out (Cantet), The Aura (Bielinsky), Stevie (James), Lake of Fire (Kaye)
zedz – Who’s Camus Anyway? (Yanagimachi)
swo17 - You, the Living (Andersson)
domino harvey – The Baxter (Showalter)
carax09 – The Low Down (Thraves), The GoodTimesKid (Jacob)
Dr Amicus – La Antena (Sapir)
Aki – Generation Kill (Burns / Simon)
Tom Hagen – Fog of War, Standard Operating Procedure (both Morris)
reno dakota – The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Jones)
jonp72 – Moolade (Sembene)
knives – Boy A (Crowley)
life_boy – Prometheus’ Garden (Bickford)
Ferdinand Griffon - Ce jour-la (Ruiz)
puxzkkx - Vibrator (Hiroki), Linda Linda Linda (Yamashita), A Piece of Sky (Lienard), The Forest for the Trees (Ade), Live-In Maid (Gaggero)
Shrew - Devils on the Doorstep (Jiang)
brendanjc - Rumba (Abel / Gordon / Romy)
Mise En Scene - Munyurangabo (Chung)
A - Blessing Bell (Sabu)
Phil - Un Catastrophe (Godard)
Fierias - La Cienaga (Martel)
Last edited by zedz on Tue Oct 27, 2009 4:48 pm, edited 12 times in total.

User avatar
Murdoch
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#2 Post by Murdoch » Thu Jul 09, 2009 6:24 pm

Really looking forward to people's suggestions for this decade. I have a lot of favorites that will likely make my list, but I don't yet have a definite number one. But some that definitely will make it:

Riviera - Anne Villaceque
Woman on the Beach - Hong Sang Soo
Both of which are prospective number one choices, but I have a lot more to watch and might even end up replacing Woman with another Hong film after I see more.

The World (although Platform and Still Life I have still not seen yet)
Pulse / Bright Future
Code Unknown
American Psycho
L'enfant
Syndromes and a Century

My swapsie for this decade is Francois Ozon's Under the Sand, a film that features a marvelous performance by Charlotte Rampling and never lets itself drift into overt melancholy despite dealing with the heavy theme of loss of a loved one and being unable to accept such a loss.

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#3 Post by swo17 » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:14 pm

OK, let's resolve this right off the bat:

Kill Bill
Che

each one film or two?

User avatar
zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#4 Post by zedz » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:23 pm

swo17 wrote:OK, let's resolve this right off the bat:

Kill Bill
Che

each one film or two?
Good examples (maybe telling that neither was on my radar!). According to the rules they're both single entities (hardly surprising with Che since that was its original release form, and Kill Bill was conceived and shot as one big whatever - a classic instance of a two-part release).

And I don't have a vested interest in it either, but I assume that Grindhouse and the two independent releases are eligible as three separate entities if anybody's mad keen to vote vote vote for them.

Also for the record, rule-wise, The Wire or any series or episode of it is not eligible.

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#5 Post by swo17 » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:31 pm

zedz wrote:Also for the record, rule-wise, The Wire or any series or episode of it is not eligible.
Pshaw, what's even the point then? Ah well, at least I can still vote for Arrested Development, right?

User avatar
Yojimbo
Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:06 am
Location: Ireland

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#6 Post by Yojimbo » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:35 pm

zedz wrote:
swo17 wrote:OK, let's resolve this right off the bat:

Also for the record, rule-wise, The Wire or any series or episode of it is not eligible.
What about 'Deadwood'???
just finished the Third Season: it is the best ever!

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#7 Post by knives » Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:14 pm

While I can't think of any thing this decade what about episodes of anthology teevee series? Like if we were making the '60s list and I wanted an episode of the Twilight Zone.

User avatar
Fiery Angel
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 1:59 pm

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#8 Post by Fiery Angel » Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:24 pm

Read rule number 3

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#9 Post by knives » Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:26 pm

I know the rule I was just curious if there was an exception like the Twin Peaks pilot for the '90s list.

User avatar
zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#10 Post by zedz » Fri Jul 10, 2009 12:09 am

knives wrote:I know the rule I was just curious if there was an exception like the Twin Peaks pilot for the '90s list.
That wasn't an exception. I saw the Twin Peaks pilot (not the 'European' version) in a bona fide cinema months before the show screened, so it counted as a 'film', not a TV episode.

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#11 Post by knives » Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:16 am

(I don't even know why I'm fighting this point, doesn't even apply to the decade)
Couldn't something like a Twilight Zone situation count as a forum for short films of a specific type though? They're not tied into any continuity and are related only through crew and being made for teevee.

User avatar
LQ
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:51 am
Contact:

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#12 Post by LQ » Fri Jul 10, 2009 1:13 pm

Sitting pretty as the unshakable #1 of my list will be Punch-Drunk Love. Absolutely my most beloved film of the decade, and one of my top all-time favorites. Besides being a perfect movie with perfect performances, it makes me transcendentally happy. I can speak only in hyperbole about it.

I'm quite sure that everybody here has seen it though, so I'll name Agnès Varda's fascinating, lively, and touching doc The Gleaners and I as my swapsie for the decade.

A handful of others that will appear pretty high on the list: Bad Education, Best In Show, The Fall, Mulholland Dr., The Triplets of Belleville, Brand Upon the Brain!, Catch Me If You Can, Caché, Secretary.

User avatar
GringoTex
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:57 am

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#13 Post by GringoTex » Fri Jul 10, 2009 1:28 pm

I'm more ignorant of 2000s cinema than any other decade. And my wife and kids will be leaving town for five weeks tomorrow. So I'm going to watch 50 films that you guys recommend that are available on Netflix.

As for my swapsie: Drama/Mex. Not that I've seen too many 2000s films, but Naranjo is the best new director I've encountered in years and this is my favorite film of the decade. He wears his Godard and Cassavetes on his sleeve and mixes it with machismo, sand, futbol, and alcohol. Puro mexicano. It's available on Netflix

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#14 Post by swo17 » Fri Jul 10, 2009 1:50 pm

LQ wrote:Sitting pretty as the unshakable #1 of my list will be Punch-Drunk Love. Absolutely my most beloved film of the decade, and one of my top all-time favorites. Besides being a perfect movie with perfect performances, it makes me transcendentally happy. I can speak only in hyperbole about it.
Looks like it already has a guaranteed 100 points then. :wink: A film that is every bit as good as my dreams about it both before and after viewing it.

Gringo, if you can still trust me after our '90s disagreements, here are some films you (and others!) can add to your queue. (My apologies if some of these are too obvious):

Waking Life (Linklater) - like Slacker put to great, innovative animation, now annoyingly used in bank commercials or some such nonsense
Mysterious Skin (Araki) - my Happiness pick of the decade, some of this is very hard to watch, and all the more transcendent for it. Plus, a great shoegaze soundtrack.
All the Real Girls (Green) - I met my wife because of this movie, which makes me pretty cool.
Children of Men (Cuarón) - like being forced to watch someone else play a video game who sucks at it and keeps dying all the time, but in a good way
The Heart of the World (Maddin) - Maddin should fare strongly on my list, but this short (available on the Twilight of the Ice Nymphs DVD) will likely top them all
The Son (Dardennes) - another understated what-would-you-do movie from the masters of what-would-you-do movies
Kings and Queen (Desplechin) - Mathieu Amalric is brilliant in this
New York Doll (Whiteley) - not necessarily a stunningly well made documentary, but the ending to this is all the more perfect because it really happened that way (and by "ending," I do not mean the current incarnation of the New York Dolls)
The Secret Lives of Dentists (Rudolph) - like American Beauty but good?
The Best of Youth (Giordana) - six hours of watching Italian people do stuff that is totally worth it for the last five minutes
Spellbound (Blitz) - a glimpse into the life I was forced to live during my formative years, when, as I'm sure you all know, I climbed the ranks to 3rd place in the circa 1992 Oklahoma State Spelling Bee.
The Good Girl (Arteta) - I kind of have a thing for early Zooey Deschanel :oops:
I Heart Huckabees (Russell) - a total mess but Mark Wahlberg is brilliant in it
The Weather Man (Verbinski) - for all you Nic Cage haters, a great opportunity to see him get beaten down to a stump of a man
Spider (Cronenberg) - one of his most horrifying works, taking place from the POV of a schizophrenic
Primer (Carruth) - the only time travel movie that makes any sense

Yeah, I know, I need more foreign films in there...that's what the project's for I guess.

User avatar
kaujot
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 6:28 pm
Location: Austin
Contact:

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#15 Post by kaujot » Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:44 pm

I completely agree about Huckabees. A mess, but a wonderful mess and Mark Wahlberg's never been better.

User avatar
ptatler
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:08 pm
Contact:

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#16 Post by ptatler » Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:46 pm

I think I've made my enthusiasm for this decade clear, so I'll refrain from further gushing. Not sure whether or not it was the influence of Web 2.0, but it seems like (for me, at least) there was better access to fringe/foreign/avant garde stuff during the Oughties.

THOUGHTS
First of all, I won't repeat my one film-per-auteur mistake from the '90s. If nothing else, this would prevent me from including PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE and THERE WILL BE BLOOD in my list.

As far as the top-scoring auteurs on the 90s list go, I'm sure Wong's two major works will score here (and some die hards might even cast votes for - shudder - MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS). Kieslowski won't show, obviously, and I don't think Kiarostami will place quite as high (though ABC AFRICA is highly recommended). Like Wong, Lynch had two films that are guaranteed placement (and votes from me). Scorsese finally reached public consciousness (and found a new muse) this decade but... damned if his films yielded diminishing returns (though I enjoyed DEPARTED and SHUTTER ISLAND looks pretty awesome).

My favorite new directors of the decade made movies in the '90s but didn't really appear on my radar until recently: Arnaud Desplechin and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Both will have high-scoring films on my list.

DOCS
One of the distinguishing characterisitics of the decade seems to have been the prominence of the documentary form (thanks to Michael Moore and - ulp - reality TV). An increasingly ridiculous spate of competition films (from the great SPELLBOUND to bullshit like LEAGUE OF ORDINARY GENTLEMEN), hagiographies of obscure artists (DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON, etc), and the Iraq-umentaries/Bush Admin indictments seem to make up the bulk of the high-profile releases. My picks would be GRIZZLY MAN, WHY WE FIGHT, FOG OF WAR, LAKE OF FIRE, and STEVIE, with AMERICAN SPLENDOR filling the quasi-doc spot.

LOCKS
The aforementioned PTA joints, INSIDE MAN (Spike Lee's best of the decade), NO DIRECTION HOME (probably the only Scorsese on my list), DIG! (one of my favorite music docs of all time), and (sorry haters) THE TWO TOWERS (far and away the best of Jackson's trilogy. Plus, everything on my Swapsie list below.

SWAPS
TIME OUT (Cantet)
THE AURA (Bielinsky)
STEVIE (James)
LAKE OF FIRE (Kaye)

I had more to say but work deadlines beckon. Besides, the real question is how many Ron Howard and/or Russell Crowe films will make it into YOUR top ten?!

roujin
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:16 am

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#17 Post by roujin » Fri Jul 10, 2009 2:53 pm

GringoTex wrote:Drama/Mex.
I've never even heard of it. Your description is incredibly appealing though.

My #1 pick will probably be Yi Yi, the final major work from the late Edward Yang. I can't think of a film I love more.

Three films by Claire Denis will undoutedbly chart high for me, Friday Night, Trouble Every Day and L'Intrus. Most likely in that order. The films I most want to see are the Godards, Colossal Youth, Regular Lovers, Platform, and others.

User avatar
Murdoch
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#18 Post by Murdoch » Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:20 pm

Three films by Claire Denis will undoutedbly chart high for me, Friday Night, Trouble Every Day and L'Intrus.
This is a director I am very unfamiliar with so I'll be running through her output, I've got L'Intrus sitting in my dvd player ready for tonight!
ptatler wrote:Besides, the real question is how many Ron Howard and/or Russell Crowe films will make it into YOUR top ten?!
:-&

User avatar
colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#19 Post by colinr0380 » Fri Jul 10, 2009 3:52 pm

It has been a surprisingly good decade. Sorry LQ, I'm afraid I'm not much of a fan of Punch-Drunk Love (Emily Watson's lovely in the film though!), but There Will Be Blood will certainly place high on my list!

I must have about ten films that could all get the number 1 position on my list for the 2000s already! Birth; Mulholland Drive; Elephant; In The Mood For Love; The Atrocity Exhibition; Code Unknown (that moment with Binoche getting bullied on the train home and the reaction of her fellow passengers is Haneke at his confrontational and cathartic best, just one of many scenes in this film about coercion and collateral damage) and The Piano Teacher (even Time of the Wolf might be in with a chance!); the darkly comic Memento; Dogville and Dancer In The Dark. I also might try and sneak Anatomy of Hell in there!

Shinji Aoyama's Eureka is a lovely and quiet film about how survivors of violent events continue with day to day life that slowly turns into a redemptive road movie. The measured and cool approach to even the most extreme moments and revelations creates a film with few emotional highs and lows, but the atmosphere and sheer length creates a film to experience along with the characters.

For the hysterical (in both senses) opposite experience of a fractured family slowly reconnecting with each other after a series of individual 'experiences' I'd recommend Takashi Miike's Visitor Q. Best for those with strong stomachs though - it may put you off milk and necrophilia for life!

While I thought Requiem For A Dream was a great film, it is not one that I would casually recommend to anyone - it is too harrowing an experience! So since I like The Fountain just as much, if not more, I'll recommend that one!

On the subject of offbeat and not entirely successful films, but ones whose flaws actually become part of their attraction I'd also recommend It's All About Love. It is such a fragile and naive (in the best sense) film that it is extremely easy to laugh at, especially when you cut to Sean Penn philosophising in an airplane doomed to continue flying until its fuel runs out and the floating Africans(!), but I found it to be quite moving if approached in the right state of mind (Yes zedz this is my Liebestraum wild card for the decade! :wink: )

All About Lily Chou-Chou I feel is the best portrayal of the pre-blog internet (i.e. forums) on film so far - people connecting over mutual love of cultural artefacts; casual comments having extreme effects on others; people who would not ordinarily meet in real life (or who actively hate each other in the real world) becoming close; online community but real world isolation; the power of art (in this case music) to free you from your troubles, but also the limitations it has and unattainable yearnings it can foster, and so on. It also features a very good portrayal of teen bullying, gangs and petty theft that lets the acts feel cruel, nasty and with horrible effects, while at the same time the events themselves seem rather petty, difficult to understand how they started and, well, childish.

A couple more recommendations with links to comments (that contain spoilers):

Les Revenants (They Came Back) - who would have thought the best zombie film of the decade would not have been directed by George Romero?

Heaven - not exactly Kieslowski but a nice tribute and builds to a literally transcendent ending!

A couple of others that come to mind:

Bright Young Things - After being the one grating, totally out of place element in Altman's Gosford Park (which was otherwise perfectly judged), I like to think that this adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's book Vile Bodies was Stephen Fry's atonement to period drama!

EDIT: Oh! And how could I have forgotten Atonement itself!

The Way of the Gun - Directed by Christopher McQuarrie who wrote The Usual Suspects, I preferred this film to its more famous predecessor. The story takes the potentially fun and flippant Tarantino-esque material of a pair of idiots kidnapping a surrogate mother for a wealthy couple and being chased across the country by cops and hired assassins alike, and emphasises how out of touch with 'normality' all of the characters are. Rather brutal and if you don't like horrible things happening to pregnant women (even if they are played by Juliette Lewis!) it might be difficult to watch but surprisingly entertaining. Who would have thought that Ryan Phillippe could have starred (and actually been pretty good) in two truly great films this decade?
Last edited by colinr0380 on Sat Jul 11, 2009 4:30 pm, edited 7 times in total.

User avatar
Murdoch
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:59 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#20 Post by Murdoch » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:07 pm

colinr0380 wrote:Code Unknown (that moment with Binoche getting bullied on the train home and the reaction of her fellow passengers is Haneke at his confrontational and cathartic best
Almost unbearable! I wanted that man to give that kid a lengthy beating, probably stemming from me not wanting to see Binoche treated like that and Haneke does it in such an uncompromising and claustrophobic setting. It will definitely make my list, far better than the woefully self-absorbed Funny Games (the US version, haven't seen the original).

I give a large endorsement to Baumbach's Margot at the Wedding, such brilliant performances by Kidman and Leigh who are the primary reasons for watching, I must have watched the film five times in the past week, I blame domino for this newfound Jennifer Jason Leigh obsession.
Last edited by Murdoch on Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
kaujot
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 6:28 pm
Location: Austin
Contact:

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#21 Post by kaujot » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:09 pm

colinr0380 wrote:After being the one grating, totally out of place element in Altman's Gosford Park (which was otherwise perfectly judged), I like to think that this adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's book Vile Bodies was Stephen Fry's atonement to period drama!
I daresay fisticuffs are in order for your vile slander.

User avatar
John Cope
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:40 pm
Location: where the simulacrum is true

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#22 Post by John Cope » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:14 pm

roujin wrote:Three films by Claire Denis will undoutedbly chart high for me, Friday Night, Trouble Every Day and L'Intrus. Most likely in that order.
That's funny as for me the listing would run just the opposite (in fact, Friday Night won't make it at all).
Murdoch wrote:This is a director I am very unfamiliar with so I'll be running through her output, I've got L'Intrus sitting in my dvd player ready for tonight!

I can't imagine starting with this one. It'll be interesting to get your reaction though.
ptatler wrote:I don't think Kiarostami will place quite as high (though ABC AFRICA is highly recommended).
Five may well be in my top five, certainly top ten.
swo17 wrote:Mysterious Skin (Araki) - my Happiness pick of the decade, some of this is very hard to watch, and all the more transcendent for it. Plus, a great shoegaze soundtrack.
I rewatched this finally and liked it more than the first time when I was too invested in the book to see its merits. Still think it's an unsteady piece though.
swo17 wrote:The Secret Lives of Dentists (Rudolph) - like American Beauty but good?
As much as I love Rudolph (and God knows I do) I have never been able to take to this one. It always seemed too safe to me. 1997's Afterglow is a much better attempt at connecting with the middle class in a distinctively Rudolphian way and a deeper experience all around. Still, if I were to pick a Rudolph (and God knows I will) it would easily be Investigating Sex, a throwback to the kind of sensibility and temperament he displayed during his peak period in the eighties.
swo17 wrote:The Best of Youth (Giordana) - six hours of watching Italian people do stuff that is totally worth it for the last five minutes

Another one I couldn't get into. My suspicion, however, is that my lack of engagement has more to do with its novelistic tenor than any deficiency in it. This is the same reason Yang's work doesn't move me much either.

As for me, at this point, and off the top of my head there's always the two Tarrs, the two (probably three) Hernandez films, any Apichatpong, Padilha's recent Elite Squad (which I've been all too subtly advocating on here for awhile now) and very, very high at the top, A.I.. Of course, once again, there's another full decade of Oliveira as well. I suspect I'm Going Home will chart high, though it's probably my least favorite of his 00's work; it's great but the least representative of what I value his work for. My #1 will probably turn out to be either The Uncertainty Principle or A Talking Picture (maybe The Fifth Empire).

Using the Twin Peaks rule I would also lobby strongly for Zalman King's Chromiumblue.com pilot since it was released as a separate film as well and is certainly, at the least, one of the decade's most prescient aesthetic achievements. Far as I'm concerned though its unrestrained transformative radicalism has yet to begin to be matched let alone followed up on (as Peaks wasn't either; here though it's much easier for the surface tawdriness to be taken up and replicated with no sense of dereliction for any larger grasp of context or form).

User avatar
Sloper
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 10:06 pm

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#23 Post by Sloper » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:17 pm

Has anyone around here seen The Hours of the Day/Las Horas del Dia (Jaime Rosales, 2003)? It's heavily reminiscent of Wenders' The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty, and although I didn't think it was anywhere near as good as that film, it's the kind of thing people around these parts might go for. Strange, alienating, virtually plotless (besides a couple of scenes of utterly random violence) it mostly left me cold, but there is quite an interesting character study buried in there. The protagonist is a good-looking shopkeeper who just about functions among the people in his life - mother, girlfriend, colleagues - but what seems like a mild case of Asperger's syndrome is revealed (only to the audience) to be a very deep-rooted psychosis. I'm ambivalent about re-visiting it, but would be interested to hear others' opinions...

thebadsleepwell
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2008 12:30 pm

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#24 Post by thebadsleepwell » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:21 pm

I would like to second the documentary "Stevie". It is (well at least to me) a very honest portrayal of a very sad life marred by bad choices and even worse circumstances. It makes me weep everytime I see it.

Also I am very interested in Miike's "Big Bang Love, Juvenile A". Can anyone recommend or defend? (Michael, I know you are a fan of Miike's.)

User avatar
Michael Kerpan
Spelling Bee Champeen
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:20 pm
Location: New England
Contact:

Re: 2000s List Discussion and Suggestions

#25 Post by Michael Kerpan » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:26 pm

colinr0380 wrote:Shinji Aoyama's Eureka is a lovely and quiet film about how survivors of violent events continue with day to day life that slowly turns into a redemptive road movie. The measured and cool approach to even the most extreme moments and revelations creates a film with few emotional highs and lows, but the atmosphere and sheer length creates a film to experience along with the characters.
Seconded. And for people attuned to acting, the two main characters -- the bus driver (Koji Yakusho) and the little girl (Aoi Miyazaki) are awesome -- and most of the rest of the cast is very good as well. The Japanese DVD was much much better than any western release. Not sure of the quality of the Korean (and other Asian) DVDs.
All About Lily Chou-Chou I feel is the best portrayal of the internet on film so far - people connecting over mutual love of cultural artefacts; causal comments having extreme effects on others; people who would not ordinarily meet in real life (or who actively hate each other in the real world) becoming close; online community but real world isolation; the power of art (in this case music) to free you from your troubles, but also the limitations it has and unattainable yearnings it can foster, and so on. It also features a very good portrayal of teen bullying, gangs and petty theft that lets the acts feel cruel, nasty and with horrible effects, while at the same time the events themselves seem rather petty, difficult to understand how they started and, well, childish.
Alas -- I really really disliked this one. And I didn't think it was even remotely realistic.

Post Reply