5. “The Headless Woman”
An eerie and intentionally disorienting experience about the after affects of a woman undergoing a random car accident, Lucrecia Martel’s film enigmatically places you in a claustrophobic mental crawlspace that blurs the lines between reality and depth perception autism. It might be the first film that frighteningly (and subtly) makes you feel like you’re taking on the first symptoms of schizophrenia. A disembodying and haunting piece of cinema.
4. “Bronson”
A wickedly delirious, gleefully vicious and hypnotically operatic look at one of the UK’s most notorious prisoners. While the music and clinical aesthetics of the picture are very Kubrick at times, sonically there’s some sexy “Trainspotting” textures going on (the pulsating electro score), plus a Lynch-ian absurdity. It comes courtesy of Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, whose bold style is so audacious and idiosyncratic that if he doesn’t watch it, someone is going to try to convince him to take on “Batman 3” if Nolan bails. Or at least he would be my pie in the sky first choice.
3. “Still Walking”
Hirokuza Kore-eda‘s carefully observed family drama may owe its simple aesthetic to the great Japanese master Yasujirō Ozu, but nonetheless this film is tremendously moving, intricately nuanced and emotionally textured. A son returns home to visit his elderly parents and long-simmering bitter family issues begin to surface over the course of one hot summer day. Has there been a film that accurately yet compassionately illustrates the irritation, affection and sadness of our complicated relationships to our loved ones better this year? No. A beautiful, yet painfully honest portrait of family.
2. “35 Shots Of Rum”
Leave it to the venerable doyenne of the French arthouse Claire Denis to make an exquisite film ostensibly about nothing and yet about everything. Guided by a wistful soundtrack by the Tindersticks and the warm, intimate lens of cinematographer Agnes Godard, Denis’ film about the relationship between a daughter, her father and a man who lives in their apartment complex is, as per her usual work, tactile, sensual and flush with magnetic, intoxicating moments of real human connection. It’s also a captivating picture about what’s said behind the lines. A masterful piece of work.
1. “Summer Hours”
This warm, humanistic, sentimental, yet never treacly, drama is about a trio of middle-aged siblings that, in the wake of their mother’s death, are forced to sell the family summer home and for the first time face their lives on their own. Tender yet matter of fact, Oliver Assayas does a wonderful job of balancing the joys and pains of life without manipulation, and captures the shifting values of contemporary French life with graceful subtlety. What “Summer Hours” does better than any film this year is capture the bittersweetness in endings, the quiet fear of new beginnings, the passing of seasons and the melancholy, inevitable changing of the guard.
Honorable Mentions: First and foremost, there’s Oven Moverman‘s “The Messenger,” an excellent film that features tremendous performances by Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster, but for whatever reason it didn’t stick with me. Other mentions need to go to Judd Apatow‘s overly long but still comical and moving, “Funny People“; Duncan Jones‘ wonderfully eerie and lugubrious space oddity “Moon“; the hickory smoked Southern Gothic drama “That Evening Sun” containing a stellar performance by Hal Holbrook; Lars Von Trier‘s off-the-rails “Antichrist” (if the second half was as good as the first, it would have been top 5); Pedro Almodovar‘s “Broken Embraces” (flawed but very memorable and impeccable aesthetics all around); Greg Mottola‘s understated and low-key teen dramedy “Adventureland“; John Hillcoat‘s bleak and ashen “The Road” (which was tremendously moving in the moment but the experience has diminished for me); and Gerardo Naranjo‘s “Voy A Explotar” which I still like, but on a second viewing has fallen off in my estimation.
Also props to Christian Petzold‘s “Jerichow“; the truly compelling documentary “Food Inc.”; estimable doc-filmmaker Frederick Wiseman‘s captivating, almost-3-hour-long ballet documentary “La Danse“; Christophe Honoré‘s “La Belle Personnes“; the super twisted, pitch-black Russian comedy cum serial killer communist screed “Cargo 200“; and Jan Troell‘s ambrosial and affecting “Everlasting Moments.” Slight but still warm and winsome is Shane Meadows‘ “Somers Town” and Terence Davies’ deeply poetic and nostalgic paean to his Liverpudllian upbringing in the documentary “Of Time and the City.” Gotta give some love to “District 9” for being the most inventive and entertaining tentpole of the year, and the audacity of “World’s Greatest Dad” which by no means was perfect but certainly made me laugh out loud a few times.
Ok, I haven’t seen everything. I didn’t see “Paris” starring Juliette Binoche, but most people seemed to think it was mediocre (I love Binoche, so I will see this eventually). The Cannes 2009 runner-up “Un Prophete” has been seen by many (including several other Playlist members), but technically does not come out in the U.S. until February, 2010, so it wouldn’t be included here. Many critics, including Roger Ebert are including “Silent Light” in their 2009 picks, but it came out for a week in New York during Christmas of 2008, so I included it in those picks. I suppose if I included it here, it would crack the top 5, but again, for my specific purposes, we’re going to consider it a 2009 film. Go see it, as it is a radiant picture.
