Best of the 2000s Revised

Here's another list I posted last year, and the year before that - turning into a tradition. There's probably some point in it, as we near the end of the decade, and prepare for the stock taking that usually accompanies the change in the tens digit... First, something new - the overall top 25 of the 2000s:

1. Inland Empire - USA - David Lynch
2. Yi Yi - Taiwan - Edward Yang
3. Vanda's Room - Portugal - Pedro Costa
4. Kings and Queen - France - Arnaud Desplechins
5. 2046 - China - Wong Kar-wei
6. Death of Mr. Lazarescu - Romania - Christi Puiu
7. Colossal Youth - Portugal - Pedro Costa
8. L'Intrus - France - Claire Denis
9. O Brother Where Art Thou? - US - Coen Brothers
10. Los Angeles Plays Itself - USA - Thom Anderson
11. Mulholland Drive USA - Lynch
12. Secret Sunshine - South Korea - Lee Chang dong
13. Goodbye, Dragon Inn - Taiwan - Tsai Ming-liang
14. The Son - Belgium - Dardennes Brothers
15. Platform - Chain - Jia Jiang-ke
16. House of Flying Daggers - China - Zhang Yimou
17. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - South Korea - Park Chan-wook
18. Memories of Murder - South Korea - Bong Joon-ho
19. There Will Be Blood - USA - Paul Thomas Anderson
20. Ichi the Killer - Japan - Takashi Miike
21. Regular Lovers - France - Philippe Garrel
22. Syndromes and a Century - Thailand - Apichatpong Weerasethakul
23. En Construccion - Spain - Jose Luis Guerin
24. Songs from the Second Floor - Sweden - Roy Anderson
25. Virgin Stripped Bare by her Bachelors - South Korea - Hong Sang-soo

And by Years, revised with 2007 added, and new films noted. This may not actually align with the lists above - there is a limit to my nerdishness, believe it or not. And all of it is approximate enough,a nd context sensitive enough....

2007:
1. Secret Sunshine - South Korea - Lee Chang-dong
2. There Will be Blood - US - Paul Thomas Anderson
3. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days - Romania - Christian Mungiu
4. The Flight of the Red Balloon - Taiwan/France - Hou Hsiao Hsien
5. Zodiac - US - David Fincher
6. California Dreamin' (Endless) - Romania - Christian Remescu
7. No Country for Old Men - US - Coen Brothers
8. In the City of Sylvia - Spain - Jose Luis Guerin
9. Darjeeling Limited - US - Wes Anderson
10. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - US - Andrew Domenik

2006:
1. Inland Empire - US - David Lynch
2. Colossal Youth - Portugal - Pedro Costa
3. *Syndromes and a Century - Thailand - Apichatpong Weerasethakul - new add, saw it last year.
4. The Woman on the Beach - South Korea - Hong Sang-soo
5. *Still Life - China - Jia Jiang ke - another new one: saw it this year
6. *Brand Upon the Brain - Canada - Guy Maddin - another new one
7. Children of Men - UK - Alfonso Cauron
8. *I Don't Want to Sleep Alone - Taiwan - Tsai Ming-liang - and another one
9. *Triad Election - China - Johnny To - also new
10. Honor de Cavelaria - Spain - Albert Serra

2005:
1. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu - Romania - Christi Puiu
2. Regular Lovers - France - Philippe Garrel
3. The Squid and the Whale - USA - Noah Baumbach
4. Three Times - Taiwan - Hou Hsiao Hsien
5. Grizzly Man - US - Werner Herzog
6. L'Enfant - Belgium - Luc & Jean Pierre Dardennes
7. Cache - France/Austria - Michael Haneke
8. The President's Last Bang - South Korea - Im Sang-soo
9. *Magic Mirror - Portugal - Manoel de Oliveira - just saw this this year
10. Mutual Appreciation - US - Andrew Bujalski

2004:
1. Kings and Queen - France - Arnaud Desplechins
2. 2046 - China - Wong Kar-wei
3. L'Intrus - France - Claire Denis
4. The House of Flying Daggers - China - Zhang Yimou
5. The World - China - Jia Jiang-ke
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - US - Michel Gondry
7. Nobody Knows - Japan - Kore-eda Hirokazu
8. Innocence - France - Lucille Hadzihalilovic
9. The Holy Girl - Argentina - Lucrecia Martel
10. Clean - France - Olivier Assayas

2003:
1. Los Angeles Plays Itself - USA - Thom Anderson
2. Goodbye Dragon Inn - Taiwan - Tsai Ming-liang
3. Memories of Murder - South Korea - Bong Joon-ho
4. Doppelganger - Japan - Kiyoshi Kurosawa
5. Dracula, Pages from a Virgin's Diary - Canada - Guy Maddin
6. Cafe Lumiere - Taiwan - Hou Hsiao Hsien
7. Elephant - USA - Gus Van Sant
8. Gerry - USA - Gus Van Sant
9. Blind Shaft - China - Li Yang
10. Crimson Gold - Iran - Jafar Panahi

2002:
1. The Son - Belgium - Luc & Jean Pierre Dardennes
2. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - South Korea - Park Chan wook
3. Man Without a Past - Finland - Aki Kaurismaki
4. The Pianist - USA - Roman Polanski
5. *Blissfully Yours - Thailand - Apitchipong Weerasthukal - just saw this one this year
6. Unknown Pleasures - China - Jia Jiang Ke
7. Millenium Mambo - Taiwan - Hou Hsiao Hsien
8. Devils on the Doorstep - China - Jiang Wen
9. Springtime in a Small Town - China - Tian Zhuang Zhuang
10. Talk to Her - Spain - Pedro Almodovar

2001:
1. Mulholland Drive - USA - David Lynch
2. Ichi the Killer - Japan - Takashi Miike
3. *En Construccion - Spain - Jose Luis Guerin - recently seen
4. Donnie Darko - USA - Richard Kelly
5. Va Savoir - France - Jacques Rivette
6. The Royal Tenenbaums - USA - Wes Anderson
7. Distance - Japan - Hirokazu Kore-eda
8. Pistol Opera - Japan - Seijun Suzuki
9. Waking Life - USA - Richard Linklater
10. Pulse - Japan - Kiyoshi Kurosawa

2000:
1. Yi Yi - Taiwan - Edward Yang
2. *Vanda's Room - Portugal - Pedro Costa - a great one, saw it last fall
3. O Brother Where Art Thou - USA - Joel and Ethan Coen - this film has been rising pretty steadily ever since I saw it. Last year, heard Stanley Cavell give a talk about it, complete with questions and answers... it seems light, but it contains multitudes.
4. Platform - China - Jia Jiang Ke
5. Virgin Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors - South Korea - Hong Sang-soo
6. Songs from the Second Floor - Sweden - Roy Andersson
7. *Peppermint Candy - South Korea - Lee Chang Dong - just saw it last weekend: very impressive
8. The Circle - Iran - Jafar Panahi
9. Eureka - Japan - Shinji Aoyama
10. In the Mood for Love - China - Wong Kar-wei

And there it is. If I get ambitious, I might try this for the 90s next.