Like last year, I am going to revisit the previous year's best of list, now that a better sample of the world's films have made it to town. (Though there are plenty more to come: I notice that the 2006 film I singled out last year - Jia Jiang-ke's Still Life - only made it here in the last couple months, this year...) The list I made in January (here) has been significantly augmented... I don't obsess over lists and ranks like I used to - but it's fun and to go back, think about what I thought about films, think about what's held up and so on; see which filmmakers have risen in my estimation, who's built on promise, etc.... Like last year, I may take also rework some older lists in the next week or so. List-o-phobes may need to look away....
But here it is - best of 2007, from 1/3 of the way into 2008.
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
11. Some Photos from the City of Sylvia - Spain - Guerin
12. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - France - Julian Schnabel
13. Don't Touch the Axe - France - Jacques Rivette
14. Paranoid Park - US - Gus Van Sant
15. Persepolis - France - Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Parronaud
16. Away From Her - Canada - Sarah Polley
17. Married Life - US - Ira Sachs
18. Michael Clayton - US - Tony Gilroy
19. Grindhouse - US - Quinten Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez
20. Eastern Promises - Canada - David Cronenberg
21. Taxi to the Dark Side - USA - Alex Gibney
22. Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street - US - Tim Burton
23. Vanaja - India - Rajnesh Domalpalli
24. Witnesses - France - Andre Techine
25. Bourne Ultimatum - US - Paul Greengrass
(Quick reference: my January 1 top 10:
1. California Dreamin' (Endless)
2. No Country for Old Men
3. Zodiac
4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
5. Darjeeling Limited
6. Eastern Promises
7. Away From Her
8. Grindhouse
9. Margot at the Wedding
10. Vanaja
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5 comments:
I was just thinking about this recently, maybe to even revisit older years like 2006 or 2005. Because there is nobody who publishes a year-end top list after having seen every major films of that year. So it's better to wait a couple years to be sure all films that could get released made it to the market. How long does it take? 3 to 5 years maximum I guess. Past this lapse, a movie is either released on DVD or will never be I guess...
So it would be interesting to revisit 5 years old lists and give a more comprehensive appreciation of that year's production. And maybe to raise awareness about those neglected movies without release that everyone forgets once the festival reviews are long gone and the top10 lists are dated.
There are 10 titles I still haven't seen from your top25. Though only The City of Silvia is on my to-see list.
I was disappointed by There Will Be Blood, No Country For Old Men and Zodiac. But I'm happy to see favorites of mine : Secret Sunshine, 4 Months and Persepolis on your list! :)
I make lists, but never seem to post them anywhere that is findable again.
Milyang is certainly one of my top few films that bears a 2007 date. Offhand, the only other films I can think of that I'd put on the same level are Hou's latest and Jun Ichikawa's (HOnong Sang-soo's 2007 film being unseen still).
There are still a few 2005 films I have yet to see that I really want to see.
What I like from other people's lists is hearing about films I should see. No one person gets to see everything worthwhile - but collectively, we have a chance of covering what's interesting, coming up with a guide for what to see. The truth is, it's not just 2007 or 2006 films turning up this year - sometimes it takes years for a film to play where I can see it, or to come back, if it plays once or twice or one or two weeks, and I missed it. Something like the Lee Chang-dong series that just played at Harvard might be the only chance to see some of those films in a decade: Oasis is the only one to be on DVD here... I like being able to track down other people's thoughts on films like that (even if they're just naming the films as worth seeing)... And I end up going back over my own lists, for mostly the same reason. To steer people to things I think are worthwhile, and maybe to get them to suggest what else I should look for (as MIchael always does).
Anyway - I think I have a couple more big list posts coming. I've been thinking of setting up a List Only blog, to collect things like this. I've seen a few of them around the blogosphere - I might try it. It might be interesting to set something like that up for multiple users, too... they make useful guides...
Well, if you get really desperate to re-visit LEE Chang-dong's work, I have them all on DVD. ;~}
The films he wrote for PARK Kwang-su are probably also must-sees -- though I have only seen A Single Spark (still waiting for a DVD of To A Starry Isle).
And LEE Yoon-ki's films still remain unavailable (except on Korean DVDs).
I definitely concur with the idea that the collective recommendation is way more comprehensive than any solo given list.
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