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December 30, 2005
THE TOP TEN OF 2005
10. The 40 Year Old Virgin - 2005 was not really the "Year of the R Rated Comedy "… it was the "Year of The R Rated Movie with a Heart Of Gold." And no comedies heart was bigger than this one's. When The Wedding Crashers lost its footing a bit when the real feelings showed up, Steve Carrell and Catherine Keener duoed up with an ease and grace reminiscent of Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, more so in Sleeper or Love and Death than Annie Hall. Essentially, this was the best Adam Sandler movie ever… perhaps because Sandler - who is very underrated, really - still isn't as mature as Carrell, even though they are of a similar age. Carrell at the center of Spanglish might have stood a chance. In any case, Virgin just flies - and as far broad as it goes, it always seems to find the grain of human truth that makes you suspend your wince and turn it into a smile and a belly laugh.
9. Paradise Now - It is not the most accomplished filmmaking, but in a year of considering why hatred thrives in the world, the film is sublime. Some people are cartoons. Most are not. The wannabe suicide bombers of Paradise Now are not cartoons, though one of them kind of aspires to becoming one. The voice of reason? The terrorist's daughter. Questions, questions, questions.
8. Kingdom of Heaven: Extended Cut - In the tradition of "Untitled," the extended cut of Almost Famous, Ridley Scott's 3-hour (and change) version of Kingdom of Heaven is night and day from the original. Even more than with Cameron Crowe's chopped up work, Fox literally cut out the story of the movie. I was so shocked by what was back in that I had to rent the DVD that is now out to make sure I wasn't crazy. There is some more blood and a touch more sex (though still not intense enough for my tastes, given the story), but what is breathtaking is that every major character in the movie, except perhaps Ghassan Massoud's already brilliant turn as Saladin, is significantly enhanced by the additions. Edward Norton's cameo as The King of Jerusalem now feels like a real performance. Marton Csokas is no longer just a caricature. Liam Neeson's character has history and motivation, not just people telling us how great he was. And even Orlando Bloom's Balian is given greater depth, his despair and his need for forgiveness actually making sense when you see Scott's real vision for the film. They gutted a great film and made us all think it was shallow. Shame on them. At least there is now a chance to correct the mistake.
7. Kung Fu Hustle - Steven Chow is the Asian Steven Spielberg with a much stronger sense of humor. Kung Fu Hustle is old-fashioned and CG progressive, incredibly stupid and yet incredibly human, oddly intimate and completely cartoon epic. The film is loaded with moments that create decades long cults, as people can enjoy the work over and over and over again.
6. The Family Stone - Tom Bezucha wrote and directed this old-fashioned family comedic drama with a mastery of skills mostly forgotten in Hollywood. Either it's silly or it's serious. Either it's sweet or it's sour. Either it's real or unreal. But there is a long history of cinema that was more complex than that. And this is the altar where Bezucha worships. And now, many of us stand in awe of his skill, just the second time behind the camera, walking that tightrope. One of 2005's many Rorschach test movies, either you accept the Stones or you skip them. Me? Loved 'em madly.
5. Grizzly Man - Werner Herzog's brilliant doc, made up mostly of "found footage," plays right into Herzog's genius for extreme characters. No one would believe Tim Treadwell if you made him up. Like "Kitten" Braden in Breakfast on Pluto, Treadwell is the unstoppable force. Nature is the unmoveable object. And Herzog is the man strong enough to love and respect the truths of both. A perfect double feature with My Best Fiend.
4. Munich - Spielberg's least Spielbergian effort is the tea bag in a season of strong coffee. You have to let it steep for a while to experience its true flavors. Rarely has a major film been more victimized by the critics' need to have a strong opinion and to have it now… it is not only the wrong way to look at this movie, it is, amazingly enough, at the heart of what this movie is about. Taking a strong position and not being willing to consider it in greater depth is easy… too easy. Munich is much in the kinship of Apocalypse Now, first best known for its price tag and Brando's excesses and, in time, appreciated as something far more complex and perfect fodder for repeat viewings. What Munich does not have that Coppola's film had are the big moments with such repeatable tag lines. Munich refuses us that satisfaction. Still, upon reflection there is scene after scene that is memorable and unique. But most of all, there is no section of Munich you can watch that will not leave you armed for an intense, perhaps contentious conversation.
3. A History of Violence - Cronenberg's masterwork, this is another film that has been too easily dismissed by some. It is a fable, not a literal story. The small town the Stall's live in is almost exactly as real as William Hurt's brilliant afterburners-raging cameo performance. The two big sex scenes are also way over the top. But every moment of A History Of Violence is about more than what the surface is offering us. And, unlike some films, Cronenberg makes no bones about making that clear. All of our lives play out at different levels of volume. This movie is loud… but its lesson speak to all of our volumes… all the way to mute.
1. It's a tie! There were two movies this year that I loved and they were both kind of doing the same thing, but these two young (at least, career young) directors are working in completely different voices. What Fernando Meirelles does with magical manipulations of images, Arnaud Desplechin does by taking his actors to unexpected places of vulnerability and freedom. That is not to say that Desplechin doesn't handle the camera well or that Meirelles' actors don't thrive… neither would be as good as they are if they didn't have more than one skill… but they are opposite sides of the same mirror.
Kings & Queen (Rois et Reine) is a gooey masterpiece, so loaded down with what you expect it to be that when it blossoms, it is one of the great surprises you will have in the cinema. Emmanuelle Devos' Nora is a cold beauty, having "overcome" her youthful whims. Mathieu Amalric's Ismael is a raving madman, convincing enough to be a con man. Nora is on her way to visit her father. Ismael is on the way to the mental hospital. Where could these two be going… and what the hell do they have to do with one another? You don't want the answers. You don't want any of the answers to the many fascinating characters because every reveal is sublime in its own way, better and better the longer the movie goes on, until it reaches one of the great third acts you will ever see in a film about the humanity of people.
The Constant Gardener is far more structured, but it is what Meirelles colors outside of the lines that makes it a masterpiece. The movie opens with the death of Rachel Weisz's Tessa Quayle. That's when we start to consider, along with her widower, Ralph Fennes' Justin, what happened to her… how did she come to this end? And as we move forward into the unraveling past, we discover something even more compelling, a love between a man and a woman deeper than either knew. The more he knows, the more he loves… the more he loves, the greater the loss… the greater the loss, the more he loves. And while the structure of the Jeffrey Caine script gives Meirelles the hanger on which to put this fine, intricately tailored suit, it is the detail work that makes it so sublime. Whether it is the intimacy of Tessa wandering though Kenyan crowds being photographed by a hidden camera or the use of computer imagery or the power of private moments between the pregnant Tessa and Justin, the frame is always juicy with more than the surface story being told.
Both of these films are ultimately about how we share ourselves, how we share our love and how we learn and evolve and grow even when we think we've got all of the answers about who we are. The greatest power on the earth is not money or politics or fear. It is love… the love we know and the love unexpected. It's so much easier to believe we have the answers. But we do not. We are human. We are flowing. That is our condition. And only we can choose to move forward. That's what so many of the filmmakers on this list ultimately had to say this year. It was unexpected. And I am thankful.
December 28, 2004 - Movies You Should Have Seen, But Didn't
December 29, 2004 - The Ten Worst
December 30, 2004 - The Ten Best
