Earlier this week, when indieWIRE announced the launch of its 2006 Critics Poll, I spoke to Eugene Hernandez about organizing a parallel poll for bloggers who would like to participate. He agreed to the idea, and so for the next few days, you’ll hopefully be seeing indieWIRE’s network of bloggers (and others… everyone’s invited!) posting their own ballots in the 2006 indieWIRE Blog Poll. If you want to join the conversation, feel free to post your own ballot on your blog or email it to me (see address at right) and I will be happy to post it here.
My official ballot in the poll is below. Thanks again to Eugene for the opportunity to participate!
The 2006 indieWIRE Blog Poll
Best Film
Climates by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
I miss one film at The New York Film Festival and it turns out to be a classic; Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Climates was, hands down, the film of the year. I caught up with the film on its opening weekend at Film Forum and I was deeply impressed and moved; A gorgeous, languid story of the manipulations, revelations and emotional torments surrounding a painfully indecisive break-up, Climates was the one movie that broke my heart over and over and over again. I’ve read a few pieces of criticism that describe the film as some sort of masculine fantasy, but that’s pure bullshit; Bahar (a stunning Ebru Ceylan) is the revelation of the movie, the heart and soul that keeps us wishing and hoping for her happiness. By the time the film ends, the devastating impact of the affair is felt precisely because we care so deeply for her. A tremendous accomplishment.
Zeitgiest, one of my favorite distributors, continues to fight the good fight; They released Climates back in October and I see the film has grossed around $50,000 to date. That’s FIFTY THOUSAND dollars. I’ll ask my obligatory question; Where are we as a culture when a great film like this can’t make it in the marketplace? Shame.
Bringin’ On The Heartbreak: Bahar (Ebru Ceylan) and Isa (Nuri Bilge Ceylan) in Climates
Best Performance
Daniel London and Will Oldham, Old Joy
To be honest, I’m a little tired of the Great Actor theory of performance. Instead of singling out an individual in an individual category, I would like to draw attention to two performances in a single film; Daniel London’s Mark and Will Oldham’s Kurt inhabit Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy with deep familiarity while exposing the inarticulate space that has grown between two close friends. Two moments stand out; Kurt’s impromptu campfire revelation about his life’s travels bring his character alive with uncertainty while Mark’s reaction to Kurt’s massage at the hot springs, his wedding ring sinking below the water line, underscores his own discomfort with his quickly-developing responsibilities (and hints at a depper connection between the two men than we might have imagined). To exclude one or the other actor from mention is impossible, and so my vote goes to both.
Into The Woods: Kurt (Will Oldham) and Mark (Daniel London) in Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy
Best Supporting Performance
Sergi López, Pan’s Labyrinth
The physical embodiment of the fascist aesthetic and pure villany, Sergi López’s Capitán Vidal is the baddest bad guy to grace the screen in a long, long time. Lately, most movies seem to so wrapped up in feel-good depictions of heroism that the villains have become almost an after-thought. This has a two-fold effect, nullifying the impact of the heroism depicted by having the stakes set too low (Superman Returns being the best example of the lame villain ruining an otherwise entertaining film) while simultaneously boring audiences silly. How about a bad guy who raises the stakes to the level of life and death? In Pan’s Labyrinth, López, an actor who has made a living playing creepy bad guys, plays Vidal with such a believable level of zealotry and evil intent that the fantastic elements in the movie feel absolutely valid; By the time the shattering final scene arrives, the tension and heartbreak are almost unbearable. Without a good villain, this movie would have been The Spirit of The Beehive meets Alice In Wonderland. With López, it transcends and is, in my book, an instant classic.
Best Director
Cristi Puiu, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
I saw The Death of Mr. Lazarescu in 2005, but the film was released by Tartan USA in 2006 and it remains the best piece of direction I have seen this year; Dante Lazarescu’s slow fade to black at the mercy of an indifferent health care system is at once harrowing, absurd and hilarious while packing a giant emotional punch. The pacing alone is worthy of accolades, but Puiu also draws such amazing performances from his actors that sometimes you feel as if you are watching a documentary. A wonderful achievement.
Cristi Puiu’s The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Best Screenplay
The Pusher Trilogy by Nicolas Winding Refn and Jens Dahl
Actually three films shot over the course of the past decade, Pusher I, II and III are the cinematic equivalent of the great European novel, and since all three films saw their US theatrical debuts in 2006, I couldn’t resist awarding Nicolas Winding Refn and Jens Dahl with my Best Screenplay vote. I challenge any doubters to watch all three films, with their overlapping characters and long, tightly focused stories, and not be blown away by the humanity of the series. Magnolia Pictures put these films out this fall, and they came and went without making much of an impact. But again, I encourage you to grab the films on DVD as soon as you can and experience them for yourself; Mads Mikkelsen’s performance as Tonny in the first two films is worth the price of admission, but beneath the thrilling surface of these tremendous stories is a deeply human portrait of men who can’t seem to find a way out of their own contradictions.
Best First Film
The Puffy Chair by Jay and Mark Duplass
In my opinion, The Puffy Chair is the funniest movie of the past year (yes, better than Borat!) and is a terrific feature debut from the Duplass Brothers. Kathryn Aselton and Mark Duplass have real romantic chemistry, and Rhett Wilkins’ turn as the touchy-feely brother from hell is great, but for me, Mark Duplass’ frustrated attempt to get by and do the right thing is the funniest performance of the year. A highly gifted comic actor who always seems to make the unforeseen choice in order to perfectly illuminate his character, Mark is someone I could watch all day long and never get enough; Just watch that opening scene when he pops in the cellphone ear piece while sitting at the dinner table or that look of surrender in the doctor’s office while sporting a newly-minted cast on his forearm. It’s all gold. Plus, The Puffy Chair has the courage to finally deliver a downbeat ending that is both satisfying and totally earned, and for that, my cap is officially doffed.
Best Documentary
The Wild Blue Yonder by Werner Herzog
My Herzog-o-mania reached its apotheosis this year when I was able to program a 14 film retrospective of Werner’s documentaries at the 2006 Sarasota Film Festival. I was lucky enough to host the Southeast Premiere of The Wild Blue Yonder, Herzog’s sci-fi fantasia on space travel and exploration. Using found footage of Space Shuttle crews in zero gravity and cutting it with scenes of scuba diving under Antarctica (or is it soaring through Andromeda?) while “interviewing” physicists and having Brad Dourif ranting and raving about the decline of human and alien culture, The Wild Blue Yonder is a film unlike any other, blurring the lines between fiction and non-fiction with classic Herzogian curiosity about the wonders of human experience.
Space Walk: Herzog’s The Wild Blue Yonder
Best Cinematography
Pierre Milon, Heading South (Vers Le Sud)
Laurent Cantet drew mixed reviews for Vers Le Sud, his blistering look at feminine longing and sex tourism, but I have no idea why; I loved this movie. Charlotte Ramplng’s award-worthy performance aside, the one thing that stands out for me is the look of the film; The bright sunshine, the deep blue sea and the almost creamy beaches are juxtaposed with the stark contrast of the character’s flesh. Race, class and gender are at the heart of the movie, but Pierre Milon’s photography does more to describe the sensual and transgressive attraction between sexually empowered, rich white women and the working-class young black men who fuck them for money than a million film theory books could ever articulate. Gorgeous and underappreciated; Kudos to Shadow Distribution for releasing the most beautiful movie of the year.
Just A Touch: Pierre Milon photographed Laurent Cantet’s Heading South (Vers le sud)
Best Undistributed Film
A Perfect Couple (Un Couple Parfait) by Nobuhiro Suwa
At this year’s Sarasota Film Festival, we were able to feature the US Premiere of Nobuhiro Suwa’s A Perfect Couple (Un Couple Parfait) which, in my opinion, is the Best Undistributed Film of 2006. This movie will not be everyone’s cup of tea; The story of a married couple who arrive in Paris for a friend’s wedding at the precise moment when their own marriage is collapsing around them like a house of cards, A Perfect Couple features two great actors (Bruno Todeschini and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) working with Suwa on a hushed and still movie that feels like a collaboration between John Cassavettes and Tsai Ming-liang. Like Tsai, Suwa’s camera is usually absolutely still as the actors move in and out of the frame, while the actors’ improvised dialogue and their character’s personal failings recall Faces-era Cassavettes. For me, the combination works perfectly. I know that some will find the film a little slow, but that is precisely what makes it feel so alive to me; When everything falls apart, sometimes there is nothing left to say. I have no idea what the commercial value of this film might be, but I know what I like when I see it. Interestingly, audiences will have a chance to see more of Suwa’s work later in 2007 when Paris je’taime lands in theaters; His moving Place des Victoires starring Juliette Binoche and Willem Dafoe is one of the highlights of Paris je’taime and will hopefully bring Suwa the attention his work deserves.
Estranged: Bruno Todeschini and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi in Nobuhiro Suwa’s A Perfect Couple (Un Couple Parfait)
The Runners-Up
Best Film
Army of Shadows by Jean-Pierre Melville
Best Performance
Laura Dern in Inland Empire
Best Supporting Performance
Rob Brydon, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
Best Director
Sofia Coppola for Marie Antoinette (Sorry, haters! LOVED IT!)
Best Screenplay
The Science of Sleep by Michel Gondry
Best First Film
Somersault by Cate Shortland
Best Documentary
Shut Up & Sing by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck (made me a fan of The Dixie Chicks… who knew?)
Best Cinematography
Matthew Libatique for The Fountain
Best Undistributed Film
Still Life by Jia Zhang-ke
Ballots So Far…. (sorry for the delay as holiday travel got in the way)
Matthew Curtis
Matt Dentler
Holly Herrick
Karina Longworth
Jared Moshe (ha)
Mark Rabinowitz
Chuck Tryon
Gabe Wardell
The #1 Freudian Slip of Oscar Night goes to….
“I was so happy for Reese Witherspoon… I love her. But I was really glad to see Philip Semen Hoffmore win.”
—Tennis Star Serena Williams on E!, upon entering the Vanity Fair party.
When living far from my home in New York City, as I have been these past months working on the Sarasota Film Festival, the internet is an invaluable tool in staying close to my old routines; I can still listen to my favorite radio stations via an iTunes stream (WNYC during the days, WFMU at night), I read the film listings at BAM and The Film Forum with a wistful eye, and I get to have my daily New York Times delivered straight to my laptop.
The NY Times is a paper of endless fascination for me. It is the perfect tool to contextualize your life and economic reality in New York City. Often, just when I am feeling good about myself and the quality of life I have been able to create by amassing piles of debt and doing some hard work, there’s the Old Grey Lady on hand to bitchslap me back to reality. Have a nice dinner last night? Well, you weren’t at the opening of Del Posto. Getting situated in your apartment? Your neighborhood is so 2005. One year, there was a special article in the Style section in early December which answered a nagging question that was plaguing me at the time; What’s in in servant wear this holiday season? (Answer: White gloves, still!) And to think, I let my servants wear casual clothes. Well, we do Christmas in the Hamptons.*
That’s right, even FDR promoted domestic servitude, so I should probably shut my guilt ridden white liberal mouth and just sit back and enjoy!
Leave it to the Times and that ever so personally relevant Style section to bring me back down to earth about this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. Just when I was feeling good about all of the socially relevant, issue oriented ‘little’ films among this year’s nominees, here comes good’ ol Allison Hope Weiner to remind me what the show is really about. I was expecting a primer on how to host an Oscar party the right way (Answer: Paint your servants Gold, still!), but I instead got tremendously helpful advice on how to attend the Academy Award events. This might be the most disgusting article I have ever read.
Highlights from Ms. Weiner’s tremendous piece of reportage:
“Here, as a service to the socially befuddled, is a guide to Hollywood merrymaking during Oscar week…
Socially befuddled? Check. This article is clearly written for a guy like me. Moving on…
”IF YOU’RE SOMEONE’S DATE, DON’T EXPECT TO BE INTRODUCED. No one cares about spouses, relatives and arm candy at Hollywood parties. You could be a Nobel laureate, but if you’re a plus-one during Oscar week, no one will want to meet you. And your significant other probably won’t introduce you. Don’t take it personally. ‘Nobody even bothers to find out the name of someone’s guest, who most likely could be interesting in their own right,’ said Melanie Greene, a talent manager, whose clients include Paul Bettany and David Duchovny.”
“IF YOU HAVEN’T WORKED ON ONE OF THE NOMINATED FILMS, CONSIDER STAYING HOME. Being at an Oscar party without a nomination is like bleeding in an ocean surrounded by sharks. The safest course is to stay out of the water. ‘The cool etiquette is don’t go if it’s not your year,’ said Cathy Schulman, a producer of ‘Crash,’ a best-picture nominee. ‘If you want to feel irrelevant in this town, go to a party where you’re not what it’s all about. It really doesn’t matter to anyone how much else you’ve achieved in your career. Around Oscar time it’s about being part of those nominated films.’”
I hadn’t yet gouged out my eyeballs when I came across this delicious piece of sage wisdom:
“GIVE YOUR ENTOURAGE THE NIGHT OFF. Yes, traveling with an entourage is a standard way of flaunting power in Hollywood, and thanks to a certain HBO series they have a kitschy hipness. But this is not the weekend to roll up to Barry and Diane’s with a dozen friends from your hometown.”
The lowest blow came next.
“Hollywood insiders know better than to expect their host to be waiting on the other side of the velvet rope to greet them. When Ronald Harwood, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for ‘The Pianist’ in 2003 arrived at the Vanity Fair party that year, he was annoyed to find no representatives of the magazine to greet him and his wife. ‘We walked around the party for quite a while and never once encountered anyone from Vanity Fair or anyone else that we knew,’ he remembered. ‘We finally decided to call for our motorcar, which had just succeeded in finding a parking place. We later found out that everyone we knew was in the V.I.P. room.’ “
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to verify that your eyes did not deceive you; the above quote actually did come from the man who wrote the screenplay for The Pianist, the story of a jewish artist who perilously rides out the Holocaust by hiding from the Nazis. Unfortunately, he was unable to hide in the V.I.P. room of the fucking Vanity Fair party.
And finally some advice we can all use…
“AND IF YOU DON’T GET ANY INVITATIONS AT ALL ... For those who live and work in Hollywood and yet for some reason do not show up on any invitation lists, take heart. There is always next year. ‘If you’re not invited to A-list parties, it’s a tough night to get through,’ Mr. Tisch said. ‘I’d recommend three Xanax, a great bottle of cabernet and looking for a new publicist.’ “
Oh, ha-ha-ha. Touché, Mr. Tisch.
Seriously, do I really work in the same business, even at its most tangential, as these people? Is this bullshit really the nature of the beast? After I call my entourage and give them the night off, I am going to take three Xanax and hang myself from Barry and Diane’s shower curtain rod. Don’t take it personally, whatever your name is. It really IS a tough night to get through.
*I not only have neither servants nor a house in the Hamptons, but I don’t believe that Christmas is a verb.
It’s Oscar time, and in the tradition of columns past, The Back Row Manifesto is dedicating itself to incomplete, ranting coverage of Hollywood’s always entertaining onanistic orgy of self-congratulation by piping up with our own highly selective look at the nominees. To be honest, this year’s crop of nominated films and performances seems to be an above average assembly of high quality work, but at the same time, the omissions in many of the categories leave a bad taste in my mouth. This year’s Paul Giamatti Sideways Awards for Most Glaring Snub by the Academy go to Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man (omitted from an otherwise worthy list of documentary feature nominees), Jeff Daniels (who was terrific in The Squid and The Whale) and Maria Bello (who was the Best Supporting Actress for her work in A History of Violence). Otherwise, the Academy did a pretty good job of looking at their own reflection in the mirror and deciding who is the fairest of them all. Grab your pen and your office Oscar pool, and get ready to copy answers off of my paper because it’s time to pick some winners!
 
And the nominees are…
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Howl’s Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson
Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit by Nick Park and Steve Box
The BRM Selects…Corpse Bride! The film, a whimsical musical story about a Victorian named Victor who accidentally marries a corpse, not only delights in its stop-motion mayhem, brings out the inner goth-punk in everyone. To me, that’s fighting the good fight. I didn’t rank Howl’s Moving Castle as among Miyazaki’s best films (although I enjoyed it very much) and despite my own inclinations, I expect Wallace and Gromit to win on Oscar night.
Best Documentary Feature
Darwin’s Nightmare by Hubert Sauper
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room by Alex Gibney and Jason Kliot
March of the Penguins by Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau
Murderball by Henry-Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro
Street Fight by Marshall Curry
The BRM Selects… Darwin’s Nightmare, which is one of the great documentaries of our time. Here is a criminally under seen film that could really use the boost of an Oscar win in order to encourage viewers to take in its absolutely urgent and devastating message and try to do something about the impact of global trade on poor nations. Also, no offense to Street Fight, but c’mon; where the hell is Grizzly Man? Instead, I expect the fucking penguins to march up on stage and take the Oscar, because it is a chance for Hollywood to show itself as “in touch” with America’s “values”. This is the intersection of politics and entertainment where I jump out of the car, pulling my hair out of my head.
Will the story of cuddly penguins triumph over the terror of real human suffering?
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Don’t Tell
Joyeux Noël
Paradise Now
Sophie Scholl - The Final Days
Tsotsi
The BRM Selects… Paradise Now, which is definitively the best of this bunch, but which didn’t even crack my own personal top ten of foreign titles. I think it is so strange that the Academy makes up exotic rules for foreign and documentary films; ever hear of standardizing the process? Why don’t the members of the Academy decide upon which films are in this category? As a film programmer, I can tell you it would not be so hard for the nominating committee to watch all of the foreign films theatrically released in the United States. It is a dumb process that bears no reflection on the American film market. As for Paradise Now, let’s see if there is any courage in those Hollywood liberal convictions. I’d die of shock if this film won, so I’ll go on a limb and pick feel-good Joyeux Noël to win. Sigh.
Will Hollywood vote for a film from a Palenstinian perspective?
Best Adapted Screenplay
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
The Constant Gardener
A History of Violence
Munich
The BRM Selects… Brokeback Mountain, which may go down in history as the definitive literary adaptation for the screen. Here is a script that gets everything right, from the tone of the original to the perfect expansion of the original’s themes. It is an absolute lock in this category.
Best Original Screenplay
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Match Point
The Squid and the Whale
Syriana
The BRM Selects… The Squid and the Whale. I just loved it, and it is a note perfect rendering of a very specific community; Park Slope’s married intellectuals, who to this day push their baby strollers past me on the sidewalks of our shared neighborhood. This one is a sentimental choice, and I hope it wins, but I expect Hollywood to vote for another community it knows much more intimately; the guilt-ridden, racially divided Los Angeles of Crash.
Will the egocentrism of Park Slope or the racial anxiety of Los Angeles carry the day?
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in Junebug
Catherine Keener in Capote
Frances McDormand in North Country
Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain
The BRM Selects… Amy Adams! Another worthy winner who will probably go unrewarded, Adams brought soul and vitality to the role of a chatter-box sister-in-law who just wants to connect to something bigger than the narrow confines of her own life. To be honest, this may be the weakest field in years for this category, which is not a criticism of these fine, deserving actors. Instead, this is clearly all about the dearth of quality roles written for women. I’m going to follow the Golden Globes on this one, and expect Rachel Weisz to win.
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
George Clooney in Syriana
Matt Dillon in Crash
Paul Giamatti in Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt in A History of Violence
The BRM Selects…. Paul Giamatti! I would be happy watching Giamatti do just about anything on screen, and his spirited turn in Cinderella Man was just as good as anything else he has done, all of which is deserving of recognition and all of which continually goes overlooked. That said, if George Clooney doesn’t walk away with the award, I’ll be shocked.
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Judi Dench in Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman in Transamerica
Keira Knightley in Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron in North Country
Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line
The BRM Selects…Felicity Huffman, whose role as a transsexual is a wonderfully complicated performance in a film that teaches tolerance and understanding. Hey, it worked for Hillary Swank! Unfortunately for Ms. Huffman, this award traditionally goes to an up-and-comer who brings in the box office, so Reese Witherspoon is the probable winner.
Can Felicity Huffman overcome the historical bias toward younger actresses?
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote
Terrence Howard in Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain
Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line
David Strathairn in Good Night, and Good Luck.
The BRM Selects… Philip Seymour Hoffman, who should also win this award when the envelope is opened. This, in my opinion, is such a comprehensive performance (Hoffman is so literally transformed) that it may go down as the role of a lifetime. That said, Phil Hoffman is such a good actor that I expect him to achieve transcendence in every role he undertakes. A very worthy win.
Achievement in Directing
Brokeback Mountain by Ang Lee
Capote by Bennett Miller
Crash by Paul Haggis
Good Night, and Good Luck. by George Clooney
Munich by Steven Spielberg
The BRM Selects… Ang Lee. Brokeback Mountain is such an amazing accomplishment primarily because of Lee’s channeling of John Ford, Howard Hawks, and the America’s cinematic history. From the wide-open skies to the intimate close-ups, the film tells its story with absolute mastery and perfection. This is a strong line-up, but Lee and Brokeback represent the perfect union of subject and artist.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Munich
The BRM Selects…Brokeback Mountain, which will easily walk away with this award. The film is a masterpiece, and in a social climate of intolerance and violence, it also stands as a call for reason and empathy. Message aside, the film is an astonishing piece of filmmaking that not only captures the tone of one of the greatest American stories, but transcends it. This is a film that would win this award in almost any year, and this year will be no exception.
Big Winner? Can Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain score a victory in the culture wars?
Ah, lists. Lists represent a problem for me in any form. While most of the blogosphere has chimed in with a traditional ten best list, I have had a hard time making one myself. All of the starts and stops have lead me to the understanding that art is not something that I enjoy ranking; I am far too aware that my own moods, needs and expectations are usually as important to my relationship with a film as the movie itself. That is to say, I somehow allow the experience of seeing a film with an audience to impact my personal assessment of the film. Most of us will admit to amazing communal experiences seeing movies; those moments in a theater that confirm (or even initiate) our love of film. Obviously, these are not the best set of critical tools; most critical minds try to divorce the context of attending a screening from the film being presented, and I try too. But sometimes, that wonderful convergence of experience and presentation lead to a feeling of absolute kismet. These are the experiences I want to celebrate at the end of 2005, the moments that reminded me of why I love film in the first place.
So, I present The Back Row Manifesto’s Top 10 Cinematic Experiences of 2005… Enjoy!
1. Kings and Queen/ La vie des morts at BAM’s Arnaud Desplechin Retrospective
As mentioned in my last post, 2005 has been a year-long love affair with Kings and Queen; I saw the film twice in 2004 (at Toronto and the New York Film Festival) before seeing it three times in 2005; at BAM, programming it in competition at the 2005 Sarasota Film Festival, and then seeing it again at the Cinema Village upon its theatrical release. I even got to interview Desplechin for indieWIRE, the best 45 minutes of my year hands down (Thanks Eug and Brian!). Of all of those screenings, two truly stand out; the near empty press screening at Toronto 2004 (where I saw the film for the first time) and the BAM screening with Arnaud Desplechin in attendance. I took a large group of friends to the screening, and while most were excited by our proximity to the stars in attendance (Michael Stipe sat directly in front of us), everyone who joined for the screening loved the film. The highlight of the evening was the Q&A, where Desplechin answered questions and was as humble and charming as ever. Of course, I just got the DVD as a Christmas present (Thanks, honey!). The following Sunday, BAM did us all a favor and screened Desplechin’s first featurette La vie des morts, which has rarely been screened here in the U.S. The screening, nearly full and bristling with energy, had the feeling of a private viewing for like-minded friends. The film itself did not disappoint, and the grainy print delivered the sense of communal revelation; the answer to a long, lost secret.
2. The Year of Herzog! Grizzly Man/The White Diamond/Wheel of Time
I didn’t see this one coming, but in early summer, I took in Werner Herzog’s Wheel of Time and The White Diamond and instantaneously fell back in love with Herzog as an artist. It was weeks later when I finally caught up with Grizzly Man, which I found to be one of the most important documentaries of the year. As I mentioned before, no other filmmaker in the past decade, maybe in all of film history, can lay claim to a stronger single year than Werner Herzog’s 2005, and with the impending release of Wild Blue Yonder and the fictional Rescue Dawn in 2006, Herzog appears to be on a five film in two year filmmaking bender that I anxiously await. Of all of the 2005 moments, two Herzog experiences stand out; Mark Antony Yhap’s statement of regret for his own inability to bring his rooster on board for his trip above the tree line in The White Diamond was probably the most human moment on screen this year, and the experience of watching Grizzly Man with my friend G, who was reduced to tears by the story.
3. The Wayward Cloud at The Toronto Film Festival
Tsai Ming-Liang’s The Wayward Cloud is the one movie I saw this year that blew away every expectation I had. I went to a late-festival press screening in Toronto, exhausted from a week of parties, films, meetings, and far too little sleep only to be riveted to my seat for the entire film. Let’s be frank; If someone doesn’t buy and release this film, I may lose what little faith I retain in American film distribution. There is no filmmaker who blends a deadpan sense of humor so deftly with a humane appreciation of the cruelties of human suffering as Tsai, and I think The Wayward Cloud is his best to date. Anyone who has ever felt desire for another person only to be devastated by the consummation of that desire (and who among has not longed for something only to be shattered by the possession of it) will feel this film in their bones; I can’t say I’ve ever seen romantic love eviscerated quite so perfectly.
4. Darwin’s Nightmare at BAM
How did this film walk out of the 2004 Toronto Film Festival without being hailed as the masterpiece of the entire event? I foolishly skipped the Toronto screening only to stumble upon a preview screening at BAM (again, I must declare my admiration for Florence Almonzini and her continual excellence in programming) with J, only to walk away convinced that we had seen a primal representation of the documentary form. Everything about Hubert Sauper’s film is perfect; the dramatic structure, the images captured, the experiences conveyed. Not many films can lay claim to changing one’s world view, especially when it is as admittedly lefty as my own, but Darwin’s Nightmare proved my most pessimistic fears to be wild under exaggerations. I challenge anyone to watch this film with an open mind and not be shaken to the core.
5. Keane at the Nantucket Film Festival
If there were one movie for which I could grab American by the lapels, shake it violently, slap it a few times across the cheeks, and force it to sit down and watch, it would have to be Lodge Kerrigan’s Keane, the most criminally unseen film of 2005. I was lucky enough to be able to program the film for the Nantucket Film Festival, and Lodge and his amazing daughter Serena joined us for the weekend; the experience of meeting the Kerrigans only heightened my appreciation for this incredible movie. For those who have seen the film, Lodge and Serena both went up after the screenings for the Q&A, and you can imagine the questions from the floor as father and daughter faced the audience. Interestingly, every preview I saw at the movies this season seemed to be premised on a family in crisis (MI3, Firewall, etc.), but as an expression of parental anxiety, there may not be a more potent movie ever made than Keane.
America, You Blew It: Damien Lewis in Lodge Kerrigan’s terribly neglected Keane
6. Caché & Press Conference at The New York Film Festival
Everyone loves a controversy, so it should come as no surprise that one of the year’s most controversial (and most excellent) films, Caché, provided the most heated press conference for a film I’ve ever seen. Of course, the conference wasn’t heated because of the film’s statements on bourgeois guilt and violence in modern-day Paris, but because the filmmaker wouldn’t spill a single answer to the film’s biggest riddle. Michael Haneke announced at the beginning of the conference that he would not answer any questions on the subject and, true to his word, deflected questioner after questioner who sought the director’s interpretation of his own film. It was a revelatory moment watching the best and brightest of the press corps rise to a collective boil because an artist refused to tell them what to think about his work; I am desperately looking forward to the reviews of the film where writers will be forced to think for themselves and feel their way through the film’s meaning. I write this almost one year to the day after we lost Susan Sontag, and it is heartening to watch an artist live up to her ideals.
7. The Best of Youth Double Header at The Film Forum
Am I the only person who moved to New York City specifically to be closer to cinema? Sure, I followed work as well, but deep down, I have always imagined the lifestyle available to a cinephile in NYC to be an ideal just beyond my reach; It’s not like I hang out with A.O. Scott or other film bloggers and spend long, languid nights talking about movies (although, god, that sounds amazing). Instead, I follow the anonymous crowds in and out of public and press screenings, having a cocktail or dinner after a film and talking about it for a few minutes before turning to other topics. But there was a single screening this year that was probably the closest I have ever been to living the dream; back to back screenings of Parts I and II of The Best of Youth at the Film Forum with about 6 friends, followed by a walk in the rain to TriBeCa for a long, conversation filled dinner. Let’s begin at the beginning; Our group sat in the front row for the first half of the film (everyone ran very late), but I looked down the line and all eyes were riveted to the screen. At the intermission, everyone was abuzz about the first half , and even the most cynical and impatient of the group had no intention to leave before seeing the second half. After moving our seats to the middle of the theater, a gentleman behind us asked what we thought so far, and we all talked glowingly about the movie; a very friendly conversation in a movie theater that sometimes you are often compelled to start if only to confirm that your pleasure is shared. I love when this happens. By the end of the second half, the group was emotionally exhausted and completely satisfied as we spilled through the glass doors and out onto Houston St. We got a table at the restaurant we had agreed upon, ordered lots of good wine, ate a ton of good food, and talked about the movie, and film, for hours. Even the bill was modestly priced. All in all, a perfect day. Thanks to M, G, E, KT, PG and J for sharing it with me.
8. Lilya 4-Ever at The Walter Reade Cinema (Sat April 2: 2pm)
This one is a no brainer; having seen everything by Lukas Moodysson except Lilya 4-ever, I bolted up to the Walter Reade to see their New Swedish Cinema screening of the film. I know I am late to the party, but somehow this movie eluded me for a couple of years despite my undying attempts to catch up with it. The movie is an awesome achievement, made more so by the fact that on this particular day, every degradation and outrage was so deeply felt. Sometimes, the right film catches you on the right day and your internal rhythms and needs match exactly what the film delivers, and this was my experience seeing Lilya 4-ever which has since become a personal touchstone for me (it is now available on Netflix, so no excuses). After the film, J was so inconsolable in the lobby of the theater, she couldn’t talk to me at all; she simply stood in front of the movie poster display and cried her eyes out. Her reaction was everything I had been feeling as well, and somehow, in the afterglow of the film’s devastating finale, we understood one another perfectly.
9. Overlord at The Sarasota Film Festival
There are moments that we film programmers live for; for many, that involves a world premiere film discovery being acknowledged and sold at a film festival. For others, like me, it involves being able to find an audience for a film (and a filmmaker) that might otherwise go unseen. At last year’s Sarasota Film Festival, I was able to bring in Stuart Cooper and his brand new print of the almost forgotten 1975 masterpiece Overlord to a wildly appreciative audience. I was shocked, not because of the warm response the film received from our audience (it certainly deserved it), but because of the number of people who came out to see it. If there was one film that made me feel like I had done my job as a programmer, that made me feel good about working for 6 months to put together a film program, this was it. Stuart was so gracious, the crowd so moved; everything in that theater was just how I had hoped it would be. I hope that bodes well for the film’s upcoming release from Janus Films; be sure to run out and see it in 2006.
10. Innocence at the Cinema Village
In all honesty, and despite the fact that I loved the film, the best thing about seeing the brazenly inventive Innocence was watching the parade of single men over the age of 45 walk into the tiniest theater in the Cinema Village, scrutinize the very small seating space for a modicum of privacy and, finding none, fidget uncomfortably in their seats until the lights went down. I’m not saying that anything was amiss during the screening, and I promise I didn’t see any trenchcoats, but let’s just say that the skeeve-factor on that particular weekday afternoon screening was off the charts. Of course, the film itself is so unique and full of wonder, with its own fairy tale logic and an entire universe of meaning glimmering in the frame, I rest easy knowing that any perv who saw Innocence with the hopes of being aroused must have left the theater slightly confused and maybe a better man for the experience. Here is the perfect example of art triumphing over misunderstanding, rumor and expectation by creating a world that resists any attempt at stereotyping.
Happy New Year and I’ll see you in 2006!
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