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Education Is The Enemy Of The Cineaste: The Best Films Of 2003Nov 18 '04 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line I'm so late that the sequels to some of these films are already well into post-production. Barump-bump. There's an old saying that goes something like this: "If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.” There's another saying, not so old (in fact, I just made it up), that goes something like this: "If you want to get a movie seen, don't bother inviting the movie critic too busy with school." Last year was a busy one for me (for reasons that should be obvious by now), which means that there was a large hole in my 2003-era-movie-viewing history. Much of 2004 was spent catching myself up on all the fine moving images committed to celluloid the year before, which is why I'm publishing a Best Films of 2003 list so close to the beginning of 2005. For interest's sake -- and for the sake of two extra hyperlinks -- I'm going to start with ten honourable mentions: 20. Holes 19. Elf 18. Hulk 17. The Barbarian Invasions 16. Shattered Glass 15. The Station Agent 14. Mystic River 13. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 12. Seabiscuit 11. All the Real Girls It saddens me slightly that I was only able to review 20% of those films. Though it's a bit of a pick-me-up when I realize that you, my loyal reader, had an even harder year. You were only allowed to read my thoughts on 20% of those films. When put in that light, things don't look so bleak for me. Thank you, loyal reader. The following list contains no additives, no preservatives, and no opinions that are so set in stone I won't mind changing them later: 10. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara Directed by Errol Morris The great thing about "The Fog of War" is that it has the power to take on several different meanings, at several different times during the viewing experience. Going into the film, not knowing a lick about who McNamara was, I came out with the impression that this man was an unheralded saviour, the true hero of the Vietnam War -- that is, if anybody actually listened to any of his lessons. Looking into his life, after seeing the movie and ruing the hole in my knowledge of American history, I found myself questioning every assumption the movie forced me to make. How could a figure so controversial wind up looking so benign? Such is the power of this documentary. [Phony Trivia: Errol Morris once did a 30-minute TV piece on me, entitled "Mr. Absence-of-Personality". Sadly, it was not critically acclaimed.] 9. Elephant Written and Directed by Gus Van Sant Though I fancy myself an art-film aficionado, I often find art-film pretension self-indulgent and alienating. But for some reason I found "Elephant" -- with its anti-narrative, poetic style -- engrossing, both visually and from a storytelling standpoint. True, most of the characters are ciphers. And some of the logic of the last third escapes me even to this day. But that's part of the high school experience in the best of times, isn't it? Toss in a couple of Columbine-style killers, and you have every reason to believe that people aren't going to react exactly as you'd expect them to react. To an extreme situation, one must give an extreme response. "Elephant", though subdued and languid, is certainly an extreme response. [Phony Trivia: Director Gus Van Sant suffers from pachydermophobia.] 8. Capturing the Friedmans Directed by Andrew Jarecki "Friedmans" is not a great documentary because of its subject matter. The story of Arnold Friedman, his 18-year-old son Jesse, and the tumult they caused for their family by committing, and then being convicted of, hundreds of counts of child molestation, is engrossing enough subject matter, to be sure. But the fact that Jarecki found a stockpile of Friedman home movies, and then managed to convince David Friedman to let him use them, is what elevates the piece (watching the family joking around in their kitchen, the night before their son/brother is about to go away to the grey-bar hotel, is engrossing to the nth degree). [Phony Trivia: There's a well-worn story that Jarecki fell ass-backwards into the Friedmans' creepy life after originally intending to do a documentary on New York's party-clown scene. In fact, he also fell ass-backwards into that subject matter, after his desire to do a film exposing floppy shoe and rubber nose sweatshops.] 7. 21 Grams Written by Guillermo Arriaga, Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu I may be one of the few people who liked "21 Grams" better than Iñárritu's "Amores Perros". The same disjointed storytelling technique, which felt like an overused distraction in the latter, works nearly perfectly in the former. It's a tough sell, if you're not patient. But if you are -- if you're willing to get through the first half of the film without a clue as to what's happening, or who's related to who -- then you'll become enthralled when the supposed randomness start to congeal. When it does, the story comes into complete focus, and the performances (Penn! Watts! Del Toro!) really shine. [Phony Trivia: When you die, you lose 13.5033 pennyweights in body weight. That is, if you are made up of precious metals and gemstones. As Sean Penn is.] 6. American Splendor Written and Directed by Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini "American Splendor's" biggest trick is in putting the real Harvey Pekar on screen next to the fake Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti). And the audience never misses a beat. There's also a bit where they put the fake Harvey Pekar on screen next to a fake-fake Harvey Pekar, and the post-modern delight it creates is so tasty it could be a new flavour of jellybean. But the real biggest trick is how the film, even through the prism of all these meta-textual rhetorical devices, still manages to be a touching, if oddball, love story. That's enough of an accomplishment. [Phony Trivia: The creators of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" were huge fans of the "American Splendor" comic book, and originally toyed with the idea of naming their captain 'Jean-Luc Pekar'.] 5. The School of Rock Written by Mike White, Directed by Richard Linklater Despite hanging its laundry on a completely illogical premise (wannabe guitarist fulfills his rock 'n' roll dreams backed by a band of 11-year olds), "School of Rock" turns out to be one of the most watchable (and re-watchable) films of the year. Though that assessment rests solely on one's tendency to find Jack Black's undulating eyebrows hilarious. If you get a kick out of his manic energy, then the film is a perfect showcase. If you don't, then you're probably an android, devoid of a humour chip or infected by an anti-comedy virus. Check yourself into a cybernetics lab, pronto. [Phony Trivia: "Jack Black" is actually just a nom de thespian. Other names in the running: "Rick Dick", "Joe Fro", "Dan Fan", "Steve Grieve", and "Mike Bike". I think "Jack" made the right choice.] 4. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino If Quentin Tarantino were a mash-up DJ, "Kill Bill" would be his 'Spaghetti Western vs. Samurai-a-rama' CD single. Cementing his status as today's most-accomplished cinematic genre deconstructionist, Tarantino cut his 4-hour epic in two, filled the first half with all the bloodthirsty action, and still managed to make it an engrossing and character-driven affair. Though sorely lacking in the patented Tarantino dialogue ("Bill 2" more than makes up for this oversight), the first half does yeomen's work setting up the story's revenge fantasy, while also establishing a fascinating mythology. [Phony Trivia: Harvey Weinstein originally wanted to cut up the "Kill Bill" story into 22 half-hour segments, and sell the concept to NBC as a replacement for the recently-departed "Friends". The deal fell through when the network demanded that Tarantino cast Matt LeBlanc as The Bride.] 3. Lost in Translation Written and Directed by Sofia Coppola "Lost in Translation", at first glance, would appear to be a moderate little love story. Sure there might be some controversy in seeing a 53-year old Bill Murray falling in love with a 19-year old Scarlett Johansson. But in reality the film is as divisive as a mouthy red state. People seem to either really get it or really not. Those who do get it, myself included, find it a smart, affecting, touching tale of platonic love and loneliness in a foreign land (the themes are much deeper than that, too deep for a capsule review to get into to). Those who don't get it consider it a snooze; a soporific, naval-gazing piece of art-trash. They're wrong, of course, but still cute and cuddly and fun to pet. [Phony Trivia: Bill Murray actually did win the Academy Award for Best Actor of 2003. No really. He did. Honestly. I'm not fooling. It's certainly too painful to admit otherwise.] 2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Written by Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson, directed by Peter Jackson I have a tough time considering "Return of the King" as a stand-alone movie. It's really just the third act of a marathon fantasy epic. But as a third act, mercilessly cut off from the rest of its story, it's a stunning conclusion. Several stories lumber gracefully towards a climax filled with suspense, stunning set pieces, and the glorious sight of a ring finally falling into a fiery pit. The fact that I can type that last sentence without even a thought towards a spoiler warning further indicates the power of the film. Even though everybody and his brother knew just how this story would turn out (if not all the details) we all sat transfixed, over 10 hours and 2 years, waiting for that final moment to come. [Phony Trivia: Peter Jackson is in talks to direct a biopic on Michael Jackson (no relation), to be called "Return of the King of Pop". The film will chronicle Jackson's (Michael's, not Peter's) early days growing up with his brothers in Gary, Indiana. Naturally, it will be shot in New Zealand.] 1. Finding Nemo Written by Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds, Directed by Andrew Stanton Something tells me that if Pixar -- the company behind "Toy Story", "The Incredibles", and "Finding Nemo" -- were to trade in their multi-million dollar computers and teams of expert animators for a shoebox full of popsicle sticks and yarn, we'd all still be lining up with glee whenever one of their flicks hit the big screen. Because they understand something that most filmmakers don't: movies are about the intermingling of character and story. Flashing lights and explosions are fine eye-candy; but without people (or fish) to care about and a narrative to follow, they're just as likely to melt on your hands and cause a big mess. "Finding Nemo" understands that, despite its luminescent underwater scenery, if we don't care that Marlin and Dory will somehow, well, find Nemo, everything will drown under the weight of the CG. But because the fish tale is one you won't be throwing back any time soon, the animation becomes enjoyable, gleeful, and more fun than a bucket of chum. [Phony Trivia: Co-stars, Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres have never met… in this life. Ironically enough they were best pals in a previous life, where Brooks was a courageous Great White and DeGeneres was an elephant. Though, in that life, she wasn't friends with Gus Van Sant.]  |
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