The Year in Lists, Part II: Filmbrain's Top Ten of 2005

Despite what many others are claiming, 2005 was not a stellar year for film (for me at least). Compared to last year, where several films had me over the moon, there wasn't that one film that stood out far above all others, screaming to be #1. Ranking the ten films below was a game of endless shuffling. This year's batch of top ten lists seems even more uniform than usual, which leads me to conclude that the pickins' was mighty slim. The endless praise being heaped on Brokeback Mountain has steered me away from it, at least until the hype dies down. As for History of Violence, yes, I enjoyed it, but it seemed slight after seeing Caché just a few days after. Once again, troubled, damaged, and/or otherwise doomed relationships are at the heart of half the films on my list. Come to think of it the most upbeat film is about a political assassination. Three cheers for despair. . . In reverse order: 10. The New World. Terrence Malick, USA I thank my lucky stars I caught this before Malick snipped twenty minutes out of it, and you have just a few days left to do the same. One thing I forgot to mention in my review is the soul-stirring use of Wagner's overture to Das Rheingold -- a piece of music that could easily come off as pretentious in the wrong hands. Here it sends shivers down the spine. 9. Head-On. Fatih Akin, Germany There's an incredible re-birth taking place in German cinema, with an ever-increasing number of new directors (many from Berlin) who are turning out intelligent, challenging, offbeat fare that harkens back to the days of a young Herzog, Wenders or Fassbinder. Though many have not yet found their way to the States, we were lucky enough to get Fatih Akin's Head-On, a gritty, unlikely love story that contains more than its fair share of sternum kickers. (Got that, Dobbs?) 8. Kings and Queen. Arnaud Desplechin, France Though I still prefer My Sex Life..., Desplechin's latest finds the auteur at his peak. 150 minutes of solid character-driven dialog without a single unnecessary line. Plus, it unironically appropriates Moon River -- now that's quite a feat. 7. 5x2. Francois Ozon, France There's an extra feature on the 5x2 DVD that has Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Stéphane Freiss auditioning for Ozon by reenacting a scene from Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage. How apropos, for 5x2 can be viewed as a postmodern rendering of that film. Ozon uses the fashionable reverse structure to tell the story of Marion and Gilles, from their divorce to their first date. Yet what elevates the film beyond a mere gimmick is in what Ozon chooses not to show us, rather than what he does. Though we know all too well how this couple will end up, the five sequences wind up clouding the details rather than making them evident. This  beautifully tragic film shows how it's never merely one thing that breaks up a marriage. Ozon's use of music reaches new heights here, and there's a dance sequence (set to a Paolo Conte song) that is almost Godardian in its perfection. 6. Innocence. Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Belgium/France Written off by many as fodder for the raincoat crowd (thereby avoiding the need to actually discuss it), Innocence was truly one of the most challenging and haunting films of the year. Hadzihalilovic skillfully captures the metamorphosis of young girls into young women -- those final days of innocence -- and does so within a surreal, creepy framework that continually leaves you imagining the worst. This film, more than any other this year, remained burned in my brain for weeks after seeing it. Full review here. 5. Caché. Michael Haneke, France/Austria Did you spot him? Be honest. Full review here. 4. L'Esquive. Abdel Kechiche, France A film all about the power of language, L'Esquive was one of the most original films I saw in 2005. Sure, it's little more than teenagers screaming at each other for two hours, but Kechiche manages to turn it into pure poetry. This should have been the foreign film on everybody's lips this year, but it came and went without a trace. Sara Forestier's performance, as the blond object of desire for the boys in the Banlieue, was nothing short of breathtaking. Full review here. 3. The President's Last Bang. Im Sang-soo, Korea Another film that (sadly) never managed to find an audience. Im's darkly comic take on the assassination of President Park Chung Hee is a perfect film in every respect. Im is a master craftsman, and it shows in every frame of this film. Full review here. 2. L'Intrus (The Intruder). Claire Denis, France Who else but Claire Denis could turn a philosopher's forty-page rumination on his heart transplant into a globetrotting cinematic masterpiece? At the Berlinale market screening, more than half the audience walked out. At the Walter Reade screening, Ms. Denis was barraged with angry questions from an irate audience. Why such reactions? See it for yourself and find out. But one thing -- play this movie LOUD. 1. The Squid and The Whale. Noah Baumbach, USA The fillet of the year. Seems that I'm not the only who experienced self-identification with both the situation and characters in this oh-so-New York tale of divorce and its aftermath. But watching Walt was like watching myself in the early 80s, right down to the strumming of Hey You on a beat-up acoustic. Superb acting, a powerful screenplay, and a whole lot less expensive than a visit to my analyst. Could/Should be on the list: The Dying Gaul, Yes, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Broken Flowers, Dear Wendy, Nobody Knows.