Assuming, for a moment, that anyone who rises from the Comments section to write about a subject at length isn't just out to bludgeon people with their opinions, we have to ask: What is their motivation? Where does the compulsion to herald the under- and even over-sung come from? And what is it about film, specifically, that sparks this kind of passion in people?
Just a few questions to think about while you contemplate these ten films and their meaning in one man's life.
UPSTREAM COLOR, directed by Shane Carruth
Shane Carruth's long-awaited followup to Primer finally arrived, and it did not disappoint... me. It confounded and even infuriated others, but for my money, it exceeded expectations. This deceptively complex film is, at its heart, a simple love story. Take away the sci-fi trappings, temporal shifts, and montage style filmmaking and you have two damaged people finding solace in one another. It is elegant and haunting and oddly romantic. When I saw Upstream Color I knew it would be the defending King of the Hill for the rest of the year.
SPRING BREAKERS, directed by Harmony Korine
On paper, Spring Breakers couldn't sound less interesting. A trio of broke college girls turn to robbery so they can afford to go on Spring Break. LAME. If I'm the money man, you pitch that to me and I slam the door in your face. But tell me Harmony Korine is directing, ex-Disney starlets are starring, and show me a picture of James Franco as Alien, and I'm liquidating my kids' college fund to finance it. (After seeing the finished product, I'm also having a vasectomy, but that's another story.) This neon fever dream is Korine at his most accomplished, and one of the year's best.
CHILD OF GOD, directed by James Franco
Spring Breakers gave me confidence in James Franco as an actor. Child of God gives me confidence in him as a director. Granted, it helps to have someone as talented as Scott Haze playing your lead. All you have to do is point the camera and shoot. But Franco does that and more in this faithful distillation of Cormac McCarthy's novel. There's a maturity to the filmmaking I wouldn't have expected, especially considering the subject matter. I was pleasantly surprised by the way he handled all the unpleasantness. A stellar adaptation.
THE HUNT, directed by Thomas Vinterberg
Thomas Vinterberg is probably best known for co-founding Dogme 95 and directing said movement's first film, The Celebration. His latest mines familiar territory, that of a man accused of child abuse, but the results couldn't be any more different. Whereas The Celebration is a harsh film, The Hunt is melancholy, even tender. It is the flip-side of the coin. Buoyed by a fantastic performance by Mads Mikkelsen, The Hunt is Vinterberg's best film since his debut.
BIG BAD WOLVES, directed by Navot Papushado and Aharon Keshale
I gave Big Bad Wolves a positive review when it played Tribeca back in April, but somehow it fell off my radar since then. What with Tarantino's recent fawning and the impending US release, I figured it was time to revisit the film. Navot Papushado and Aharon Keshale's sophomore effort bears certain similarities to the recent Prisoners, but blows that film out of the water. It is tighter, darker, and more intense. It is also blackly funny. There is only one of two ways the story can go, yet it keeps you guessing till the end. Another impressive genre film from the Israeli duo.
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
It's really unfair how talented the Coen Brothers are. Llewyn Davis is beautifully written, has Oscar caliber acting, top-level production value, fantastic music, and is laugh-out-loud funny. With minor tweaks, I could use that as a generic review for most of their films. When someone tells me they don't like the Coen Brothers, I just look at them like I don't understand what they are saying and then walk away shaking my head. They're gonna need a bigger cap, because this one's another feather.
BORGMAN, directed by Alex van Warmerdam
Borgman is kind of like a Dutch version of Pasolini's Teorema, or Miike Takashi's Visitor Q. A strange visitor ingratiates himself into a family and proceeds to turn their lives upside down. The film has an ambiguous mythology that does little to explain who this person is or where he comes from (other than a hole in the ground in the woods), but is perfect for long, post-viewing discussions. There is definitely something insidious and otherworldly going on in this strange little film. Part of the fun is trying to figure out what that is. A disturbing gem.
WRONG COPS, directed by Quentin Dupieux
Like I said in my review, Wrong Cops is a film you feel in your organs. Specifically, your guts, funny bone, and dick-piece. It evolved from a series of vignettes, so it doesn't have the strongest narrative structure, but in my book that's a big ole' plus. Because the more I think about it, the more I think structure is detrimental to comedy. The reason most mainstream comedies don't make an impression is because so many of them have the same, predictable structure. Especially if they involve a love story. Give me your weird, your nonsensical, your "What the fuck?", and don't tie it all up with a neat little bow. Remember the end of Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Who saw that coming? I'm not saying Wrong Cops has no narrative, I'm just saying it's not a slave to convention. And consequently, it is funny as shit.
THE ACT OF KILLING, directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, and Anonymous
This is one of the most chilling films you will ever see, documentary or otherwise. It follows Anwar Congo, an Indonesian death squad leader in the mid 60s, who personally killed over 1,000 people by hand. Anwar and his cronies, who are revered as heroes, gleefully reenact their mass killings for the camera in the style of their favorite American movies. It's as fucked up as it sounds. I still don't understand how this movie got made, but you need to see it.
HER, directed by Spike Jonze
What's this? A romantic comedy that doesn't suck? An American romantic comedy that doesn't suck? Oh, it's a Spike Jonze film. That explains it. Who else could pull off a film about a man falling in love with an operating system without it being completely laughable? A realistic romance that touches on human interaction in an increasingly technological world, Her tugs on our heartstrings without resorting to heavy handed manipulation. Oh, and Joaquin Phoenix gives yet another amazing performance. See it with someone you love.