a year of revenge, sadness and humanity
2004 Films – The Good, The Bad, and Dogville Van Chou-Chou
There is so much to say about films I saw in 2004, I hate to waste a lot of text on excessive talk and idle analysis. Let’s just jump right into the many, varied lists below, and I’ll try to address the highs and lows as I go.
The Absolute Best
1 – Old Boy (South Korea, 2003*)
Park Chan-Wook’s third film is a truly gnarly experience, in every sense of the word. Old Boy follows the story of a man who is locked in a room for fifteen years by an unknown foe for reasons he can't comprehend. Once released, he attempts to track down his captor and understand the mystery behind his imprisonment. Things spiral badly out of control. Unlike Park’s previous film, the equally grim-and-dire exercise Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Old Boy has a slippery emotional core that binds its story in place. It also sports moments of flinty humor and a streak of violence that would make Tarantino** envious.
Even after having viewed the film several times, I'm not certain that what has happened has actually happened. It's one of those films. But it is glorious and harsh, and as wily and mad as its protagonist's eyes.
*After its release in South Korea in November of 2003, the film next appeared at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the second-highest honors following Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. It went on to appear in almost every other country in the world, yet won’t see a U.S. premiere until the 2005 Sundance festival later this month. I was lucky enough to find a video copy of the film at a local retailer. All of that, and the fact that it’s of South Korean origin, should say a lot about every American film released in 2004. This was the best thing I saw all year.
**Quentin Tarantino was, coincidentally, on the Cannes judges panel this year.
2 – Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (U.S.)
Speaking of Tarantino…
The closing half of the director’s revenge epic had a bit more heart and soul than the flashier, cooler Vol. 1, and the reason for most of its success was Uma Thurman, who will probably go unnoticed again at this year’s various awards ceremonies. I anxiously await a full-blown DVD set of both halves.
3 - The Incredibles (U.S.)
Director Brad Bird made a terrific film a few years back called The Iron Giant, a terrific ode to fifties nostalgia and atomic age cautionary tales. Where that film was sweet, gentle and had an inhuman character that was terribly humane, The Incredibles is swift, raucous and filled with super-human characters that are terribly human. The everyday moments experienced by the Parr family, when they aren’t saving the world, are what makes this film a true gem. Don’t make the mistake of ignoring it as just a kid’s movie.
4 – The Five Obstructions (International*, 2003)
In 1967, director Jorgen Leth made a short film called The Perfect Human. Almost 40 years later, acquaintance and Danish troublemaker Lars Von Trier makes a wager that Leth cannot re-make his film five different ways, each bound by criteria to be established by Von Trier. The first, for example, must have no edit longer than a few seconds. One must be animated. And when Leth doesn’t provide Von Trier precisely what he wants, there are penalties.
Viewing it as a curiosity, I found The Five Obstructions to be one of the most compelling films I’ve seen in a long time. For anyone who loves film and filmmaking, this should be required viewing.
*The film was a combined Danish, Swiss, Belgian and French production.
5 – Sideways (U.S.)
Without a doubt, the absolute funniest film I saw all year. That it had characters who were touching and flawed and smart made it even more terrific. Paul Giamatti again proves himself to be one of the best American actors currently working.
6/7 (tie) – A Very Long Engagement (French) and House of Flying Daggers (Hong Kong)
Both are period dramas set in turbulent times. Both feature mournfully sad characters with deeply personal mysteries to resolve. Both are genuinely stunning films, visually sumptuous and epic in both physical and emotional scope. Jean-Pierre Jeunot’s World War II landscapes and Parisian backdrops are textured and vast. Zhang Yimou’s Chinese brothels and bamboo forests vibrate with color and light. I could not honestly say that either one was more deserving than the other.
8 – The Motorcycle Diaries (Brazil)
Walter Salles’ tale of two young friends journeying through South America is simultaneously epic and intimate. Starting of as a sort of extended joyride, the two quickly find themselves in a series of life-affirming excursions that define them as men, and expose to the viewer all the simple glories of the lands and people they encounter. A wonderful film.
9 – Baadasssss! (U.S.)
Mario Van Peebles’ portrayal of pioneering film director (and father) Melvin is lovingly made if harshly accurate. During the production of the 1971 seminal film Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Asssss Song, the elder Van Peebles was determined to make his work a reality, even if at the expense of everyone around him, including his children. Like several other films on this list, this was probably not seen by many people. Unlike the others, it was made in America and had no reason not to be. Seek it out on DVD and see how independent film really got its start, 18 years before Sex, Lies and Videotape was a hit.
10 – Dawn of the Dead (U.S.)
Zack Snyder’s remake of George Romero’s second zombie film is a classic in its own right. Urgently frightening and frequently funny, it tells of a handful of people holed up in a mall while the dead jaunt about outside, snacking on the living. To give you a bit of perspective: this film has all the relentlessness and immediacy of The Passion of the Christ. But it’s a hell of a lot more fun to watch.
Highly Honorable Mentions (Film/TV), Short Version
Shaun of the Dead…Primer…Collateral…Ray…Spartan…Spiderman 2…The Office Special (BBC TV series)…Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind…I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead…Paranoia Agent (Japanese TV series)…Claude Lelouch’s segment of 11’09’1…the Cate Blanchett, Iggy Pop/Tom Waits, Alfred Molina/Steve Coogan and Bill Rice/Taylor Mead segments of Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes…Closer…The Saddest Music in the World…The Passion of the Christ
Just Discovered
City of God (2002)…California Split (1973)…Running on Karma (2003)…Hero (2003)…A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)…Joint Security Area (2001)…The Most Terrible Time In My Life (1994)
Solid Films You Should See (For One Reason or Another)
Big Fish (sentimentality without the messy residue)…Kinsey (a string of great performances)…Team America: World Police (for the songs)…The Chronicles of Riddick (the visuals)…The Grudge (a perfect, if unnecessary, adaptation)…The Manchurian Candidate (a terrific, if completely unnecessary, remake)…Alien vs. Predator (for the geek-boy in each of us)
Great Expectations - Biggest Disappointments
In almost every case listed below, fun or charming films were re-made without those qualities, or very talented people failed to show off previously established talent. In other cases, interesting ideas and solid source material were squandered.
Anchorman…Blade: Trinity…Broken Lizard’s Club Dread…My Wife Is A Gangster 2…Ocean’s Twelve…Resident Evil: Apocalypse…Saw…Secret Window…The Eye 2…The Punisher…The Reckoning…Tokyo Godfathers…Wonderful Days…2046*
*Don’t get me wrong, the latest Wong Kar-Wai had lots going for it. But ultimately, it seemed spread to thin and so slowly paced that 2 hours felt like 7.
Time Wasters – In This Or Any Year
Tomie sequels…Ginger Snaps sequels…Beyond Hypothermia…Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid…Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason…Catwoman…Kaena: The Prophecy…Koma…Phone…Robot Stories…So Close…St. John’s Wort…Starsky & Hutch…Suspect Zero…Taking Lives
Special, Just For You: A Few Filthy, Reprehensible Acts
Hotel…Paparazzi…King of the Ants
The Absolute Worst
The Village/The Forgotten – Stupid films made worse by ridiculous endings.
Van Helsing – The ultimate in bad Hollywood action blockbusters.
Battle Royale 2 – The bastard son of a controversial and thrilling original.
Gozu – A sprawling, empty mess that has none of its creator’s controversial charms.
Taxi – Unfunny, unexciting, unfunny and unfunny.
The Butterfly Effect – A grimy little excuse for time travel with Ashton Kutcher.
Three: Extremes – No subtleties here: extremely nasty, extremely awful and extremely predictable.
All About Lily Chou-Chou – The prettiest film ever made about troubled kids; also the most depressing, bleak, long-winded and annoying.
…and the all-time worst film of 2004:
Dogville – Lars Von Trier, previously mentioned near the top of this page, directed this cruel and hateful film where only the last 10 minutes – when everyone is killed – ring true. Don’t believe all the anti-American disparagement from the film’s detractors…it’s simply an unpleasant film without merit.
Alright, kiddoes. That’s it.
There is so much to say about films I saw in 2004, I hate to waste a lot of text on excessive talk and idle analysis. Let’s just jump right into the many, varied lists below, and I’ll try to address the highs and lows as I go.
The Absolute Best
1 – Old Boy (South Korea, 2003*)
Park Chan-Wook’s third film is a truly gnarly experience, in every sense of the word. Old Boy follows the story of a man who is locked in a room for fifteen years by an unknown foe for reasons he can't comprehend. Once released, he attempts to track down his captor and understand the mystery behind his imprisonment. Things spiral badly out of control. Unlike Park’s previous film, the equally grim-and-dire exercise Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Old Boy has a slippery emotional core that binds its story in place. It also sports moments of flinty humor and a streak of violence that would make Tarantino** envious.
Even after having viewed the film several times, I'm not certain that what has happened has actually happened. It's one of those films. But it is glorious and harsh, and as wily and mad as its protagonist's eyes.
*After its release in South Korea in November of 2003, the film next appeared at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the second-highest honors following Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. It went on to appear in almost every other country in the world, yet won’t see a U.S. premiere until the 2005 Sundance festival later this month. I was lucky enough to find a video copy of the film at a local retailer. All of that, and the fact that it’s of South Korean origin, should say a lot about every American film released in 2004. This was the best thing I saw all year.
**Quentin Tarantino was, coincidentally, on the Cannes judges panel this year.
2 – Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (U.S.)
Speaking of Tarantino…
The closing half of the director’s revenge epic had a bit more heart and soul than the flashier, cooler Vol. 1, and the reason for most of its success was Uma Thurman, who will probably go unnoticed again at this year’s various awards ceremonies. I anxiously await a full-blown DVD set of both halves.
3 - The Incredibles (U.S.)
Director Brad Bird made a terrific film a few years back called The Iron Giant, a terrific ode to fifties nostalgia and atomic age cautionary tales. Where that film was sweet, gentle and had an inhuman character that was terribly humane, The Incredibles is swift, raucous and filled with super-human characters that are terribly human. The everyday moments experienced by the Parr family, when they aren’t saving the world, are what makes this film a true gem. Don’t make the mistake of ignoring it as just a kid’s movie.
4 – The Five Obstructions (International*, 2003)
In 1967, director Jorgen Leth made a short film called The Perfect Human. Almost 40 years later, acquaintance and Danish troublemaker Lars Von Trier makes a wager that Leth cannot re-make his film five different ways, each bound by criteria to be established by Von Trier. The first, for example, must have no edit longer than a few seconds. One must be animated. And when Leth doesn’t provide Von Trier precisely what he wants, there are penalties.
Viewing it as a curiosity, I found The Five Obstructions to be one of the most compelling films I’ve seen in a long time. For anyone who loves film and filmmaking, this should be required viewing.
*The film was a combined Danish, Swiss, Belgian and French production.
5 – Sideways (U.S.)
Without a doubt, the absolute funniest film I saw all year. That it had characters who were touching and flawed and smart made it even more terrific. Paul Giamatti again proves himself to be one of the best American actors currently working.
6/7 (tie) – A Very Long Engagement (French) and House of Flying Daggers (Hong Kong)
Both are period dramas set in turbulent times. Both feature mournfully sad characters with deeply personal mysteries to resolve. Both are genuinely stunning films, visually sumptuous and epic in both physical and emotional scope. Jean-Pierre Jeunot’s World War II landscapes and Parisian backdrops are textured and vast. Zhang Yimou’s Chinese brothels and bamboo forests vibrate with color and light. I could not honestly say that either one was more deserving than the other.
8 – The Motorcycle Diaries (Brazil)
Walter Salles’ tale of two young friends journeying through South America is simultaneously epic and intimate. Starting of as a sort of extended joyride, the two quickly find themselves in a series of life-affirming excursions that define them as men, and expose to the viewer all the simple glories of the lands and people they encounter. A wonderful film.
9 – Baadasssss! (U.S.)
Mario Van Peebles’ portrayal of pioneering film director (and father) Melvin is lovingly made if harshly accurate. During the production of the 1971 seminal film Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Asssss Song, the elder Van Peebles was determined to make his work a reality, even if at the expense of everyone around him, including his children. Like several other films on this list, this was probably not seen by many people. Unlike the others, it was made in America and had no reason not to be. Seek it out on DVD and see how independent film really got its start, 18 years before Sex, Lies and Videotape was a hit.
10 – Dawn of the Dead (U.S.)
Zack Snyder’s remake of George Romero’s second zombie film is a classic in its own right. Urgently frightening and frequently funny, it tells of a handful of people holed up in a mall while the dead jaunt about outside, snacking on the living. To give you a bit of perspective: this film has all the relentlessness and immediacy of The Passion of the Christ. But it’s a hell of a lot more fun to watch.
Highly Honorable Mentions (Film/TV), Short Version
Shaun of the Dead…Primer…Collateral…Ray…Spartan…Spiderman 2…The Office Special (BBC TV series)…Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind…I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead…Paranoia Agent (Japanese TV series)…Claude Lelouch’s segment of 11’09’1…the Cate Blanchett, Iggy Pop/Tom Waits, Alfred Molina/Steve Coogan and Bill Rice/Taylor Mead segments of Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes…Closer…The Saddest Music in the World…The Passion of the Christ
Just Discovered
City of God (2002)…California Split (1973)…Running on Karma (2003)…Hero (2003)…A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)…Joint Security Area (2001)…The Most Terrible Time In My Life (1994)
Solid Films You Should See (For One Reason or Another)
Big Fish (sentimentality without the messy residue)…Kinsey (a string of great performances)…Team America: World Police (for the songs)…The Chronicles of Riddick (the visuals)…The Grudge (a perfect, if unnecessary, adaptation)…The Manchurian Candidate (a terrific, if completely unnecessary, remake)…Alien vs. Predator (for the geek-boy in each of us)
Great Expectations - Biggest Disappointments
In almost every case listed below, fun or charming films were re-made without those qualities, or very talented people failed to show off previously established talent. In other cases, interesting ideas and solid source material were squandered.
Anchorman…Blade: Trinity…Broken Lizard’s Club Dread…My Wife Is A Gangster 2…Ocean’s Twelve…Resident Evil: Apocalypse…Saw…Secret Window…The Eye 2…The Punisher…The Reckoning…Tokyo Godfathers…Wonderful Days…2046*
*Don’t get me wrong, the latest Wong Kar-Wai had lots going for it. But ultimately, it seemed spread to thin and so slowly paced that 2 hours felt like 7.
Time Wasters – In This Or Any Year
Tomie sequels…Ginger Snaps sequels…Beyond Hypothermia…Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid…Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason…Catwoman…Kaena: The Prophecy…Koma…Phone…Robot Stories…So Close…St. John’s Wort…Starsky & Hutch…Suspect Zero…Taking Lives
Special, Just For You: A Few Filthy, Reprehensible Acts
Hotel…Paparazzi…King of the Ants
The Absolute Worst
The Village/The Forgotten – Stupid films made worse by ridiculous endings.
Van Helsing – The ultimate in bad Hollywood action blockbusters.
Battle Royale 2 – The bastard son of a controversial and thrilling original.
Gozu – A sprawling, empty mess that has none of its creator’s controversial charms.
Taxi – Unfunny, unexciting, unfunny and unfunny.
The Butterfly Effect – A grimy little excuse for time travel with Ashton Kutcher.
Three: Extremes – No subtleties here: extremely nasty, extremely awful and extremely predictable.
All About Lily Chou-Chou – The prettiest film ever made about troubled kids; also the most depressing, bleak, long-winded and annoying.
…and the all-time worst film of 2004:
Dogville – Lars Von Trier, previously mentioned near the top of this page, directed this cruel and hateful film where only the last 10 minutes – when everyone is killed – ring true. Don’t believe all the anti-American disparagement from the film’s detractors…it’s simply an unpleasant film without merit.
Alright, kiddoes. That’s it.
posted by scn at 5:54 PM
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