TOP TEN FILMS SEEN IN THE YEAR 2001

1.) APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX 100+

(1979 film re-edited in 2001)

USA Francis Ford Coppola

powerful stuff, one of the most amazing film experiences ever, unbelievably intense, film and sound composition are perfect, and the film is truly representative of all the conflicting elements of that 60’s Vietnam era, which still happens to be the single most significant event in my life, and this film reveals why with utterly convincing graphic revelations, as the consequences of the nightmarish journey from colonialism to Cambodia abroad certainly helped unite the anti-war and civil rights movements at home, where a government’s lies and deceptions to their own people, even to their own soldiers, eventually lost a war and brought down their own house

2.) PRELUDES – THE HEART OF THE WORLD 98

Canada – 7 mi short Guy Maddin

the happiest and most joyous film event of the year, and by no means an accident, like all of Maddin’s films, it was painstakingly put together, frame by frame, and is simply wonderful

3.) EUREKA 97

Japan Shinji Aoyama

the most emotionally devastating film of the year, hauntingly powerful, serene, filled with long, drawn out silences, with superb acting performances by the adult bus driver and the two children, a long, carefully crafted, well focused film that slowly builds to an extraordinary climax

4.) MULHOLLAND DRIVE 96

USA David Lynch

a joy to watch such a beautifully paced, well-acted, interwoven story about drive and personal ambition in the already altered state of Hollywood, California, about the dreams you feel inside and the affect it has on your inner soul, one of the most intelligent and perhaps the best directed film of the year

5.) MILLENNIUM MAMBO 96

Taiwan Hou Hsiao-Hsien

a deceptively hypnotic, mesmerizing film that creates such an original universe on the screen, challenging the viewer to immerse themselves into that universe and experience a beautifully conceived, melancholy homage to youth, whose endless supply of beauty and energy fades in an instant

6.) BEFORE NIGHT FALLS 96

USA Julian Schnabel

another emotional powerhouse, featuring in my view, the best acting performance of the year by Javier Bardem, whose bold commitment to the raw authenticity of this story was both powerful and dramatic, the balloon sequence and the late cab ride along the New York waterfront are among the most elegantly beautiful scenes one could ever experience

7.) GOHATTO 96

aka: TABOO

Japan Nagisa Oshima

a ravishingly beautiful film, Takeshi Kitano is brilliant as a samurai warrior in a story not so much about homosexuality in the military as what homosexuality represents in the eyes of others, and how misconstrued actual events become in people's minds, or in the eyes of society such as the conformist-oriented Japanese, here rumors are imagined by others, re-created, changed, twisted, leading to one of the most astonishingly beautiful, hallucination-tinged endings

8.) THE SON’S ROOM 96

Italy Nanny Moretti

a gentle, humane, beautifully written and transforming film about one family’s reflections on grief and loss, including small, brief portraits of pain that are among the most intensely passionate moments you’ll experience in film, with a totally unexpected, yet wondrous ending

9.) INTIMACY 95

France Patrice Chereau

while this is not cinema verite, or existential angst and despair, there is a complete sense of urgency about this film, an extreme exhilaration which is presented at breakneck speed, but when the camera idles and slows down, the characters in the film are devastated and at a loss how to recover emotionally, each attempt seems to take a little bit more out of them and us

10.) SKIN OF MAN, HEART OF BEAST 95

France Helene Angel

the originality of this film is striking, a wonderfully unique and complex way of telling a dark story through the innocent eyes of two children, contrasted against the almost maniac delirium of their dad and his 2 brothers, with edgy characters, slowly unraveling tensions, unresolved feelings, and the element of violence and fear that creep out of the shadows into the light of day, the subject matter is difficult, yet throughout it all, these charming sisters maintain a sense of sanity and decency in a decrepit world by creating a whole other alternative world where love still prevails, which leads to a climactic ending that I found simply fabulous

Best Actress Best Actor

Lena Endre – Faithless Javier Bardem – Before Night Falls

Dominique Blanc – Stand-By

Best Director Best Screenplay

David Lynch – Mulholland Drive Paz Alicea Garciadiego – The Ruination of Men

Best Cinematography

Mark Pin Bin Lee – In the Mood for Love, Millennium Mambo, and Vertical Ray of the Sun