Best of 2010s: Mid-decade film list

Maybe it is a little bit too early for me to post this, especially when there are so many blind spots regrettably missed (Leviathan was shown in Singapore this month, but I did not manage to catch it). However, it is hard to wait when everyone is throwing out his list. So I hereby present my favorite 50 films of the decade so far.

1.       Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami)

2.       Sucker Punch (Zack Snyder)

3.       Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer)

4.       Mysteries of Lisbon (Raul Ruiz)

5.       The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)

6.       Zero Dark Thirty (Katherine Bigelow)

7.       Film Socialisme (Jean-Luc Godard)

8.       Bastards (Claire Denis)

9.       Fluorentino Hupaldo (Lav Diaz)

10.   The Color Wheel (Alex Ross-Perry)

11.   Neighbouring Sounds (Kleber Mendonça Filho)

12.   Like Someone in Love (Abbas Kiarostami)

13.   Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan)

14.   At Berkeley (Frederick Wiseman)

15.   Nymphomaniac (Lars von Trier)

16.   A Separation (Asghar Farhadi)

17.   Poetry (Lee Chang-dong)

18.   Nostalgia for the light (Patricio Guzman)

19.   Beginners (Mike Mills)

20.   Not Fade Away (David Chase)

21.   This must be the place (Paolo Sorrentino)

22.   Tuesday, After Christmas (Radu Mutaen)

23.   The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino)

24.   Melancholia (Lars von Trier)

25.   The Paperboy (Lee Daniels)

26.   The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki)

27.   Leviathan (Verena Paravel)

28.   Only lovers left alive (Jim Jarmusch)

29.   Oslo, August 31 (Joachim Trier)

30.   The Comedy (Rick Alverson)

31.   Meek’s Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt)

32.   Elena (Andrey Zvyagintsev)

33.   Attenberg (Athina Rachel Tsangari)

34.   In the family (Patrick Wang)

35.   Keep the lights on (Ira Sachs)

36.   The Missing Picture (Rithy Panh)

37.   Stranger by the lake (Alain Guiraudie)

38.   Almayer’s Folly (Chantal Akerman)

39.   Vamps (Amy Heckerlings)

40.   Upstream Color (Shane Carruth)

41.   Viola (Matías Piñeiro)

42.   The Arbor (Clio Barnard)

43.   Leap Year (Michael Rowe)

44.   4:44 Last Day on earth (Abel Ferrara)

45.   We are the best! (Lukas Moodysson)

46.   The butler (Lee Daniels)

47.   Tabu (Micheal Gomes)

48.   The Day He Arrives (Hong Sang-soo)

49.   Computer Chess (Andrew Bujalski)

50.   Project X (Nima Nourizadeh)

Mysteries of Lisbon - Raul Ruiz

MYSTERIES OF LISBON

The late Raoul Ruiz is a vocal opponent of the ‘central thesis’ theory, the unwritten rule that every story must deal with a central conflict. In his final film, he stayed true to his ideal; the result is a convoluted story that moves between different places and different generations. Mysteries of Lisbon begins with a seemingly central story of an orphaned boy without a surname, Joao – but, what’s in a name? Joao’s misfortune turns out to be a peripheral story, and subsequently, we are spiraled into a labyrinth of hidden identities and memories. Love, death, redemption, forgiveness, greed, jealousy, desire, revenge, loss and empathy – all of these timeless themes of fiction – are conveyed by this ‘story within story within story’. Whereas in A Separation, Farhadi maintained an intimate, dynamic, overcrowded setting, with Mysteries of Lisbon, Ruiz kept it formal, distant and void. In both, however, the general idea is that we are so consumed by our personal tragedies that it is no longer possible to connect to others. The difference is that while A Separation ends with a mysterious deadlock, Mysteries of Lisbon provides an answer to all of its mysteries, although that answer is not quite fathomable, at least for me at this moment - it is, perhaps, more of a wishful thought.

Rating: 8.5/10

A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

A SEPARATION

There is one shot in A Separation that specifically caught my attention when the film just began. It is when Simin attempts to visit her estranged husband, Narder, only to be prevented by the porters who refuse to carry the wardrobes up one more floor. This obstruction instantly reveals a major, overarching theme of this brilliant work, that is stinginess, or to be exact, ‘the limit of human generosity’. One can perhaps wonder whether this is a commentary on the reality of Iranian society specifically – maybe, Asghar Farhadi’s intention was just simply. However, even if his film was not meant to be a depressing portrait of human nature universally, his careful observation and intimate empathy certainly have made it so. The trap that, in his opinion, every Iranian seems to be caught in turns out to be an indiscriminate trap of humanity. Narder and Simin are torn apart by a struggle between past and future, only to find out that every present moment is indeed a battle in itself. It is, indeed, difficult to get through every moment of this life when there is no standard, no boundary and no clarity whatsoever, no matter how hard we try to define them.

A Separation won the Golden Bear at Berlin 2011. It remained one of the best films of the year.

Rating: 8/10

This Is Happening - LCD Soundsystem

"This is Happening" consists of mostly punk-rock that is cleverly twisted with a laser feel.

The album's overriding theme of desperation and impenetrability represents a difficult struggle for rebirth.

Starting with a dry call that casts doubts on relationships around him, Murphy gradually strays into questioning himself and reflect on his values, yearning for self-actualization.

A clever album that only got better with each listening.

Rate: 7.5/10

Giveaway of the month! Movie Blockbuster Madness - 15 Pairs of Movie Passes to be Won!

http://www.alldealsasia.com/deals/giveaway-month-movie-blockbuster-madness-15-pairs-movie-passes-be-won


This is wonderful! If I win any of these tickets, I will feel special (again) :)