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2004 Film Roundup.
Once again the dB Magazine film reviewers attempt to do battle with the unending list, and make some sense of the myriad cinema releases they saw this year... in their own minds the team reconciled the best and the worst viewing, taking into account performances and scripting, direction and plot development, until they were able to distil their deliberations into the short lists you see below.
And it is a short list; five films selected by each reviewer, with a sentence or two as to why it made its mark.
It may well be a sign of the times that such a proportion of the movies selected were of a documentary style, suggesting that as times become uncertain we strive to make more sense of the world around us. In any case, the obvious candidates have turned up here, and for the obvious reasons.
In what is almost another field entirely, the most popular choice fell to Michel Gondry's 'Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind', about which reviewer Scott Townsend (he's since withdrawn from cinema writing) noted
"the type of film that cinema was created for, an experience unlike any other that is so enjoyable and simultaneously inventive that it will be remembered for years to come."
Which just goes to show that ultimately, cinema is about escapism, even when the escape lies in the simplified rationale of a cleansed memory. This holiday season, don't forget to set aside a little time to cleanse your mind and sooth your soul; I suspect we could all with 'chilling out' a little more often.
Fahrenheit 9/11
Director: Michael Moore
This brilliant and brave patchwork doco redefined the genre,
providing gutsy entertainment. Moore put himself firmly "with
the terrorists" by taking a pro-peace stance against Bush and
the media.
The Station Agent
Director: Tom McCarthy
A wonderfully told chapter in the life of a person challenged
to transcend his dwarfism. He leaves the sanctuary of his model
railway shop and finds a place for himself in the world.
Elephant
Director: Gus Van Sant
A fictionalised version of the Columbine High School massacre,
languidly told by Van Sant in a return to form, and brilliantly
acted. Chilling but beautiful, sensitive and uplifting.
The President v David Hicks
Directors: Curtis Levy & Bentley Dean
A local story about our new world of fear, terror, lost freedoms
and the trashing of the Geneva Conventions. A brave Adelaide
father searches for his son, bringing the Abu Ghraib horror
home (and an AFI award).
Somersault
Director: Cate Shortland
Abbie Cornish playing Heidi leads us through this powerfully
lyrical journey into the ethics and morals of everyday relationships
between family, friends and acquaintances. Premiered at Cannes
and scooped local awards.
Andrew Bunney
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Director: Michel Gondry
Twisty (if familiar) plot setup, surreal and exciting visuals,
intensely recognisable characters and situations, and a great
message: give each other a chance; you're all you've got, and
it's enough.
Capturing The Friedmans
Director: Andrew Jarecki
Contender for best-ever doco: gives away just the right amount
of information at the right time, spares no-one, and treats
its subjects with respect, sensitivity and a light touch.
The Station Agent
Director: Tom McCarthy
Beautifully played out story of a loner outsider in a small
town and his reluctant friendships. Slow, satisfying, and well
constructed, with complex characterisations - just right.
My Life Without Me
Director: Isabel Croixet
Deceptively simple characters made real. A woman decides how
to live knowing you're going to die soon. Avoids being maudlin
by suggesting life's every moment is worthwhile.
The Triplets Of Belleville
Director: Sylvain Chomet
Delightfully weird - the anti-Disney of animations. Largely
dialogue free, with hilarious villains, elderly and unlikely
heroes, an arthritic dog and won't-leave-you-alone music. For
grown-up kids.
Hilary Harper
Collateral
Director: Michael Mann
While it seems to be trendy right now to bash Tom Cruise at
every opportunity, I think he's a very good actor: no more so
than in this excellent film, which sees him putting in a brilliant
turn as a cold yet charismatic hit-man.
Shattered Glass
Director: Billy Ray
A film that unfortunately didn't seem to get much publicity
during its run here, this relatively low-key yet intriguing
picture tells the story of fraudulent New Republic journalist
Stephen Glass and his exposure.
Dawn Of The Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
I can't comment on how this one compares with George A Romero's
original (as I haven't seen it), but it's a fine movie in its
own right. Scary, gory, more than a little depressing, and quite
blackly humorous in places.
Mean Girls
Director: Mark S Waters
As every girl (as well as every boy who ever went to a co-ed
school) would probably be able to attest, girls can be just
as nasty as boys: a frequently-overlooked fact that forms the
basis for this amusing and intelligent high school comedy.
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
Director: Danny Leiner
One of my obligatory lowbrow picks, this hilarious gross-out
comedy is of particular interest for featuring Asian-Americans
- an oft-ignored section of American society - as its protagonists.
... and, if there's room for it
My chief movie-related gripe for the year (aside from exasperating
people who seem incapable of shutting up during the picture)
concerns those irritating anti-movie-piracy ads (ie "You wouldn't
steal a car etc") we seem doomed to be exposed to before every
picture nowadays. Aside from being annoying, they also seem
a bit pointless given that those who see them are the people
who have actually done what they're supposed to, and paid to
go to the pictures.
James Brazel
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Director: Michel Gondry
This definitely is one of the best movies ever made. Jim Carrey
is unusually subdued yet remarkably convincing and Kate Winslet
is wonderfully wacko in this modern day off-beat masterpiece.
If you've seen it once and liked it, see it again and again,
you'll love it.
Super Size Me
Director: Morgan Spurlock
More than just some guy gunning for one particular fast food
chain by doing something really stupid. It attacks the whole
industry by being informative, funny and very frightening.
Fahrenheit 9/11
Director: Michael Moore
Okay, Michael Moore might've twisted and tweaked a few truths
a tad here and there, but a lot of the facts prevail. It's blatant
- see it if you haven't already.
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War On Journalism
Director: Robert Greenwald
Yet another of those documentary type features that seem to
have been so popular this year. With a little luck by this time
next year the masses won't be so ignorant. But they have to
see this first, don't they?
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
Director: Danny Leiner
It was a toss up between this and Joseph Kahn's 'Torque' for
the 'Dumb-But-Fun' award this year, so I'm sneaking in a mention
of them both.
Steve Jones
The Barbarian Invasions
Director: Denys Arcand
Multi award winner from Canadian director Denys Arcand; Remy's
family and friends gather to make his death as pleasant and
hedonistic as his life has been. A mature exploration of political,
societal and relationship issues. In French.
Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster
Director: Joe Berlinger
Whether you love or hate Metallica, this is a fascinating film,
documenting three years in the life of a dysfunctional band
and their psychotherapist, through the loss of their bass-player,
James Hetfield's re-hab and Lars Ulrich's crusade against Napster.
Coffee And Cigarettes
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Eleven vignettes featuring a collection of underground celebrities
including Iggy, Tom Waits and Meg and Jack White partaking in
variations of coffee and cigarettes. Made over many years by
ultra-cool filmmaker Jim Jarmusch in glorious black and white.
Super Size Me
Director: Morgan Spurlock
Concerned with the ever increasing problem of obesity in the
US, first-time director Spurlock uses himself as a guinea pig
to investigate the culpability of the fast food industry, vowing
to eat only at McDonalds for a month. Watch him suffer!
Fahrenheit 9/11
Director: Michael Moore
Moore's astonishingly successful documentary exploring the lies
surrounding the Bush administration's actions around the September
11 attack and the invasion of Iraq. Funny, serious, shocking
and highly entertaining.
Suzy Ramone
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