A Look Back at 2000: A Deceptively Strong Year For Film

I know that I talk about the award season process quite a bit on this blog, and while that is not the intention of this post, I am going to begin with discussing what exactly happened during the season that rewarded the films and performances of 2000 as it will lead to the whole reason I want to discuss the year 2000's cinematic achievements.

While there were some expected victories such as Julia Roberts winning Best Actress for Erin Brockovich or perhaps Benicio del Toro winning Supporting Actor for Traffic, I think the other two acting categories were largely up in the air.

On top of that, there was a crazy back-and-forth with Best Picture as well that year where by the time the envelope was being opened, you could've made a case for not just the eventual winner Gladiator but also Traffic which took Best Director for Steven Soderbergh in an upset over expected winner Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, another film that had a strong shot at taking the top prize.

For most of the aughts, I always looked at 2000 as something of a weak year and it seemed as though a lot of people on various film forums agreed with me back then. However, looking back at that decade, there are other years I would consider to be less remarkable by comparison. It doesn't help that it had to follow the 90s, a decade that felt like a resurgence of various 70's cinema ideals.

I think the real problem with 2000 stems from the award system process. This was a year in which many of the biggest Oscar contenders ended up flopping when they were released at the end of the year such as All The Pretty Horses, Pay it Forward, and The Legend of Bagger Vance which led to other films that were released earlier in the year to come back into the fray and take charge such as eventual winner and Box Office hit Gladiator and the aforementioned Erin Brockovich which had been done by indie darling Soderbergh but became an empowering true story vehicle that gave America's Sweetheart a chance to do a true dramatic role.

The fifth nominee for Best Picture that year feels like a joke.

This was at a time when Miramax, under the leadership of disgraced sex offender Harvey Weinstein, was coming off a peak of continued awards success with getting nominations for smaller independent and/or international films in Best Picture like The Crying Game, The Piano, Il Postino, and wins for The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love plus getting a last-minute surge of nominations for The Cider House Rules the year before which even had some pundits wondering if Weinstein would pull off the upset again over American Beauty.

The big Miramax awards push for 2000 was Chocolat, a film that offered beautiful shots of delectable chocolate as perhaps its only truly desirable quality. 

Well okay...that might be a bit harsh considering it is a film that stars Juliette Binoche and Dame Judi Dench, but this was something that just felt too twee and mawkish. The nomination of this film, likely due to Weinstein's vile campaigning tactics, cost quite a few films of a slot on the short list of 5.

As it stands, not all of the Best Picture nominees would make my top 5. To be completely candid, none of them would make my top 10. 

2000 looks like a weak year if you only look at the awards lineup (very similar to 2018, the year of Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, Vice, etc...), but there were quite a few gems that came out that year...which is now a quarter of a century behind us as I write this.

With that in mind, I am going to talk about 15 films that came out in 2000 that I have a strong opinion of, and if you haven't seen any of them, I hope to encourage you to check them out.

I do want to shout out Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Traffic as the two strongest Best Picture nominees that year, but I am going to refrain from discussing them at length here to shine a light on films I think deserve more attention instead.

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#15 - Before Night Falls

Written & Directed by Julian Schabel

Co-written by Lazaro Gomez Carriles & Cunningham O'Keefe

On a very basic level, we can thank Before Night Falls for introducing many of us to the brilliance that is Javier Bardem. I would say the film is good for what it is, but a lot of what makes it click is the truly passionate performance by Bardem as Reinaldo Arenas, a homosexual Cuban poet who had been a vocal critic of the infamous dictator Fidel Castro. His time being a political prisoner served as the basis for his memoir, which was written following his escape to the US during the 1980 Mariel boatlift. 

Elements of the film have not aged well at all, such as Johnny Depp playing a transvestite named Bon Bon or Sean Penn's one scene as Cuco Sanchez...but this is a film that does have a strong director at the helm which Schnabel, who would go on to make the truly underrated 2007 gem The Diving Bell & The Butterfly and an actor like Bardem who is able to bring Arenas to life and make us care even if the film might feel rather erratic at times. 

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#14 - Code Unknown

Written & Directed by Michael Haneke

Juliette Binoche may have gotten her 2nd Oscar nomination that year for the treacly Chocolat, but it was her work in Michael Haneke's Code Unknown that felt more in line with the high-quality work she typically provides.

Haneke is a filmmaker who is known for being rather dark and depressing in the subject matter ranging from a family being mentally and physically tortured to death with the occasional wink to the audience (Funny Games), an elderly husband struggling to care for his Alzheimer's-stricken wife (Amour), or a troubled teenager obsessed with violence who wants to make his own disturbing film (Benny's Video)...among other delights.

Code Unknown doesn't get as much talk as his some of his other works and while I wouldn't rank it among the best of the best, I do think it has more of a cryptic and chillier feel. What is perhaps even more crazy is that for as blunt as this film can be, it is a lot lighter than most of his offerings. 

This is a true ensemble film as we weave through the lives of several characters living in Paris and various racial and cultural clashes that they face. In a lot of ways, it feels like a bolder take on this kind of social strife than what Paul Haggis would laughably bring us with Crash a few years later.

I think what makes the film work for some of us as opposed to others is that it can often feel like a documentary in how its shot/presented...and it feels very true to life in that it is one of those films where nothing and everything happens at the same time. 

While perhaps being nearly as cryptic as the film itself, I do feel like if you were to dare try to enter the mind of Haneke, this would be a solid place to start before delving into his darker efforts.

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#13 - You Can Count on Me

Written & Directed by Kenneth Lonergan 

Films about the dynamics between siblings can be a fascinating starting point. This is the kind of content that is deeply within the realm of what one would expect from Kenneth Lonergan, who made his feature directorial debut with this film following success as a playwright. 

While I was familiar with Laura Linney prior to seeing this film thanks to her gem of a supporting role in The Truman Show as Meryl/Hannah, the "wife" of Jim Carrey's Truman, this was where I think many of us who hadn't seen her onstage in NY realized she was someone to watch. Not long after seeing this film, I did see her as Elizabeth Proctor opposite Liam Neeson in The Crucible and needless to say, she is an actress who command even doing so little.

This WAS the film that introduced me to Mark Ruffalo, however.

Both he and Linney have talked about how they both seem so far removed from being believable as siblings, but their chemistry and connection is so strong that it throws any desire to question that out the window.

While I would argue that You Can Count on Me is a lot more successful as a film compared to something like Before Night Falls, I still think a major driving force of seeing this is witnessing these early works of Linney and Ruffalo. She did manage to get a well deserved Best Actress nomination but it is a shame Ruffalo missed out on a Supporting nom. 

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#12 - Pollock

Directed by Ed Harris

Written by Barbara Turner & Susan Emshwiller

Having Pollock on this list may be a selection that will raise a few eyebrows, but while I may not necessarily have as rapturous an opinion on the film as a whole, a lot of why it is here is due to Ed Harris and Marcia Gay Harden.

Harris stars in and directs this film, and it is clear that this is a project that he has immense passion for. Combine that passion with the performance of Marcia Gay Harden and it makes for one of the most underrated cinematic pairings of 21st Century cinema. 

I sort of think of Pollock in the same vein as I would La Vie en Rose in that the film itself might have some issues with the scripting, editing, directing but that it becomes required viewing due to the performances onscreen.

Sure, the film may deal with something we've seen many times: the tortured, troubled artist and the person/people who put up with it because they are enamored with them. 

It's a trope, to be sure...but when done well enough or when you have performances like that of Harris and Harden to back it up, it is hard to ignore the fine work in front of you.

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#11 - Requiem for a Dream

Directed and Co-written by Darren Aronofsky

Written by Hubert Selby Jr.

There are certain films I think about as being classic examples of "film bro" chic. What I mean by that is that during my early days of being a "film bro", I feel like I would notice a certain passion being given to a group of films to the point where small sanctions of discourse would form leading people to say "Hey, maybe this film might be a bit overpraised."

I would consider Requiem for a Dream to be part of this group, but with me ranking it in my top 10, I do fall on the positive side of the discourse. That isn't to say I have had my moments of wondering how much I actually did love it. Truthfully, it is one of those films that isn't easy to love due to how bleak it is, but I will say that it does stick with you and despite the good performances all around, such as Jennifer Connelly who was MUCH better here than in her Supporting Actress win a year later for A Beautiful Mind, the one major aspect of this film that stands out is the career best work of Ellen Burstyn. This is sure saying a hell of a lot considering the kind of work that Burstyn has graced us with, but she is simply sensational and heartbreaking in this role. 

Requiem for a Dream revolves around 4 people suffering from various forms of addiction. Sara Goldfarb (Burstyn) is a widow living alone in her Brighton Beach apartment. Her son Harry (Jared Leto back before he became insufferable) is a heroin addict along with friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans). They both deal heroin as a means to help Harry's girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) open a clothing store which will also showcase her own designs.

However, Burstyn's addiction comes from the form of amphetamines at the recommendation of her friend Rae as she has the chance to appear on her favorite TV game show. 

The spiral that Burstyn takes in particular is nothing short of a brutal thing to witness, and it is an absolute shame that she lost the Oscar for this performance. 

I have only seen this film twice, and I am not sure when I would revisit it again. This was my introduction to Darren Aronofsky, and it was quite the blunt one to say the least. 

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#10 - Eureka 

Written & Directed by Shinji Aoyama 

I would consider Eureka to be one of the more truly demanding films on this list in terms of what it provides to its viewers and what it asks in return.

At nearly 4 hours long, Eureka is a Japanese film about 3 survivors of a mass shooting that occurred on a public bus and how they cope with their PTSD and also survivor's guilt. To add to their tension, more murders keep occurring them which keeps them trapped in their grief.

I do think the film does suffer from its length a bit. When I talked about how The Brutalist suffered from trying to cram too much in its final 1.5 hours, I actually think this is a case where Shinji Aoyama could've benefitted to trim the film down by even just a half hour or 45 minutes. 

Beyond that, the film is honestly remarkable. The film being shot in a sepia tone that feels unlike any sepia tone I've really seen in a film ends up being highly affective, especially once the film reaches its climax. 

In today's world, Eureka sadly feels even more prescient than it did when I first saw it in 2002. I actually haven't revisited the film in about 15 years and I do wonder if I should try doing so again. 

It may not be a film I can necessarily revisit often, but I cannot deny there is something beautiful and heartbreaking and somehow hopeful about how connections can form between the people you least expect. 

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#9 - As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty

Written & Directed by Jonas Mekas

One thing about these kinds of lists is that I often leave off films that are classified as some variation of a documentary. I don't necessarily mean to do this intentionally, but I think the real reason for this is that I consider documentaries to be in a class by themselves. 

In the case of As I Was Moving Ahead, it is highly experimental documentary in which Lithuanian American filmmaker Jonas Mekas takes hours of personal home movie footage to tell a story of his family's history ranging from birthday parties to family picnics and even the first step of his children. 

The final result clocks in at just shy of 4.5 hours and I have read countless reviews over the years that stated that this film offers nothing of value. One could argue that watching someone's home movies, even that of "The Godfather of American Avant-Garde cinema", could lack a certain connection as we don't know the people. It could be seen as the equivalent of that trope where you would get trapped looking at a slide show of a family friend's vacation as they pose awkwardly next to the Grand Canyon.

Mekas was a master and an often forgotten about and unsung hero from 20th century film. Beyond just his works as a filmmaker, he was the very first film critic for The Village Voice and mentored who would go on to become one of the most preeminent film critics in history in his stead: Andrew Sarris.

I firmly feel that he achieved something outstanding here. It is messy and raw but also one of the most genuine pieces of work I have seen and the mastery of it all is due to how is able to edit it all together to make it effective.

It is a case where some may say "nothing happens" while others say "everything happens". Simply put, it just feels like a slice of life.

When Mekas died at his Brooklyn home at the age of 96 in 2019, I do recall being pleased when certain publications like The Guardian picked up the story and gave him the fanfare he deserved.

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#8 - Amores Perros

Directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu 

Written by Guillermo Arriaga

Just like with Kenneth Lonergan and You Can Count on Me, we now get the debut of eventual multi-Oscar winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Inarritu and his first installment of what would become known as "The Trilogy of Death": Amores Perros...which would be followed by 21 Grams (which I do remember liking) and Babel (which I very much did not like). 

Amores Perros was far and away the best of the three and still remains his best work, even over the film that netted him multiple Oscars: Birdman. 

The film tells three separate stories that are linked together by a car accident:

Octavio (Gael Garcia Bernal) as a poor teenager who gets swept up in the world of dogfighting.

Valeria (Goya Toledo), a supermodel whose leg is severely in the car accident that was caused by Octavio.

El Chivo (Emilio Echevarria), a hitman who is trying to get in touch with his daughter who believes him to be dead.

The dog element also links up to each of the stories in various ways, but I think the hyperlink structure here is extremely successful and it prevents the film from feeling too much like an anthology which is something that Babel suffered greatly from.

The film takes on domestic violence, gun violence, animal cruelty, and class structures within capitalism without breaking a sweat. With this film, Inarritu came out swinging and it would be great to see him truly reach the heights he showed here. 

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#7 - Best in Show

Written & Directed by Christopher Guest

Co-written by Eugene Levy

After talking about incredibly dark films like Eureka and Requiem for a Dream, it is time to spruce it up with this irreverent little gem from the minds of Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, and their merry little troupe.

While I do hold a certain fondness for Waiting for Guffman as it so closely ties into the world of theatre, I actually think Best in Show might be my favorite film from this group...and it is certainly a bit of an outlier on this list which does tend to veer more towards the dark and depressing. 

Told in that mockumentary style that has since become a norm in the world of comedic storytelling concepts, Best in Show takes a hard-hitting look at the world of dog shows as we follow the lives of 5 entrants in the proceedings.

You can always count on an absolutely stellar ensemble of actors in these films ranging from Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Coolidge, Michael McKean, Fred Willard, and Christopher Guest himself. 

I sort of wish that this group would get together every couple of years and make a new movie or even a TV show/Limited Series. We did get a small dose of it when Levy and O'Hara were paired up on Schitt's Creek, but I cannot begin to tell you the absolute joy I felt watching the string of films they all made in the 90s/00s. 

If you haven't seen any of the Christopher Guest films, go check out Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. If you really love them, then check out A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration.

Also - while not directed by Guest, you should definitely check out Rob Reiner's 1984 gem This is Spinal Tap, which features Guest and McKean along with Harry Shearer as the titular (fictional) heavy metal group.

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#6 - Werckmeister Harmonies

Written & Directed by Bela Tarr

Co-written by Laszlo Krasznahorkai 

I have been writing my blog, in various forms, for the last 7 years and I don't think I've been in a position where I've been able to talk about Bela Tarr as a filmmaker. 

While not as heavily prolific as some, Tarr is a Hungarian filmmaker who is usually known for taking a more cynical approach to film and always had an interest in focusing on "social cinema" and dealing with humanist stories.

He hasn't had as frequent an output and it doesn't help that I have only seen 4 of his films, with two of them being among the best of their respective years: 1994's Satantango and the film that you are currently reading about now, Werckmeister Harmonies.

I would even go as far to say that this might be one of the more inaccessible films on this list in terms of how it would appeal to a general audience. Set amidst communist-era Hungary, the film revolves around Janos (Lars Rudolph), a newspaper boy who has a close relationship with his uncle Gyorgy (Peter Fitz), who is a composer and musicologist who has strong opinions about harmonic principles...which is where the title stems from as it goes into the work of musical theorist Andreas Werckmeister.

Although the film's brilliance is how it tries to blend realism with more fantastical elements as the film's major storyline involves a sinister circus coming to town.

I will leave it at that. It is worth experiencing with not much knowledge beyond what I have told you.

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#5 - Almost Famous

Written & Directed by Cameron Crowe

I hold a certain sense of a nostalgia for Almost Famous in a way that I don't exactly do for the other films on this list. There was a time when I called this my favorite film of 2000, but while it doesn't have that title anymore, it most definitely holds a special place in my heart. 

As someone who is clearly a bit of a geek when it comes to film, I identified with the character of William, a teenager who didn't exactly fit in but had a strong passion for music and wanted to write about it.

Also - Patrick Fugit as William was one of the first parasocial crushes I can distinctly remember having as a young teenager and that certainly helped the film on a superficial level.

In my intro, I stated that Chocolat getting nominated for Best Picture that year was a joke and that I would be naming several films I clearly would've preferred. I am bringing this up now because I am fully convinced Almost Famous was next in line for that final slot. Not only did the film get two Supporting Actress nominations that night but Cameron Crowe WON Best Original Screenplay over WGA winner You Can Count on Me, Erin Brockovich, and the eventual Best Picture winner Gladiator. 

While technically a box office flop, Almost Famous was one of the biggest hits in terms of critics and did have a strong devout following of supporters at that time. In truth, more people talk about and think back more fondly on Almost Famous than a lot of the big awards contenders that year and for good reason. Perhaps it could be a bit predictable at times, but it is a film with such an infectious spirit and captures the 70s world of music so indelibly.

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#4 - Dancer in the Dark

Written & Directed by Lars von Trier

When you hear that there is a film that was made by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, you pretty much can expect that you are in for a brutal ride if you choose to watch it. I actually think Dancer in the Dark is my favorite of his works, but even calling this film such a positive term chills me to the bone a little bit. It also doesn't help that von Trier has since had his own "#metoo" attacks...including one from this film's star: the iconic Icelandic singer Bjork.

To give you some context, the film did manage to get a Best Song nomination for "I've Seen it All" which was co-written and performed by Bjork at the ceremony, which is where we got treated to the legendary Swan dress that was the talk of the town. 

For reference:

Making Dancer in the Dark was not an easy experience for Bjork, but the performance proved that had she wanted to sustain a film career, she most definitely could've done so. She managed to win Best Actress at Cannes, and while that unfortunately didn't lead to recognition from American voting bodies, I think her performance is far better than most of the contenders that got into any category that year, female or male.

Bjork plays Selma, a Czech immigrant who moved to the States in 1964 with her 12 year old son Gene and takes a job at a local factory while living a life of poverty. Selma is suffering from a degenerative eye disease and because she fears Gene will suffer the same fate, she is desperately trying to save money that'll help prevent such a thing.

This is a film that, as to be expected from von Trier, will not shy away from making you uncomfortable. It is grimy and dirty and messy and with it being shot on a handheld camera continuing the Dogme 95 movement he founded with fellow Dane master Thomas Vinterberg, it feels frighteningly real. 

The soon to be 13 year old boy who sat down to watch this film after knowing it as the one starring "The Swan Dress Lady" only to be dealt this absolutely tragic storyline was a jarring experience and one that I simply just wasn't expecting.

My mother often allowed me to watch films that I was probably too young for which I have talked about here. I think in this case, this was a film that I probably should've waited to see in hindsight but it also told me early on that darker stories have a place in film. Films can entertain but they can also take you an emotional journey that can enthrall or appall you.

Enthrall and appall this one did.

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#3 - Memento

Written & Directed by Christopher Nolan

 I debated whether or not to put Memento on this list, but I am someone who tends to be stickler for when films make an official premiere. While it was released in US Cinemas in March 2001, Memento had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2000; in addition to that, the film is listed as being a 2000 film all over the place so I am sticking with that opinion.

What can I truly say about Memento?

Well for starters, I used to call it Christopher Nolan's best film and I would actually still be willing to consider that argument. I never really responded to deeply to his work in the way that most film fanatics have done over the years...although I did love Oppenheimer. 

Nolan would go on to warp minds with films like Inception or Tenet, but I cannot begin to tell you how invigorating it was to watch Memento as a 13-year-old. I am not saying I understood everything that was happening, but this was a film that just truly felt alive. 

It is told in a non-linear narrative with two timelines being told in reverse order before they both collide in the end. Our main protagonist is Leonard (Guy Pearce), a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia and uses an elaborate series of photos, notes, and even tattoos to aid his quest to find the person who murdered his wife.

I will never claim that Nolan is consistent in finding the emotional strength in his work, but the intensity of his work in Memento has never truly been captured since.

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#2 - Yi Yi 

Written & Directed by Edward Yang

It makes me sad to talk about Yi Yi as only 7 years after its release, we lost the master behind it: Edward Yang, who had suffered from colon cancer for several years before it took his life just shy of his 60th birthday.

Yang's approach to film was rather fascinating to me because his works were often made with distance and even often invoking a sense of isolation. 

So many of his shots are done with very long takes, rarely with closeups, and often showing cityscapes and empty rooms all while acting as something of an outsider looking in from a distance. And yet...that distance never seems to make you feel disconnected from what you are watching.

Yang was also a filmmaker who felt incredibly passionate about social issues and also how greed impacted middle class life in Taiwan and how business could negatively affect true art. In that regard, Yang's works aren't as widely seen and can be very difficult to find as they weren't heavily distributed even within Taiwan. To this day, I have only about 5 of the 8 films but Yi Yi was his last film before the cancer truly took hold. 

Is Yi Yi his best film? I actually think I prefer his 1991 effort A Brighter Summer Day a tad more as a film and what it achieved. Although, that film is nearly 4 hours long while Yi Yi clocks in at just under 3 hours, which isn't to imply that I am against films being rather long. I do admit that Yi Yi is an easier watch just based on its subject matter and that does make it more prone for a rewatch. 

The film chronicles the life of an engineer known as NJ (Wu Nien-jen) and the three generations of his middle class family that live in Taipei. With the weaving of multiple storylines amongst the families, you could see this as an ensemble piece done by the likes of Mike Leigh or even Noah Baumbach...but there is something so striking about how Yang handles the material and how he presents it. 

It is almost poetic in its simplicity and a quietly emotional in ways you aren't expecting it to be until the journey is over. I wish we could've had more time with Edward Yang.

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#1 - In the Mood for Love

Written & Directed by Wong Kar-wai

For any film lover reading this, odds are that you are considering this to be an anticlimactic choice...but there is a reason this film is worshipped as much as it is.

In 2022, the prestigious Sight & Sound Poll put out by the BFI selected In the Mood for Love as the 5th Best Film of All Time. It was only one of two films to come out in the 21st century (along with Mulholland Drive) to make the top 10.

Why exactly has this film endured so well to that point it is now considered one of the finest films ever made in the past couple of decades?

In my opinion, this is a prime example of how telling a story that may seem too simple on paper can blossom with the right mix of direction, performance, the setting, and the acting. 

Set in 1962 Hong Kong, we come across Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) who both live in the same apartment complex with their spouses. While more reserved as people, they soon take a notice in each other which ends up becoming more of an issue when both of them realize their spouses are having an affair. 

The question is: do they want to follow suit?

 I once made the comment that romantic films are often looked down upon, but they can sometimes be the most compelling and emotional works when done with great care. I think the remarkable thing about In the Mood for Love is how concise it is. For a list that contains films that are well over 2 hours or even 3 hours long, this is a film that clocks in just shy of 100 minutes in length. 

The film does move at a pace that could be comparable to that of a Merchant/Ivory piece, but there is something so beautiful and honest about what is being portrayed here. This was the film that solidified my belief that Wong Kar-wai is one of my all time favorite filmmakers after a string of a truly strong films from the 90s like Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, and Happy Together.

Our two leads, Leung & Cheung, are both nothing short of exquisite. I once posted something on Twitter a while ago that referred to them as the most stunning couple onscreen, and I do stand by that statement. The chemistry between the two of them is so beautiful and it does have an undercurrent of steam without being exploitative or aggressive. It also helps that the darkly rich sets and lighting and their period costumes add to the allure. 

When I first watched In the Mood for Love over 20 years ago, I recognized it as a very good film and then...it just sat there building esteem in my mind over the passing decades. For such a quiet film in its approach, it is somehow as rapturous and glorious for me as some kind of big MGM Technicolor Spectacular of the 1940s but under an indie lens.

I am not going to make the claim that In the Mood for Love is a film that will appeal to everyone, however if you do have an interest in exploring international cinema and like romantic films with a dramatic style, this would be a great place to start. 

As alluring and bittersweet a film as I can remember, and a true masterwork from Wong Kar-wai.

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FINAL THOUGHTS:

In 2024, a lot of film people I follow on the internet were talking a lot about how epic of a year 1999 was for film. I bring this up primarily because I have to say that the quality of 1999's output is widely regarded as among the finest in cinema history.

And yet...

I never wrote about it.

 I actually still have a draft of a post that goes into my top favorite films of 1999 and I couldn't get myself to finish it. Something about it just felt expected and not overly fresh.

I found myself feeling very excited to talk more about 2000 because it did always have a stigma, even from myself, as a being a very weak year following the heights reached in 1999.

I am not about to claim that 2000 is better than 1999, but I will say that 2000 is a bit of an underrated gem if you look beyond what the mainstream industry pushed for major consumption and awards consideration. 

This trend doesn't continue though. In fact, 2001 is a year that offered a couple of strong and provocative outings such Mulholland Drive and The Royal Tenenbaums but not many films ignited a lot of passion within me. 

That is actually fairly true for a quite a few years in the 2000s, which is a shame considering how strong the 90s were for cinema. 

I do want to try to talk more about the years of cinema that I consider to be hidden gems, and considering we are 25 years removed from 2000 plus it being one of the earliest years of my filmgoing obsession, it seemed like the perfect place to start.