Summer is approaching and I am only just now releasing my top films list of 2023...and I have to say that I am pretty pleased with the output here!
Just in case you didn't read it or may have forgotten about it, this was a direct quote from what I had to say when I made my top 10 list for 2022:
"I am more pensive about 2023 than I was for 2022. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised when I start to write this post for next year".
I am quite pleased, indeed! For the most part, I feel like a lot of people agree with me that 2023 is the best year for film in quite a few years...although there was one random YouTuber I came across who proceeded to say 2022 was so much better and I had to click away.
Looking at my top 10 for last year and the films selected by the Academy, the difference is night and day between then and now. To give you an idea of how drastic the quality difference is, NONE of the films from my top 10 last year would make my top 10 this year, except for maybe my #1 film which was Park Chan-wook's Decision to Leave.
Unlike a lot of people, I was actually rather fond of the indie output given in 2020...but I felt that 2021 was a pretty weak year aside from a small handful of fantastic films.
2023 is at least on par with 2019 in my eyes, which equally had a strong number of films I liked. However, what I found remarkable about this year is how much some of my favorites ended up aligning with a lot of the films that got awards attention.
Here's a little mini-spoiler before we get started: 5 of the 10 best picture nominees made my top 10 list...and 3 more would make my top 20. This kind of outcome is very, very rare; I do think 2019-2020 had a great overlap, but for 5 films to also make my top 10 is something highly unusual. It did happen in 2017, but I do think I would be curious to go back and see if it has happened much more.
This list will contain my top 10 along with 5 Honorable Mentions. I am also giving one film a special mention which I will explain here in a moment.
Needless to say, I found this year to be rather glorious. I am not sure I would consider it as one of the best years of film ever (it is too early to make such a call), but I will say it is easily the best film year of the 2020s thus far and easily one of my favorites of the 21st Century.
Let's begin with that special mention I brought up as there is some confusion over what year the film truly qualified.
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SPECIAL MENTION:
GODLAND
Written & Directed by Hlynur Palmason
This is one of those films, much like Beanpole and Bacarau back in 2019/2020, where we weren't really exposed to it until the year after it technically premiered in its home country and on the festival circuit...and because of this, I feel a little strange about including it on this list. I will admit that I probably break my own rules here and there, but I am going to stick with considering this a 2022 film even though I didn't see or hear of it really until 2023...not to mention it was submitted as Iceland's selection for this year's International Feature Oscar...a nom it did not receive in the end.
Godland could be seen as a pretentious effort, but I think its settings and themes and even its visual aesthetic really thrilled me because it felt like Hlynur Palmason was the reincarnation of Ingmar Bergman, the filmmaker I often dub as, to use a term the kids use today, the GOAT.
It is set in the 19th Century and involves a Lutheran priest named Lucas, who is asked to leave his parish in Denmark to form a new church in Iceland. While there, he suffers adjusting to living in a rural setting and also feels like he is lost in translation while trying to communicate with his Icelandic guide Ragnar.
In a year like 2023, Godland would not make my top 10 as I feel like the output was just that strong...but in a year like 2022, it would've cracked my top 5.
This was certainly a slow and moody piece, and not exactly something I would watch again any time soon, but I greatly admired what Palmason achieved here.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS:
#15 - MONSTER
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-ada
Written by Yuji Sakamoto
One of my favorite filmmakers of the last 20 years is Japan's Hirokazu Kore-ada, who has been behind such masterpieces as Shoplifters and Nobody Knows.
Monster is unique in that he doesn't write the script himself but is working with the text of Yuji Sakamoto. The final result is a beautiful example of how young kids can overcome the struggle of acceptance and be able to support each other.
Kids can be cruel, adults can be cruel...but there is always the one friend who will love you no matter what and accept you.
This film taps into that message so beautifully.
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#14 - BOTTOMS
Written & Directed by Emma Seligman
Co-written by Rachel Sennott
After having loved Shiva Baby, the previous outing from Seligman and Sennott, I was rather intrigued by Bottoms. It also doesn't hurt that Ayo Edebiri is in it being the Queen that she is.
This one is bonkers and ridiculous, but that is why I enjoyed it. It took the concept of a raunchy teen sex comedy, but made it about lesbians who use the idea Fight Club as a means to empower and meet women they want to sleep with.
Just accept it and enjoy the sadisitic ride.
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#13 - PERFECT DAYS
Written & Directed by Wim Wenders
Co-written by Takuma Takasaki
A film in Japanese that is set in Tokyo, but made by German filmmaker Wim Wenders?
It may seem odd, but it works. While a bit plodding, this is a true slice-of-life piece about Hiriyama (Koji Yakusho), a middle-aged man who works as a public toilet cleaner. A lot of the film is us watching him doing his work, interacting with others, and him driving around the city while listening to his favorite tunes.
Maybe not as rapturous about the film as some are, but there is a simplistic beauty about it that is hard to ignore.
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#12 - FALLEN LEAVES
Written & Directed by Aki Kaurismaki
At times quirky and surreal, at other times rather bleak, Fallen Leaves takes a look at two lonely souls living just above the poverty line in Helsinki who seem to possibly be destined to be together but face obstacle after obstacle.
Perhaps one of the best efforts given to us by Kaurismaki, the most prominent Finnish filmmaker.
It is a little slow-paced despite being less than 90 minutes long, but it is certainly a film high on the atmosphere of Jim Jarmusch-esque indie charm.
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#11 - LA CHIMERA
Written & Directed by Alice Rohrwacher
I was not really familiar with Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher prior to this, but I have to say that now I hope she keeps this up.
La Chimera is truly bonkers tale about an English archaeologist named Arthur (Josh O'Connor) who is released from prison and is desperate to find his ex-girlfriend Beniamina. On his journey, he returns to his group of accomplices he worked with in the past - a group of grave robbers. While robbing graves, he is determined to find Beniamina...even if it means finding a portal to the afterlife to find her.
This one has grown on me the more I think about.
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THE TOP 10:
#10 - THEATER CAMP
A film like Theater Camp being on a list like this might not seem like a surprise to many of you who know me, but there was a very strong chance that this film could've failed.
As a theatre kid, I know that as a group we have a tendency to be very annoying. Even as an adult, I find myself a tad distanced at times from even following theatre message boards due to the catty behavior.
Theater Camp worked for me in that it still felt true to the world of being a young theatre kid, but it also managed to have a nice mix of sentimentality and snark that made it feel way more tolerable than one might've expected.
We have seen a similar film to this one in the past...which happened to be called Camp. However, there was a certain silly whimsy to Theater Camp that made it stand out more for me.
Sure, it may have dealt with certain plot tropes we've seen before, but it made realize why I loved being around artsy loving people like these...even the kids.
This is certainly a niche film, and one I don't expect will appeal to many people as it is very specific in tapping into the world of theatre arts...but that's okay, in the end, not every film is going to be accessible for everyone. I will still watch this with more glee before any kind of superhero film.
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#9 - GODZILLA MINUS ONE
Written & Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
I suppose one could call films from the Godzilla world as something of a niche genre...but I think it was apparent with the response that this film received...at least stateside rather than its native Japan...that it struck a deeper chord.
Would I say that I am a fan of Godzilla films or monster movies in general? Eh, not really. I appreciate the value in stuff like the original King Kong or something such as An American Werewolf in London, but I had always acknowledged that something with Godzilla at its best could be an entertaining watch.
We've seen an uptick recently in new Godzilla material, and frankly I haven't exactly followed all of it. 2016's Shin Godzilla managed to surprise with how well it tapped into bureaucratic side of Tokyo trying to deal with a sea monster that just keeps evolving every time it is attacked.
I think that film managed to walk so that Godzilla Minus One could blow out an atomic blast from its mouth...which I suppose would make more sense if you've seen the film.
While the film definitely has that kind of melodramatic acting style that can seem very cheesy at times, it does fit the world rather well...and a lot of that is due to its setting.
A lot of what made this work so well for me was the strong emotional story.
The film's protagonist Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is a kamikaze pilot during the end of WWII who has the chance to stop Godzilla from attacking a base camp but freezes up in the moment causing all but himself and one other person to perish.
A lot of the plot elements are quite similar to the original Godzilla from 1954 but focusing on Koichi's PTSD following WWII and the destruction of much of Japan by our bombs, it gives the film such an added weight.
For what it was, this was a truly astounding effort with amazing Oscar-winning visual effects that netted the franchise its first win 70 years after it began. I would like to see more films like this one made by this team.
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#8 - ANATOMY OF A FALL
Written & Directed by Justine Triet
Co-written by Arthur Harari
As winner of the 2023 Palme d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival, Anatomy of a Fall managed to strike a nerve around the world...and certainly with me as it took a relatively simple concept (did our leading lady commit murder?) and managed to make it a fascinating look in the French legal system.
German actress Sandra Huller plays Sandra, a novelist who lives in the village of Grenoble amidst the French Alps with her husband Samuel and their pre-teen son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner), who is visually impaired and uses a guide dog named Snoop.
While being interviewed in their home, Samuel plays loud music from the attic (the absurdly catchy calypso instrumental version of 50 Cent's P.I.M.P.) which disrupts Sandra's discussion, so they agree to cut the interview short.
Shortly thereafter, Daniel returns from a walk with Snoop and finds Samuel laying on the ground dead with a massive headwound seemingly having fallen from the attic above...but Sandra's public celebrity puts her under more scrutiny and suspicion leads people to believe she could have murdered him rather than it being an actual fall.
There was a slow burn quality to the film where, at times, I did admittedly wonder if I was going to take to it. I do think it truly was fascinating to see how a French courtroom is set up and these scenes were particularly impressive with the work of the seemingly chauvinistic prosecutor played by Antoine Reinartz.
There is a sleek style to the film that is quiet but noticeable, and that is certainly thanks to the work of Justine Triet, whom I was thrilled to see get that Best Director nomination along with the Original Screenplay win she shared with life partner Arthur Harari. It felt like divine justice after France refused to submit the film for the International Film Oscar due to Triet being a harsh critic of French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist policies among such things as pension form that she deemed "neo-liberal".
I am especially pleased this film gave a bigger spotlight to the great actress Sandra Huller, who plays the role with such a cold sustained stillness most of the time until we get to witness the last huge fight she had with Samuel days before his death. It is a scene that works so strongly due to the dialogue and what she mines out of it.
I do want to single out young Milo Machado-Graner as Daniel, because as far as child performances go, he was simply magnificent and frankly, I would've strongly considered giving him my vote for the Oscar in Supporting Actor.
Oh and yes - I cannot forget the truly good boy that is Snoop, played by Messi. It makes me wish we could give animals an Honorary Oscar because this dog was trained to perfection to make one particular scene work so startingly well!
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#7 - SCRAPPER
Written & Directed by Charlotte Regan
It is kind of a shame when a film premieres at Sundance and despite winning one of the key prizes, doesn't seem to take off beyond that.
In fact, Scrapper didn't even end up getting an official release in the US. I only found out about via its Sundance inclusion and hearing some of my followers mention it on Letterboxd.
Being a tad coy, you could describe Scrapper as a modern-day reinvention of Punky Brewster, which for those of you who don't know what that is, it was an 80s sitcom about a young girl who was abandoned by her parents and eventually taken in by a cantankerous older man whose life she manages to brighten...as sitcoms of that era loved having their core story come from a place of tragedy...
Scrapper isn't exactly about that, but it is about a young girl named Georgie (Lola Campbell) who is actually living all by herself in a North London flat after the death of her mother. She is able to fend off social services by concocting a plan that she is staying with an uncle that doesn't really exist.
In order to make money, she and her friend Ali steal bikes to sell for scrap and for the most part, the arrangement is working out well enough for her...until one day, her estranged father Jason (Harris Dickinson) shows up whom she has never met as he has been living in Spain for several years.
He insists he stay there otherwise he will reveal to social services what she has been doing all this time.
Scrapper is the film debut of British director Charlotte Regan, who had previously been known for working in the music video world. She has such a clear, distinct voice here...and her use of a documentary/interview motif at times gives the film a lovely charm that adds something unique to a trope that has been used in the past for such films as When Harry Met Sally.
For such a dark topic, the film works surprisingly well and is handled with such care that I couldn't help but fall for it. I just wish more people could've seen it!
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#6 - THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE
Written & Directed by Ilker Catak
Co-written by Johannes Duncker
I was truly happy to see that The Teachers' Lounge managed to make it into the Best International Feature race at the Oscars, as I found it to be a truly wonderful film that showcases the difficulty that teachers often face, especially when dealing with students and the rumors that can spread.
German actress Leonie Benesch plays our lead, Carla Nowak. My only previous experience of her that I can recall was way back in 2009's divisive The White Ribbon. I loved seeing her be able to tackle a great role like this and I hope she can soon receive more widespread exposure similar to that of Sandra Huller this past year.
Carla is a 7th grade teacher who recently transferred to the school and ends up becoming something of a pariah as she is highly uncomfortable with the methods in which the school is trying to combat a series of thefts from the teachers' lounge.
This leads to the school asking for students to show their wallets for inspection and they find a Middle Eastern student named Ali who has a lot of money in his wallet...and they assume the only reason for the volume of money is that he stole it, which obviously leads to complaints from his parents that he was racially profiled. As expected, Ali is innocent and his parents gave him the money.
The real situation proves to be a little more involved than just a student stealing.
I think one of the biggest things I loved about The Teachers' Lounge is how much the tension at times plays like a suspense thriller...but considering how it could also be taken as bleak subject matter, it still manages to find brief moments of levity. It is that combination that made me truly enjoy the film and was happy that it got a little bit of a boost with the nomination.
I was also pleasantly surprised when director Ilker Catak and Leonie Benesch were interviewed on the main Red Carpet show prior to the Oscars just because films like this don't always receive attention unless they manage to slip into other major categories as well. I even noticed ads popping up for the film online, so yes...I would recommend seeing this film and love that it has begun receiving a little more widespread advertising.
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#5 - THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Written & Directed by Jonathan Glazer
When Rudolf looks towards the camera and we quickly cut to present-day Germany, it feels like a gut punch that we weren't expecting. Considering how much everything had been pretty much kept off-screen and behind the walls, we were now seeing Auschwitz in its current form: a museum that is meticulously kept.
And then, it cuts back to Rudolf, who proceeds to walk away into the darkness. A very matter-of-fact moment in terms of symbolism, but it works strongly nonetheless.
The Zone of Interest was 2023's auteur film statement that also managed to find its way into the Best Picture race. Its acclaim was so strong that it even surprised many of us that it managed to slip into the more mainstream leaning Producers' Guild of America nominations for Best Picture.
When I wrote about the film upon first seeing it, my statement was that I actually didn't know if I felt strongly about the film in a positive way or a negative way. I even thought for a moment that I hated the film and considered it pretentious trash.
The more I thought about the film over a couple of days, the more I realized I by no means hated it, but respected it highly. It just...stayed in mind and wouldn't leave.
As I watched it, I feel as though certain moments just glazed over me more because I was just feeling so uncomfortable being placed in this setting. I would be watching two characters speak only to hear gunshots in the background...or we'd watch Sandra Huller trying on a mink coat that had been taken from one of the camp victims.
As the days passed, it was like realizations of bits from the film would wash over me and I would get placed back into that uncomfortable feeling...and I think a lot of that was due to relatively distinct way that Glazer presented the material. It was more or less presenting these issues bare for what they were...and that matter-of-fact nature is simply chilling.
In terms of the filmgoing experience, I have to commend The Zone of Interest for invoking the feelings it did out of me. I can see why others would respond to it more harshly, but I feel like Glazer achieved something truly stunning here.
Shout-out to the intricate Oscar-winning Sound design by Tam Willers and Jonnie Burn. It is deceptive in its approach, but the sounds of the camp next door to the sounds of the family casually living their life make for some truly devastating and horrific moments....and all based on the sound and visuals.
The more I think about the film, the more I find myself considering it a masterwork.
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#4 - PAST LIVES
Written & Directed by Celine Song
2023 gave us a couple of early in the year releases that managed to hold out for awards attention. Not only did you have the Barbenheimer duo opening in July, but there was also Past Lives in June.
I think you could make a case that Past Lives might be the most beloved film of 2023 if you were to ask the most devout of film buffs. It seems like if you didn't have it as your #1 film of the year, it was at least on your top 10 list. Frankly, the fact I even have it as #4 on this list is merely a formality as this is quite possibly the strongest top 5 I have had for a year of film in a while.
The film begins in 2000 Seoul with two 12-year-olds named Na Young and Hae Sung who are attracted to one another which leads their parents to set up a date. However, we learn that Na Young's family is planning to immigrate to Canada which effectively ends the relationship before it can truly begin.
We then skip ahead 12 years where Na Young now goes by Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) reconnect on Skype after she finds out he has been looking for her over Facebook. He still lives in Seoul after serving in the military while she now works as a writer in New York. Despite long Skype conversations and an obvious connection there, neither seem willing to take any drastic steps. She doesn't really want to return to Seoul while he doesn't seem to have the means to fly to New York. They stop communicating and both end up in relationships not long after. Him with a woman that isn't really a good fit for him, while she meets a fellow writer named Arthur (John Magaro) at a retreat out in Montauk.
Like clockwork 12 years later, Hae Sung wants to reconnect with Nora and now has the means to come visit...which leads to a rather dignified love triangle.
In fact, calling Past Lives a "love triangle" film sells it a bit short. I think what makes it work so well is how much these three people actually feel like real people. Nora certainly feels the history with Hae Sung and there is such a subtle but brimming life within Greta Lee's work. She is absolutely the soul of this film, but that would make Teo Yoo the film's heart.
Yoo comes across as a gentle soul and when he first sees Nora in the flesh for the first time in over two decades, we watch a thirtysomething guy turn back into a 12-year-old before our eyes. He is bashful and almost blushing; it is hard not to deny him what he wants.
Then you have Magaro's Arthur, who perhaps does hold a bit of jealously at the dynamic, but he is never bitter or rude. If anything, he gives them space to let them have their peace...and it feels so refreshing to see this kind of dynamic in a film.
Past Lives is one of those films that is so deceptive in its approach that at first glance, it may not seem that special...but it just stays with you. Considering this was her film debut, we can now put Celine Song down as one of the most promising filmmakers in quite some time.
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#3 - POOR THINGS
Written by Tony McNamara
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
There always seems to be that one film that gets a copious amount of praise but has enough of a negative vocal minority that you can't help but wonder whose side you will fall on.
Going into Poor Things, I had a semblance of hope because I have often been a fan of the filmography of Yorgos Lanthimos, save for The Killing of a Sacred Deer, but even that had its intriguing qualities. Still though, I just felt like there was a chance I would find it overhyped or perhaps it would be too weird for the sake of being weird.
Sure, being based on a previous novel helped I am sure...but in short, Poor Things lived up to its high expectations and I found it to be a completely wacky and absurd and very uncomfortable delight.
Set in a very abstract version of Victorian London, a disfigured scientist/professor by the name of Godwin Baxter has taken on a new experiment. After finding the body of a young pregnant woman floating in the Thames, he manages to pull her out and uses the brain of the unborn fetus (cue gasps of Republicans here) to try to bring the woman back to life.
He names her Bella (Emma Stone), and she is basically a toddler in adult body form at this point. To add to the chaos, a student of Godwin's named Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) becomes enamored with her. Godwin encourages the two to get married and hires a lawyer to draw up the nuptial agreement.
Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) is rather infatuated with Bella when she comes along, and she is at a point where she is starting to mature more...not to mention discovering sexual pleasure...and he promises to show her around Europe, much to the dismay of Godwin and Max.
From there, the film is nothing short of a bizarre odyssey to say the least.
Everything about this film is an absolute marvel from the direction, the script, the performances, and the designs. Emma Stone got her 2nd Oscar for this, and, on the whole, it was richly deserved...but I still think Mark Ruffalo stole the film as Duncan. This role, in which he is a vile, sexist cad in over-the-top comedic form, is unlike any role we have seen him tackle and he soars in it.
I will stress that I can see why the film won't work for everyone. The obvious grooming angle from all the men (even the nicer ones like Godwin and Max) is undeniable, but I still view it as important because by the end, Bella comes out on top. She gets the autonomy we crave to get, and she realizes she deserves.
Another homerun for Lanthimos and McNamara.
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#2 - RYE LANE
Written by Nathan Byron & Tom Melia
Directed by Raine Allen-Miller
When I wrote about Rye Lane a few months ago, I was of the belief that it was one of the true hidden gems of 2023...and in fact, I only stand behind that belief with more fervor now.
I feel like Past Lives really struck a chord due to its bittersweet nature, but there was something so sweet and lively and joyous about Rye Lane that I found so infectious to the point where I wished more people would watch it...and I wish it got more attention on the awards circuit.
Even though it premiered to great fanfare at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the film got bought by Hulu and then tossed onto their platform with very little fanfare that March. So little fanfare that as the months passed, I had forgotten about the film's existence after originally being so excited to see it once it got such high praise at Sundance.
I suppose you could say it still got more of a push than its fellow Sundance contender Scrapper...but barely.
To quickly highlight, Vivian Oparah & David Jonsson shine here as Yas and Dom. I was not familiar with either of them, but both have such amazing chemistry and make for a truly compelling and adorable couple. The vibe does sort of make him out to be more of a sensitive lad while she uses a lot of bravado to cover up pain, but it is clear that they bring out the best in one another.
When it comes to romances, this is easily one of my favorites I have seen in years. It also was such a glorious pop of vibrant color thanks to how Raine Allen-Miller filmed areas of South London...and it felt as though we were getting a glimpse at a world we very rarely see. Almost like the kaleidoscope feeling we got from seeing BedStuy in Do The Right Thing or Borgo San Guiliano in Amarcord.
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#1 - OPPENHEIMER Written & Directed by Christopher Nolan
The main theme for those who often choose Oppenheimer as their #1 film of the year is that it feels like such a boring choice...and frankly, I feel the same way.
When I wrote about its pretty much inevitable Best Picture victory following the Oscar ceremony, I made that same comment because normally I tend to find myself supporting more of the underdogs and indie/foreign fare that doesn't always manage to get attention.
In the last decade alone, my #1 film of the year has lined up with the Best Picture selection from the Oscars on 3 different occasions, which may not seem like a lot. To put this into perspective, if I were to go through Oscar history and select the times that they chose the films I would've voted for (strictly based on the actual nominees), the overlap only would've been 20 times...and I might be on the fence with a couple of those.
Oppenheimer felt like a film that I would not be a fan of. It also seems far more likely these days for a film to not live up to the hype, so that was another hurdle I expected it to face. To my surprise, I was amazed at how fast the film was, and a lot of that could be attributed not just to Nolan, but to his award-winning editor Jennifer Lame. I have heard complaints about how the final's final act is rather slow moving and while this may be SLIGHTLY true, I honestly didn't feel this as much as others did.
If anything, I still think Killers of the Flower Moon was the film that needed another trip to Thelma Schoonmaker's office...with all due respect to her and Scorsese.
So yes, Oppenheimer remains one of the best paced films I have ever seen and proved to be an amazing star vehicle for the luminous Cillian Murphy, an actor who has deserved this kind of showcase for many years. Even if I will bemoan the fact that Nolan still should've given more to Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh, the rest of the film is a true masterwork.
I debated a lot about whether or not I wanted to give this film my top slot as a means to shine a light on something else, but everything keeps telling me that THIS is the one. As a whole, despite some little faults, it is a truly monumental achievement.
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FINAL THOUGHTS:
Sigh, this took way too long! I feel like so many factors were keeping me from seeing enough films that made me feel like I could truly make some kind of definitive list...but the truth is that no list of films such as this or going to remain definitive.
Time does a lot to a film and for all I know, I will come back to this list in a decade from now and decide that Oppenheimer should be my #4 selection...although if I am being honest, I think my entire top 5 could swap around and end up being my #1.
I do want to acknowledge some other films that aren't on this list that I did like or enjoy and warrant a mention: Blackberry, American Fiction, Barbie, The Holdovers, How to Have Sex, Society of the Snow, IO Capitano, The Boy & The Heron, and Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse.
Honestly, I think The Boy & The Heron will work its way up (it just missed the #15 slot), but I feel like it may need to grow on me more than other Miyazaki efforts.
I will admit that I am not sure how I feel about the prospects of 2024 yet. With last year's strikes, I feel like it slowed down the output and it could lead to a lesser slate of films for consideration. Although...and this is where I want to be hopeful...I am sort of hoping for a similar outcome to the 2020-2021 award season where certain films with smaller profiles like Sound of Metal, Promising Young Woman, and Minari were able to slip into the Best Picture race when many felt that they likely wouldn't have a shot at first.
It'll be interesting to see how this will pan out...but for now, thanks for reading and hopefully I will have more content up soon!
Over the past year, I was doing a series of posts that I dubbed "An Anniversary Retrospective" and I would list my top 10 films from various years of cinema that were celebrating a milestone anniversary.
These posts have been very fun for me to do, and I have liked the responses that they have received...so naturally, I want to continue this as we enter this new year.
However, I am going to change it up a little bit.
I thought a lot about how a few specific years will be celebrating milestone anniversaries that I consider to be among the best in the history of cinema. Strangely enough, there are many years ending in "9" that I think are truly magnificent in their output.
1939 gets a lot of attention as the de-facto "Greatest Year for Film", but I want to shine my light on other years that end in "9" that I consider to be first rate: 1979, 1989, 1999, 2019, and to a lesser extent, 1959.
Instead of limiting myself to the anniversary motif, I will also be doing lists based around other years for film that I consider to be among the best-of-the-best.
I am going to start with 1989, a year that I feel isn't always grouped into such an esteemed list. I also feel like it is a great year in which we got some truly wonderful films that might be considered more mainstream rather than artsy...but it also is a year where we see a glimpse into what 90s cinema would offer us: a great indie scene that felt more inspired by 70s cinema and was mostly lost in the 80s.
I am also going to try to single out more than 10 films because some of the years simply warrant more films to be mentioned...or maybe I am just trying to meet an even number because I would rather discuss 20 films instead of 17 due to some kind of number-based OCD.
Oh well. It is my blog. ;-)
Some of these selections below will contain spoilers while some I may keep quiet on, so just be forewarned.
With that, let us begin with discussing 20 films from 1989 that I think deserve a mention:
Considering how the two most recent installments were rather "meh" in their eventual product, it does make me wish that they had just kept Indiana Jones as a trilogy.
After the more erratic response given to the second installment Temple of Doom, there is a definite return to normalcy with The Last Crusade, but it has an added dose of warmth and fun with the addition of Sean Connery as Indy's father Henry along with the flashbacks of young Indy played by River Phoenix.
While I might consider Raiders to be a better overall film, I can't really deny how enjoyable that Last Crusade is and how it is one of the greatest sequels ever made. It all comes down to that dynamic between Ford and Connery, which easily makes the funniest out of all the entries.
I remember growing up how my mother always said that when movies had three installments that the second film was always the weakest and that the third was an improvement. She strongly felt this about Indiana Jones (considering that comment was made well before Crystal Skull was released), and while there are always exceptions to the rule (ahemGodfatherahem), I do think it is true amongst the Indiana Jones offerings.
Having said that, Temple of Doom is a lot of fun too.
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#19 - ENEMIES: A LOVE STORY
Written & Directed by Paul Mazursky
Co-written by Roger L. Simon
Mazursky is one of the filmmakers that I feel doesn't get enough attention these days, but he was always good at crafting very witty but sometimes dramatic films like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Next Stop Greewnich Village, Moscow on the Hudson, Down & Out in Beverly Hills, and my personal favorite: An Unmarried Woman.
One of the his best and more dramatic efforts was 1989's Enemies, A Love Story which resolves around a Holocaust survivor named Herman (Ron Silver) who migrated to the US and married his former maid Yadwiga (Margaret Sophie Stein) after he assumes his wife Tamara (Anjelica Huston) perished at Auschwitz.
Herman has also taken up an affair with Masha (Lena Olin) when he soon discovers that not only Tamara ended up surviving the concentration camp, but that she came to New York to be with him.
Like clockwork, both Yadwiga and Masha discover that they are pregnant.
This is a story that borders on the melodramatic and yet, it often feels surprisingly subtle and bleak with moments of intensity that feel earned.
Perhaps it is a film that suffers a little from truly being able to connect with some of its characters, particularly that of Herman, but Mazursky is able to get a lot of his female actors in terms of wonderful performances. Olin and Huston both received Oscar nominations (with some, at the time, thinking that Huston might pull off the victory) and they alone make the film worth checking out.
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#18 - DEAD POETS SOCIETY
Directed by Peter Weir
Considering I was only a year old when Dead Poets Society was first released, my first exposure to the film was seeing the trailer on a VHS rental. By the time I was 6 years old (circa 1994), I was very familiar with Robin Williams due to Hook, Aladdin, and his then newest film Mrs. Doubtfire.
I can remember seeing Dead Poets Society popping up and my mom immediately shutting down the idea of me seeing it: "No, it is for adults. It is too dark and too sad".
And sure, she was right...but that statement strangely stayed with me. It was my first instance of really remembering and taking notice to (even at that young of an age) an actor I thought was more of a funny guy and that he was in a movie that could be considered "sad" and "dark".
Nowadays, it is obvious the film has maintained a kind of solid pop culture hold particularly with Robin Williams' John Keating reciting the iconic "Carpe Diem" or the use of "O Captain, My Captain" complete with them standing on a desk.
On a random note, the film managed to win Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars in what was considered an upset over films like Crimes & Misdemeanors, Do The Right Thing,sex, lies, and videotape, and When Harry Met Sally.
Spoiler alert but you will be seeing all 4 of those films on the list ahead...so I do sort of feel inclined to say that Dead Poets Society was the weakest. However, that is the problem with comparisons in these cases.
There is a reason the film has endured for so long, but I do feel maybe these other films spoke to me on a deeper level.
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#17 - ROGER & ME
Written & Directed by Michael Moore
On the evening of March 23, 2003, I was watching the live broadcast of the 75th Oscars which was just THREE DAYS after we officially began The Iraq War. Tensions were high and we even had built in delays during the broadcast so news reports could be given before we returned to the ceremony.
A lot was said about this war and more informed opinions have involved in the years since, but there were those who believed right off the bat that this was not a war we should be having.
Michael Moore took to the stage winning his predicted Oscar for the iconic documentary Bowling for Columbine and proceeded to bash George W. Bush for the war. The audience boos, but some just sit in bemused or awkward silence.
Harrison Ford grinned, Martin Scorsese claps, Adrien Brody doesn't even know how to take it and glances around for reactions....but it was such a great and warranted moment and Michael Moore was totally right.
Needless to say, Michael Moore became a household name that night and it led me to seek out the film that had originally made him known in film circles: Roger & Me, a look at how the actions of GM CEO Roger Smith's closing down several auto plants in his hometown of Flint, Michigan led to the economical downfall of the area.
Moore portraying Smith as the out-of-touch buffoon that he was undoubtedly made the film seen as a disgrace to Smith and other higher ups at GM, but it became highly popular from people within the company who enjoyed seeing Smith be made a fool of.
The exposure led to GM's stock to drop, but Moore was also accused of falsifying details considering at the time, Flint was considered to be on something a slight rise (which we've since discovered would not be long lasting)...but regardless of what you have to say about Moore's choices, there is no denying that Smith deserved the drubbing.
Michael Moore may love to showboat, but his intentions are usually pretty spot on.
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#16 - TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN!
Written & Directed by Pedro Almodovar
This will likely be the most controversial film on this list...and the one that I often battle with in terms of the story it is trying to tell.
But it is Pedro Almodovar, a man who is able to master dark comedy in the most surprising of places.
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! is a film about rape/assault. You could completely argue that this is a film that plays out like a sick fantasy for a man who is willing to do whatever it takes to make a woman love him...but for those of you who haven't seen it, I will leave it vague as to whether or not that works out for the guy.
Ricky (an early role for Antonio Banderas) is a young man who is a released from a mental institution because he is deemed to be cured. However, he eagerly wants to seek out a relationship with a former porn star turned actress named Marina (Victoria Abril) with whom he slept with once when he actually escaped from the hospital.
After forcing himself into the apartment, he ties her up and tapes her mouth shut and makes sure she knows that he is doing this because it will be a way for her to get to know him better...and that by the end of it, she will fall in love and want to get married.
So yeah...this one is a doozy...
Almodovar, a filmmaker who is typically known for being a master when it comes to writing and directing women, faced some attacks for what seemed like a film that condoned the actions of a truly deranged man. I can understand that sentiment, but I view the film as a very dark melodramatic satire and despite its incredibly sinister undertones, we aren't meant to take it that seriously.
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#15 - HOMEWORK
Written & Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has gotten some mentions over the past couple of years on my blog via such films as Taste of Cherry and Where is the Friend's House? which both seem to be among the most known of his work.
Homework is something of a hidden gem, but what makes it stand out is that it is more of a narrative documentary.
Set at the Shahlid Masumi School, Kiarostami interviews several students along with some of the parents to get their insight on the standard practice of giving out homework to students...and while illiteracy among some of the students is a concern, the fact that some of the parents also suffer from illiteracy proves to be a major hurdle in them being able to help their children.
Perhaps the most famous documentary of 1989 is Michael Moore's "put him on the nap" outing of Roger & Me...but I did put Homework ahead of it because I think it hit more of a powerful note in the grand scheme. It is a very interesting, if not bleak, look at an issue that is certainly not discussed as much whether it be here in the States or somewhere like Iran.
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#14 - THE SEVENTH CONTINENT
Written & Directed by Michael Haneke
Co-written by Johanna Teicht
Leave it to Michael Haneke to destroy your soul and you still end up admiring him for it.
After making a bigger name for himself with such bleak and brutal films such as Funny Games, The Piano Teacher, The White Ribbon, and Amour, I feel like a lot of people have either forgotten about or not heard of The Seventh Continent, the film that began to net him notice on a wider scale.
You could argue that the film is something of a strange companion piece to that of Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman in that we are witnessing a fair amount of domestic life and the routines within...but unlike that other film, The Seventh Continent focuses on a family and despite the routines, we do sense a certain bleakness beneath the surface...until the end shows us that perhaps it was far more devastating than we ever realized.
Perhaps the ending wasn't a huge shock for me when I finally saw the film as I had already seen a fair amount of his films by that point...but Haneke is a dark and relentless filmmaker. For every torture porn film out there...and you can even argue Funny Games may even flirt with that category...they have nothing on the intense emotional gut punch that Haneke seems to provide in pretty much everything he does.
It is a film that truly taps into that feeling of whether there truly is much meaning to existing and then approaches it with such a nihilism. As with any Haneke effort, perhaps you should wait to view this when you are in a stable from of mind.
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#13 - MY LEFT FOOT
Written & Directed by Jim Sheridan
Co-written by Shane Connaughton/Original Work by Christy Brown
Jim Sheridan is a filmmaker who has seemingly disappeared from the public eye. I can't even recall the last time I have seen one of is films, but during the 80s and up to 2003's In America, he provided us with some very solid vehicles that were often wonderful gets for his performers.
The legend of Daniel Day-Lewis began, in my mind, with his work as Christy Brown in My Left Foot, the autobiographical film about said writer/painter who suffered from cerebral palsy and could only work with his functioning left foot.
A lot of what makes this film work aside from its inspiring story is the dedicated work of Daniel Day-Lewis and the incredibly strong support given by Brenda Fricker.
Day-Lewis is now considered to be retired but a lot of his legend rides on the fact that he was a method actor who lived deeply within his roles during shooting...but he never thought that made him a better actor than others, it was just the process that worked for him and he didn't try to flaunt it in others faces like...say...Jared Leto.
His commitment to this role is simply stunning and considering his passion and strong spirit make him a compelling figure to watch, it is also no surprise to me that Brenda Fricker, an Irish actress who at that point was only really known to UK audiences for her performance on the soap opera Casualty, won an Oscar along with him.
It is a movie of great warmth and compassion and while some may write it off as dull and a bit of a slog to sit through, I find it to be a very inspirational piece.
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#12 - THE LITTLE MERMAID
Written & Directed by John Musker & Ron Clements
I feel very confident in saying that, as a whole, The Little Mermaid not only holds up very well in terms of films from the Disney canon, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important as well.
The modern standard of the Disney animated film truly began with The Little Mermaid, as its incorporation of a Broadway musical structure helped launch the flailing Disney Studios into the era that would become known as the Disney Renaissance.
The late writer/lyricist Howard Ashman, along with his composing partner Alan Menken, were crucial to the development of The Little Mermaid...and the results are certainly being felt to this day. Even if Disney may be struggling a bit again, the films of the Disney Renaissance are still held in high regard.
Aside from the fact that the film contains a contender for one of the best Disney villains (Ursula), it also has such a classic feel in its animation that sets it apart from the more computerized elements that would be sprinkled throughout the other Renaissance outings right after.
Not to mention, that Menken/Ashman score is a marvel.
Considering I was only a year old when it came out, I can't even remember a time of my life where this film wasn't a part of it. The nostalgia factor is real, but it is just simply a gold standard of how to do an animated film musical.
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#11 - WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
Written by Nora Ephron
Directed by Rob Reiner
I think a lot of people may take the writing of Nora Ephron for granted.
If you want to talk about modern day romantic comedies, you can easily make the case that she was the master at the form...and in turn, that may make many scoff who consider romantic comedies as a lesser artform.
What is kind of remarkable though is how much these kinds of films can truly stick the landing when done to their best potential, and as you may have gathered, When Harry Met Sally is one of those films that reached that lofty potential.
Told over the span of a decade, Harry and Sally (Billy Crystal & Meg Ryan) who share a ride from Chicago to New York as he is heading for a new job out of college while she is moving on to journalism school. After seeming like a mismatch, their paths keep crossing throughout the 80s and their attraction begins to blossom the more they spend time together.
A lot of the formula that has made modern day romantic comedies comes from When Harry Met Sally and because of that, I feel like much like the writing of Ephron, we take the whole film for granted for that reason.
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#10 - SANTA SANGRE
Written & Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky
Co-written by Robert Leoni & Claudio Argento
Jodorowsky is known for being a pretty challenging filmmaker who is quite intense and bold with his representation of horror and violence...which does make you wonder how he would've fared if he had actually been able to tackle Dune.
It is kind of laughable to say that Santa Sangre is likely his most accessible film, but I would argue that it may be the closest thing he has to such a claim. I think a lot of that may be due to the fact that the film has more of a linear narrative...sort of like how Blue Velvet is easier to follow in David Lynch's filmography compared to Lost Highway or Mulholland Drive.
Santa Sangre is one psychotic and chaotic circus of a film...and the circus angle is fitting since our lead character Fenix (played Jodorowsky's son, Axel) was a former circus performer. We meet him at a mental institution as he sits naked in a tree where nurses try to coax him down with a plate of raw fish, because we all know raw fish just makes everyone overcome with excitement.
Fenix escapes the hospital and is able to locate his mother Concha (Blanca Guerra), who leads a truly disturbing religious cult and she forces him to commit brutal murders in her name.
So yes, this might be Jordorowsky's most accessible film, but to put it bluntly, it is still a mindfuck.
You could argue that film taps into that Freudian-esque mother obsession taken to a whole new level from that of Norman Bates in Psycho.
This is film that promises to provide madness and somehow still lives you in awe of the truly disturbing operatic scope that it provides. No words can truly do it justice, and it isn't necessarily for the faint of heart.
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#9 - KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE
Written & Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
For perhaps the biggest 180 turn I could possibly give you...
Is it just me or does Kiki's Delivery Service not get same level of attention and love as some of Miyazaki's other work?
I will admit that I don't think it is his best work by any means but considering the high quality of the majority of his output, it comes as no surprise that Kiki stands out even in a great year for film like 1989.
Very few filmmakers have had the kind of track record that Miyazaki has had...and particularly all the films that come out of Studio Ghibli.
Much like My Neighbor Totoro before it, there is a lot of pure joy while watching Kiki's Delivery Service that normally may make me scoff otherwise...but there is something magical about how this team can make a joyous film like this work.
Kiki is a young witch who is out on her year of independence in the real world, but she is finding difficulty fitting in with everyone around her while she works for an air courier service.
It's a simple but fanciful plot, and while I could see a lot of other studios/filmmakers dropping the ball here, it is the right kind of inspirational and lively film that Ghibli/Miyazaki know how to sell.
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#8 - DRUGSTORE COWBOY
Written & Directed by Gus Van Sant
Co-written by Daniel Yost
The film that began to put Gus Van Sant on the map, Drugstore Cowboy doesn't seem to be as remembered or as discussed as much as his other work. I had discovered the film through my interest in watching episodes of Siskel & Ebert and reading their reviews back in the 90s not long before Gene Siskel passed away. Both had included the film on their Top 10 lists of the year, and the description of it certainly intrigued me.
Set in the early 70s, a young couple named Bob and Dianne (Matt Dillon & Kelly Lynch), along with their friends Rick and Nadine (James LeGros & Heather Graham), bounce around the Pacific Northwest robbing pharmacies and hospitals as a means to support their drug addictions.
Drugstore Cowboy is the first of a few films on this top 10 that played a crucial role in highlighting a surge back to prominent indie filmmaking, which I will discuss more when I go into some of the other films on this list...but it was still a film that was mainly embraced by the critics while not receiving a lot of mainstream attention.
When I think about films that delve into drug addiction, I feel like two major examples that come to mind as they came out in the early stages of my filmgoing discovery were Trainspotting and Requiem for a Dream. There is undoubtedly a gritty bleak quality to those and frankly, I feel Drugstore Cowboy deserves to be seen and talked about as much as those.
I always think back to the scene where Matt Dillon has to identify Heather Graham's body in the morgue after she ODs. If I recall, it might one of the first instances, if not THE first instance where I saw such a scene in a film.
A truly haunting and unnerving piece of work that still ranks highly amongst Gus Van Sant's best.
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#7 - MYSTERY TRAIN
Written & Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Sigh...Jim Jarmusch.
While not exactly a household name, Jarmusch is one of those indie filmmakers who tends to be quite beloved in film circles but has yet to receive any kind of mainstream recognition like some of his contemporaries such as The Coen Brothers or Steven Soderbergh.
While I wouldn't consider it his best film, Mystery Train is very much a great film that ranks near the top of his filmography and is also a great example of what can be so wonderful about a Jarmusch film.
The film consists of three stories, all linked by the decrepit Arcade Hotel in Memphis.
The most remembered and perhaps indelible story is the first, which is called "Far From Yokohama", which sees a young Japanese couple named Mitsuko & Jun (Youki Kudoh & Masatoshi Nagase) traveling through the States but they stop in Memphis as Jun has a particular obsession with Elvis Presley...and conveniently enough, the rooms of the Arcade Hotel don't contain a TV...but each are adorned with a portrait of Presley.
But beyond that one story, the film feels like a quiet bubbling river moving along...and it is that sort of listless quality that may drive some crazy. You could say it is one of those films that shows a universe and we are there to witness it unfold in all its quirky, punk-like glory.
Also - the use of the "Chekhov's gun" motif is used so freshly in this film that I can't help but give it an extra bonus point for that purpose.
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#6 - CHAMELEON STREET
Written & Directed by Wendell B. Harris, Jr.
"Some people call me Mr. Wonderful...other people call me William Douglas Street, Jr."
When I first began watching Shark Tank years ago, I would always hear Kevin O'Leary refer to himself as Mr. Wonderful...but in truth, the REAL Mr. Wonderful is Wendell B. Harris, Jr. and William Douglas Street, Jr.
Chameleon Street is a film that premiered at the Toronto Festival of Festivals, or as it is now known, the Toronto International Film Festival...and would win the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance's 1990 Festival. Despite this, it would take nearly a full year for this small film to find a distributor and the reviews were extremely mixed.
For every review calling it a "disappointment" and a "disjointed" mess, there were others calling it "highly original" and "provocative"...and I suppose that can be the norm when dealing with a satire.
William Douglas Street Jr. is a high-school dropout and a highly experienced con artist who has posed as doctors and lawyers and athletes and even posing as a surgeon who somehow was able to perform 36 successful hysterectomies.
In recent years, Richard Brody of The New Yorker became a champion of the film, calling it "an overlooked masterpiece".
Yes, it is.
Chameleon Street was ahead of its time. The satire of it feels far more biting than anything else from that time period and it also shows us the great skill that Harris has...but Brody also pointed out that Harris' skill and content displayed in the film sadly mirrors the lack of attention he has been able to sustain for a career.
I have always felt that Wendell B. Harris, Jr. is someone who is a prime example of a marginalized figure who deserves way more than he has actually gotten. And while he is apparently in post-production on a documentary that his been a decade-plus long passion project that delves into such topics as the military industrial complex, I still think a work such as Chameleon Street is something that needs to be seen more. It made me happy to see Criterion promoting it on their Instagram last year.
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#5 - THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE, & HER LOVER
Written & Directed by Peter Greenaway
Out of all the filmmakers on this list, Peter Greenaway has the distinction of being the only one in which I have seen just one of his films.
You don't really hear a lot about Greenaway these days, and for whatever reason, the rest of his filmography never seemed to be as readily available to me. Perhaps I should change that as I do think some of his efforts look quite intriguing and divisive...not to mention the fact that THIS film is quite the feast in various ways.
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover is a film I discovered via that of online film critic James Berardinelli, who has been a fixture on his ReelViews website pretty much since the earliest days of the internet's mainstream infancy. He included the film on his Top 100 list, and it was one of several at the time (2002-2003ish) that I had not heard referenced anywhere before.
I didn't even see the film until around 2007, when it got a bit of a push following the Oscar win of Helen Mirren for The Queen...and needless to say, Mirren's Georgina was a far cry from Queen Elizabeth II.
Georgina is the wife of Albert (Michael Gambon), the abusive pig of a man who owns a French restaurant called Le Hollandais. Georgina is forced by Albert to come to the restaurant every night along with his posse, but one fateful evening, the neglected Georgina happens to catch the glance of a diner (Alan Howard) and before you know it, the two are in the bathroom beginning a fling.
In life, we often get immense pleasure out of sexual acts and great food...but somehow, this film manages to make you repulsed and enthralled with it all at the same time.
This is a film that manages to be glorious and repellant and sumptuous and revolting all at the same time...and it is better to go into blind, but with some caution.
Having said all this, I think I did myself a disservice not checking out the rest of Greenaway's work sooner, so I intend to change that!
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#4 - SEX, LIES, & VIDEOTAPE
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
The 1980s were a decade of glitz and access...a decade of greed and selfish tendencies; a decade in which conservatism dominated in a sickening way.
Amongst that glitz was a decline in prominence for great indie filmmaking. Sure, we did see the slow rise of Jim Jarmusch and particularly The Coen Brothers but there's a reason why when Roger Ebert reviewed 1984's Paris, Texas that he commented that film felt like it was a film that should've come out 10 years prior.
I have already discussed films like Mystery Train and Chameleon Street which fall under this indie umbrella, but there was something very potent about sex, lies, and videotape that made people at the time take notice and it truly feels like one film from that era that gave us hope that we would see an artsy indie uptick in the 1990s.
Even though he would go on to be an Oscar winning director who would manage to straddle the line between indies and bigger box office successes like Ocean's Eleven and Magic Mike, the story of Steven Soderbergh begins here...and frankly, I still think of this as his best film.
Much like Truffaut with The 400 Blows or Satyajit Ray with Pather Panchali, I do think this is one of the best debuts of a filmmaker...especially within the last 40-50 years. At the age of 26, he would win the Palme d'or at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, still the youngest solo director to ever take the prize...and for his debut at that!
sex, lies, and videotape may have been a key film in unearthing a new interest in indie cinema, but it was also the perfect film to fight against that same conservative nature that dominated the 80s. Even today, we still live in a society that is far more accepting of violence rather than sex. If you look back at Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, that miniseries led to frustrated couples finally being able to air their grievances with one another and caused an uptick/acceptance in divorce as a viable option rather than staying in an unhappy marriage.
Sex, as a topic, is usually treated with shame but I think the film shines a light on how it needs to be talked about way more.
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#3 - CRIMES & MISDEMEANORS
Written & Directed by Woody Allen
The legend of Woody Allen ends here.
Despite solid successes and even winning another Screenplay Oscar for Midnight in Paris back in 2012, I strongly feel that Woody Allen has not made a truly great film since Crimes & Misdemeanors...one of the rare films of his where along with his comedic subplot (involving him, Mia Farrow, and Alan Alda), we get treated to a darker dramatic story that doesn't feel forced or pretentious (with Martin Landau, Anjelica Huston, and Jerry Orbach).
In fact, the film completely portrays these two stories as separate entities and doesn't even try to combine them at first...which might seem jarring, but it actually works out remarkably well. Then, at the end, the stories sort of collide by happenstance when they attend a wedding of a mutual friend/colleague.
Woody Allen, back when he did routinely place himself in his work, plays Cliff, a documentarian who is hired by his pompous brother-in-law Lester (Alda) to make a film about his life and successes as a producer. During the process, Cliff starts to fall for Lester's associate producer Holley (Farrow) even though he is married to Lester's sister Wendy (Joanna Gleason).
Meanwhile, Judah Rosenthal (Landau) is a well-respected and wealthy ophthalmologist who is having an affair with a flight attendant named Dolores (Huston) who is done with Judah's lies about leaving his wife for her. After she threatens to go to his wife Miriam with the truth, Judah panics and talks to his brother Jack (Orbach), who is involved in organized crime...and you probably already know where that is going.
I feel like Crimes & Misdemeanors is such a success that it comes as no surprise that certain themes from the film would become nearly identical plot points in future works of his such as Match Point, Cassandra's Dream, Irrational Man, and Wonder Wheel. Even though Allen himself felt Match Point was one of his best efforts, there is no denying that a lot of that film owes a debt to Crimes &Misdemeanors which truly manages to walk the fine line that is tragicomedy and makes it often quite profound.
Perhaps what really sells that angle is the small subplot where Cliff shows Holley an interview he made with Professor Levy (played by famed NYU Professor of Psychoanalysis Martin S. Bergmann) where he speaks about his thoughts on life and the universe...only for him to commit suicide during this process.
The film ends with a montage that has Bergmann as Levy speaking in voiceover that I find to be one of the most quietly beautiful moments I have seen in a film:
"It is only we, with our capacity to love, that give meaning to the indifferent universe. And yet, most human beings seem to have the ability to keep trying, and even to find joy from simple things, like their family, their work, and from the hope that future generations might understand more".
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#2 - DEKALOG
Written & Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
Dekalog was originally presented as a 10-part miniseries on Polish television, but most of them were released as short films in the United States with two of them getting particular notice: A Short Film About Love and A Short Film About Killing.
As it stands, each of the 10 parts focused on one of the Ten Commandments....and even the weaker parts still stand as quite good.
So yes...it was originally a miniseries...but as a whole, this is one of the great masterworks of the 80s and also a crowning achievement of Krzystof Kieslowski's career...which is saying something considering he would go on to make The Double Life of Veronique and the iconic Three Colours Trilogy.
When I originally posted my "Best Films of the 1980s" list a couple of years ago, I debated putting Dekalog on the list, but decided against it...and I will now atone for that by placing it on this list.
My logic at the time was that Dekalog was still technically a TV miniseries, so I excluded it from consideration...but the truth is that I feel like it is too good to ignore here...and besides, we discovered it in the States as a film...sort of similar to both Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage and Fanny & Alexander.
The setting for the film is a housing project in communist Poland and each episode focuses on various tenants facing an ethical dilemma based around, as I mentioned, the Ten Commandments.
Kieslowski passed away only 7 years after Dekalog was first released but in that 7 year period, he truly established a legacy as one of the best filmmakers to have ever lived...and sometimes I still think he is a bit of an unsung hero.
I feel a bit speechless about Dekalog if I am being honest. I read one comment on Letterboxd that viewed the film as a religious experience...and that isn't even related to the "Commandment" connection. It just feels like a monumental moment in artistic expression in a way that not many pieces of entertainment are.
It is art being presented at its best potential...or as close to it as one can get.
Frankly, Dekalog is in a class by itself...but then again, so is my #1 choice and I think both of them warrant the elusive spot. For now, that #1 film will be...
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#1 - DO THE RIGHT THING
Written & Directed by Spike Lee
The sad truth about Do the Right Thing is how relevant the film still remains...and that relevancy never left because its themes on race and police brutality have always been an issue.
It is even more crazy when you realize that in two instances, Spike Lee films lost out on major awards due to voting bodies opting for films that took on a rather docile look at racism. Do the Right Thing was infamously snubbed in the Best Picture and Director races and lost the former prize to Driving Miss Daisy. Years later, Blackkklansman lost Best Picture to Green Book, and while it didn't really have much of a shot, it is no wonder Spike Lee tried to leave the ceremony after its announcement...and in the press room afterwards, he made the proclamation that he doesn't get why he keeps losing to films about white and black people driving.
When I wrote about Do The Right Thing a couple of years ago, I had made a comment based off an interaction I had with a customer at one of my previous jobs.
At this job, I was actually the only white guy on staff. I was closest with a black native New Yorker who was just slightly younger than me in age...but he was talking to me about Do The Right Thing as he had never seen it, but kept hearing about it.
At the same time, we had a black female customer enter the store and she overheard the conversation and she interjected: "You know what I think? I think Spike Lee should've called the movie The Right Thing!".
This is in response to the fact that the character of Mookie, played by Lee himself, starts a riot where he destroys his place of work, Sal's Pizza, after the police end up killing the character of Radio Raheem in a clear case of police brutality.
It makes me think of that oft-quoted line of Martin Luther King Jr: "I think we've got to see that a riot is the language of the unheard".
And I thought a lot about that quote during 2020 as people rioted and protested the death of George Floyd at the hands of Derek Chauvin...and, it must be said, the COUNTLESS senseless deaths of people of color at the hands of the police.
Do The Right Thing was perhaps a bit too radical for the Academy, but it was the truth in 1989 and it is the truth today...sadly.
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FINAL THOUGHTS:
I do think it is remarkable how many fantastic films were released in '89. It just never seems to get the same kind of discussion as 1999 does in terms of great cinema years of the last 40 years or so.
And to be fair, this list left up some fairly popular films like Batman or other films that seem to have strong fanbases to this very day like Steel Magnolias or Say Anything. I also didn't mention Best Picture nominees Born on the Fourth of July, Field of Dreams, and the eventual winner Driving Miss Daisy...well aside from the fact that Daisy was the one to beat the snubbed Do The Right Thing.
As for the other two, I don't think anything is really wrong with July per se, but it is just not strong enough to make my top 20. I also never bought into the sap fest that is Field of Dreams...which I know may be an unpopular opinion but so be it.
I do want to address the movie Heathers, which had been classified for many years as a 1988 film but it didn't technically get a more widespread release till 1989. I had placed the film on my top 10 for 1988...which is a list I made last year as it was the 35th Anniversary. If I were to include Heathers on this list, it would've likely been somewhere in the #9-12 range.
I feel like a lot of my output lately has been a bit more erratic and a lot of that has just been me falling into a bit of a malaise, but I do hope to post a lot more stuff this summer compared to this spring.
Hopefully I can put up my discussion about 1999 next, but there are a few pieces I have been bouncing around with and one of them might get finished first. I guess I will just leave you in suspense then.
Until then, go watch one of these movies! Or all of them!
With so much content out there these days, it can be a bit surprising when something just falls into your lap that you had heard nothing about.
On April 11, 2024, Netflix dropped a Limited Series called Baby Reindeer that was created, written by, and starring Scottish actor/writer/comedian Richard Gadd. I had no prior knowledge of Gadd, but when the series began with a caption implying that it was based on a true story, I had to wonder. I mean...how true is "true". I always think back to the Coen Brothers and how Fargo begins.
It just so happens that Gadd did have a stalker, and the creation of this series came from the one-man stage show he had developed/performed in London.
Many of the elements from beyond this point were fictionalized, but Gadd does take certain incidents from his life to inform his fictional counterpart...and it takes the series into some darker directions that I certainly wasn't expecting at first.
Gadd's fictional counterpart is a 25-year-old Donny Dunn, the age Gadd was when this incident occurred. We first meet him at a police precinct in which he wants to report that he is being stalked...but when he is asked why it has taken him six months to make a report, he doesn't have an answer.
We then flashback to where Donny meets his stalker, the middle-aged Martha (Jessica Gunning). Martha comes into the pub where Donny is working and seems lonely and distraught. He does take pity on her and asks what she would like to order. She claims that she "can't afford anything", but he offers to get her a cup of tea on the house.
From there, Martha goes on and on about how she is very prolific lawyer who had worked with some of the "great, political minds" of the country, which apparently includes former British Prime Ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair. This begs the question: how can a lawyer not afford a cup of tea...or any drink for that matter?
The signs were pointing to Baby Reindeer being a very dark comedy...perhaps like some kind of strange Beef/Fleabag hybrid...but instead it takes a few darker turns. My final opinion of the show is actually quite positive, but I do struggle with some of these tonal shifts. I found myself wondering if certain events played out in such a way or if Gadd was writing the storyline in order to justify it as in many cases, I found myself wanting to yell at the screen for him to do more to try to stop Martha.
Donny looks onto Martha with pity, but it does seem as if on some subconscious level he sees someone else who needs help just like him.
My first response to Donny was that he was just some noob who was not handling having an admirer and instead of taking the appropriate steps to stop her, he seemed to almost milk her obsession. It makes you question what is exactly is up with this guy; is he simply a noob or is there something deeper within the service?
Early on, we get a scene where we see him joining a Trans dating site. No explanation is given, but you are left to wonder if he is perhaps fetishizing trans people...and it is made even more questionable when he creates an alias and acts as though he is in construction and not a struggling comedian who is working as a bartender.
Eventually we discover that right out of college, Donny was sexually assaulted repeatedly by a writer named Darien O'Connor that he greatly admired, and he had hoped would give him a jumpstart to his career. The experience led him to questioning his own sexuality and he would find himself sleeping around and taking drugs to try to cope. The self-loathing and self-destructive tendencies make a little more sense after this...not to say it excuses how he treats others. It is that old saying "HURT people hurt people."
Donny's desire to be wanted and sought after plays right into Martha's obsession. He may not see her as a sexual being, but he does love knowing someone views him as the best thing ever. She takes to calling him her "baby reindeer" which we assume has something to do with his facial structure and the fact he is roughly 20 years younger than her.
However, Donny's carelessness to the situation at first does become a bit more bracing when he realizes that Martha is indeed a former lawyer but one who has been charged for stalking and assault on multiple occasions.
Martha's obsession becomes Donny's own obsession as if he can't seem to live without being Martha's object. She will send him emails (because he does, at first, make sure she doesn't get his phone number) and the only reason she is able to email is due to its inclusion on his website. The emails keep pouring in but none of them are enough to incriminate here even though she is a former felon for the exact crime she is now committing.
I do want to take time to discuss the acting as I feel like our two leads are definitely worth praising. It is no surprise that due to the fact this is his story, Gadd throws himself into the role with abandon. He manages to walk that fine line between being a sympathetic anti-hero with great confidence...and a lot of that confidence comes from how vulnerable he is. He is not afraid to put himself out there and to make a fool of himself...but I would be remiss to not discuss Jessica Gunning's work as Martha.
I had some slight knowledge of Gunning prior to this, but not really familiar with her work. I had only seen her name pop up in various theatre productions or on the BBC show The Outlaws she did with, of all people, Christopher Walken.
Gunning has a difficult task here and in some ways, you can relate a role like this to something like Glenn Close's Alex from Fatal Attraction. This is a whole different kind of woman scorned, though. It isn't so much that she is a woman scorned, but she is a woman who is clearly suffering from a mental illness and not receiving the proper care.
Fatal Attraction, as entertaining as it is, didn't really try to analyze Alex as a character which makes her seem like just a straight up villain. The reason the role worked was that Glenn Close, being the stellar actor that she is, put in the work to understand the psychological backstory and even though the script may not tell us any of this, SHE does.
Gadd is able to show us that Donny contributes to egging on Martha, but he also shows that deep down, Martha is actually a person who simply needs help and perhaps has a method to her madness.
Nearing the climax of the series, Donny is able to incriminate Martha when she finally sends him a voicemail (once he slips and gives her a way to contact him via cell) that is violently threatening to him and his parents (which, by the way, the actor playing Donny's father is hilarious with his thick Scottish brogue telling off Martha over the phone)...but in the courtroom scene in which she pleads guilty to all of the charges against Donny and his family, Gunning is glorious.
I am not saying I condone what Martha does, but there is no way for me to not feel sympathy for her in that moment. Jessica Gunning was a marvel in this role, because she was able to dig deep into finding the humanity in Martha that truly makes you realize that this woman needed serious help.
And who else needs help? Donny.
In fact, even after Martha is sent to prison for 9 months which will then be followed by a restraining order, Donny still listens to all of the voicemails she left him...which he went so far as to categorize by her moods when she sent them.
If he is feeling down, he will listen to voicemails he finds in the "complimentary" section...and even earlier on, the whole ordeal actually turns him on to the point where he starts masturbating to her even though he admits to himself that he is totally not attracted to her.
The final scene is him at a pub listening to a voicemail that finally reveals as to why she calls him "baby reindeer". You could argue that it falls into a similar territory as Citizen Kane in that as a child, Martha had a small plushy reindeer toy that she loved and she still has it. She felt that Donny represented the "spit image" of this stuffed reindeer: "same nose, same eyes, same cute wee bum..."
In a recent interview, Gunning said she had already recorded this monologue prior to filming the courtroom sentencing and that she "clung" to it. She stated as follows:
"So in the courtroom scene, in the scene when she’s on her own at the bar, that’s actually the voicemail I read just to get me into that – I find it so emotional, that final voicemail. That’s the thing that I clung to in terms of her past. That voicemail is absolutely the thing I clung to for sure because I just found that so emotional."
In the end, both Donny and Martha are lost in various ways. Even though Donny is technically free of Martha, he never truly will be as he can't seem to let go of her obsession.
Martha probably got what she deserved, but I was left hoping she could get the help she needed. Donny feels like maybe he is on some kind of right path, but he still seems to be showing signs of potential self-destruction...even as far as him going back to the man that sexually assaulted him in hopes that he could somehow get another chance even if it may mean putting himself in danger again.
For some of its more erratic and indulgent moments, Baby Reindeer ends up leaving you feeling a bit breathless and uncomfortable. It is kind of hard to deny the appeal of a project when it manages to work so well at bringing those kinds of emotions out of you.
Check this one out. Just be forewarned that you will see depictions of sexual assault and also violence towards someone who is trans.
