France's 'A Prophet' Tops 2009 'Sight & Sound' List

When the subject of film lists comes up, the most common barometer is Sight & Sound, the British film journal that has, for coming up on 50 years, been the gold standard of ranking the all-time great films. It is instrumental with helping establish Citizen Kane's reputation since it was first named the top film in the world back in 1962. But it's not just the list that comes out every decade that makes Sight & Sound so valuable. There's the year-end lists, too, and for 2009, the publication (by way of In Contention) has chosen Jacques Audiard's A Prophet as the best film of the year. Before you turn you attention away because it's not a film on a lot of lips right now, the list includes potential Oscar fare like The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, and Up. A Prophet won Best Film at the London Film Festival, took home several European Film Awards, and was France's official submission in the Foreign Language category at this year's Academy Awards, so its selection here is not exactly a bolt out of the blue. It is rare for movies that gross over $100 million to make the Sight & Sound countdown, and this year we had two. That's kind of the balance - along with the third American selection of The Hurt Locker - for some more daring arthouse fare. 1 - A Prophet - Jacques Audiard, director
2 - The Hurt Locker - Kathryn Bigelow, director
2 - 35 Shots of Rum - Claire Denis, director
4 - The White Ribbon - Michael Haneke, director
5 - Let the Right One In - Tomas Alfredson, director
6 - Up - Pete Docter, director
6 - White Material - Claire Denis, director
8 - Bright Star - Jane Campion, director
8 - Antichrist - Lars von Trier, director
10- Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino, director

Comments

[Joe Somebody]

Is there a Claire Denis facination here or somethinG? just wondering,

[SEAN]

WOW thank goodness!...

This is a pretty solid list in my opinion, I just dunno why the fuck Antichrist is in there? Is it really one of the top films of the year, I call bulshit...

BUT thank Goodness for BRIGHT STAR!!!!!!!...

finally someone is recognizing Jane Campion's unbelievable return to directing with this film, its a beautiful film and recommend it to anyone to see it, the cinematography alone is just breathtaking..