The Big Picture's Top Ten Films of the Decade

When counting down my top ten films of the year, I cautioned that it's not an exact science. While I think most knowledgeable movie fans can acknowledge what films are good and what films are bad, saying this one is better than another is usually very difficult business. As you can imagine, that's only magnified when looking at a decade's worth of films. Different critics look for different things. I appreciate good visuals and good acting, but to me, it always starts with the story. Why? Because 20 years down the road, groundbreaking effects of today will be commonplace or (more likely) outdated. So the story, primarily the way it's written - efficiently, chock full of good dialogue that serves the characters - means more to me than anything else. Why does Silence of the Lambs hold up, or Chinatown or Lawrence of Arabia? Certainly, each of those has other fantastic components, but if not for the screenplays, they'd be sunk. The past ten years have been great for cinematic storytelling, and if anything, we've seen a growing influence of foreign language films on the Hollywood machine. Stars and directors are crossing over, great films from other countries are being remade, and in general, American audiences are more open to the ways other cultures deal with their histories and fiction on the silver screen. It hasn't happened yet, but I predict we're no more than ten years away from our first foreign language Best Picture winner. My list of the decade's best, though not by design, features five foreign language films. Of these, only two bear much similarity at all, and on top of their brilliant storytelling, these films look and sound different, from a cold East Germany to the breathtaking views of rural China. As for the American films, only one failed to make a considerable amount of money or earn significant Oscar nominations, which signals to me that maybe, just maybe, the studios are listening to a larger demographic than the opening weekend 18-34 crowd. 1 - City of God (2002) City of God either glamorizes or accurately reflects the slum of Rio de Janeiro that bears its name. It's a powder keg, with more energy busting off the screen than just about any other film this decade. Scorsese’s GoodFellas is likely the best film that chronicles the entire breadth of a gang – introducing its characters young, green, and stupid and leaving them cold, abusive, wrecked, and in some cases, dead - but City of God is a very close second. Very, very close. Based on true accounts of Brazilian gang violence, City of God picks up in the 1960s, when Rocket was just another slum kid. His older brother was one-third of the Tender Trio, the slum's only "gang," that robbed gas trucks just to avoid eating dirt another day. Eventually, the Trio gives way to Lil Ze, who, at maybe 13 years old, is as fearsome and unflinching as any villain you're likely to find. City of God marked the arrival of director Fernando Meirelles, who has chosen as his subject a terrifying, violent, and stunning story that glues you to the screen. He does not disappoint, and neither does his remarkable, astonishing, and technically perfect film. 2 - No Country for Old Men (2007) A coming-to-grips story masquerading as a taut thriller, the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men is not about the Terminator-styled hunt carried out by Javier Bardem's unforgettable Anton Chigurh, nor is it about Josh Brolin's border-crossing run for his life. Read the title. It has surprised me for two years that some people don't get what's going on here: Bardem and Brolin are just characters in the story Tommy Lee Jones is telling. He's a man who has outlived his times. The film does not require repeat viewings, but it welcomes them very easily. All great films hold up to closer and closer inspection, and each scene and nearly every line of dialogue from No Country works toward the ultimate goal, only gaining in importance the more times you watch it. The Coens know criminals better than most filmmakers, and this might be their crowning achievement. 3 - The Lives of Others (2006) You hear a lot of rumors about what might have gone on behind the Berlin Wall, a political, cultural, and social barrier that has long been a favored destination for authors and filmmakers. Writer-director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck tackles East Germany's secret police and its habits of spying on the country's citizens, particularly artists, in the 1980s. The film is notable for some external reasons. The story is great, it's the feature film debut of Henkel von Donnersmarck (a fact that shouldn't be overlooked, particularly in a discussion of the decade's best work), and the facets of a successful production are all there. But from another perspective, The Lives of Others plays an important role in the brief history of post-Communist films in Germany. A common reaction throughout the world is to thoroughly investigate the downfall of those who used to be in control of things, but that hasn't happened much in Germany. It's starting to change now, and this film is a big reason why. It's shocking to consider, but this film was not allowed to screen at the Berlin Film Festival in 2006, and Henckel von Donnersmark also had to overcome great resistance in raising the film's meager $2 million budget. And despite it all, just look at this wonderful, intelligent film. 4 - Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) It's hard to imagine a more poetic film visually, narratively, or physically. Ang Lee reconfigured the world's notions of a martial arts film by making the violence more about the movement and the emotions that drive it than it is the quick strike one-against-many fight scenes we had come to expect. An epic story that Lee never cowers away from exploring completely, Crouching Tiger is a sumptuous, beautiful piece of work, functioning tonally almost like a classic opera told in distinct acts that provide variations on a singular theme. Obviously, by its placement here, I think it was overlooked for Best Picture in 2001, although it did become just the seventh foreign language film to be nominated (with ten nominees and four wins overall). You can also watch the best films from that year again and award Lee the Best Director trophy without needing much defense. And audiences took to the wu shu fantasy, as well, making it the only foreign language film to ever earn more than $100 million at the US box office. 5 - The Incredibles (2004) Very subtly, Pixar made a play for adults who may not necessarily have children with 2004's The Incredibles. Since then, most of the company's movies can play equally well with audiences just looking for terrific filmmaking (that just happens to be animated), following the blueprint used by writer-director Brad Bird. What has that done? It has allowed Pixar to tell more mature stories (think of the first ten heartbreaking minutes of Up or the high-wire act of going without dialogue for much of Wall-E). On its own, The Incredibles also blows up some of the superhero fascination prevalent in today's movie marketplace. Not completely on its own, but The Incredibles helped expand what we expect out of superhero characters, who now have to juggle two arcs, one personal, one "professional", to move audiences. And this one's just a hell of a lot of fun, which is worth something. 6 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Writer Charlie Kaufman and director Michel Gondry are in perfect sync, Kate Winslet charms us endlessly, and Jim Carrey gives his best performance to date - comedic or dramatic - in a heartbreaking tale of heartbreak and how we handle it, or, most often, how we don't. Absurd but startlingly real, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind just breaks the mold. While the journey of the characters is one we instantly relate to, Kaufman's screenplay - which might be the best of the decade - and Gondry's interpretation of it make this the decade's Annie Hall. In other words, it spoke about the fleeting nature of love and its undying impact on us in a contemporary language in a way other films haven't. 7 - Amélie (2001) Almost in direct contrast to Eternal Sunshine is the optimistic, quirky, syrupy Amélie from French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Amélie is full of heart, charm, emotion, humor, idealism, and style. Jeunet creates an imaginary Paris (or at least a storybook version of the City of Lights), free of tourists, trash, and stench, and stockpiles it with romantic hues and the spritely Audrey Tautou, giving Amélie a mischievous touch that makes her a character you can't help but root for. An easy film to fall in love with, Amélie is also a smart movie that looks nothing like the rest of the films this decade. 8 - Amores Perros (2000) The first of three semi-connected films by director Alejandro González Iñárritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga, Amores Perros helped firmly secure Mexico's place in a new wave of international cinema by doing exactly what the dogs in the film's fighting pits do - it goes straight for the throat. A complicated but not convoluted narrative that overlaps three stories of separate but equal hunger in an overcrowded, financially strapped Mexico City, Amores Perros plays with structure but its real achievement is the frank depiction of the characters and their times and struggles. Though not as overtly political, this film has always reminded me of Costa-Gavras' Z, a Best Picture nominee in 1970. It reveals to us a certain ugliness, and though it is clearly informed by more western/English language films, it forges its own way visually and narratively. 9 - Memento (2000) Getting high marks for ingenuity, Christopher Nolan's breakthrough turned movie storytelling on its ear, telling a story forward in order to go backward. I have many times set out to watch the film more analytically to see if all the pieces work in the context they're intended to, but I always get wrapped up in how good the film is and how terrific Guy Pearce's performance is. I think that's a credit to Nolan's abilities. By the way, is there a better actor who is more consistently ignored than Guy Pearce? As the saying goes, this has been often imitated but never duplicated. And certainly, in the realm of film noir - where this clearly sits - concepts like this are not new. And I believe that's what I love most about it: Film noir has been left for dead many times, but there's always a visionary, whether it's Ridley Scott's future-noir Blade Runner or Nolan's first masterpiece, who recognizes and astutely exploits its many virtues, from tough, amoral anti-heroes to a grittier visual palette that becomes another character in the framework of the film. 10- There Will Be Blood (2007) Daniel Day-Lewis has few peers, and this is his best performance. It might be the best performance period since Robert De Niro's Jake La Motta. Playing the ruthless oil baron Daniel Plainview in Paul Thomas Anderson's sweeping There Will Be Blood, Day-Lewis is a combination of Charles Manson and Charles Foster Kane, all ambition and spite, wrapped in barbed wire, and one misread glance away from ripping your throat out. The production looks and sounds authentic, but more importantly, is a visual and aural match for its centerpiece. When Anderson directed Boogie Nights over a decade ago, he was a wildly imaginative young storyteller whose maturity needed to match his energetic artistry. He's done that here, surpassing anything else he's ever made.

Comments

[andrew bower]

just a little disappointed not to see in bruges on the list! hopefully it was at least close! its become on of my favorite films of all time.

[MRPigg]

Not a stinker in the bunch, and having read/listened to you for a few years now, #1 is not a shocker at all. I am totally surprised to not see United 93 here, though. Especially considering how defining of the decade the subject matter is.

[Get The Big Picture]

A narrow miss, as was the case for about eight other movies. That's why it took me so long to write it...

[SEAN]

Wow pretty top knotch list, even though I haven't seen 8 out of the 10... (I've seen parts of those 4 but not the whole picture),

I've heard of 9 out of the 10....& have heard these films transcend above all else & they are films that are MUST see's, & I've heard that time & time over

No Lord of The Rings film up there??? Asking b/c I know your a huge fan...
No Slumdog Millionaire?
No Brokeback Mountain?
No Man on Wire?
No Pan's Labyrinth?
No 4 Months, 3 Weeks, & 2days?
No Children of Men?

I would have loved to see at least 1 film based upon a real life person on the list....
i.e. The Pianist, Ray, MILK, Capote, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly, Elizabeth I, The Last King of Scotland, La Vie en Rose, I'm Not There, The Baader-Meinhof Complex, The Passion of the Christ, Hotel Rwanda, etc etc etc...

However excellent list, I honestly can't argue with such monumental films....I just brought up some suggestions/alternatives perhaps/opinions/ &/or questions...

[anybody]

Great list, happy to see Lives of Others, Eternal Sunshine (which would probably be my number one), Amelie and Memento on there. City of God is fantastic as well and I also totally agree with Incredibles being the best Pixar and deserving of a spot.. The only omission I can think of would be Royal Tenenbaums. I also think that There Will be Blood, as I have said many times, will be the most important film of the decade when all is said and done. The acting comparison is spot on but I think it extends to the films, how Raging Bull has gained more and more respect over the years and now sits at #4 on AFI's list.

[Nelson]

City of God is my number one
Brokeback Mountain at a close second

[knives]

Lives of Others, never understood the hype. A spoon feeding, black and white 'thriller' without any thrill. The aspect I can recommend is Ulrich Muhe, but he was in so many better movies, including a fantastic adaptation of The Castle, that I still can't recommend the film.

[Brandon]

Nice list surprisingly I need to see Memento still. I hated There Will Be Blood but its not my list is it? I hated it because the movie was absolutely boring after the first hour. His performance was great but did you need however many hours to see how crazy and madenned he was? I want a movie that is a little more dynamic.