Fare thee well 2009
By John Esther
It may have ended the decade on a grand -– millions of them -– note at the box office, but 2009 was a resounding dud of a year at the movies.
Granted I saw a fewer films last year than usual -– including a few possible winners such as Antichrist, The Hurt Locker, Where the Wild Things Are, Moon and Capitalism: A Love Story -– but what I did see left greatness to be wild-eye-ly desired.
Having written that, here are my top picks, placed in no particular order:
Dawson, Island 10 – After the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende, was assassinated by an United States-backed military coup, many of Allende’s closest political friends and allies were sent to a prison on Dawson Island. Brilliantly reconstructed by noted Chilean filmmaker, Miguel Littin, the conditions of the illegal imprisonment were brutal but these good men endured, thanks to their superior intellect and good humor.
The Road – In this desolate dystopian future, those who tend to survive are cannibalistic hicks chasing down the remainders of the family unit in director John Hillcoat’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. A worthy futuristic film in the vein of Robert Altman’s Quintet, brilliant direction, set design and solid acting mark the bleakest, and thus most courageous, feature of 2009.
The Damned United – A healthy look at English soccer right before it took off into a massive corporate enterprise where players made multimillionaire contracts, director Tom Hooper tells the story of Brian Clough’s (Michael Sheen) 44-days as the coach of Leeds United. A smooth, essentially flawless film The Damned United features the best acting ensemble of the year.
Invictus - I never thought I would see the day when I would pick a Clint Eastwood film as one of my favorites, but this film about one segment of political prisoner-turn-President Nelson Mandela’s (Morgan Freeman) plan to reconcile the post-Apartheid nation of South Africa through professional sports was an inspiring master stroke of inspiration by a director who finally put his machismo inclinations to good purpose. Timely.
Avatar - Picking a Clint Eastwood film as a top ten pick is one thing, but when writer-director James Cameron makes one of the best films of the year, something strange this new decade comes. Years in the making, Avatar was a much smarter film than I ever expected and certainly was the most fun I had watching a movie in 2009.
A Single Man - Worthy of Christopher Isherwood’s writing, Tom Ford's feature directorial debut story about a lonely gay man living in Los Angeles, 1962 burst with radiant images of love, loss and lust in rather equal measures. And Colin Firth’s lead performance was on the three or four best performances I saw all year.
Precious: Based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire - Speaking of exceptional acting, I do not know where she was channeling it from, but Mo’Nique’s performance as a lousy mother in Lee Daniels’ film about a pregnant, undereducated and obese 16-year-old girl (Gabourey Sidibe) born under the punches and kicks of a terrible home was stunning –- a highlight to a wonderful film about a rarely-wonderful world.
Burma VJ - When the Buddhist Monk protests of 2007 inspired people to take to the streets of Rangoon and elsewhere to protest the junta’s illegitimacy -- only to meet the strong arms of the martial lawlessness –- a small group of guerilla reporters were right there to capture the heroism and the horrors of the citizens and their relationship to their rulers. Working at great peril if the reporters are caught recording, they are in serious trouble. Very important on many levels, director Anders Østergaard’s documentary reminds us firsthand how valuable the media are to a free society and not-so-free society.
The Cove - A sad inversion to March of the Penguins, Louie Psihoyos’ thrilling and chilling documentary follows a small group of brave activists as they try and save dolphins from the annual slaughter conducted in the picturesque town of Taijii, Japan and elsewhere. That its box office receipts did not even break a million dollars, compared to the 100-million plus March of the Penguins had, only compounds the tragedy for all those Flippers around the world.
The Wedding Song - One of the most original voices to emerge during the first decade of the millennium, director-writer-actor Karin Albou’s film about a Jewish girl, Myriam (Lizzie Brocheré) and her Arab friend, Nour (Olympe Borval) in Tunis, Tunisia, 1942, explored multiple dualities -- culture-faith; Jew-Arab; pro-Semitism/anti-Semitism; femininity-masculinity; tradition-modernism; etc. -- against an original World War II backdrop.
