Tuesday, July 8, 2008

by Ari

I thought it would be interesting to take a second look at the films of 2006 since I'm still sort of fixated on this two year anniversary thing. What surprised me in particular was going back and reviewing my Best Films of the Year list for '06 and realizing how differently I feel about it two years later. It's not that I dislike any of the choices (all quality films), but certain movies have improved over time while others have lessened in retrospect. (On a sidenote: after 6 months I'd revise my '07 list too, but not as drastically. Just knock There Will Be Blood up to #1)

At the time I wrote that my favorite films were (in order): Days of Glory, Curse of the Golden Flower, The Good Shepherd, The Prestige, Time, Inland Empire, Children of Men, The Lives of Others, Volver and Casino Royale.

It's certainly a fine mix of international film, and I'd still argue that you can't go wrong with any of those choices. Days of Glory is a piercing, beautifully made, tremendously acted World War II ensemble about a neglected piece of French history. Curse of the Golden Flower is grand cinematic opera by one of the visionary stylists of Asian film. The Good Shepherd is a meticulously researched thriller about the creation of the CIA, with a restrained, career-defining performance by Matt Damon. The Prestige is a wicked study on the tragic results of obsession and rivalry while Time is a disturbing exploration of romantic longing and our fixation with image and beauty. Inland Empire is uncompromised genius. Children of Men is real, thought-provoking science-fiction. The Lives of Others is one of the best debuts of the decade. Volver is all heart, Casino Royale a triumphant return of a cinematic icon. As I said, it's hard to go wrong with those movies.

That said, two very important films are missing from that list. The first is Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly, one of the smartest, emotionally resonant, visually arresting films of his career. Linklater makes small, intimate movies with subtlety and depth. You don't really find splashy emotional beats with his work and A Scanner Darkly is no exception. Linklater faithfully adapted Philip K. Dick's dark humor and disturbed tragedy with quiet power. The final note is terribly sad, but it does so without asking you to cry. There's no manipulation in this film; there's only brutal truth.

The other omission is particularly major for me since I've decided the film is perhaps my favorite of 2006. Sometimes a great film can take time to fully understand and appreciate. I was impressed by the ambition and singularity of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette when it first came out (I gave it an "honorable mention" on the list), but after rewatching it several times I find myself too fascinated and moved by its unique presentation and masterful direction. This is anachronistic high art by one of the most vital American voices working today. I've said it before, but Sofia Coppola and Paul Thomas Anderson are the leaders of American film right now, and both of them bring to mind the defiant individualism and thematic maturity of the great masters of the '70s. It's fair to say Marie Antoinette is for the historical drama what McCabe and Mrs. Miller is for the Western. It's revisionism at its best, the type of work that reminds me that contemporary filmmakers have the ability to match their influences. In two years when we have to review the decade in full, Marie Antoinette is an essential film to consider.