My Greatest Films Ever

As you might have noticed, this blog is no longer active.

But the occasion of the 2012 Sight & Sound "Greatest Films of all time" poll was to good to be passed up. The poll, which is only conducted every 10 years, is considered to be the most important of its kind because every important film critic on the planet is contributing to its result. The latest poll, which was published in September, brought one major shift: "Citizen Kane", which won the last five polls, has been replaced at the top by "Vertigo" and has been degraded to Number Two. This, of course, has led to numerous discussions among critics and film buffs alike whether Hitchock's masterpiece really is better than Welles's miracle. And of course the raison d'etre of polls itself has been questioned once again.

Truth is, every serious film lover on the planet laughs at the impossible task of reducing film history to a mere 10 films when there are so many great ones to choose from by now and - even more important - the greatest pleasure is to be had not with the canonical classics but with the personal favourites, the films you grew up with, the imperfect film maudits or the newly discovered obscurities. Nevertheless, lists are huge fun and the extended results - which can be found here - do provide a valuable checklist for important films one has (or has not) already seen. And since not it not only fun to read about the lists of others but also to come up with an own one, what follows is my list of the greatest films ever made, a mixture of films I absolutely love and films I deem essential:

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (USA 1927, F.W. Murnau)
Citizen Kane (USA 1941, Orson Welles)
Letter from an unknown Woman (USA 1948, Max Ophüls)
Sunset Boulevard (USA 1950, Billy Wilder)
À bout de souffle (France 1960, Jean Luc-Godard)
La Dolce Vita (Italy 1960, Federico Fellini)
L'année dernière à Marienbad (France 1961, Alain Resnais)
Il Gattopardo (Italy 1963, Luchino Visconti)
I am Twenty (Russia 1964, Marlen Khutsiyev)
2001: A Space Odyssey (UK 1968, Stanley Kubrick)

Consider this the final entry on this blog but not the last word...

Blog no longer updated!

Dear readers,

since I am now writing film reviews regularly for the German-language online newspaper DrehPunktKultur I will no longer have the time to write this blog.

Thanks for your support!

Andreas

Barbara (Germany 2012)

Das Kino des Christian Petzold – das ist der Augenblick, bevor wir aufwachen. So hat es ein Kritikerkollege einmal sehr treffend beschrieben. Es versetzt uns in einen tranceartigen Zustand, in dem man stets die Wirklichkeit des eben Gesehenen anzweifelt. Wie kaum ein anderer zeitgenössischer Regisseur versteht er es, mit einfachsten Mitteln Atmosphäre zu erzeugen und eine Geschichte durch Stimmungen zu erzählen. Verbunden mit seinem genauen Blick auf seine Charaktere ist er – in Anspielung auf eine Szene in seinem neuen Film – so etwas wie der Rembrandt des deutschen Kinos.

Sein neuer Film „Barbara“ erzählt von einer Kinderärztin, die von Berlin in die Provinz strafversetzt wurde, da sie einen Ausreiseantrag in den Westen gestellt hat. Ihrem neuen Chef Andre und den Kollegen gegenüber bleibt sie vorerst distanziert und verschlossen. Ihr Geliebter aus dem Westen kommt gelegentlich für heimliche Treffen in die DDR um ihre Flucht zu organisieren. Als die Ausreißerin Stella in das Krankenhaus eingeliefert wird, kümmert sie sich gemeinsam mit Andre intensiv um das Mädchen. Dabei lernen sich beide langsam besser kennen. Barbara beginnt an sich und ihren Plänen zu zweifeln. Einerseits möchte sie weg aus dem Land, das keine Zukunft für sie bietet, andererseits wird sie plötzlich gebraucht…

„Barbara“ ist Petzolds bisher emotionalster Film – was jedoch nicht bedeutet dass der Film nicht wie gewohnt kühl und reduziert inszeniert ist. Ein Liebesfilm zwar und einer der einen durchaus berührt, aber eben auf eine ganz und gar unsentimentale Art. Diese Widersprüche sind es auch was Petzolds Film so faszinierend machen. Die Strenge und emotionale Abgestumpftheit der Charaktere einerseits, die Zärtlichkeit und der inhärente Humanismus andererseits. Dieser zeichnet auch den Regisseur aus der zwar die Gesellschaft als eine konstante Bedrohung darstellt, jedoch ein großes Mitgefühl für seine Figuren zum Ausdruck bringt. Der Schauplatz der ehemaligen DDR wurde hierbei zwar bewusst gewählt, im Grunde ist die Geschichte aber nicht an einen Ort und eine Zeit gebunden. Erfrischend ist auch dass die DDR weder als heruntergekommener Ort der Unterdrückung noch als schrullig-heitere Idylle dargestellt wird.

„Barbara“ ist das Reifezeugnis von Christian Petzold, welches er bereits in Form des Regiepreises bei der Berlinale erhalten hat. Ein elegant konstruierter, erhabener Film der kleinen Momente. In Hauptdarstellerin Nina Hoss, mit der er nun schon zum vierten Mal zusammen gearbeitet hat, hat der deutsche Antonioni zudem endgültig seine deutsche Monica Vitti gefunden. Ihre diskrete Darstellung unterdrückt zwar jegliche Emotionen, dennoch gelingt es ihr, die innere Unruhe ihrer Figur zu vermitteln. Diese fragile Kühle ist die perfekte Ergänzung für die Filme von Christian Petzold bei denen es auch stets unter der Oberfläche brodelt. Auch wenn sie in einer der schönsten Szenen des Films plötzlich etwas macht dass man von ihr – und dem Kino von Christian Petzold – nicht erwartet hätte. Sie lächelt.

8/10

Fremdkörper: Nina Hoss als "Barbara"

The Artist (France 2011)

JOE GILLIS:
You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big.
NORMA DESMOND:
I am big. It's the pictures that got small.

from Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard"

Next time you're watching a current movie on TV, turn off the volume and reduce saturation to the minimum. You are then watching a silent movie - but with the sole effect that the small, insignificant film will be even smaller and more insignificant. No magic anywhere. Without the dialogues, which in modern movies are mostly there to advance the storyline, there is hardly anything left that will keep you watching. In the early age of film the story was told primarily through images which was much more appropriate for the medium film. Back then, the actors were responsible for the emotions. Their overacting rich on gestures and facial expressions may have been far from reality but the audience got a great show in return. In those times, film was much closer to an original art form - and the actors contributed their part to it.

Such an "artist" is George Valentin, the main character in the silent film homage "The Artist". He is a big movie star who is suddenly - thanks to the introduction of the talkies - not in demand anymore which puts him into a severe crisis. Of all people, the young actress Peppy Miller, who he helped to fame, is the new talk of town and on the way to stardom. But what the washed up stars doesn't know that she is also one of his biggest remaining fans...

With his charming silent film, which adopts the style of the silents, French director Michel Hazanavicius celebrates Hollywood's golden era. This - and the high average age of the Academy voters  - may be the primary reason the film is a strong contender at this year's Oscars. The film does not shy away from the dark sides of the dream factory but the director portrays them in a much less cynical fashion than Billy Wilder did 1950 in "Sunset Boulevard". He also manages to touch the audience with a simple, but lovely told story. The flair of the time is captured with some nice details as well. One has the feeling of actually watching an "old" movie. Even if the director does not strictly adhere to the aesthetics of the silent films which has been the subject of some criticism. But what is much more important anyway is that the film is emotionally authentic. To a large part this is due to the two wonderful main actors Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo who appear to come right out of Hollywood's heyday themselves.

"The Artist" is - if not much more - a great piece of entertainment that stylishly captures the magic and fascination cinema once exuded. And in a time of the downfall of cinema, "The Artist" is also a film about the downfall of cinema. Many film lovers will leave this exhilarating film with a bittersweet, nostalgic feeling. And with the assurance that Norma Desmond was right...

8/10

Silence is golden: Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo

Låt den rätte komma in (Sweden 2008)

"Let the right one in" is a film full of contradictions. Tender yet brutal, beautiful yet gritty, realistic yet supernatural. Like many other great films, it is also not immediately classifiable in any common genre. Is it a vampire/horror movie, a slice of social realism or a coming-of-age film? Probably a little bit of everything but for me it is mostly a sublimely touching love story between two lonely outsiders. But if it is then it is a love story for people who don't like love stories just as it is a horror movie for people who don't like horror movies.

The film is directed with delicate empathy by Swedish director Tomas Alfredson. It seems implausible that he mostly worked for Swedish Television before this film since "Let the right one in" is so cinematic. There are some shocking scenes but the director is careful not to overdo it. To the dismay of some readers of the original novel, the hints on pedophilia that were much more present in the source, have been toned down. But since the novel's author John Ajvide Lindquist also wrote the screenplay, we can assume that he is perfectly fine with it. And the film proves that the open dealing with such dark subjects is not necessary anyway: under Alfredson's subtle direction, we can already sense that there is something wrong in a society that is constructed around the dominance of the alpha male.

The music in the film is extraordinarily beautiful - it is no coincidence that composer Johan Söderqvist is credited right after the director. It further enhances the atmosphere already created by the brilliant use of bleak winterly locations in and around Stockholm. The performances by the two young leads are great too. They both display a vulnerability while also hiding a latent violence under the innocent surface. It says a lot that the human boy and the vampire girl are essentially treated as equals. The female may - as always - be the stronger one but is the boy who acts out the violence by choice and not by destiny. In this world - the films seems to suggest - everyone needs to be a vampire to survive.

"Let the right one in" is a unique, extraordinary and incredibly touching film. It is a bittersweet tale of loneliness and alienation that transcends genre limitations to become something greater.

9/10

To die for: Lina Leandersson as "Eli"

The Ides of March (USA 2011)

A film is not the sum of its elements. "The Ides of March" has a sharp script, great actors and is quite entertaining. However, it is still "only" a good movie, not a great one. The primary reason for this is that George Clooney's film about the US pre-elections does not really reveal anything new. Or did you not know before that politicians tend to have a weakness for pretty interns, young career types get it all while the "good" guys finish last? And most of us already sensed that politics is a dirty business...

Nevertheless "The Ides of March"is one of the better American films of recent times. It is a captivating behind-the-scenes look on politics. George Clooney, himself supporter of the Democratic party and president Obama, again shows his keen sense for the subject matter after "Good Night, and Good Luck". And it is remarkably how he manages his double identity between smiling movie star and deadly serious filmmaker without an image loss in either one of his personas.

As a director he may not be an artist but a solid craftsman but his experience as an actor certainly helps with the casting of his fellow actors. And "The Ides of March" is mostly an actor's film which reunites the most talented American actors of different generations (Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti, Philipp Seymour Hoffman). But contrary to Hollywood's common practice they have been cast here not just because of their famous names and talent but because they actually fit for their respective roles. And Clooney himself is so convincing as the candidate that some viewers might wish that he would run for office in reality. He probably would not do much worse than his former colleague Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"The Ides of March" also poses an interesting question: is it even possible to stay true to one's ideals in the battlefield of politics? If one considers the cynical final image of the film, the answer seems to be "no".

Because of this pessimistic message nobody will accuse Clooney of campaigning for the Democrats or any other political party. But this clinical approach may be the reason why the authentic film lacks emotions. The same goes for the mise-en-scène which mostly sticks to Hollywood conventions.

Sort of a conservative film from a liberal director.

8/10

In no one we trust

  

My films of the year 2011

This year was once again marked by crises and an uncertain future. A crisis exists also in Hollywood cinema which produces less and less films that could be called "quality entertainment". It is significant that both the Oscar winner ("The Kings's Speech") and the most successful film of the year ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2") were British productions. Many of the important films too were (directly or indirectly) about the end of the world and made clear that we will - should we continue like before - we will inevitably head towards a disaster. Nevertheless there were also some smaller, human films that gave us something we can really need in times like these: hope.

Here are my personal top 10 of the year 2011:

1. Le gamin au vélo (Belgium, Jean Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
2. Le Havre (France, Aki Kaurismaki)
3. Melancholia (Denmark, Lars von Trier)
4. Play (Sweden, Ruben Ostlund)
5. Die Vaterlosen (Austria, Marie Kreutzer)
6. Midnight in Paris (USA/France, Woody Allen)
7. Habemus Papam (Italy, Nanni Moretti)
8. Faust (Russia, Aleksandr Sokurow)
9. The Kids are all right (USA, Lisa Cholodenko)
10. Nostalgia de la luz (Chile, Patricio Guzmán)

There were some interesting films such as "The Turin House", "A Separation" or "The Artist" that I was unable to see.

My film of the year 2011: "Le gamin au vélo"

American Madness (USA 1932)

Where is Frank Capra when we need him?

His 1932 film about the 1929 economy crises should be mandatory viewing for all bankers and economists out there. It tells - naturally in a very simplified version - the story of a sincere bank director who refuses to sell out his financially stricken bank to the sharks. His loans are based on trust and not on credit standing and he is eventually rewarded for his stubborn behavior. One might argue that real life is not a Capra movie and any bank clerk giving out loans based on feelings would be immediately fired but one thing is for sure: the main problem we have in the current economical crises is precisely the lack of trust that the common people have against the authorities. This is what the politicians and bank managers need to earn back first before there can be a lasting recovery of the economy. In 1932, Frank Capra's film certainly contributed to it...

Frank Capra came in at the last minute to direct this film but now no one else seems to be imaginable on the director's chair. It would become the first in a series of very successful "Capraesque" films that promote the positive effects of individual acts of courage.

Films rarely can change the world but their influence on the world and its individuals should not be underestimated. After watching a Frank Capra, it is impossible not wanting to become a better person...

8/10

Show me the money!

The Lion King (USA 1994)

I wouldn't go so far to say that "The Lion King" is the best Disney film - there are certainly more artistic and important ones - but it is my best Disney film. The primary reason for this may be the fact that I saw it for the first time when I was still a kid and just discovering my love for the movies. And as we all know, the films we first saw as kids are the ones that touch as the most. But judging as objective as possible now almost 20 years later, I still regard it as Disney's last classically animated masterpiece before the digital revolution took over.

The story may be simple but it is great, the characters one-dimensional but lovely and the music may please mainstream taste but is still touching. It's very entertaining to be sure but it is also an inspiring film - more inspiring even than most "real" movies. I would also argue that the film has a serious message that is really important. We now live in a society where people shy away from responsibility and nobody wants to grow up anymore. Young people all over the world have unconsciously adopted the "Hakuna Matata" mantra and live a life of carefree pleasures. And not all of them find the way back eventually the way that Simba does in the film. A lot of potential is wasted because people just don't care enough or simply choose the easy way. As a consequence, the people who end up in the power positions are not always those who would deserve them.

Traditions, codes of conducts and growing-up rituals may be values that sound old-fashioned nowadays but as "The Lion King" teaches us, they are crucial for the "circle of life" to stay in balance.

9/10

This review refers to the original version of the film and not the recent and absolutely superfluous theatrical 3D re-release of the film.

With great power comes great responsibility

Il posto (Italy 1961)

Why are there not more films about work life? Isn't this where people spend the majority of their time? Sure, there are TV shows like "Mad Men" and "The Office" but there haven't been a lot of feature films about the job market and office life, let alone good ones. Mostly, work is treated as a circumstance but not as a main subject.

One of the best films about work is Ermanno Olmi's touching film "Il posto" which celebrates its 50 year anniversary this year. The details (typewriters, anyone?) notwithstanding, the film remains quite relevant today. Companies are shown as dehumanizing entities and young people are somehow exploited by the older generation. The only thing that is missing is an "Occupy Wall Street" movement. The film also shows work in a larger context as the loss of innocence. In this regard, the film certainly has aged. Back then, young people started their first jobs much earlier, often at the age of 15. They went directly from childhood to adulthood and were forced to grow up quickly. Some people - especially the generation which experienced it - would probably argue that this is a good thing but the film suggests that while a steady job offers security, it also takes away freedom and somehow brakes your free will. The small love story is vital to the film: it shows - as the director himself described it - the rare, precious opportunities for finding love among the colorless, grey days which are the majority in anyone's life. Love, not work, the film seems to say, is what life is ultimately about.

Ermanno Olmi's autobiographical film is filmed in a simple, straightforward way that does without the visual splendor Italian cinema was known for at the time. Nor is it - given its subject - particularly exciting or glamourous. Why may be one reason why the director is not as well known as such flamboyant peers as Visconti, Fellini and Antonioni. In the tradition of neoralism - albeit not quite as radical and raw - he focuses on authenticity and the common people which those more famous Italian directors of the time mostly neglected.

8/10

His body is at work but his mind isn't

The Social Network (USA 2010)

"The Social Network" was my film of the year 2010 - I haven't made up my mind about 2011 just yet - so I decided to re-watch it recently to see if it is still as exhilarating now that the hype about the film - and facebook itself - has cooled off a little. To get straight to the point: yes, it is, and it always will be. It is a fascinating portrait of a generation and as such will stand the test of time. It is one of the few films that can instantly be called a modern classic.

When I first read about the project (on the web, where else?) I was rather skeptical. By the way, as skeptical as when I - suggested by a friend - first registered on this then relatively unknown social networking platform in the year of 2005. The idea of retelling one of the biggest success stories of recent business history after such a short term and of portraying the person of founder Mark Zuckerberg as a villain seemed problematic to me. And a middle-aged director like David Fincher who previously made mostly genre films didn't seem to me as the right guy to "get" what this generation was all about. It was clear from the very beginning that - as in many other biopics - reality would be misrepresented and a false image of the still living persons would be created. Above all, I asked myself whether the genesis of an Internet company could make for an interesting subject for a movie.

The fact that the final product works so well and is so much more than just a movie about facebook, has mostly two reasons: first of all, the brilliant script of Aaron Sorkin which - along with its eternal themes of class war and betrayal - indeed delivers gripping material for a film. Good films usually have one or two memorable scenes but "The Social Network" is a succession of great scenes. Even if the film is distinctly modern and so close to the attitude the current generation has to life, the underlying story is a classical drama that would be equally suitable for a Shakespeare play. Most characters are surprisingly complex and ambivalent - even Zuckerberg is not a real bad guy but also far from a hero. Despite all his newly achieved fame and fortune, he still fails to impress his ex-girlfriend or to enter the social class in which his fellow students at Harvard were born into.

The other reason for the success of the film is director David Fincher whose visually inventive direction makes the film enthralling despite the somewhat serious content - about half of the film consists of the various trials Zuckerberg is facing. He deserves credit that the film has such a strong connection to the "nowness of now" - as another critic put it. There has rarely been a film recently that captures the Zeitgeist as vividly and that I myself experienced as intensely - probably also because I was able to identify with the characters in the film in many ways.

"The Social Network" is not just a film about a phenomenal success story but a film about America and the world, about an individual and about all of us. In a few decades it will be regarded representative for our era in a way that "Wall Street" was for the 80s. With the main lesson to learn here that it is all about being cool. Times really have changed but greed still seems to be good. Only the "Gordon Gekkos" of our time are now called Sean Parker and Mark Zuckerberg...

9/10

The accidental billionaires

La solitudine dei numeri primi (Italy 2010)

The recent title story of a local news magazine was "The end of love - feelings in times of personal liberty". This subject of being incapable of loving and the downside of individual freedom, which is so typical of our modern age, is also at the core of Saverio Costanzo's film "La solitudine dei numeri primi" which is based on Paolo Giordano's bestselling novel. Even if the love in the film, strictly speaking, doesn't really catch fire to begin with. At the time of the somehow conciliatory ending, resignation has already taken over killing off any hope that may have been there somewhere.

The pseudo-cryptic title already gives an idea about the state of mind of the characters but what may still be compelling in the book (which I haven't read), turns out to be rather tedious in the film. The story stretches over three decades and is told as a kind of mystery thriller. There is an event in the childhood of both main characters that will change their lives forever. Mutually attracted, they get closer again and again, but they never manage to really come together. The problem of the film is that it mostly lacks both tension and emotions. There is an oppressive atmosphere right from the beginning that does reflect the inner life and the increasing isolation of the protagonists quite well. But unfortunately, this state of inner emptiness transmits to their outside so it is quite difficult to feel any sympathy for the characters. After a while, you stop caring whether they end up together or not.

It's a shame because there would have been some pre-conditions for a thrilling movie experience: a bestseller as a template, a talented director ("Private" - the feature debut by Saverio Costanzo - won several awards) and a quite appropriately chosen cast which includes such fine actresses as Isabella Rossellini in supporting roles. But ultimately "La solitudine dei numeri primi" shares the fate of many well-produced, but ultimately soulless literary adaptations. Quality cinema? Yes, but without a heart. There are only a few moments that show the potential the film could have head. The film offers some visual pleasures even if Costanzo's kicks over the traces with his directorial ideas from time to time. This is mainly due to the unnecessary stylization and the sometimes annoying use of music in the film.

To conclude, let us hope that the condition of love in the 21st century is not as bad as films like this suggest. It remains very doubtful, however, whether this film is able to rescue any moviegoers from their own lethargy...

7/10

Lonely together: Luca Marinelli, Alba Rohrwacher