(This article appeared in the December 2006-February 2007 issue of Senses of Cinema online magazine as part of the online contributors’ Ten Best Films of 2006.)
My busy career as a training director and part-time film reviewer prevented me from breaking 2005’s film viewing record of 217 movies. While I contemplate on the future state of my film viewing habit, I should say that out of 138 films that I have seen (as of today, December 17, 2006) 32 of them are highly recommended.
In my annual best movies list, there is a slot that is reserved for classic cinema (films that were released in the past eight decades). Though I have only seen six of them this year, three ended up in the top 10. There are other awards that were given including the year’s most moving performances, innovative technical awards, and films with significant and intriguing themes and sub-genres.
Here are the ten movies I have seen in 2006 that met my aesthetic standards:
My busy career as a training director and part-time film reviewer prevented me from breaking 2005’s film viewing record of 217 movies. While I contemplate on the future state of my film viewing habit, I should say that out of 138 films that I have seen (as of today, December 17, 2006) 32 of them are highly recommended.
In my annual best movies list, there is a slot that is reserved for classic cinema (films that were released in the past eight decades). Though I have only seen six of them this year, three ended up in the top 10. There are other awards that were given including the year’s most moving performances, innovative technical awards, and films with significant and intriguing themes and sub-genres.
Here are the ten movies I have seen in 2006 that met my aesthetic standards:
The Apple
Director Samira Makhmalbaf, the daughter of Iranian cinema greats Mohsen (Kandahar, The Cyclist, The Peddler) and Marzieh Meskhini (The Day I Become A Woman) has crafted an intriguing and profound satire on Iranian society.
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Cristi Puiu’s second directorial feature is a thought provoking character study and message movie. It showed that Romanian cinema is alive despite being unknown in the festival circuit.
Sunset Blvd. (Classic Cinema Award)
2006’s best classic film is an outstanding exercise in script writing, acting, and directing, which deserved its status as a Hollywood classic.
Brokeback Mountain
The first openly homosexual romantic drama I have seen that struck me most.
Goodbye, Dragon Inn
Tsai Ming-liang’s ode to movie going echoed my previous forays in watching movies.
Fanny and Alexander
Ingmar Bergman’s personal evocation of his childhood echoed some reverberations of my own parental upbringing.
Cache (a.k.a. Hidden)
Haneke’s mind bending and mysterious psychological thriller sustains its narrative and thematic urgency long after watching it.
Turtles Can Fly
The second Iranian film in my top 10 list is a stunning parable of war and its impact on children.
Loves of a Blonde
Milos Forman’s intelligent pro-feminist film deserved to be a Czech New Wave and world cinema classic.
Three Times
The second Taiwanese film in my ten best of 2006 is an anti-feel good romantic movie. Taiwanese new wave auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien has crafted a thinking person’s love story without being sappy or forced.
MOST MOVING PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR
Director Samira Makhmalbaf, the daughter of Iranian cinema greats Mohsen (Kandahar, The Cyclist, The Peddler) and Marzieh Meskhini (The Day I Become A Woman) has crafted an intriguing and profound satire on Iranian society.
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Cristi Puiu’s second directorial feature is a thought provoking character study and message movie. It showed that Romanian cinema is alive despite being unknown in the festival circuit.
Sunset Blvd. (Classic Cinema Award)
2006’s best classic film is an outstanding exercise in script writing, acting, and directing, which deserved its status as a Hollywood classic.
Brokeback Mountain
The first openly homosexual romantic drama I have seen that struck me most.
Goodbye, Dragon Inn
Tsai Ming-liang’s ode to movie going echoed my previous forays in watching movies.
Fanny and Alexander
Ingmar Bergman’s personal evocation of his childhood echoed some reverberations of my own parental upbringing.
Cache (a.k.a. Hidden)
Haneke’s mind bending and mysterious psychological thriller sustains its narrative and thematic urgency long after watching it.
Turtles Can Fly
The second Iranian film in my top 10 list is a stunning parable of war and its impact on children.
Loves of a Blonde
Milos Forman’s intelligent pro-feminist film deserved to be a Czech New Wave and world cinema classic.
Three Times
The second Taiwanese film in my ten best of 2006 is an anti-feel good romantic movie. Taiwanese new wave auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien has crafted a thinking person’s love story without being sappy or forced.
MOST MOVING PERFORMANCES OF THE YEAR
BEST ACTOR
Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)
BEST ACTRESS
Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd.
TECHNICAL AWARDS
BEST DIRECTION
Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain
BEST WRITING
Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett for Sunset Blvd.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Raul Perez Cubero, for his classic Hollywood cinema cinematography in You’re the one (una historia de estonces) (Jose Luis Garci, 2000)
WELL CRAFTED FILMS WITH SIGNIFICANT THEMES AND SUB-GENRES
BEST AMERICAN REMAKE OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE
The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006) (A remake of the crime thriller Infernal Affairs, Andrew Lau, 2002)
BEST CLASSIC FILM (tied)
Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Sunset Blvd.
BEST GAY THEMED FILM (TIED)
Brokeback Mountain
The River (Ming-liang Tsai, 1997)
BEST POLITICALLY INCLINED FILM (tied)
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
The Queen (Stephen Frears, 2006)
BEST DVD RELEASE (tied)
Goodbye, Dragon Inn
13 (Tzameti) (Gela Babluani, 2005)
The following titles also deserve to be recognized in an otherwise limited year for film viewing:
13 (Tzameti)
Aguirre, The Wrath of God
The Departed
Djomeh (Hassan Yektapanah, 2000)
Election 2 (Johnnie To, 2006)
Mother of Mine (Klaus Haro, 2005)
Palais royal! (Valerie Lemercier, 2005)
The Queen
The River
Seven Samurai
Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)
Time (Ki-duk Kim, 2006)
United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)
You’re the One
“CINEMATIC WASTE”: THE FIVE WORST MOVIES OF 2006
BATTLE IN HEAVEN (BATALIA EN EL CIELO)
Carlos Reygadas’ pretentious, dreary character study/satire/critique (whatever it is) was tepidly received in Cannes 2005 (where it competed alongside the far superior The Child, Three Times, and Broken Flowers). His heavy-handed storytelling techniques and uninvolving sex scenes didn’t helped raise audience curiosity or appeal for the film.
THE OMEN
The year’s worst remake is this Julia Stiles’ starrer about… need I say more? The 1976 film wasn’t a classic in the first place (its subject matter is dated now), and there is no logical reason why it should be remade. Acting and writing-wise, The Omen is a shocker (pun intended).
LEMMING
The first French film in my five worst list tried hard to capture Claude Chabrol’s trademark psychological suspense storytelling approach – to no avail. The good looking and talented cast (the two Charlottes of contemporary French cinema – Gainsbourg and Rampling) didn’t save the psychological thriller from being boring.
REINCARNATION
Takashi Shimizu may have reached a career peak with 2002’s Ju-on (The Grudge), but this 2005 film showed his self indulgent, arty filmmaking approach. This isn’t a horror picture; it is simply horrific!
TIRESIA
This film proves that French cinema produces enough cinematic junk like Hollywood. The myth of Tiresia, a Greek god with two sexes was told through tedious pacing, dialogue, and performances (including that of Laurent Lucas, who also starred in Lemming). Is this a philosophical drama, a character study, or an artistic bore? Its lacklustre reception at Cannes in 2003 says it all.
Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)
BEST ACTRESS
Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd.
TECHNICAL AWARDS
BEST DIRECTION
Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain
BEST WRITING
Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett for Sunset Blvd.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Raul Perez Cubero, for his classic Hollywood cinema cinematography in You’re the one (una historia de estonces) (Jose Luis Garci, 2000)
WELL CRAFTED FILMS WITH SIGNIFICANT THEMES AND SUB-GENRES
BEST AMERICAN REMAKE OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE
The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006) (A remake of the crime thriller Infernal Affairs, Andrew Lau, 2002)
BEST CLASSIC FILM (tied)
Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Sunset Blvd.
BEST GAY THEMED FILM (TIED)
Brokeback Mountain
The River (Ming-liang Tsai, 1997)
BEST POLITICALLY INCLINED FILM (tied)
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
The Queen (Stephen Frears, 2006)
BEST DVD RELEASE (tied)
Goodbye, Dragon Inn
13 (Tzameti) (Gela Babluani, 2005)
The following titles also deserve to be recognized in an otherwise limited year for film viewing:
13 (Tzameti)
Aguirre, The Wrath of God
The Departed
Djomeh (Hassan Yektapanah, 2000)
Election 2 (Johnnie To, 2006)
Mother of Mine (Klaus Haro, 2005)
Palais royal! (Valerie Lemercier, 2005)
The Queen
The River
Seven Samurai
Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)
Time (Ki-duk Kim, 2006)
United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)
You’re the One
“CINEMATIC WASTE”: THE FIVE WORST MOVIES OF 2006
BATTLE IN HEAVEN (BATALIA EN EL CIELO)
Carlos Reygadas’ pretentious, dreary character study/satire/critique (whatever it is) was tepidly received in Cannes 2005 (where it competed alongside the far superior The Child, Three Times, and Broken Flowers). His heavy-handed storytelling techniques and uninvolving sex scenes didn’t helped raise audience curiosity or appeal for the film.
THE OMEN
The year’s worst remake is this Julia Stiles’ starrer about… need I say more? The 1976 film wasn’t a classic in the first place (its subject matter is dated now), and there is no logical reason why it should be remade. Acting and writing-wise, The Omen is a shocker (pun intended).
LEMMING
The first French film in my five worst list tried hard to capture Claude Chabrol’s trademark psychological suspense storytelling approach – to no avail. The good looking and talented cast (the two Charlottes of contemporary French cinema – Gainsbourg and Rampling) didn’t save the psychological thriller from being boring.
REINCARNATION
Takashi Shimizu may have reached a career peak with 2002’s Ju-on (The Grudge), but this 2005 film showed his self indulgent, arty filmmaking approach. This isn’t a horror picture; it is simply horrific!
TIRESIA
This film proves that French cinema produces enough cinematic junk like Hollywood. The myth of Tiresia, a Greek god with two sexes was told through tedious pacing, dialogue, and performances (including that of Laurent Lucas, who also starred in Lemming). Is this a philosophical drama, a character study, or an artistic bore? Its lacklustre reception at Cannes in 2003 says it all.
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