It seems a little premature to me, but Times Online, the Web version of the United Kingdom’s The Times and Sunday Times newspapers has recently released their picks for the Top 100 Films of the decade (the ‘Noughties’ as they’ve called them).
It’s quite a comprehensive list, and certainly worth a once-over for movie buffs, but I do have some quibbles over a few of their choices — and not just because I’ve never seen or heard of their selection for the best movie of the decade.
Their number one was a French-language film from 2005 directed by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke called Hidden (Also known as Caché). Back in 2005 this film premiered at Cannes and swept the European Film Awards, winning Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor — but it didn’t get a single Oscar nod. So, like me, you’ve probably never even heard of it.
The inclusion of a film like this proves the people making the list have done a little homework and been sure not to neglect international cinema. Movies from Belgium, Germany, France, Japan, and elsewhere show up on the list. Some notable non-Hollywood films they’ve included that I have seen include: Persepolis, an animated film from 2007 based on a young girl’s true experiences in Iran and France during the time of the Iranian Revolution; and htY tu mamá también a racy Mexican drama from 2001 about two teenage boys and an older woman’s trip from urban privileged Mexico City to a rural beach paradise.
Persepolis, which got an Academy Award nomination in 2007, came in at 69 on the list, while Y tu mamá también turned up at number 35.
Of course, the obvious tilt of the list is toward big-budget Western blockbusters, like the James Bond revamp Casino Royale, which pops up in eighth, or both Bourne Identity sequels, which inexplicably share the second place spot on the top 100 list.
It’s a list from the UK so I would expect strong showings from movies like The Queen or that Bond picture, but it would’ve been nice to have seen a little better representation from Canada.
Not a single Canadian film appears on the list. Granted, there are movies filmed but not set in Canada — ‘Hollywood North,’ as they call it — like Brokeback Mountain, and movies starring Canadian leading men fared all right (Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in at 14, and Seth Rogen in Knocked Up at a respectable 49), but no films set in Canada featuring Canadians in front of or behind the camera show up on the list.
The only Canadian filmmaker on the list is Paul Haggis, of London, Ontario, who came in at a lowly 99th place with his brilliant 2004 film Crash. Crash, which features a compelling, interweaving story about life in L.A., won three Oscars including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, but, according to Times Online, this isn’t enough to compete with Casino Royale, which features Daniel Craig in a speedo.
When I look at cinematic offerings from Canada like Men With Brooms, I understand the skepticism of some that don’t believe there were any Canadian films from this decade deserving to be on an international list like this. However, I can think of at least one, and no, it’s not Slap Shot 3: The Junior League.
The Barbarian Invasions (or, Les Invasions Barbares) is a French-Canadian film from 2003 directed by Denys Arcand. Set in contemporary Montreal, it tells the story of aged and eccentric Québécois academics that come together to spend time with a dying friend before he is claimed by cancer. In 2004, the film became the first from Canada to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Evidently, the Times Online people left films like this off their list in order to make room for raunchy comedies like Wedding Crashers, 90th on the list, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, 62nd.
Instead of making a list list full of obscure titles that would please critics, or one that was wall-to-wall with well-known Hollywood vehicles to please your average fan, Times Online opted for a list that would please neither.
Not only that, but there’s still a month left in this decade, and some very hyped up movies are on their way in the next month.
Coming out in time for the festive season— and before the end of the decade — are movies such as: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which is notable for being Heath Ledger’s last filmic role and for the casting acrobatics director Terry Gilliam had to perform following Ledger’s death midway through shooting — Johnny Depp, Colin Farrel, and Jude Law fill in as Ledger’s character in various scenes; Invictus, the story of the underdog 1995 South African rugby team that united the post-apartheid nation, starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela; and Avatar, an out there sci-fi thriller from heavy weight director James Cameron (Terminator 1 & 2, Titanic).
It’s certainly been a great decade for the cinema — in Hollywood, here in Hollywood North, and around the world, but I’ll hold off on making my top 100 list until 2010, I’ve got high hopes for Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel.
