20. Lost in Translation (US, 2003)
Romance comes from the most unexpected places. For Bob and Charlotte, that place is a grand hotel in Tokyo. They are two people in different stages of their lives (one has reached the twilight of his career, the other is just beginning a new life), but their emotional malaise has turned them into kindred spirits. As the characters roam the chaotic cityscape, the audience learns the kinds of details and eccentricities in character not typically found in romantic dramas. Their exploration of the foreign world is filled with whimsy and good humor.
Sophia Coppola is the perfect choice to helm the fun. Her assured direction is all about mood and tone. There’s something unceasingly gratifying about the process of watching these two lost souls, complete strangers, confiding in each other. Their conversations exhibit some of the most mature and honest dialogue between two adults I’ve ever heard on the screen. In the end, we know their bond is strong, and that they love each other, even if they don’t end up together. Sometimes the greatest love stories are simply short term connections, bittersweet entanglements of unrequited passion.
Memorable Moment: Before leaving for good, Bob whispers something in Charlotte’s ear while standing in a Tokyo crowd. We never hear what he said.
Photo from Scanners
19. Amores Perros (Mexico, 2000)
The great thing about the interrelated plotlines within Amores Perros is that their relationships don’t feel forced. The past decade was ripe with scripts that tried to use temporal bounces and interconnectivity to make some sort of weighty statement about our world (See Crash and it’s preachy “We’re all a bit racist” sloganeering). Perros, by comparison, is an unpretentious compilation of three character pieces all revolving around a single car crash, but the real connections exist almost entirely within the thematic realm.
The film’s main focus is on telling three captivating tales of heartbreak and loss through a wide variety of styles and techniques. Whether it’s the kinetic, fast-paced opening sequences or the more stagnant, claustrophobic second act, Perros shows off the talents of its director, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and writer, Guillermo Arriaga, in consistently engaging ways. Iñárritu’s subsequent films (Perros is the first film in a loose trilogy) would later showcase the director experimenting further with form and expanding his command over technique with more authority, but his debut remains his most vibrant and cohesive work.
Memorable Moment: Valeria, a supermodel severely injured in an accident, watches in disbelief as her billboard advertisement is removed from a post outside her window.
Photo from Slant
18. Road to Perdition (US, 2002)
Easily my choice as the most underrated film of the last ten years, Road to Perdition is a lost masterpiece condemned by reputation and expectation. Critics cited a supposedly shallow narrative as the main source of weakness and unfairly compared Sam Mendes’ sophomore effort to his debut, 1999’s American Beauty. In some ways, I think it’s an improvement on the Best Picture winner.
Far removed from more plot-driven, gangster-film classics like The Godfather or Goodfellas, Road to Perdition exists entirely in a world of mood, tone, and theme. The film is photographed by Conrad L. Hall, one of the greatest cinematographers in cinema history (and my personal favorite). His unusual command over composition, camera movement, and depth of field elevate a poignant father/son road movie to mythic proportions. Hall died shortly after shooting ended (he would eventually win an Oscar for his work posthumously), but not before leaving us with his most ambitious achievement yet. One could take any scene from the film and teach a course on visual storytelling. At the very least, Road to Perdition is a museum gallery, a monument to one of cinema’s greatest creative spirits.
Memorable Moment: Michael Sullivan guns down John Rooney’s henchman one by one in the pouring rain. Rooney remains motionless as the camera sweeps by his fallen comrades. “I’m glad it was you,” he tells Michael, tears in his eyes.
Photo from Film School Rejects
17. Ratatouille (US, 2007)
Who knew one of the decade’s greatest tribute to the arts would come from a Pixar film about an animated rat? Brad Bird’s tale of a rodent with dreams of becoming a culinary artist is a delightful appreciation of high art. Remy’s passion for food and how it’s prepared could stand in for similar obsessions we have for music, literature, or painting. Its basic coming of age story aside, the film is a winning metaphor for Pixar’s standard for creative excellence. No production company has served its audiences with a more consistently appetizing menu. The ultimate example of how high art and large-scale commercial enterprising can intermingle, Pixar’s output over the past decade has offered a filmography nothing short of astounding. Ratatouille is its signature dish.
Memorable Moment: At the end of the film, food critic Anton Ego writes a review of his experience eating Remy’s cuisine and reads it aloud to the audience.
Photo from New York Magazine
16. Caché (France, 2005)
While watching movies, we are so used to knowing what we are supposed to be looking at. With Michael Haneke’s Caché, a psychological mystery thriller that deconstructs virtually every rule in the film grammar playbook, the focus of our gaze isn’t always so clear. All of Haneke’s films engage the viewer to be more active in their viewing experience, but with Caché he takes those creative aspirations to new heights of craft. If you don’t pay attention to detail (I didn’t the first time around and quickly dismissed the film as boring), the movie’s complex ideas will pass you by. Its imagery is violent and disturbing, haunting and unquestionably unique. Add in a dose of Hitchcockian themes of paranoia and voyeurism, and you may have a more twisted, modern, and pretentious version of Rear Window.
Memorable Moment: Georges has disturbing flashbacks to a traumatic childhood experience involving another young boy.
I've been looking forward to reading these everyday. Fantastic job and congrats. Can't wait for the next.
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