Concerning Film: The Film Year in Review 2006

In true narcissistic fashion, I noticed that we were coming up on the Oscar ceremony this weekend, and realized, Wow! I need to get my picks for 2006 out there quickly. People need to know what I think. So here they are. As is usual, we are nearly two full months into the New Year, and I have yet to see many of the bigger films of 2006, for a variety of reasons. The movie theaters out here in California are extremely expensive, a $20 affair when it’s all added up: tickets, parking, and snacks. It has also become the custom for art house cinema to be left finding word-of-mouth interest lurking around in limited release in New York and L.A., hoping to create enough buzz to justify its wider release elsewhere and a more prolonged stay in theaters. Why has The Good German, for instance, been discussed almost none, and Ghost Rider is plastered on every bus stop billboard in the area? I suppose because a flaming skull is easier to market, a more recognizable symbol, like a stop sign, than, say, the broader concepts that true film art tends to concern itself with.

Children of Men

Alfonso Cuaron’s work in this film is phenomenal. Here is the best science fiction film since The Matrix, and a refreshingly intelligent piece of work at that. The subtleties in this movie are immense, and amount in total to a dark portrayal of mankind’s future as one of hopelessness, cynicism, and moral ambiguity. Children of Men is an important movie, reaching into a more daring subject, with surprising success.

The Departed

It isn’t easy to get me to be interested in crime drama. I’ve never found mafia movies to be wholeheartedly interesting; they need to succeed on some other level, as a criminal bent on getting rich is simply not an interesting enough motivation to drive a compelling story. More often than not, these kinds of films are driven by style, the factor of their “coolness” rising above any artistic considerations to grant them attention. But Scorsese, returning to his roots in many ways, has directed an intriguing story, filled with excellent performances in an airtight plot. It’s pacing, suspense, and cleverness all make The Departed a work of perfect craftsmanship. But it cannot rise higher than number 2, because Irish organized crime is simply not a subject of particularly high consequence.

Little Children

An excellent work of fiction, filled with complex and nuanced characters. Little Children is sometimes bogged down by Todd Field’s mundane directing. He captures perfectly the ennui of his characters’ existence, but I think Field is failing to appreciate the camera as tool for story telling, and not simply a tool for observation.

The House of Sand

Though this technically came out in 2005, I’m promoting it to this list as the best foreign film I saw last year. The location for this film is one of the most intriguing places I’ve seen appear on screen, enough so that I immediately did research to find out where it was, and how I could potentially visit. There is profound poetic vision in this movie from Brazil.

Little Miss Sunshine

Great comedic performances in a warm piece of fiction. Perfectly quirky, funny, and moral at the same time.

Borat

Nude wrestling for an unbearable amount of time for any sicko film goer. My grandparents went to see this movie, a testament to the power it wielded while in theaters. I only wish advertising and word of mouth with films like these didn’t always mean the good jokes are spoiled before I get to the theater.

Babel

I really appreciate what Iñárritu is doing in this, the third installment in a trilogy of films dealing with tragedies bringing together unlikely people. In Babel, he has shown worldliness, sensitivity to the cultures that make this planet and an understanding of the ugliness that threatens our survival in the chaos of constant cultural friction. What Iñárritu has done in Babel, is treat with equal respect and importance, both the decency and indecency inherent in all men.

The Fountain

I have a special bias toward Darren Aronofsky. His first two films were perfect. The Fountain does not accomplish what they did, but it is nevertheless appreciated for its daringness. Making a mainstream abstract film is suicide, but his stubbornness is what makes him an artist. Here is a film that asks for its audience to work hard at understanding it. And it seems to me that requiring an imagination from the audience isn’t such a bad idea.

United 93

Denouncing terrorism, aiding terrorism, peace, and war. These are all moral values that United 93 doesn’t concern itself with, making it a refreshing film for this kind of subject. September 11 is too sensitive an issue to be rendered on most filmmaker’s canvasses. But Paul Greengrass has chosen to approach it in the perfect fashion, without making a single judgment about the day, or the broader social, political, and moral significance. This film allows us to relive the simple shock of that day, and remember that brief phase of astonishment, which was later overshadowed by war and politics. Consider how he puts the passengers of United 93 and the hijackers into the same place at the same time, where both seem to be insignificant pawns in a greater worldwide ordeal.

Volver

It may seem odd to move a film to the top ten list, and subsequently speak negatively about it, but I will any way. With such few movies making it to local theaters that are of any artistic value, Volver makes it to the list by default, filling a space left vacant by the vacuum of art create in this big budget movie world. Almodovar is a fine artist, but I question the “so what” factor in his films. He brings together colorful characters, witty dialogue, rich scenes, and ends with a final product that seems pointless at times. Volver is entertaining from start to finish, but its value doesn’t stretch beyond the end credits. If fiction is meant to teach us something about human kind, Volver is void of lessons, and erupting with everything else that makes a great story. What is this movie about? As it stands, Volver is another installment in a long running serial that could be titled Almodovar’s Imagination. Perhaps, when he is finished making films, we will be able to speak of the real importance of his films as a collection, rather than individually.

The Awards:

I don’t really subscribe to this idea that the best director of the year did not make the best film. This is simply so the Academy can avoid choosing. This way they can give two best picture awards. My pick for best director is typically my pick for best film. It’s like saying the best book I’ve read isn’t necessarily to the credit of the writer. Perhaps it was the typesetting. But for this year, I can forgive splitting the award in two, because The Departed certainly showcases perfection in the craft of directing, without being the best film of the year.

Best Picture/Best Director: Children of Men
Best Director 2: Martin Scorsese, The Departed

Foreign Language Film: The House of Sand
Documentary Film: An Inconvenient Truth

Best Adapted Screenplay: Todd Field, Tom Perrotta, Little Children
Best Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt, Little Miss Sunshine

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
Best Actress: Kate Winslet, Little Children
Supporting Actor: Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, Babel

Best Editing: United 93

Cinematography: Children of Men

The award for, “Bomb the studios! It’s the worst piece of crap ever committed to celluloid”: The Da Vinci Code, though Tom Hanks’ insistence on taking his material so seriously may constitute the funniest performance of the year.

--Nick Denney