The best film I saw this year, Lars Von Trier's "Dogville," has not yet been released in the States. Gina Gershon also deserves special attention for the best performance in the truly terrible "Prey For Rock N Roll." Now here's my list.
1. Lost In Translation
I thought Sofia Coppola was making a film just for me the first time I saw "Lost In Translation." I was delighted with Bill Murray, a reincarnation of Rushmore's Herman Blume, fighting with his shower, and lovely, husky-voiced Scarlett Johansson gazing out the window of her high rise hotel room in Toyko. Quiet, wistful, funny, and sad.
2. The Magdalene Sisters
Peter Mullan's bold drama about the Magdalene Asylums rocked my world. I had no idea about the 30,000 Irish women locked away in convents to atone for their "sexual sins." The stories of three girls, movingly portrayed by Anne-Marie Duff, Dorothy Duffy, and Nora-Jane Noone.
3. House of Sand and Fog
Of all the films that made me cry this year - "21 Grams," "Veronica Guerin," "Lord of The Rings: Return of The King" - Vadim Perelman's adaptation of this Andre Dubus III novel shook me the most. Maybe it was beautiful Jennifer Connelly, vulnerable, stupid, and making all the wrong choices. Stern Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo were also affecting with their ornate furniture in a tiny beach bungalow. Completely engrossing.4. 21 Grams
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's second film (after "Amores Perros") is a doozy. Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, and Benicio del Toro star as three strangers whose lives become irrevocably bound through a tragic accident. Challenging, uncomfortable, and uniquely moving, "21 Grams" is one of the year's most powerful films.
5. Chaos
Coline Serreau's "Chaos" defies categorization. It is an exciting film--part thriller, comedy, revenge tale, and feminist drama, blended with compelling finesse. I hope that French actress/capable man eater Rachida Brakni becomes a major star.
6. Lord of The Rings: The Return Of The King
I'm not big on epic films; testosterone-driven battles against orcs and the fight of good vs evil are not my thing. However, after nine hours of watching poor Frodo trek across Middle Earth, I found myself moved.7. American Splendor
Paul Giamatti gives a far more winning performance as depressed comic artist Harvey Pekar than the man himself. Both appear in Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's film, a curious mix of narrative film and quasi-documentary. The interplay of fiction and fact was fascinating and I adored Hope Davis with her heavy hair and thick glasses. (Davis is also worth seeing in this year's "The Secret Lives of Dentist.")8. My Life Without Me
For a film about a dying woman, Isabel's Coixet's drama is a suprising pleasure. In the leading role, Sarah Polley decides not tell anyone about her impending death--not her doting, dufus husband (Scott Speedman), her acerbic mother (Deborah Harry), her two small, oblivious children or her first illicity lover (Mark Ruffalo) whom she meets after passing out at a laundramat. Polley's performance stayed with me.
9. The Company
Maybe it's because I have no dancing abilty whatsoever that I am often captivated by films about the ballet. Neve Campbell was lovelly to watch as Ry, a young dancer in Robert Altman's newest ensemble drama. She performs a magic dancein the rain, and offstage, waits tables in a wig and platform shoes and takes baths in her marble tub.
10. Stone Reader
Mark Moskowitz tracks down a shell of man Dow Mossman, a once promising writer who retreated to his family home and delivered newspapers after the publication of his first book "The Stones of Summer." The film is ostensibly a search for the lost author, but what comes across is the filmmakers reverence for books and for reading. I love that.
