My 5 Favorite Films of 2008 (TFR Article)

(Link to article)

By Meseret Haddis

Of the nearly 120 films I watched in 2008, these are my five favorites:

Umberto D. (1952) Vittorio De Sica

In 2008, I watched many Italian films, most belonging to the Neorealist era. For me, Italian Neorealism starts and ends with De Sica. Bicycle Thieves (1948) was the first De Sica film I saw and, as with almost everyone else who experiences it for the first time, I was floored and moved. However, the pinnacle De Sica film for me was Umberto D. The heartbreaking tale of an elderly man who has nothing to live for but his dog encapsulates everything I feel toward Neorealist cinema. A stripped-down visual style couples with the struggles of post-war Italy. Andre Bazin writes that everything screenwriter Caesar Zavattini and De Sica tried to achieve in Bicycle Thieves was realized in Umberto D. and I couldn’t agree more.

Une femme est une femme (1961) Jean-Luc Godard

It’s no mystery that I like Godard. I enjoy both his pre and post 60’s films because each has something to offer. While watching Godard’s post-60’s work, you can’t have the same attitude you had when you watched his earlier films. The best example of pre 60’s Godard, however, is Une femme est une femme (A Woman is a Woman). It’s a light, carefree, and a funny film, but not without its New Wave roots. It mirrors a lot of Godard’s attitude toward film that his fellow New Wave counterparts saw in him, which was a good hearted prankster and not as a morose character that people identify with his later films. It is difficult to not mention Brecht when discussing Godard’s, but this film shows Brechtian acting at its best (with dialogue such as, “The line between reality and musical comedy is absurdly blurred” and, “Before we act out this farce we must bow to the audience”). It’s one of his most fun and energetic Technicolor projects – and, let’s face in, one’s better than Anna Karina.

Les enfants terribles (1950) Jean Cocteau/Jean-Pierre Melville

Les enfants terribles (The Strange Ones), based on Cocteau’s novel, is credited as having been directed by Melville, but because Cocteau was constantly on set - making changes and guiding the actors - the film more appropriately belongs to Cocteau. The visual style falls between French New Wave and surrealism, using an objective voice with narration much like many New Wave films that simply describe the action or emotion of a character or a subjective dream world that borders on reality. While Melville’s other films (Bob Le Flambour, Le Samourai, Army of Shadows) are much more straightforward, stylistically, The Strange Ones stands apart from the rest. The tension between the film’s on-screen adolescent siblings mirrors the tension of Cocteau and Melville behind the camera. Both sides wanted control over the other, and - as in any fight - there is only one winner. In this case it was Cocteau, but Melville’s influence can still be felt. Because of the influence of the two directors, however, the film remains timeless.

Zazie dans Le Metro (1960) Louis Malle

I have yet to see a more visually ambitious comedy than Zazie dans le Metro. The film is an inventive farce, which is best matched with its absurd style. Most of the Malle films I’ve seen feature clean, simple compositions (as exemplified in his documentaries) but, in this film, it’s as if he wanted to re-write the camera trick book. Zazie dans le Metro is more similar to a cartoon than a live action film - if you think that’s impossible, take a look for yourself.

Synecdoche, New York (2008) Charlie Kaufman

Kaufman’s film is ambitious; by putting us so strongly in its story, the film makes us question its motives. This isn’t common in today’s cinema. Each shot, each line of dialogue can be used to help us understand Kaufman’s complete message – however, each little revelation is also small enough that it doesn’t initially contribute to our full understanding of the film. Synecdoche, New York is rich with material, references, emotions and dialogue but, dramatically, it is fairly simple. Despite the fragmentation, you could have called this film Umberto D., as it is similarly concerned with the banality of life and the search for something meaningful. Kaufman’s writing style is abrasive (compared to his previous scripts), and it’s good to see an artist break away from his own conventions to explore areas that are less comfortable and manageable for the audience. Mel Brooks said that all writers eventually want to direct because they’re going to want to protect what they’ve written. In his first directorial effort, Kaufman achieves what many filmmakers accomplish only later on in their careers: he encourages the audience to think.

Honorable Mentions:

Crisis (Ingmar Bergman)

The Flowers of St. Francis (Roberto Rossellini)

Diary of a Country Preist (Robert Bresson)

Monkey Business (Norman McLeod)

The Kid (Charlie Chaplin)

The Elephant Man (David Lynch)

The Lodger (Alfred Hitchcock)

Three on a Match (Mervyn Leroy)

Che (Steven Soderbergh)

Punch Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson)