The Asphalt Jungle

The Best of 2009 - The Runners Up

February 8th, 2010 by Raj Ranade

Have you been dying for a true authoritative opinion about what the best films of the year and past decade were? Fear not, The Asphalt Jungle is at your service. Berkeley Ph.D candidate/world film-festival traveler/international playboy Fareed Ben-Youssef will be joining me for a countdown of the best of 2009 and the 2000s (oughties? naughties?). We’ll be revealing a new film each day, so kick back, fire up your Netflix queues, and get your quips about how pretentious we are ready. Today, the runners up!

Fareed:

Avatar (dir. by James Cameron) - Simply put, James Cameron’s picture represents Hollywood at its escapist best. The spectacle is so beautifully constructed that the film easily transcends its sometimes weak dialogue and charisma-free (non-CGI) Sam Worthington. The dazzling beauty of Pandora, coupled with the exquisitely choreographed action sequences, make this an exhilarating time at the movies. See this one in IMAX (bigger is indeed better).

Raj :

Goodbye Solo (dir. by Ramin Bahrani) - In recent years, realist cinema or neo-neo realism has traditionally been associated with elements of life that are solemn, dour, and depressing, as if real life was composed only of sadness and despair. “Goodbye Solo” may center around an elderly man preparing to commit suicide, but thanks to a vibrant performance by Souléymane Sy Savané as a cab driver trying to change the doomed man’s mind, the film overflows with life-affirming warmth that never feels contrived or overly sentimental. Bahrani has also strayed outside of the restrictive confines of pure realism and provided his film with visual touches of dazzling and beautiful lyricism, making this his best film.

Fareed:

A Serious Man (dir. by Joel and Ethan Coen) - Few films could balance so precariously between dark drama and ridiculous comedy. The Coen Brothers’ latest defies expectations and captures the horror that lies in the absurdity of life. The ending image is a pitch perfect example of the monumental sublime, an unforgettable finale that literally forces you to stare into the abyss.

Raj :

Tokyo Sonata (dir. by Kiyoshi Kurosawa) - Whereas a movie like Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air” merely feigns concern for the unemployed before smugly focusing on the troubles of a lonely rich man, a movie like “Tokyo Sonata” truly engages with the deep sadness of unemployment to become one of the important movies of our time. Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s horror filmmaking background adapts surprisingly well to this domestic drama which may have a calm surface but roils with hidden churning terror as it details the disentegration of a Japanese family after the patriarch is laid-off. Kurosawa’s plot probably spirals a bit too far out of control towards the end, but it’s hard not to forgive him when he comes up with a closing redemptive scene of staggering grace.

Fareed:

Bronson (dir. by Nicolas Winding Refn) - Energetic, brutal, charismatic, magnetic - these adjectives only begin to scratch the surface of Tom Hardy’s star making performance as an eternal prisoner thirsting for fame. The moment Hardy steps into the frame, you will not look away.

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has long been fascinated with the underworld and its great distance from pop-culture representations. Refn’s stylish and often surreal direction make him the perfect match for the film’s subject Bronson, who only sees his stifling cage as a platform for a liberating celebrity. This is one of the rare films where the subject, star, and director complement each other seamlessly.

Raj:

The Limits of Control (dir. by Jim Jarmusch) - Ignore the haters that complain that “The Limits of Control” doesn’t have enough of a plot or enough things happening - this is undoubtedly the coolest movie of the year. Jarmusch frames his shark-skin suited protagonist in elegantly composed compositions and soundtracks the action with atmospheric post-rock, ensuring that every second of the picture bleeds with style. Maybe the allegorical confrontation between art and cold commerce is a little silly, but as a sensory experience, this picture is unparalleled.

Fareed:

Bright Star (dir. by Jane Campion) - In an awards season dominated by talk of Bigelow and Cameron, one established auteur has unfortunately fallen by the wayside - Jane Campion. In her latest “Bright Star,” about the love between famed poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, Campion transforms the natural world into a startling mirror of its lovers’ passions.To quote my May review: “Campion manages to uncover the power behind Keats’ romantic lyrics through her camera lens which imbues its view of the English countryside with a quiet sumptuousness.”

Raj:

Sugar (dir. by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck) - “Sugar” certainly begins like a formula sports picture, albeit one with uncommon sensitivity, as its young protagonist rises like a shooting star in the Cuban baseball world and secures a spot on an American minor-league team. What happens after that, however, elevates the film far beyond its formula brethren, as the film becomes an insightful look at the immigrant experience and an expose of a system that chews up idealistic young dreamers and spits them out. Like Bahrani did in “Goodbye Solo”, Boden and Fleck have also become far more visually expressive since “Half Nelson”, and a long tracking shot in a video arcade here would turn “Paranoid Park”-era Gus Van Sant green with envy.

Entry Filed under: Best of 2009