It took a while to prove itself, but 2007 eventually became a good year for film. December had some very good releases and circumstances allowed me to see several good films in one short spurt. These are the best films I saw over the course of the year.
1) AWAY FROM HER
A woman develops a new personality in her twilight years as
Alzheimer's Disease robs her of her memories and her former
nature, but has not yet robbed her of mechanical function. Her
affectionate husband is bewildered by the initial loss, by the
new personality, and by choices she is making. Based on the
story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by Alice Munro, this very
personal film is a deeply affecting work from Sarah Polley, a
good actress becoming an even better writer and director. Julie
Christie is excellent, but veteran Canadian actor Gordon Pinsett
is even better.
2) THE KITE RUNNER
Marc Forster who directed MONSTER'S BALL and FINDING NEVERLAND
directs a haunting adaptation of the Khaled Hosseini novel. Two
boyhood friends in Afghanistan, Amin and Rahim, are separated by
an incident and each's reaction to that incident. The incident
hangs over both of their lives until years later when Amin, now
living in California, has an opportunity to return to his
homeland to amends. The story has a powerful theme of the
necessity to confront evil and oppose it.
3) INTO THE WILD
Sean Penn writes and directs the true story of Chris McCandless
(Emile Hirsch) who cut his ties with his wealthy family and lived
on the road seeing the real country. Knowing he is very self-
sufficient, he gives himself the test of living off the land in
the Alaskan wilderness only to find it is one challenge that may
be beyond him. The story has drama, suspense, and memorable view
of western America. It is nice to see a good role for Hal
Holbrook and one for the current Bart the Bear.
4) STARDUST
Neil Gaiman's STARDUST, directed by Matthew Vaughn, comes to the
screen as a first-class fantasy film--one of the best I have seen
in a long time. The story is humorously convoluted but not
really confusing. A young man from our world is on a quest to
win his love ends up being the fulcrum in a battle for the rule
of a kingdom in a magical parallel world. Gaiman is a fresh and
a different voice in fantasy writing, so the film is full of
surprises and some genuinely funny jokes.
5) GOLDA'S BALCONY
Valerie Harper plays Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel,
in a one-actor play by William Gibson (who also wrote the classic
play THE MIRACLE WORKER). Golda Meir in retirement reminisces
about her life, the history of Israel, and the most important and
difficult decision she ever had to make. Jeremy Kagan directs.
Some of the visual style is distracting, but Harper carries the
film.
6) EASTERN PROMISES
A London midwife is threatened by the actions of the Russian
Mafia in this new thriller from David Cronenberg. Cronenberg
brings back Viggo Mortensen from his A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE into
another intense action role. Double-crosses, violent fights, and
secret plans make the film feel like a good episode of the
Sopranovs. This could well be Cronenberg's best film of this
decade, atmospheric and exciting.
7) THE NAMESAKE
Mira Nair covers about thirty years in the life of one Indian
family. She gives us a film about the pull of one's native
culture and the desire of the next generation to be free of it.
This is a realistic story without a pre-packaged message. The
film is intelligent and moving. Perhaps the telling is just a
little rushed.
8) GONE BABY GONE
A young private investigator takes a job of looking for a little
girl whose kidnapping has become a media event. This
investigation will prove not just to be violent and shocking, it
will also raise some complex moral questions. Ben Affleck's
first feature film as director turns out to be a much better film
than most of the movies that he has acted in. This is a strong,
well-directed film and the debut of what could be a very
promising director.
9) BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA
Jess has a terrible life at home and at school. But the situation
gets much more bearable and better when the new girl in town
moves in next door and is enrolled in his class. She opens for
him a whole new world of intellect and art and fantasy. The two
are social outcasts, but form a rich (platonic) relationship
together that strengthens Jess for some of the emotional wrenches
to come in his life. This is a film that is by turns wonderful
and heart-breaking. Do not expect a big special-effects fantasy.
Fantasy as a source of emotional strength is one theme among
several well-presented themes. This fantasy-etched story is more
intelligent than most films made for adults.
10) SWEENEY TODD
SWEENEY RAZORHANDS. One of Broadway's best and most
controversial musicals comes to the screen as a vehicle for the
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp team. This version glories in the
gory more than the stage version did. Depp's singing limitations
rob the character of Sweeney of his all-important contagious
savage fury. Burton shows the audience a lot that could not be
shown on stage, not all of which was a good idea to show. Still
the music will haunt you.
The following films got a high enough rating to make my list, but there can be only ten films on a Top Ten list. So I would like to recognize that I was also impressed with RESCUE DAWN, BEOWULF, THE SINGING REVOLUTION, and THE SAVAGES.
More importantly I would like to recognize three films from previous years that I saw in 2007, too late to make my list for their years though they probably should have been on previous top ten lists.
THE LIVES OF OTHERS is about an officer and interrogator in the Stasi, the Communist East German Secret Police, spying on innocent citizens and becoming involved in their lives. Ulrich Mühe plays Captain Gerd Wiesler who is extremely good in a job he comes to wish did not exist. The actor Mühe was dying of stomach cancer as he made the film and his last performance is strong and moving.
PAN'S LABYRINTH is powerful as a fantasy film and as a story of the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. This is Mexican director Guillermo del Toro's best film to date and is really a modern masterpiece of the fantasy film.
BLACK is very unusual in many ways. It is a high quality production coming from the Bollywood film industry, but it is one that avoids the traditional Bollywood style. The film breaks neatly in half at the intermission. Before the intermission it retells the story of the training of a deaf and blind child. This is very close to being a remake of Arthur Penn's film THE MIRACLE WORKER, the story of the monumental effort to teach the concept of what words are to a young Helen Keller. After the intermission writer/director Sanjay Leela Bhansali fictionally continues the story of the blind and deaf woman trying to reach her teacher who has fallen into the abyss of Alzheimer's Disease. The photography and art direction are things of beauty.
Mark R. Leeper mleeper@optonline.net Copyright 2008 Mark R. Leeper