Top Ten Movies of 2008

In 2008, the quality of film as an art form dropped as steeply as America’s economy. For me, nearly all of the numerous “prestige pictures” that studios squeezed into theaters from October to December proved underwhelming, having failed to live up to their impeccably edited trailers and tremendous talent involved.

Pretensions to greatness are a common trap, as you can see every day in the lavish art gallery that is the Calendar section of the LA Times. Oscar-nominated Slumdog Millionaire is as photographically lavish, yet as cut-and-paste, as its poster, with characters so devoid of personality that you wonder why the protagonists’ names weren’t Lower Class #1 and #2. Indeed, many of the films this year disappointed in their lack of genuine human interest, a quality exploited through singular detachment in Steven Soderbergh’s compelling, flawed epic, Che. Films like Revolutionary Road misunderstood their layered source material, and felt like dated, archetypal exercises when they could have been nuanced and relevant.

Fortunately, a handful of excellent features dropped early in the year. As you probably know by now (or, at least, you should—go rent it), The Dark Knight was the rare blockbuster event that audiences could enjoy on multiple levels, a thrilling crime drama wonderfully invested in its themes, sustaining its momentum all the way through its positively overwhelming convoluted finish. Oddly enough, the movie wasn’t nominated for Best Picture, which shows how the Oscars are increasingly becoming a skewed and irrelevant celebration of cinematic zeitgeist. I’d rather see three more of those than a minute of another endless death knell like Benjamin Button.

However, at this time of year, I tend to ask myself, which movies did I see recently that I found truly fulfilling on a humanistic scale? Which films gave me a sense of discovery or meaning that stuck with me after I woke up the next morning? Which of the approximately 73 movies released in 2008 that I took the time to see reminded me why I love movies in the first place?

Here are 10 of them, most of which came and went in the first half of the year. And while I don’t think that any of these movies are perfect (what is?), I found each of them either deeply moving or resonant. Film, like all art forms, is subjective, but hopefully I can shed light on some lesser-known films that deserve your attention. I have chosen not to rank them, though I do have a particular favorite.

Dear Zachary

A raging torrent of a documentary, Kurt Kuenne’s aggressively edited testament to the murder of his childhood friend is a film best seen with little prior knowledge of its incendiary and heartbreaking story. Serving as a depiction of the universal facets of human injustice and beautiful goodness, Kuenne has crafted a feature that is clearly manipulative in structure, yet the footage culled from hundreds of hours of home movies is pieced together in consistently compelling and surprising ways.

Encounters at the End of the World

Werner Herzog, in his endless quest to document the most esoteric of human passions (see Grizzly Man), offers yet another endlessly thought-provoking documentary, an existential study of scientists and other workers in Antarctica, and the strange creatures they’ve studied for years. Herzog’s films always serve as both studies of quirky characters and juggernauts of unforgettably gorgeous imagery, and this film has its share of bizarrely introspective interviewees, as well as lengthy, transporting underwater sequences set to rousing choral music.

Happy-Go-Lucky

Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies), one of the best directors of actors alive, has made yet another film with an utterly unique yet fully realized protagonist who whether you love or hate her, is impossible to forget. Sally Hawkins gives a full-bodied performance as Poppy, a relentless optimist who bounces from one situation to another with the same cheerful, infectious attitude; she shamefully wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. Interestingly, an irritable driving instructor serves as Poppy’s necessary pessimistic counterpoint, one of multiple introspective tests to her seemingly boundless ability to love. Leigh’s fascinating and poignant film truly shows the fruits of taking time to develop characters.

Let The Right One In

Without having seen Twilight, I’d say that this is the teenage vampire love story of the year. Yet even if that doesn’t interest you, this wondrous Swedish coming-of-age tale explores budding sexuality, childhood discovery and the importance of friendship in ways that transcend its sparse genre trappings. A sort of romantic Pan’s Labyrinth in snow, the film portrays a 12-year old boy living in chilly Stockholm who meets and befriends his new neighbor, Eli (the revelatory Lina Leandersson), an androgynous bloodsucker in hiding. Steeped in a meditative mysteriousness, this is one of the most unique and subtle films of its kind.

My Father, My Lord

An impassioned cry from first-time Israeli director David Volach (a former Haredi Jew), this excellent movie depicts a rabbi and his wife dealing with their young son’s insatiable curiosity, which threatens their fundamentally religious lifestyle. Using a low budget and non-professional actors, the film is quietly moving, with a subtle synth score, evocative cinematography and organic, internal performances. At 80 minutes, this is a short, swift indictment of religious nationalism, and a truly independent film.

Paranoid Park

My favorite film of the year, Gus Van Sant’s masterpiece views teenage life as an ongoing, epic morality play, a world where detachment and indifference seem to create the easiest path to indulge in our passions. And what passions they are, as Van Sant shoots what are surely the most phantasmagorical skateboarding sequences ever committed to film. The protagonist’s involvement in the accidental death of a security guard, which exposes the triviality of his various emotional investments, gives way to the most cinematic portrayal of teenage existentialism I’ve seen yet.

Rachel Getting Married

Jonathan Demme’s latest is an alternately rapturous and devastating depiction of a family’s attempts to make amends with the past, in anticipation of the titular act. Indeed, such humane gestures are reflected in Demme’s choice to represent a variety of ethnic backgrounds in the guests at the wedding, which not only culminates in a ravishing extended wedding sequence, but also serves as a subtle background to the acceptance that rehabilitated Kym (Anne Hathaway, in a breakthrough performance the Oscars managed not to ignore) yearns for. This camaraderie comes through in many inspired moments in the film, such as a spontaneous dishwasher-packing contest.

WALL-E

Pixar is the most successful movie studio in the world because of the sense of wonder and discovery that permeates their best films. WALL-E is a glorious return to the creativity I felt was lacking from their last few efforts, both in terms of character design and atmospheric resonance, and was one of the most joyous experiences I had in a theater this year. The film manages to be both a touching love story and a thrilling action movie, simply because of the way the story and characters are presented. Who knew that an animated female, machine-gun-wielding, egg-shaped robot could be sexy?

The Witnesses

Novel-like in structure, French filmmaker André Téchiné’s incredible story of illicit homosexual relationships before and after the strike of AIDS is filled with fascinating moral conflicts and brilliantly three-dimensional characters. Most movies don’t have this amount of intrigue and focus in telling a multi-faceted story. The subject matter itself is not explicit, but is essential to conveying the fear of death and the tumultuous consequences that the epidemic had on the lives of ordinary citizens.

The Wrestler

It’s rare that an exhausted story can be done in an original way, yet from beginning to end, Darren Aronofsky’s restrained The Wrestler, a Rocky-esque story of redemption, is impeccable in style, effort and presentation. It is a film that addresses the nature of performance art, while the actors themselves give impeccable performances. There are so many scenes that would feel contrived in lesser hands, yet are poignant because of Aronofsky’s camera, capturing evocative details and facial expressions, and, moreso, Mickey Rourke’s much-talked-about (and thankfully Oscar-nominated) performance.