Top 5 films you didn't see in 2010

Maybe you were too busy trying to figure out Inception, maybe you couldn't bear to take a break from your Dexter DVD box set, or maybe these just weren't playing at a theater near you. Regardless, you should have seen these films.


5. Waste Land
Genre. Documentary
Dir. Lucy Walker, Karen Harley, Joao Jardim
Starring. Vik Muniz

If you enjoyed Exit Through the Gift Shop but were left with a less than positive outlook on modern art, Waste Land might be just the thing you need to feel the love again. Uplifting and inspiring, Waste Land follows artist Vik Muniz as he embarks on a quest to bring beauty into the lives of a group of people with the most unfortunate job imaginable. They pick trash for a living, spending most of their time trudging through the world's largest landfill, picking out the recyclable materials from the rest of the general waste. These are the materials that Muniz then uses to create their portraits which eventually sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

At times it feels a bit contrived, but in the end, Waste Land will make you believe in the power of art to transform the ordinary into the beautiful. It is also successful as an environmental film as it causes us to contemplate the overwhelming amount of trash we produce, without being overly preachy or accusatory. It does not seek to make us feel guilty, but rather it sends a general positive message about the possibility of change. And most of all it's an absolute joy to watch.

4. The Illusionist
Genre. Animation
Dir. Sylvain Chomet

Sometimes we need films to take us out of our ordinary lives and into another world. This is exactly what Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist does and the world is somehow both beautifully mesmerizing and deeply somber. Adapted from a script by Jaques Tati, The Illusionist tells the tale of an aging magician, struggling to find work in a time where the trends of show business were changing. He meets a young girl who believes whole heartedly in his magic and changes his life. She acts as both his savior and that which destroys him as he stops at nothing to keep his illusions real for her. The result is a melancholic but very touching film.

3. Biutiful
Genre. Drama
Dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu
Starring. Javier Bardem

Biutiful is not for the faint of heart. It is a challenging film, but if you're a fan of Innaritu you'll expect nothing less. The story interweaves the lives of several people living in the underbelly of society, doing whatever it takes to survive. Bardem is a tortured father with the unique gift of being able to connect with the after life. This is not so much a gift as a curse, and becomes even more so when he learns his own life is limited. Bardem (as per usual) is fascinating to watch. There aren't really any moments of relief from the tragic lives of these characters, which makes for a difficult viewing experience, but if everything in life were easy...well maybe it wouldn't be quite so Biutiful.

2. Another Year
Genre. Comedy/Drama
Dir. Mike Leigh
Starring. Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville

Another Year is a heartfelt character study of a loving married couple entering their golden years, highlighting the changes their family and friends experience over the course of a year. Mike Leigh once again offers an insightful look at the intricate dynamics of family relationships and companionship. See this film if for no other reason than for Lesley Manville's exceptional performance as an unmarried and lonely woman desperately trying to hold onto the pretense of happiness. It's a charming and funny film that will make you grateful for whatever friends and family you may be lucky enough to have.

See my full review here.

1. Somewhere
Genre. Drama
Dir. Sofia Coppola
Starring. Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning

With Somewhere, Sofia Coppola solidifies her position as one of the most uniquely feminine voices in cinema today. They say you should write what you know, so it comes as no surprise that Coppola has written a story about a famous father and his relationship with his young daughter. The entire cast delivers great performances as they bring to life a brilliantly simple script. Although admittedly slow at times, Somewhere is overall poetic and endearing in all of its subtly beautiful moments. It is easily one of my favorite films of this past year.

For a full review, go here.

Somewhere

Dir. Sofia Coppola
Starring. Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning

I often find myself dismissing films that lack a compelling story. It's hard for me to enjoy great effects, visuals, or performances without that key fundamental piece, which these days is all too often overlooked. I was always told that a good story or script is the one key building block to a good film. But if that is the golden rule of filmmaking why did I so enjoy Somewhere, a film with hardly any plot at all?

Let me clarify that. There is a story, but it is exceptionally simple and minimal. It is the classic tale of a big time Hollywood star, Johnny Marco (played to perfection by Stephen Dorff), stuck in a cycle of meaningless relationships and partying, suffering from an existential crisis because of it. His daughter, Chloe (Elle Fanning) is placed in his care when her mother declares she must go away for an indefinite period of time and for a reason unknown. Johnny and Chloe's relationship plays out not in a dramatic coming of age tale or a sentimental yarn of life changing self realizations, but in a gradual and tender move towards closeness that occurs over a simple series of moments shared together.

The story is one we may have heard before, but it's never been told like this. A lifestyle which we are all inclined to believe to be fast paced and glamorous, is portrayed as anything but. It is mostly boring and stagnant and lonely; perfectly depicted in a scene in which Johnny has his whole head covered in white plaster to create a mould for some special effects make up. He sits alone while it sets, completely faceless and isolated. All we hear is his slow breathing. Scenes like this are so well observed; they are never cliche or contrived, but rather organic and personal and touching.

We love so many moments in Hollywood films because they are exciting and fantastic, but we will never actually experience them. In Somewhere, writer/director Sofia Coppola creates beautiful moments that we actually do experience showing us why we should love them but have somehow forgotten to because they are real. She breaks down not only the fantasy visage of the "celebrity" but also the fictional conventions of film by not adhering to them. This is just the story of a man's life: the ups and downs, the daily routine, the desperate need for human companionship.

And with this, Coppola has created a rare joy of a film that washes over you like a warm summer's day and stays with you as if it were your own personal memory of a special place and time. It is a film filled with charm and hope, despite the nature of the human condition. It might not be the most exciting film you see this year but what Somewhere lacks in plot, it more than makes up for in something else. Perhaps it's truth.

For this review and many more, try Britfilms.tv.