Sight & Sound, January 2008 carries an article in which 50 critics around the world picked a Top 5 for 2008. Sight & Sound‘s team then worked out a ranking of 150 films to create an overall Top 10:
1. Hunger (UK)
2. There Will Be Blood
3. WALL•E
4. Gomorra (Italy)
=5. A Christmas Tale (France)
=5. The Class (France)
7. Of Time and the City (UK)
8. Happy-Go-Lucky (UK)
=9. The Headless Woman (Arg/Sp/Fra/It)
=9 Let the Right One In (Sweden)
Amazingly, I’ve seen the six films in the list that have been released in the UK. (I haven’t checked the other four yet, but I don’t think they’ve been released here.) Of those six, I can certainly see why five of them would figure in many lists. I didn’t really enjoy the Mike Leigh and I’m not a fan generally. Poppy was a truly irritating character, although overall the film was well made and there were pluses.
I don’t do ‘best of’ lists as such, especially because I don’t see all the films. But I’m happy to list the films that have made the most impact on me and that I enjoyed watching the most.
My top 5 (i.e. of the films I’ve seen this year) would be:
1. Couscous (France)
2. Auf der anderen Seite (Edge of Heaven) (Germany/Turkey)
3. Caramel (France/Lebanon)
4. El orfanato (France/Spain)
5. Faat Kiné (Senegal 2000)
So, what does everyone else think?
Interesting list, both of them. Wll check them out probably in the Bangalore International film fest next month…