The BBC recently published this poll in which 177 critics submitted their ten favorite films since 2000. Here’s my own list:
- Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)
- The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
- In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
- Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)
- Yi Yi: A One and A Two (Edward Yang, 2000)
- Y Tu Mama Tambien (Alfonso Cuaron, 2001)
- There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
- The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012)
- Duck Season (Fernando Eimbcke, 2004)
- My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007)
If I had been able to submit this ballot, it would not have changed the poll’s results much – its top three titles are on my ballot (including the same number one – yes, Lynch’s Los Angeles dreamscape has finally taken over Wes Anderson’s New York family saga for me) and four of my other selections made the poll’s top 100. I chose Before Sunset over Boyhood because I prefer the former’s deliberately limited scale and tightness, although we’ll see if that holds once I get around to watching the latter again.
As for my three outliers, I’m not surprised at Maddin’s singular “docu-fantasia” or Eimbcke’s ultra-charming micro-indie not making the list, but I am shocked at the decreasing visibility of Cuaron’s breakthrough film. Granted, I haven’t seen it in about a decade now, but at the time, it had a considerable impact on nothing less than how I watch movies. Perhaps, it’s simply been supplanted by Children of Men as the Cuaron film to watch (which I loved, but need to see again).
The problem with any top ten list, of course, is that it’s way too short and constricting. Other movies I considered (in addition to Boyhood): C.R.A.Z.Y., Far From Heaven, Frances Ha, Gosford Park, Holy Motors, Spirited Away, Stories We Tell, Synecdoche, New York.
Haunted Jukebox 