The problem with “Best of the Year” lists is that they’re inevitably made at the end of the year, so it’s entirely possible I forgot something awesome that came out in February. Of course, I did include something I saw at the Film Festival back in 2005, so I’ll say this: If I’ve already forgotten about it, it probably wasn’t that great. These aren’t in strict, concrete order of preference, but something vaguely close to it that could change but probably won’t.
Pan’s Labyrinth: Guillermo Del Toro’s grim fantasy set during the Spanish Civil War offered beautiful visuals, a wonderful performance from 12 year-old Ivana Baquero, a brutal and horrifying (in the best possible way) villain by Sergi Lopez, two applause-inducing scenes capped off by the lovely Maribel Verdu, and a dark and elegant story of childhood innocence set against brutality and cruelty. Del Toro has always been a pretty good director with a flair for the macabre (particularly well demonstrated in Devil’s Backbone, as opposed to his still entertaining Hollywood work), but Pan’s Labyrinth ushers him into the ranks of Gilliam, Burton, and Jeunet. A beautiful and terrifying film.
The Fountain: It’s not perfect, but at the worst it’s one of the most striking and beautiful failures to come along in some time. Darren Aronofsky may have set his sights too high – his original vision, before star dropouts and subsequent budget cutbacks, was much longer and more grandiose – but still produced a film that stayed with me for several days. It gets a bit esoteric towards the end, and Hugh Jackman isn’t quite versatile enough to pull off the part, but Aronofsky compensates with beautiful visuals, the nearly divine Rachel Weisz, and a heartbreakingly lovely score by Clint Mansell (which I ran out to purchase the day after watching the film). I’d rather watch an ambitious failure than a placid success, and The Fountain isn’t anywhere near a failure.
Babel: Alejandro Inarritu’s latest mix of multiple narratives is even stronger than 21 Grams, and benefits from less monkeying around with non-linear editing. Bradd Pitt and Cate Blanchett ate up most of the advertising material, and they are very good – Blanchett is the rare actress who can be captivating even though she spends most of the film bleeding, moaning, or just unconscious, while Pitt gives a powerful and restrained performance. But the real star, and perhaps the main reason for the film making my list, is Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi, who turns in a stunning performance as a deaf and mute schoolgirl starved for affection. Kikuchi gets relatively little dialogue, but imparts powerful emotion to her role. In a film that is, to a large extent, about communication, it’s striking to see how Inarritu has constructed a film that relies on relatively little dialogue: The acting and storytelling get all but the most complicated plot points across. There are scenes that are riveting, like the midnight car chase or Tokyo club sequence, and others that will linger in your brain, like the closing shot of Chieko on her balcony. Like The Fountain, it has its flaws, but they are far and away outdone by its strong points.
Stranger Than Fiction: I already wrote a full review of this, so I’ll just summarize here: A funny, dopey, and sweet performance by Will Ferrell, manic eccentricity courtesy of Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman, and Maggie Gyllenhall being flat-out adorable is enough to make for a pretty good film. Combined with a sharp, smart, but still accessible and emotional script, it makes for a great one. It’s smart, funny, and genuinely moving: Even setting aside the meta-fictional tendencies, it’s a great story about changing your life, reaching out to others, and making sacrifices. The fact that it’s similar to Charlie Kaufman’s work without feeling like a ripoff sets it apart even more.
Lady Vengeance: It’s hard to categorize this as a 2006 film, since I saw it at the Toronto Film Festival in 2005 (and wrote a review of it then), but 2006 was the year of its domestic release, so here it is. A far more restrained and elegant film than Chan-Wook Park’s earlier films, Lady Vengeance is, naturally, about vengeance and the consequences it has on the people who exact it and those who receive it. Everything seems more refined than the visceral (yet still intensely effective) Oldboy, from the subtle black humour to a plot that involves more planning than punching to the elegant lead performance by Yeong-ae Lee. It’s probably not what fans were expecting after Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, but it may be superior.
Honorable Mention: The Descent isn’t a great film, but it is an incredibly scary one that will have you on edge long before the monsters show up. Volver is hamstrung by some hammy plot twists, but buoyed by wonderful performances. I liked Superman Returns, but it has too many flaws – like a lousy Lois Lane – to compensate for the wonder and awe it brought to the character.
