I’ll start with a short disclaimer: I fully recognize the potential arrogance in claiming to know the four most misunderstood films of the year. To say that I have some supreme viewing power that allows me to see these films for what they truly are reeks of a high and mighty attitude that I’d rather stay away from. However, as many critics are preparing their final tallies of what they loved and hated in 2008, I simply feel the need to put into print a positive perspective on four films that seem to be frequently criticized or overlooked.
That being said, there is a certain irony in the fact that all four of these films deal with a kind of misunderstanding. Whether it be a mix-up between characters or a challenging thematic element that dares the viewer to reevaluate the way they approach the subject matter, I feel each of these films does something particularly audacious with the concept of false impression.
One other quick side note: It is impossible for me to get to the core of these films without spoilers, so if you haven’t seen them and would like to view them blind, please return to the article after watching Joel and Ethan Coen’s Burn After Reading, Mary Bronstein’s Yeast, Johan Renck’s Downloading Nancy and Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs.
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I recently submitted a ballot for indieWIRE’s annual Critics’ Poll, which offers respondents a chance to create two separate lists of the best films of the year: one comprised of films which received theatrical distribution (which is described as, at minimum, a one week run in a commercial theater in New York City, essentially the same type of release required for Oscar consideration); and a list of the best films which weren’t distributed commercially in 2008––ie: those which screened only at festivals, and/or in other non-commercial venues, and/or outside of New York. Because I see so many films at festivals, I had a far greater pool of candidates for the latter list than the former. My “true” top ten list would combine films which were made readily available to audiences via studio subsidiaries (such as Synecdoche, NY and Rachel Getting Married), with films that I fell in love with at a festival and may never get a chance to see again, and with films which had the bare minimum New York release, but nevertheless were probably still seen by fewer people than the average distributor-less festival hit (such as Build a Ship, Sail to Sadness). That said, I understand the purpose of making the distinction––even if there was no other benefit to it, there’s always the hope that some smaller theatrical and straight-to-DVD distributors will look to the annual Best Undistributed list as a reference to films they might have missed. After all, 2007’s “winner,” Hong Sang Soo’s Woman on the Beach, was purchased and ended up in theaters barely a week into the new year.
In fact, I think singling out films which are still on the market, and in a perfect world wouldn’t be, is so worth doing, that not only am I revealing here the ten titles I included in the poll, but I’m adding a few bonus films. The following list is presented alphabetically and should be considered unranked, with the exception of the first title mentioned — they all deserve to be seen by wider audiences, but the reception thus far bestowed on the work of one French master in particular is actually a travesty.
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On last week’s episode of FilmCouch, I admitted that I can’t really defend myself against the criticisms that I tend to be friendlier to smaller films than blockbusters; as I pointed out, as of the recording of that episode, the highest grossing film that had a real chance of making my Top 10 of 2008 list had so far been out-grossed by 39 other films. Today, I took another look at Box Office Mojo’s 2008 box office chart, and noticed two things. 1) the film in question, Burn After Reading, has dropped to #41 for the year, likely due to the assent of Twilight into the Top 20; and of the 40 films that outgrossed the Coen Brothers film (which, for them, was a big hit), I’ve only even seen two: Iron Man (#2) which I did like, and 27 Dresses (#31) which … uh… all I can say is that I have insomnia and it was on HBO really, really late.
I know that I need to remedy this. I need to see some of the year’s highest grossing films, if my cheerleading for some of the lowest-grossing is to be taken as, at least, informed elitism, and not elitism of the knee-jerk variety. But I simply can’t watch all 38 films in the next four weeks. So where to begin? I know that I should have seen The Dark Knight (#1) and Wall-E (#5) over the summer, and I’ll definitely watch both on DVD before the year is out. I do not have much faith that Get Smart (#15) or What Happens in Vegas (#28) will be able to knock A Christmas Tale out of its tentative top slot on my personal Top Ten, but the populist argument would maintain that I have to see them before I dismiss them out of hand, right?
Or not? Basically, I need you help. Look at the list here, and tell me which high-grossing films you think I absolutely must see before the end of 2008 in order to be able to accurately assess, as a whole, The Year in Movies. I’ll do what I can to catch up with the consensus choice, and will report back on my impressions.
