3. “The Piano Teacher”
Leave it to implacable fear monger Michael Haneke to deliver one of the decade’s most scorching portraits of human suffering and emotional incarceration, one bordering on a psychic breakdown. Known for his psychologically disturbing works, the misanthropic filmmaker renders yet another austere tale about a submissive piano teacher (a spectacularly emotionally ravaged Isabelle Huppert) who is systematically damaged by her malevolent mother. Her humanity practically buried under years of mental abuse, Huppert’s character only reprieve with respect to feeling something is ventilated by cruelty to her students or brutal moments of self-inflicted genital mutilation (“Antichrist” has nothing on this). Things get even worse (if you can even imagine) when she becomes obsessed with one of her 17-year-old students. Abhorrent yet fascinating, the picture is like a blunt-instrument striking the head, a film we carefully admire from afar but never want to be forced to watch again.
2. “Mulholland Drive”
David Lynch’s puzzle box narrative seems to be about a hopeful Hollywood newcomer (Naomi Watts) who stumbles wide-eyed into a haunting mystery to which there are no coherent answers. But the hallucinatory nature of the story gives way to a deeper plumbing of the dreamscape —Lynch invites the viewer farther down the rabbit hole than previously thought possible. In the end, the fable, originally created as an ABC pilot, diverges into two distinctly different narratives, one real and one imagined, but not always in that order. Keep a scorecard handy for Lynch’s scariest film yet.
1. “The Man Who Wasn’t There”
The Coen Brothers‘ achingly beautiful neo-noir (filmed in velvety black-and-white) was the polar opposite of their previous film, the jubilant “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Dour, smoky, and draped in period atmosphere (it takes place in the late 1940s), this tale of a barber (Billy Bob Thornton) becoming embroiled in a convoluted scheme involving murder, blackmail, UFOs and the burgeoning technology of dry cleaning is one of the Brothers’ most inscrutable, underrated, and deeply felt films. It’s a movie whose characters are hollow (hollowed out by suburbia and by World War II), and the visual texture enriched by those long, inky shadows, echo this marvelously. It’s a movie whose gorgeous starkness haunts you long after you finish watching.
Honorable Mention:
Perhaps what many will see as a glaring oversight is Wes Anderson‘s “The Royal Tenenbaums” which was a bone of contention amongst some of the staff, but the prevailing Playlist wisdom is that this film isn’t the masterpiece many think it is and suffers from too much caricature (one-note performances, costumes and an ungainly slathering of music) that was enough to keep it off this list. To be clear, it does have some heart and is very watchable. Other pictures that didn’t quite make the cut were Baz Luhrmann‘s gaudy yet entertaining musical, “Moulin Rouge,” Alejandro Amenábar‘s spellbinding ghost story “The Others,” starring a strong performance by Nicole Kidman (when you look at the decade as a whole you realize she’s been in several great films), Kiyoshi Kurosawa‘s psychological-j-horror film, “Kairo” and Todd Field‘s harrowing family drama, “In The Bedroom.”
If you’re wondering where films like “Ali,” “Donnie Darko,” “Black Hawk Down” or “Vanilla Sky” well, they were discussed but didn’t make the cut. Thoughts? Your 2001 picks?
— Kevin Jagernauth, Rodrigo Perez, Drew Taylor, Katie Walsh, Astrud Sands, Gabe Toro,
I might say that Mulholland Drive is the greatest film of the decade. Could it be of the century yet?
Interesting, Donnie Darko and The Royal Tenenbaums are my top two favorite films to date, yet both missed the cut. I\’m not sure I agree with your (the playlist\’s) view of the Royal Tenenbaums. It sounds like the real reason for keeping it off was merely because most others would not have. Glad to see films like The Piano Teacher make the cut, even though it is nearly unwatchable. Still terrific cinema. Amelie seems to be the most well placed film on this list. And as much as it pains me to say, it really is hard to believe that LOTR wouldn\’t make the cut for best of 2001. I know it doesn\’t match the mold here… but still.
In The Bedroom beats all of these films, though it is an impressive list. I have to go back and watch The Man Who Wasn\’t There again because I never related to it when I saw it in the theater. Also, your analysis of The Piano Teacher is spot on. Absolutely terrifying! I don\’t think I could watch it again.
completely agree with Mulholland Drive being number one, even for the entire decade. Donnie Darko should have been in that list as well.
Man you missed the boat on omitting Miike\’s "Ichi the Killer".
Great list (including The Man Who Wasn\’t There!). Nathan Duke mentioned In the Mood For Love, which I think is one of the greatest films I\’ve ever seen in any year; but it seems that the film opened first in 2000…
A lot would disagree, but I\’d try to get "Black Hawk Down" in there somewhere. One of the best modern war films.
Agree with Nathan, Vanilla Sky underrated. Mine would be 1. Mulholland Drive 2.Donnie Darko 3. The Royal Tenenbaums 4. The Man Who Wasn\’t There 5. Y Tu Mama Tambien 6. Werckmeister Harmonies 7. Lantana 8. The Pledge 9. Vanilla Sky 10. Musa/Blow
Perfect list, keep it up.
It\’s bad enough that ROYAL TENENBAUMS got dissed, but no GHOST WORLD? Over AMELIE??!! This list is so bad it\’s gone past good and back to bad again.
Striking AND unforgettable *
I think Donnie Darko would be my top 10, simply because it is so striking unforgettable. Although yours is a strong list.
Robert Altman\’s "Gosford Park."
Nathan, "In the mood for Love" is in the best films of 2000 list….
Ghost World was my favorite after Mullholland Dr.
Tenenbaums would probably be my number one. My favorite from Anderson for sure, and a contender for my favorite film period.
Moulin Rouge all the way!!!
"In the Bedroom" is my personal #1. Such raw, shocking, genuine emotion… Definitely should\’ve made the top 10
1. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch)
2. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki)
3. Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson)
4. Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly)
5. Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson)
6. Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff)
7. Y tu Mama Tambien (Alfonso Cuaron)
8. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
9. Millennium Mambo (Hou Hsiao Hsien)
10. In the Bedroom (Todd Field)
Still haven\’t seen:
A.I. (Steven Spielberg),
Fast Runner (Zacharias Kunuk),
Blissfully Yours (Apichatpong Weerasethakul),
Mysterious Objects at Noon (Apichatpong Weerasethakul),
Blow (Ted Demme), and
Sexy Beast (Johnathan Glazer)
1) LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring 2) Memento 3) Black Hawk Down 4) Ameile 5) Amores Perros 6) The Devil\’s Backbone 7) Donnie Darko 8) Monsters Inc 9)The Royal Tenenbaums 10) The Man Who Wasn\’t There
My list: Royal Tenebaums, Moulin Rouge, Memento, Sexy Beast, Black Hawk Down, Life as a House, Vanilla Sky, Training Day, Monsters Inc, I Am Sam
Right movies but wrong order. As has been said Mulholland Drive at number 1 for sure
Hedwig, not the owl
Mulholland Drive number one by a long shot. Also: In the Mood for Love, Werckmeister Harmonies, Memento, The Royal Tenenbaums, Amelie, The Man Who Wasn\’t There, Waking Life, Donnie Darko, Black Hawk Down, Fat Girl, In the Bedroom, Ghost World. And I do think "Vanilla Sky" is a little underrated.
The Fellowship of the Ring
Considering they’ve praised it all over this site, it’s crazy to see Spirited Away’s exclusion here. Also, Fat Girl over Memento is just too hilarious.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch