3. “The Pianist”
Many movies contend to be about spiritual endurance and physical resilience, when, in fact, they’re not. They’re about hope and overcoming the odds. They’re about rising up in the face of adversity and other well-worn platitudes. The thing that makes Roman Polanski‘s Palme d’Or-winning “The Pianist” such a towering accomplishment is that it really, truly is a movie about the will to survive, and an unsentimental look at the brutal ignominies therein, that make basic persistence seem like a courageous feat worthy of reverence. Adrien Brody, in his Oscar-winning performance, scrambles, hides, and survives in a near-inhumane manner through a vividly realized World War II (shot, stunningly, by Pawel Edelman). It’s an astonishing performance, the kind too infrequently seen in Hollywood movies.
2. “The 25th Hour”
Spike Lee‘s post 9/11 film (planned and scripted before the attacks, but shot in the immediate aftermath) couldn’t have been more tragically prescient. Based on David Benioff‘s novel about a drug dealer’s last day before he heads off to prison, Lee’s decision to shoot the film through the prism of the recently scarred New York City added a brilliant dimension to the author’s already strong script. “25th Hour” isn’t just a parable about one man’s mistakes (in this case, a strikingly good Ed Norton, plus a wonderful supporting cast including an always-good Barry Pepper), but opens up into a sweeping love letter to the American Dream, the diversity of its people and the potential that allows the nation to keep on moving, even through its darkest hours. Lee’s best feature film this decade? Easily.
1 .”Talk to Her”
Pedro Almodóvar‘s fourteenth effort was the rare foreign film that finds recognition among regular Oscars, including Best Original Screenplay and a nomination for Best Director. An intoxicating, mysterious, and achingly felt melodrama, it chronicles four lives brought together by chance, fate, obsession and love. Two men — a nurse and a journalist — build an unlikely friendship when taking care of two women they love who are in comas, one a bullfighter gored in action (Rosario Flores) the other a young ballet student (a ravishingly beautiful Leonor Watling) crippled by a car accident. Time feels fluid as past, present and future moments bleed into one another, falling to an unpredictable, almost mystically tragic conclusion. Impossibly romantic, sensually tactile, intricate and mature, it may be Almodóvar’s unimpeachable masterpiece. The melancholy showstopping Cataeno Veloso song, just after the first act, represents the film well, producing goose bumps and stealing your breath away.
Honorable Mentions:
Some years there’s a lot of good films to cut and 2002 was no exception. Films we had to sadly pass over include Spike Jonze‘s wonderfully convoluted writer’s block dramedy “Adaptation” which features an excellent Nicolas Cage performance (and it probably would have made this list if it didn’t somewhat fall apart in the end — it also doesn’t feel as masterful on repeat viewings), Paul Thomas Anderson‘s enchantingly romantic (but still somewhat slight) “Punch Drunk Love” and Hayao Miyazaki‘s wondrous Studio Ghibli-animated picture, “Spirited Away.” Other worthy films we had to give the ax to were Paul Greengrass‘ documentary-like “Bloody Sunday,” the subject of which begat the famous U2 song about the 1972 Irish civil rights protest march and subsequent massacre by British troops; the Apichatpong Weerasethakul-helmed Thai romance picture “Blissfully Yours“; “The Believer” which features a revelatory turn by a young Ryan Gosling; and the (somewhat) underrated Julie Taymor picture “Frida” which to this day is probably Salma Hayek‘s finest hour.
— Rodrigo Perez, Oliver Lyttelton, Drew Taylor, Kimber Myers, Sam Mac, Gabe Toro,and Kevin Jagernauth
I have to disagree with the notion that Adaptation fell apart at the end. How it turned into a suspense film was completely natural considering Kaufman\’s struggle with the process of making the story interesting. He was adapting to his circumstances in the best way possible.
Punch drunk love should definitely be on this list.
Poor taste to not like Adaptation because of its 3rd act.
My favourites – 1. City of God
2. Rabbit Proof Fence
3. Punch-Drunk Love
4. Adaptation
5. Bowling For Columbine
6. Secretary
7. The Tracker
8. 28 Days Later
9. Rules of Attraction
10. The Pianist
the oscars owe Dennis Quaid nominations 1-wyatt earp 2-savior 3-far from heaven 4-at any price
Another good list, though I actually really enjoy the last act of Adaptation; it ties in well thematically and has an unexpected emotional impact.
Sidenote: Is there any way we could add a note after each film about whether it\’s available on Netflix streaming?
The Hours
Catch me if you can!
come on now. Punch drunk love should be in there somehow…tsk tsk
So happy to see Talk To Her in pole position here. My favourite film of this century so far, though if Before Sunset tops your poll in two days time, that\’s its closest contender for me. Both sublime.
I love these lists. I have to agree with the number 1 and 2 choices. Absolutely amazing films that I need to explore once again.
Ooh, I forgot about "Spider." And I was going to include "City of God" as well, but I think it wasn\’t released in the U.S. until the following year.
There should be some standard about the year of a movie. I think it should be release data in country of origin. Netflix usually has that year, and that is what I go by.
ugh to Solaris. Tarkovsky is genius. Soderbergh is terrible and terribly overrated.
1. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar)
2. City of God (Fernando Meirelles)
3. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes)
4. Adaptation (Spike Jonze)
5. Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson)
6. Pianist (Roman Polanski)
7. Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
8. Hero (Zhang Yimou)
9. About Schmidt (Alexander Payne)
10. Spider (David Cronenberg)
Irreversible by Gaspar Noé is one of the most innovative and powerful movie of not only the year 2002 but of the whole decade. A true masterpiece, and nobody have top it since.
Well here\’s your first list that has no overlap with mine: Punch Drunk Love, Adaptation, About a Boy, Road to Perdition, Insomnia, Catch Me If You Can, The Bourne Identity, One Hour Photo, Panic Room, Blade II
Uh, yeah, the suggestion that "Adaptation" "falls apart at the end" kind of reveals more about the reviewer than the movie. If it feels disjointed, there\’s a purpose to that.
Soderbergh\’s Solaris is so underrated. Much better than Tarkovsky\’s sterile version.
I guess you guys didn\’t understand the third act of Adaptation. It\’s okay, just blame it on Edward Davis.
y tu mama tambien should be ranked highter, 25th hour somewhat lower. both films are great, though. spike lee has been on a downward spiral since. cuaron on an upward trajectory.
Adaptation "fell apart at the end" because it was supposed to. It became a Donald Kaufman film.
Some good choices here. My favorites were: Gangs of New York, Far From Heaven, Adaptation, Talk to Her, The Pianist, Y Tu Mama Tambien, About Schmidt, Punch Drunk Love, Minority Report, What Time Is It There? and Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. Also, have a soft spot for "Road to Perdition," which I liked better than most others did.