7. “Before Sunset”
Indie romances aren’t usually prime targets for sequels, but Richard Linklater and the stars of 1995’s “Before Sunrise” defied conventional wisdom to create the sublime “Before Sunset.” While most cinematic love stories end with the hook-up, the story’s continuation explores the aftermath of the one-night romance of Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) almost a decade ago, with the now-older-and-wiser pair spending an afternoon on the streets of Paris, rehashing their Vienna evening from nine years ago. The interaction between them is raw, revealing, and real, and the intimate script earned Linklater, Delpy, and Hawke an Oscar nomination and the affection of true romantics who aren’t swayed by Hollywood’s unrealistic output.
6. “Kill Bill: Volume 2”
While the first part of Quentin Tarantino‘s duo of revenge-driven films was bolstered by blood and battles and crisp forward narrative, the director downshifts for “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” and gives in to his devotion to chatter and tumbleweed-moody Spaghetti-Western-like tenors. For those who miss the epic action of “Vol. 1,” there’s an eye-popping match-up between The Bride (Uma Thurman) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), as well as a magnificent kung-fu-tinged, coffin-bound flashback to The Bride’s training with Pai Mei (Gordon Liu) set to Ennio Morricone‘s “L’Arena” that is one of Tarantino’s most commanding, dialogue-less sequences ever (her triumph and rebirth from the entombment is an astonishing crescendo and confluence of music and picture). But it’s the film’s final soulful and patient third act that strikes the heart, revealing a lingering love between The Bride and her titular target, Bill (David Carradine). Discussions about a child’s discovery of death and the nature of Superman were a reminder that Tarantino — and his various mishmash of influences — can craft dialogue and even pathos just as well as dismemberments. “Kill Bill 2” might burn much slower, and it might also be more excessively talky than its predecessor, but these aspects only make its transcendent moments that much brighter.
5. “House of Flying Daggers”
Zhang Yimou‘s follow up to his candy-colored martial arts saga “Hero” has all of the scale and stunning majesty of its predecessor, but with a deeper emphasis on story. Taking place in the waning last days of the Tang dynasty, where a clandestine clan group goes all Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, there is a ton of action, but with an accentuation on the poetry of rhythmic movement and the artistry of battle (and oh, how gorgeous it is). Shot in Yimou’s uncanny visual style, utilizing radiant color-coding, scenes such as a young woman unsheathing a sword using just her sleeves (and of course all those flying daggers, arrows, and warriors) elevate the picture to a striking painting of beauty way above a post-‘Crouching Tiger’ martial arts epic.
4. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”
Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman’s what-if centers around a technology that allows wounded lovers to erase the memory of their past relationship. The premise is merely a stepping-stone, however, to a trip into the corners of memories where dreams and reality converge into a mishmash of experiences either imagined or real, but altogether universal. Kaufman’s script blends the unreal, where footraces through the subconscious occur regularly, and the intimate, where we are able to truly experience the loneliness and desperation of lovers Clementine (Kate Winslet, typically great) and Joel (Jim Carrey, never better). A testament to the film’s universal appeal is that it’s been adopted by both the heartbroken and the deeply-in-love.
Not even a mention of "The Bourne Supremacy"? Paul Greengrass\’s directing on that movie basically changed Hollywood action moviemaking.
P.S. Huckabee\’s is not a \’severe mess\’. It\’s meant to be playful and freewheeling. That\’s its spirit. It\’s no masterpiece but it\’s a seriously impressive piece of work.
Dreamers, Spotless Mind, Before Sunset and Dogville… amazing year… and I agree on reflection that Dogville should be No.1, but to put Birth ahead of those other too is just daft.
Boo Wes.
Thanks for mentioning "Primer"!!!
Going through that long list of honorable mentions, it\’s hard to believe that this was considered a down year. This class feels better than the group you have up from the year before. I absolutely loved A Very Long Engagement. And let\’s face it, Eternal Sunshine is one of the greatest movies ever! Always makes me cry.
Not even an honorable mention of Garden State?
Eternal Sunshine has to be #1… come on guys. Great list though.
Really? The Superman monologue in Kill Bill Vol. 2 was so hamfisted. It was perhaps the first sign of how poorly Roger Avery\’s contribution was missed from the Tarantino experience.
I too echo the sentiments that Sideways was the best film of the year, followed by Eternal Sunshine, The Life Aquatic, Garden State, I Heart Huckabees, Collateral, Finding Neverland, Napolean Dynamite, Dawn of the Dead, The Girl Next Door.
Dogville is in no way better than anything on this list, but opinions-opinions. That being said, whoever did the write up for Dreamers must have worked for Pitchfork back in the early 00\’s. The days when the reviews were so overloaded with pretentious writing and synonym-digging nonsense, that they were rendered laughable. Otherwise, good work.
You guys have completely ignored the Bourne movies. They\’re at the very least deserving of honorable mention. And this list is ridiculous for not including The Incredibles and Sideways.
Thank you for including \’Birth\’. Still my favorite Glazer film. How it was overlooked, yet critics drooled all over \’Under the Skin\’ 10 years later is beyond me. Some of the best cinematography and easily the best score of the 00\’s.
I agree on \’Dogville,\’ it\’s one of Von Trier\’s best films. I saw someone mention \’Tropical Malady\’ – was a 2005 film in the U.S. \’I Heart Huckabee\’s\’ would have been on my second ten list, as would \’The Life Aquatic.\’
Dogville is one of Triers best films to date.
Just curious but why no love for Sideways? I\’ve always thought it was pretty excellent. Love these features though!
Man, this list is so on point, but wow did I hate Birth. Keep\’em coming.
Also: huge Boo to "Dogville." I either love or hate a Lars von Trier film. I\’m thankful for that; he\’s interesting. But "Dogville" was a failure, not in concept, but in execution.
Boo "Sideways." 1. 2046 (Wong Kar-Wai)
2. Bad Education (Pedro Almodovar)
3. Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)
4. A Very Long Engagement (Jean-Peirre Jeunet)
5. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
6. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood)
7. The World (Jia Zhang Ke)
8. House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou)
9. Kill Bill Vol 2 (Quentin Tarantino)
10. Life Aquatic (Wes Anderson) I still haven\’t seen: Garden State (Zach Braff),
I Heart Huckabees (David O. Russell), and
Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles).
Sort of shocked \’Sideways\’ is not on here. That was my favorite of 2004. Also, \’Bad Education\’ is my favorite Almodovar film, so I would have definitely included that one too. My picks would have been some of these: Sideways, Kill Bill Vol. II, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dogville, The Aviator, The Motorcycle Diaries, Before Sunset, Time of the Wolf, Goodbye Dragon Inn, Million Dollar Baby, Bad Education.
I’ll go with Hotel Rwanda and Kinsey over Eternal Sunshine and Anchorman, but I’m a depressing bum too. Otherwise, way to pick the gems from a weak year!