My Top Ten ... reconsidered!

April 29, 2009 --

I know it is late in the game to be adding movies to last year's Top Ten lists, but remember, I could only come up with 3 foreign films worthy of ranking. I'm able to double that total since I've seen five subtitled fims in the last month -- one a genuine classic.

But first, I must make a minor but important adjustment to my regular movie list. The top 8 remain unchanged (and I hope to comment further about the unjustified backlash against 'The Reader' on a later post):

TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2008
1. MILK
2. THE READER
3. THE DARK KNIGHT
4. FROZEN RIVER
5. RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
6. FROST / NIXON
7. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
8. VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA

But after repeat viewings on the movie channels over these last months, I have to elevate one film to Top Ten status:
9. In Bruges
10. TRANSSIBERIAN

Beautifully filmed, written, and directed by playwright Martin McDonagh, this funny, sad, touching story of two hitman lying low in Belgium is hilarious--and anchored by 3 brilliant acting performances: by Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, and especially by Ralph Fiennes as their boss. I love it more each time I see it.
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The revelation in the foreign film category comes from France, naturellement!
Un Secret (Dir: Claude Miller) is a wonderful, evocative true story of a French Jewish family during WWII and their fateful choices that seal the futures of two generations. Whew! Starring the lovely Cecile de France (great name for a French actress!), it is rich, moving, and will leave you breathless...like a #1 movie should!

Top 6 Foreign Films of 2008
1. A SECRET (FRANCE)
2. REPRISE (Norway)
3. LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Sweden)
4. I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (France)
5. The Counterfeiters (Austria) -- 2007's Oscar winner (that I forgot to include)
6. Gomorra (Italy) -- a brutal film

Hon. mention: STRANDED: I've come from a plane that crashed in the mountains* (France/Uruguay); The Class (France); Waltz with Bashir (Israel)

*We finally learn the real story of survival from the team of Uruguayan rugby players who crashed in the Andes in 1971, from the survivors themselves, almost 30 years later. No sensationalism: just a gripping and life-affirming story.