My Top 10 Films of 2011

Best, is such a subjective word. So I would not say these are the best films. They are merely my top favourites, my most-loved this year – films that make me feel something, upon the first watching. On second or subsequent viewings in the future, my views may change. But for now, mapped squarely on my emotional landscape thru’ the year, here we go. Of all the movies released theatrically in Singapore in 2011, of which some 60 of them I’ve caught, and of which 98.333% of them I’ve watched with bee, these are my Top 10.

1. The Artist (Writ and Dir: Michel Hazanavicius)
Absolutely genius, delightful and inspiring! This b/w silent film about b/w silent films (giving way to talkies) is not a replica of b/w silent films. It is a wicked take-over of the form to simultaneously salute the craft, evoke the glamour, and comment on the ever-changing fad and tech of screen production. In doing so much with so little, it demonstrates the power and range of b/w silent films! The film with its simple story takes its time with its lush score to let the two luminous leads Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo (and a Jack Russell) shine with their pitch-perfect expressions and body language. Words are very unnecessary (so said Depeche Mode), this is storytelling and storyboarding at its best. So pure. Such joy!

2. Beginners (Writ and Dir: Mike Mills)
In life, we are all beginners. At any age. In any phase. Whether if you are coming to terms with the death of your mum, who was bitter about relationships and had a huge influence on you. Or with the coming out of your dad, who in his late 70s demonstrated that it’s never too old to be beginners in love. Or with the discovery of his terminal cancer, only four years after he truly lived life with sparkle and found joy in an open relationship with a younger man. Or with the opening up of your heart which has been afraid and sullen, with a French actress so unlike you. The film so precisely illustrates how memories come in fragments or flood unannounced. In pieces, out of order. Recollection of an emotionally dislocated past also informs and clouds one’s view on relationships in the present. Director Mike Mills worked the best performances out of Christopher Plummer, Ewan McGregor, and a Jack Russell. Aching.

3. Starry Starry Night 星空 (Adapted and Dir: 林書宇)
Nothing kiddy about this story on kids, a fantasy film based on the illustrated novel by 幾米. The theme of loneliness and alienation as faced by children dealing with parental divorce, death, bullying, discrimination, puberty and first love is very real, and very harsh. Kudos to the director Tom Lin for not allowing himself to be carried away with CGI and visual effects, or to be compromised by the China-Taiwan co-pro pressure. He delivered a whimsical film with heart, soul and such gorgeous melancholy.

4. 50/50 (Writ: Will Reiser, Dir: Jonathan Levine)
Very few subject matters matter to me more than the fragility of life. Very few actors engage and move me more than Joseph Gordon Levitt. They both come together in this film about a 27-year-old with cancer, written by Will Reiser based on his real-time trauma. Then there is Seth Rogen, who as one of the producers and co-actors manages to demonstrate that a story about tumour and humour could co-exist beautifully in a same film.

5. Let The Bullets Fly 让子弹飞 (Writ and Dir: 姜文)
Small time crooks swindling smaller time crooks, in a small town with small town rats. Jiang Wen must have a rolling good time making this Chinese Western as we have a rolling good time watching it. It’s witty, entertaining, satirical, full of black humour, full of twists. And what a hoot watching Chow Yun Fat hamming it up in not one but two comedic roles.

6. The Kids Are All Right (Writ: Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko, Dir: Lisa Cholodenko )
Work calls get in the way of a romantic bath. Remote control gets in the way of sex. No one in the family is an angel. No relationship is rosy lovey dovey. The squabbles are real, not contrived. The forgiving is grounded, not sugar-coated. Julianne Moore gives such layered shadings to a character who feels lesser, guilty, confused. And Annette Bening is right on the mark, with a delicate balance between the lightness of her comic timing and the weight of her emotional baggage. The writing and performance shows us each of these characters’ flaws and weaknesses. Yet, we still love them for who they are. That’s what family is about after all.

7. Margin Call (Writ and Dir: J.C. Chandor)
All talking heads, in one office, with the story unfolding over only 24 hours. Yet so engaging and suspenseful! The pace is tight and tense. The script is crisp and solid, remarkable not so much because it explains in simple terms the specifics that led to the financial crisis but it captures sharply the universal reactions and confusions faced by folks in decision-making across all industries when an unprecedented crisis hits. The young and wide-eyed are swept along in a crisis bigger than they could fathom, the top dogs are unshaken about shedding losses and staying ahead, and the middle management is caught in dilemmas and conflicts: where to draw the line between being loyal to the company and doing the right thing. Everyone is just doing their job. Business is business. The characters here are so believable, a function of both smart writing and ace performances, especially from Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci and Jeremy Irons. Also a strong showing by the slate of young actors who all had their craft honed in TV – Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), Simon Baker (The Mentalist) and Zachary Quinto (Heros), also a co-producer of this impressive debut film.

8. Black Swan (Writ: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John McLaughlin, Dir: Darren Aronofsky)
Darren Aronofsky concocted a tense dramatic piece with the brilliant Natalie Portman, whose own petite body and troubled brows give a perfect frame for the character’s fragility, uptightness, youth, insecurity, and madness. She is well supported by Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder and Mila Kunis, who play three women responsible for her anxiety and downward spiraling. The mother – nurturing or oppressing? The incumbent – a victim or an ally? The newcomer – a lover or a rival? The play with mirrors (from apartment to dance halls to green rooms to toilets) mirrors the duality of white swan/ black swan, and the character’s hallucinations.

9. Super 8 (Writ and Dir: J.J Abrams)
Super 8 is super 80s kinda fun. Big summer blockbuster effects on the outside, yet warm and gentle and fussy on the inside. Reminiscent of the good old Spielberg’s films with kids (The Goonies, ET). The child actors here are so luminous in their acting, that I feel they buoy the film to be stronger than the premise sets up to be. Especially 14 yo Joel Courtney, who melts hearts with his silent grieve of losing his mother to a factory accident, and a loud yearning for someone to fill the lonely gap in his life. The way he throws himself into film-making with his friends is as adorable as their finished low-budget Super 8 films. Those film and crew scenes are the sweetest – such a homage to the spirit of play and fun in movie making and storytelling.

10. Wu Xia 武俠 (Writ: Aubrey Lam, Dir: Peter Chan)
The film Wu Xia takes its genre seriously yet playfully all at once. There is good old kung fu choreographed respectfully, but there’s also the updating with science, forensic studies, and TCM practices that allow for a tremendous showcase of visual style and technical capabilities. The CSI feel is backed up with solid CGI, and the creative hard rock soundtrack scoring of the scenes did not go unnoticed. The story is simple yet the characterisation is sufficiently rich. Both Donnie Yen and Takeshi Kaneshiro turned in good performances, but it was Tang Wei who elevated her role with every glance, every look, every look-away. Her unraveling face upon realising her husband was not who he really was was priceless. Her devastated weep upon discerning her marriage might not be based on true love was crushing.

Other films in the long list before this shortlist: Bridesmaid, Crazy Stupid Love, X Men: First Class, Kung Fu Panda 2, Sucker Punch, Rise of The Planet of The Apes, Source Code, Ides of March, The Man from Nowhere, King’s Speech, You Are the Apple of My Eye, Paul…

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My Top 10 Films of 2009
My Top 10 Films of 2008
My Top 10 Films of 2007
My Top 10 Films of 2006