Here's Part II of the best film of every year since I was born.
2004 — PUSHER II; Denmark
While not Nicolas Winding Refn’s best film (that would be DRIVE), it’s still an exhilarating crime film about a strata of society not discussed in Denmark, let alone the rest of the world. The film is bolstered by Mads Mikkelsen’s charismatic performance of a really terrible person.
2003 — CITY OF GOD (Cidade de Deus); Brazil
Probably the only film on this list that is also in my top 10 favorite films of all time, this Brazilian crime film about life in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro is violent, funny, and dark. It bristles with energy, recalling the best of Scorsese in a film that’s neither too sentimental nor ironic.
2002 TALK TO HER (Hable con ella); Spain
Pedro Almodóvar’s film about two men suffering unrequited love for very different reasons is the director’s most formally controlled work, which is not to say it ever feels toothless or compromised. It’s a singular work by the greatest living European director and possibly his masterpiece, a meditation on the power of silence and communication.
2001 — MULHOLLAND DRIVE; USA
David Lynch’s greatest film is also my favourite film about Los Angeles. Strange and filthy, filled with crushed dreams yet also a sparkling beauty that complements it, the city has never been reflected better in filmic form. That it’s also a cerebral, almost-abstract art thriller is what makes it so endlessly rewatchable.
2000 — AMERICAN PSYCHO; USA
Often overlooked as one of the greatest pieces of feminist cinema, Mary Harron’s film so greatly overpowers Ellis’s original text that it completely annihilates the adage that “The book was better.” Hilarious and freaky and featuring Christian Bale’s best performance, its cult status is unsurprising.
1999 — THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY; USA
It has strong competition with BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, but RIPLEY's relative dismissal as merely a competent psychological thriller from ‘90s (as well as the fact I’m personally more entertained by it) warrants its inclusion on the list. Featuring great performances all around as well as sleek photography and marvelous production design, Anthony Minghella’s film feels like the height of Hitchcock working in the '90s.
1998 — YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS; USA
Neil LaBute’s (very) dark film was initially rated NC-17 (or X). For language. It really speaks to the film’s power that it really doesn’t drop that many f-bombs compared to, say, an R-Rated Michael Bay film but that simply the dialogue is so unsettling that the American ratings board essentially tried to prevent it from entering cinemas. And that, I think, is the film’s central thesis. Too often we underestimate the power of words and how they affect our relationships.
1997 — BOOGIE NIGHTS; USA
Paul Thomas Anderson’s finest work is ostensibly about a fictional ‘70s porn star named Dirk Diggler rising and falling in the industry. Beneath the funny and twisted surface lies a more intelligent thesis on families and America in the 20th century. Also, the cast is just phenomenal.
1996 — FARGO; USA
The Coen Brothers’ crime film encapsulates rural America (it takes place in the midwest but could’ve easily been tweaked to take place in the south) and the humor that arises when the surreal happens in the middle of nowhere. It’s one of the funniest movies ever made, but half of the people who watch it wouldn’t say it’s a comedy.
1995 — CASINO; USA
I have a closer connection with the similar GOODFELLAS as it’s the film that made me a cineaste, but to be honest, if it popped up on TV right now, there’s a decent chance I’d change the channel just because I know it so well and as I’m writing this, I’m not in the mood. But in the case of CASINO, which is almost an hour longer, I don’t think I could possibly change the channel, no matter what mood I was in or what I was late to. It’s that entertaining.
1994 — PULP FICTION; USA
It’s still Quentin Tarantino’s greatest film, and while it’s almost impossible to describe on paper, its wide appeal still endures. The narrative is out of order but probably only because Tarantino knows that it’s the only order to introduce the maximum amount of pleasure into the audience’s brains. It’s simply a film that knows how good movies work.
1993 — THIS BOY’S LIFE; USA
Based on Tobias Wolff’s autobiographical work, this film about a troublemaker’s relationship with his abusive stepfather is an honest reflection on a life filled with joy and regrets. It never feels self-pitying but it never feels cynical either. It captures a moment in America when certain issues couldn’t be talked about but people still grappled with the same problems we have today: identity, sex, and order.
