Favourite Films 2001

เหมือนเว็บไซต์ SENSES OF CINEMA จะกลับมาแล้ว แต่เพื่อความปลอดภัย เราก็ขอเอาอันดับประจำปีของเรามาแปะในนี้ด้วยแล้วกัน ข้อมูลจะได้ไม่สูญหาย อันนี้เป็นอันดับหนังสุดโปรดของเราประจำปี 2001

Favourite Films 2001

by Jit Phokaew

Unless otherwise stated, films in these lists are films I saw at a cinema for the first time in Bangkok in 2001. The list is divided into two main categories: films made pre 1990 and films made post 1990. All films are listed in preferential order.

Favourite films 2001:

1.  Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)

A film that makes time fly so quickly. According to my feelings, the film seems to last only 5 minutes in viewing, but lingers forever in my memory. Beau Travail touches me as deeply as Marguerite Duras’ films. Superb cinematography, editing, music, performance, and ending. Poetic, enchanting, exquisite, and delicious. I saw it on big screen 5 times, but still can’t get enough of it. Coincidentally, Le Petit Soldat (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) was also screened in Bangkok this year.

2.  Gloria (Manuela Viegas, 1999)

While Beau Travail had been gloriously praised before I saw it, I had never heard of Gloriawhen I went to see it. A surprisingly overlooked film with an ending that generates multiple interpretations among viewers. I still wonder what really happens in this Portuguese film. Elliptical, bewildering, bewitching, and stunning. Gloria can make you feel lost and dumbfounded, but you may never want to leave its wilderness. Since I can’t understand why Gloria has such a profound effect on my feelings, I guess it speaks directly to my subconscious.

3.  Jeepers Creepers (Victor Salva, 2001)

I had never cried out of fear until I saw this film. The story belongs to that universe where anything is possible. A modern fairy tale without fairies. It has a monster which might have sprung out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or a non-existing adult version of Sailor Moon, but there is no Buffy or any of the nine Sailors to help these unfortunate characters. It also arouses my curiosity with the number “23”, particularly after I saw 23 (Hans-Christian Schmid, 1998). Relentlessly frightening with a satisfying ending. I’m eagerly awaiting its sequels. Jeepers Creepers make me want to see Powder (Victor Salva, 1995) again. Maybe I overlooked something when I first saw it a few years ago.

4.  Fotograf (Kazim Oz, 2001)

If the poem “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy can make you cry, this film is a must-see. Astonishingly shot from the beginning to the end. Though some parts of the story are predictable and its message is simple, that cannot diminish the power of this movie. Hypnotic, poignant, and unforgettable.

5.  Jacky (Brat Ljatifi, Fow Pyng Hu, 2000)

Jacky is full of familiar moments: watching sunset alone on a train, lying alone on the floor, eating alone in your room; enjoying the beach; singing a song; starting the vacuum cleaner; returning from shopping and then opening every package of food to taste what’s inside. These moments happen nearly every day in some people’s lives, but it seems very few filmmakers are interested in these people. Many films tend to emphasize the loneliness, the unhappiness, the misery, and the weirdness of some people who spend their time alone, and that only makes me feel very grateful for Jacky for not showing the misery of their characters too obviously. They may be unsatisfied with their imperfect lives, but they don’t need to resort to outlandish behaviour. My favourite scenes are when the characters try to move one hand fast and the other hand slowly, when Jacky and his wife eat their food with different speed, and when one guest comments on eating too much food. I still hope that one day I will have a chance to see a movie which portrays the kind of people I know very well—those who spend their time alone, and are very happy.

6.  The Day I Became a Woman (Marziyeh Meshkini, 2000)

Though there are some funny moments in this film, they only emphasize the sadness. One of the saddest films of all time. The second part is my most favourite.

7.  La Classe de neige (Claude Miller, 1998)

Marvellously shot by Guillaume Schiffman, this film really deserves to be seen on a big screen. Haunting, intense, disturbing, and beautiful.

8.  Voyages (Emmanuel Finkiel, 1999)

This film can show the horrible consequences of the Holocaust as effectively as Sophie’s Choice (Alan J Pakula, 1982), but instead of using flashback scenes, it uses only small gestures made by characters. The acting is first-rate, especially Shulamit Adar. When the movie ends, I don’t know whether to cry out in joy or sorrow.

9.  Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2000)

Though I’m not too impressed with the story or the leading character, I can’t deny that I love the acting of Bjork and the use of musical scenes in this film.

10.  Cold Homeland (Kalte Heimat, Volke Koepp, 1995)

My most favourite documentary of the year. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like the other wonderful documentaries I saw – Daguerreotypes (Agnès Varda, 1974), Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse (Agnès Varda, 2000), The Land of the Wandering Souls (Rithy Pahn, 2000), and Friendly Persuasion (Jamsheed Akrami, 2000). They are all excellent, but Koepp’s films, including Wittstock, Wittstock (1997), are the ones I really feel emotionally about.

11.   Moving (Ohikkoshi, Shinji Soomai, 1993)

If La Classe de neige makes you feel too cold, let yourself get burnt by this fiery film which is also about a troubled child.

12.  The Circle (Jafar Panahi, 2000)

Like The Day I Became a Woman, this carefully-constructed film is one of the saddest films I saw this year.

13.  Elvjs e Merilijn (Armando Manni, 1998)

Things which are too beautiful, delicate, or fragile cannot survive in this harsh, cruel world.

14.  Onegin (Martha Fiennes, 1999)

The cinematography by Remi Adefarasin lends an enormous power to this movie.

15.  Au Coeur du mensonge (Claude Chabrol, 1998)

One of the most intense films I have ever seen. Chabrol creates many interesting characters in this movie, especially the strangely charming cop (Valerie Bruni-Tedeschi) who has a unique voice and manners. Chabrol doesn’t scare me with the murders in this movie. He scares me just by creating many characters with potential and reasons to kill one another. That’s why I held my breath and grasped my seat firmly when the cop came to interrogate Vivianne (Sandrine Bonnaire) when she was ironing. This film is full of many interesting details, and it may take a lot of pages to discuss all of them. Who can forget the scene when the camera goes down to the coffin and then we see the couple lying together in bed? It was a dream come true when 5 films of Chabrol were screened in Bangkok this year.

16.  Clouds of May (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2000)

The landscape and the characters seem to be given equal importance in each scene of this movie, a quality rarely found in other films.

17.  Under the Sand (François Ozon, 2000)

Exquisitely crafted. My favourite scenes are when Marie (Charlotte Rampling) says to her new guy that he is so light, when she confronts her mother-in-law, and when she finally is able to cry. Rampling’s performance can’t be excelled. Each friend of mine has different interpretations about the ending of this film.

18.  The State I Am In (Christian Petzold, 2000)

19.  This Window Is Yours (Tomoyuki Furumaya, 1994)

20.  Under the Moonlight (Reza Mir Karimi, 2001)

Honourable mentions: Tired Companions (Zoran Solomun, 1996) Storytelling (Todd Solondz, 2001) Unfinished Song (Maziar Miri, 2001) Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine (Bahman Farmanara, 2000) A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001)

Favourite Classic Films seen in 2001: The Death of Maria Malibran (Werner Schroeter, 1972), Ticket of No Return (Bildnis einer Trinkerin, Ulrike Ottinger, 1979), The Last Hole (Das letzte Loch, Herbert Achternbusch, 1981), Pierrot le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965), Ludwig’s Cook (Theodor Hirneis oder wie man ein ehemaliger Hofkock wird, Hans Jurgen Syberberg, 1973), The Power of Emotion (Alexander Kluge, 1983)

Favourite film criticism: Michael Atkinson, Mark Holcomb, Dennis Lim, and Jessica Winter, “A.I.: Alternative Interpretations”, Village Voice, uploaded 24 July 2001