TOP TWENTY-FIVE BEST FILMS OF 2012
25. BERBERIAN
SOUND STUDIO
This
story about a mild mannered sound recordist from England working on an Italian
horror film set in the 1970’s was one of my favourites back when I saw it at
MIFF and it has stayed with me ever since.
A tribute to the “giallo” (Italian thriller) films from the 70’s, the
biggest strength of “Berberian Sound Studio” is the fact that it is not
actually a giallo. However it cleverly
homages the genre via the use of its beautiful stylized images that would feel
right at home in any real giallo. All
the staples are there: the leather gloved hands, close-ups on machines showing
their inner workings, knives glistening as they catch the light, etc. The fish out of water storyline takes a
massive turn in its final third as “Berberian Sound Studio” becomes a mind-fuck
of a film that wouldn’t look out of place on David Lynch’s filmography. While I still find a lot of the finale a
mystery, it is one I am intrigued to work out via multiple viewing of “Berberian
Sound Studio”. Also for a film about
sound, the sound recording and editing is sublime and lives up to the film’s
subject matter. While Peter Strickland’s
film is not for everyone’s taste, those who do not mind the bizarre, I
wholeheartedly recommend “Berberian Sound Studio”. Click here to read my original review.
24. EEGA
This is
the film that had no right to work on any level but turned out to be one of the
most entertaining of the year. “Eega” is
an Indian film about a man, who after being murdered and reincarnated as a
common housefly (!), decides to go out for revenge against the man who killed
him in an attempt to also save his girlfriend.
Reading a logline like that, you could almost assume that this film is a
joke, but director S.S. Rajamouli handles the material with respect and attacks
the story with a sense of realism (well, with as much realism as you can expect
from a film about a fly going out for revenge), that makes this film work. This fly can only do things a normal fly can
do, so it is interesting the way he goes about getting his revenge, especially
during its numerous and brilliantly handled action scenes. The CGI of the fly itself is spectacular
making you believe that what we are watching is actually happening and the
animators have given the fly real character too. With the exception of a few song and dance
numbers before our hero is murdered and reincarnated, “Eega” is constantly
entertaining and for a film with an extended running time of over two hours, it
never lags – in fact for me, the time just “fly-ed” by (oh ha ha). Click here to read my original review.
23. THE HUNT
This was
another of my favourite films from MIFF this year and to be truthful should be
higher up on this list except I have only seen “The Hunt” that one time and my
memory of the film isn’t as great as I would have liked. Anchoring this film is a sensitive and
emotional performance from Mads Mikkelsen who plays a kindergarten teacher
wrongly accused of the sexual abuse of one of his students. My favourite thing about his performance is
when you can see his anger towards the adults who continue to accuse him of
this crime even while the little girl who originally accused him tries to
inform them all that she made the story up, and yet he never once shows this
anger to the young girl once. He
understands that she does not realize the gravity of the situation she has
created because she is just a little girl, but clearly believes that the adults
should know better. The film also looks
at pack mentality and how easily inhumane acts can be committed by normal folks
when part of a pack. “The Hunt” has been
beautifully written and directed by Thomas Vinterberg, and was one of the most
emotional films that I saw in the entirety of 2012. The very final scene of the film is brilliant
in the fact it cleverly illustrates how when you have been accused of a crime
of this nature (even if you are innocent), you are never fully free of being
suspected. Click here to read my original review.
22. KILLING
THEM SOFTLY
I was a
massive fan of Andrew Dominik’s previous film “The Assassination Of Jesse James
By The Coward Robert Ford”, so the five year wait between films was definitely
felt. “Killing Them Softly” is about a
hit-man who comes to Boston to assassinate two amateur thieves who make the
mistake of stealing from the mob and then brag about it to the wrong
people. You would think that with a plot
like this, the film would be a normal action type thriller, but Dominik doesn’t
go the normal route, instead the film is much more of a drama that makes broad
political statements particularly attacking capitalism in today’s America that
is suffering through recession. It is
clear that Domink believes that humanity is gone and that anyone will do
anything for money these days. I have
heard a lot of people complain that the film is boring and incredibly long, but
it just flew by for me. It was ninety
minutes of engaging conversations and very stylized action. The film stylistically was almost the
complete opposite of Dominik’s previous film, however Greig Fraser’s dark and
moody cinematography is just gorgeous.
All of the performances in the film are great, although if you are going
into this film expecting it to be a “Brad Pitt” film be aware that his
character regularly weaves in and out of the film and it is a much more of an
ensemble piece. My only problem with the
film is that some of the political points are hammered home a little too
strongly with the over-use of the 2008 (which is when the film is set)
televised election campaigns.
21. PIETA
“Pieta”
actually has a similar theme to “Killing Them Softly” as it really is about the
evils of money and again, what people are willing to do to themselves and
others for money. “Pieta” is the latest
film from South Korean director Kim Ki-Duk and his first formal narrative based
film since 2008’s “Dream”. It is a great
return to form from this brilliant director as “Pieta” ranks highly amongst his
best which considering his oeuvre is a huge statement. The film is about a brutal and sadistic loan
shark whose life is turned upside down when the mother who abandoned him as a
child returns to make amends. Once his
mother enters his life, he begins to look within and see all of the pain he has
caused, but will his past sins let him change for the better. Right from the opening frame of “Pieta”, it
is obvious that this is a film by Kim Ki-Duk, and on the topic of extreme capitalism,
it appears that he is very angry and sees little hope for humankind. “Pieta” is anchored by two wonderful and
nuanced performances from Jo Min-Soo and Lee Jeong-Jin (as mother and son
respectively) and as usual for a Kim Ki-Duk film, it is beautifully shot. “Pieta” is a brutal film at times but is a
very rewarding experience. Click here to read my original review.
Keep an eye out for Part 2: #20 - 11.
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