Top 10 Films of 2006
by Brian Eggert
3/9/2007
Given the late circulation of certain movies into theaters, this list has been delayed for several months. But, at last, it's here: The Top 10 Movies of 2006.
People always gripe about nothing of quality playing at the cinema, nothing to justify spending the money a movie costs these days. Roughly ten to fifteen good-to-brilliant movies were distributed in limited release in December, finally hitting theaters in January either because of growing popularity or from Oscar nominations. As a result, more than half of the films in my top 10 list are in theaters right now.
10. The Prestige
Christopher Nolan, director of the wonderful Memento and Batman Begins, has proven himself once again as one of the best young directors of our time. Set at the end of the 19th Century, The Prestige centers on two stage magicians played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman who compete for a personal claim to best magician. Each engages in an obsession to trounce, out-magic, and learn the secrets of the other. The twisted supernatural aspect is surprising, as it shows how the main characters are manically fixed on defeating the other. With a production both beautiful and authentic, this is the second film of 2006 to deal with stage-performing magicians at this period in history (the other being The Illusionist). But for The Prestige's cast, its slight-of-hand direction, its foray into the unknown, and its shocking finale, this was, by far, the better of the two.
9. Letters from Iwo Jima
From the "enemy" point of view, Clint Eastwood looks at Japan's experience on Iwo Jima. When seeing Letters from Iwo Jima, I was plagued by an ignorant man sitting in the row behind me, laughing at the Japanese deaths during otherwise somber, emotional scenes; this man laughed when the word "disgraced" was used to describe battle cowardice. Viewing the picture as though it was a 1940's anti-Japanese propaganda war film, the idiot seated rear of me completely missed the point. The culturally universal struggles of war made Eastwood's film not just about Japan's experience, but about the terror inherent in humans killing humans. Poignant and more wholly representative of a world culture than Flags of Our Fathers, this is the best humanist war film since Saving Private Ryan.
8. Notes on a Scandal
An emotionally violent film, Notes on a Scandal is a shocking character study focuses on schoolteacher Cate Blanchett who's having an affair with one of her students. But when a lonely coworker, played by the remarkable Judi Dench, discovers the secret, she uses it as blackmail for what she hopes will be a lifelong friendship. Blanchett and Dench both give performances justifying of their celebrated reputations. Dench's character is one of the most psychologically monstrous characters in any film this year. Her manipulation of those around her, the ongoing self-delusion, and the never-ending lies help assemble this creature that is so despicable, yet so interesting to watch onscreen. I was left speechless when the credits began to roll.
7. Black Book (Zwartboek)
Paul Verhoeven returned from a lull of mediocre cinema with this at once affecting and diverting WWII Resistance yarn. Black Book represents a marriage of wartime genre themes, linking action with historical atrocity in a flawlessly exciting picture. The beautiful Carice van Houten plays a Jewish member of the Dutch Resistance, who falls in love with her undercover target, a Nazi official. Revisiting his favorite exploitations (sex and violence), Verhoeven puts Van Houten through a gamut of pervasive content, including graphic emotional and physical humiliations. It's a frank portrayal of the lengths to which people go to survive during wartime, enhanced by Verhoeven's penchant for exhilarating adventure. As purely entertaining as it is moving, this movie offers an incredible charge you won't some down from for some time after viewing.
6. Children of Men
Alfonso Cuaron's magnum opus, Children of Men, without pretension or in-your-face showiness, plays with long, elaborate tracking shots to describe a future world falling apart. Though a dark and bleak future, the film's message is one of hope, thus combating the setting and giving Cuaron's work an exhilarating-yet-dangerous feel throughout. Clive Owen stars with a fine supporting cast including Julianne Moore and Chiwetel Ejiofor, not to mention a hilarious and sad performance by Michael Caine. Owen confirms his position as a leading man, just as he did with this year's Inside Man; he doesn't steal the film, but instead works with the director to create a perfect thriller that blends the talents of the cinematographer, the director, and the performers equally.
5. Little Children
Focusing on upper-middle class adulterers, Todd Field's new film surprisingly surpasses his only other previous film, In the Bedroom, and discusses his characters' behavior in a sexy-yet-critical way. A very literary film, the narration takes the viewer into the world of a filmic novel, almost justifying the actions of its self-indulgent characters, until all at once the viewer realizes they've been duped. We're caught up in the stories of the adults, and like them, we forget about their children until a few crucial, tragic moments near the end when we're reminded of adult responsibility. Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson both shine as the leads, particularly Winslet, whose status as one of Hollywood's best actresses solidifies further with each passing role. Barely shown in theaters but raved about by critics, Little Children is one of those movies you won't be able to stop thinking about for days, weeks, even months.
4. Army of Shadows (1969)
Originally released in 1969, this French film never became popular in France, thus was never imported into America. Thanks to Rialto Picture's distribution, U.S. art-house cinemas were graced, for the first time in this country, with this compelling drama about the French Resistance. The film shows us a different side to French director Jean-Pierre Melville, normally noted for classic crime films such as Bob le flambeur, Le Cercle rouge, and Le Samourai. Here we see the auteur pay tribute to his countrymen that refused to stand idle during the German occupation. A horrific, but necessary state of mind existed within resistance members; they do whatever it takes to get the job done. And though they do savage things, they are not savages, but reluctant heroes taking required steps, inching their country towards freedom. Possibly the most involving film released this year on both an emotional and suspenseful level, Army of Shadows is a piece of classic cinema finally getting its due after almost forty years on the shelves.
3. Pan's Labyrinth
Guillermo del Toro's dark fable harbors astonishing visuals and a story paralleling the wartime violence depicted in Schindler's List. A fairy tale about a girl's inability to cope with the atrocities that took place after the Spanish Civil War, the film places viewers in both the adult and child's position, splitting us between reality the and the desire for escapism. Like the little girl in the film, Pan's Labyrinth allows us to accept the escapist reality, which may or may not be false, as the true one, reminding us that fantasy sometimes needs to replace reality's traumas. With some of the best special effects I've seen in years, partnered with an involving historical plot, this is Guillermo del Toro's best film.
2. A Scanner Darkly
The most faithful adaptation of author Philip K. Dick's work, Richard Linklater's rotoscoped version of the famous science-fiction drug novel innovated on traditional formal presentations to create on of the most original films in several years. By digitally painting over live-action footage, the wonderful cast is turned into cartoonish delusions, adding to the film's thematic use of filtration through surveillance technology. Much of the dialogue is directly from the book; the overall story is identical to the source material; and the film is filled with tour de force performances and direction. While I won't pretend A Scanner Darkly is for mainstream audiences, it was unjustly released almost exclusively to art-house theaters, not giving the film its deserved chance to win over moviegoers. It's criminal this picture wasn't nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature; this is one of the greatest examples of art and cinema colliding into commercial film.
1. The Departed
Easily the best film of 2006, you'd never know that Martin Scorsese's masterful piece of moviemaking is a remake of a Hong Kong film, as the iconic director places his personal touch on every gritty and entertaining detail. The cast is breathtakingly good, above all Leonardo DiCaprio, whose career seems to finally show some artistic merit under Scorsese's direction (see 2004's The Aviator for some of DiCaprio and Scorsese's best work). With the conspicuously good cast lead by flawless direction, DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Ray Winstone, and Martin Sheen engulf the screen in a twisting blockbuster crime film from the world's best-living director. The talented cast, the fast moving, complicated plot, and the film's manic energy make this one of Scorsese's best, most audience-friendly films. Without making any grand statements about the lives of cops, crooks, and snitches like Goodfellas or Casino, Scorsese sends up movie classics such as White Heat. This is entertainment in its purest, most well constructed and crowd-pleasing form.
Honorable Mentions:
Apocalypto, Babel, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Casino Royale, Clerks 2, Flushed Away, The Illusionist, Little Miss Sunshine, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, A Prairie Home Companion, Thank You for Smoking, Tideland, V for Vendetta, and X-Men 3: The Last Stand.