So, glass of wine in hand, with Christmas still in progress, I went back to the obsessive notes I keep of every film I watch and started to go through them one by one. First thing I notice is that the list is shorter this year. It's been busy at LCET and I only managed 90 visits to the cinema, which averages out to less than 8 a month. Given that there were well over 400 films released in the UK, that means my top ten is only really an assessment of less than a quarter of the total. Which is to say, that it's probably therefore not much a list at all. Oh well.
So, suitably admonished by myself, that brings me to the list itself. First thing I did was go through and delete from the 90 all the films that I couldn't remember anything about - hardly a good sign, right? - followed by those that were truly horrible, bland, boring or so badly written/directed/acted that even the bargain dvd bin will be too good for them.
That quickly dispensed with 52 of the 90, leaving 38 that I'd happily watch again and, among those 38, some absolute gems.
But 38 isn't 10, so another purge is needed. This time it's harder, much harder. These are all good films, and all so different: some are animations, some drama, some action, some (yes, a few) are even comedy. Even so, if we're going to get to 10, I have to separate the good from the great. So this is where we lose the likes of 'Heartbeat Detector', 'Appaloosa' and 'Taxi to the Dark Side'. Too bad.
We're down to 18 and it's hurting. These are all great films. But more have to go. So I'm going to lose 'Persepolis', the brilliant animation about a young girl growing up in revolutionary Iran (I've still got another animation in the list), and 'Gomorra, the brilliant expose of the modern day Italian mafia that's cost Roberto Saviano so dearly to make public. And the extraordinary adaption of John Boyle's novel ' The Boy in the Striped Pajamas' that left so many of us breathless with its final 10 minutes. Gone too is one of the great thrillers of the year 'Before the Devil Knows You're Dead' directed by Sidney Lumet at the age of 84.
It's hard to exclude 'The Visitor' because it was such a beautifully tender film about a middle aged man - and you don't get many of those. And, even though it was brave and brilliant, 'XXY' the dramatic story of a 15-year-old hermaphrodite from Argentina, doesn't quite make it to the final ten either. Now we're really just splitting hairs, because these are all so very good, but I'm going to leave 'There will be blood' on the outside too. I know it doesn't deserve to be, but this is now more about how good the remaining ten really are.
Ahh. We're there. The final 10. The absolute best films I saw in 2008. I'd see every one again in an instant. They're a mix of dramas, thrillers and even a comedy (of sorts). Not many are blockbusters in the sense that most people will have seen them, which is a huge shame becaue they deserve a wider audience. Maybe their dvd releases in 2009 will put that right.
1. Battle for Haditha
Nick Broomfield has made some brilliant films, but nothing comes close to his 2008 offering: a stark retelling of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. Utterly compelling. IMDB
2. Man on Wire
Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974 is told with a mix of interviews and re-enactments. It will - and this is a promise - take your breath away. IMDB
3. The Kite Runner
No one could be failed to be moved by this story of Amir, a well-to-do boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is tormented by the guilt of abandoning his friend Hassan, the son of his father's Hazara servant. IMDB
4. Four months, three weeks, two days
Set in Communist Romania in the final years of the Nicolae Ceausescu era, this film tells the story of two students, roommates in a university dormitory, who try to arrange an illegal abortion. It's an assault on the emotions and the eyes, but it's also the most challenging and thought-provoking film of the year. IMDB
5. Waltz with Battir
It's a shame so many people baulk at the idea of seeing either animated films or documentaries at the cinema, because this is both. In 1982, Ari Folman was a 19-year-old infantry soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. In 2006 he meets an old friend at a bar and, through their conversation, begins to explore why he can't remember much of what happened. So make this your first animated documentary and don't miss the opening scene with the dogs. Wow. IMDB
6. Lust, Caution
Ang Lee's fantastic espionage thriller based on Eileen Chang's novel is moving, gripping and enthralling all at once. And, despite some people's misgiving about the reasons for the '18' rating, it's one of the best films in a year when China has been so much in the headlines. IMDB
7. No Country for Old Men
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande. The Coen Brothers deliver a cracking film with Javier Bardem as the villian of 2008. Four Oscars says it all. IMDB
8. In search of a midnight kiss
My romantic comedy of the year. A refreshing different take on boy meets girl, all shot in black and white and set beautifully in Los Angeles. Just to prove I have heart. IMDB
9. Couscous
OK, imagine a film whose highlight is a restaurant running out of couscous... confused? Well, this is the film, but amazingly it'll have you on the edge of your seat. Yes, that's right, couscous has never been so cool. Almost every film critic I've read agrees, so go on, give it a go. IMDB
10. Trouble the Water
One of those films that leaves you stunned and moved. A young woman uses a video camera to show what really happens as Katrina descents on New Orleans. Like the movie poster says, it's not about a hurricane, it's about America. Brilliant. IMDB
