New Orleans Film Society

Friday 1/4/2013

After viewing a year’s worth of films, New Orleans Film Society staff members Jolene Pinder, John Desplas, and Clint Bowie put together individual top ten lists of their favorites from 2011.
Two films found their way on all three of their lists: Beginners, the Mike Mills film starring Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, and Melanie Laurent, and Bill Cunningham New York, the documentary about the NYTimes photographer that screened as part of the 2011 Film-o-Rama.

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JOHN DESPLAS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Rather shamefacedly, I must first admit I somehow managed to miss the sole theatrical run of Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life at The Theatres at Canal Place, hence I’m not able to take the side of either those who hailed it as “a towering achievement” or those who left the theatre feeling they had been waterboarded in High Art. Nor did I see everything, as one assumes that the reviewers for august publications such as The New York Times routinely do, so what follows is far from a solomonic judgment for a would-be canonical list of The Best of 2011. Rather, in no particular order, it’s a tip of the hat to the films that offered me pleasure, aesthetic pleasure, be it a sobering drama such as Of Gods and Men or a giddy comedy the likes of Crazy Stupid Love. And remember, no particular order.

Young Adult: It was Samuel Beckett who said (somewhere) that nothing is quite as funny as human unhappiness. It almost seems that scriptwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman set out the film as a demonstration of Beckett’s proposition.

Jane Eyre: Gets my vote for the best Classics Illustrated of the year; though it got good notices, as they say, when released last spring, the film was largely forgotten in year-end round-ups.

Crazy Stupid Love: Giddy Goofy Fun. Ryan Gosling’s studly persona put to pleasing comedic effect.

Drive: While a case could be made that this is the apotheosis of the Designer Film—-each shot would make a great spread in a grunge fashion magazine—-and there is a certain archness to to the acting and direction, the damn thing is still fascinating to watch.

Of Gods and Men: Best of a good crop of French films this past year. Most interesting group of monks you’re likely to encounter.

Bill Cunningham New York: Wonderfully serendipitous merging of subject and style—gets my vote for Best Documentary of 2011.

The Descendants: Not as earth-shattering as the early hype would have you believe, but another solid domestic drama from director Anthony Payne.

Beginners: One of the better coming out pictures of recent memory, much better than the highly praised A Single Man of a few years ago.

Incendies: And you thought you had a hard life!

The Princess of Montpensier: I don’t believe this film showed up on anyone’s year end list; I include it because it’s the first time Bertrand Tavenier has drawn me into one of his movies. And then it is also based on a book by Madame de Layfayette, whose “The Princess of Cleves” remains the definitive text on the nature of romantic love.

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CLINT BOWIE, PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Weekend: One of the best new films I’ve seen in years. It’s a cute love story that demands you take it seriously. It somehow manages to be both quietly sweet (like the Russell character) and unapologetically defiant (like Glen). It’s also got a raw, verite style that makes you wonder whether the whole story was completely improvised—or, for that matter, real. The world needs more Weekends in it. Kudos to Chalmette Movies for picking this film up after it screened at NOFF.

The Tree of Life: I didn’t mind the dinosaurs one bit.

Beginners: Sweet, contemplative, sad, with great performances all around.

The Future: I want to know who first decided to include animal dialogue in their movie: Miranda July in The Future or her husband, director Mike Mills, in Beginners. In either case, I was charmed to bits by both. Whether you like July (I do) or write her off as precious, you shouldn’t make any assumptions about this film before seeing it. Yes, there’s a talking cat, and, yes, she seems to have found her perfect onscreen twee twin in Hamish Linklater—but July certainly takes the story to some unexpected places. It unsettled me, in a way that I like for movies to do.

Guilty Pleasures: A truly engrossing study of individuals around the world for whom Harlequin romance novels are a way of life. There’s plenty to laugh at (particularly during scenes of a book cover photoshoot), but don’t think that this doc lacks heft: it hits hard with musings on loneliness, longing, and relationships.

Bill Cunningham New York: If this film doesn’t make you want to go out, buy a blue painter’s jacket, get on your bike, and take pictures of people on the street, I don’t know what will. Seriously, I loved every second of this film and now want to be best friends with Bill Cunningham.

Marathon Boy: In a word, this movie is compelling. The title is a bit unfortunate, as it implies a much less interesting film than this really is.

Meek’s Cutoff: There may have been very little talking in this film, and there was certainly very little that happened plot-wise, but I was on the edge of my seat for every wagon wheel creak. And boy was it gorgeous! I didn’t want it to end—I could have watched it for hours and hours.

Poetry: Absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking. (And one of the least attended films at the 2011 Film-o-Rama! Such a shame…)

Senna: I’ll just say this: when Senna manages to hoist that trophy over his head, I wanted to stand up and cheer. It made me swell with Brazilian pride, and I’m not even from Brazil.

Honorable Mentions
While it didn’t crack the top ten, I feel like I should mention Septien. It’s not perfect, but this film has really stuck with me. It’s a bit like Junebug but decidedly darker and more perverse (instead of Celia Weston, this pic has a brother who thinks he’s the matriarch of the family; instead of Amy Adams, it has Harmony Korine’s wife playing a young, sexually abused hostage). It actually has a lot in common with Lord Byron, the Louisiana film from Zack Godshall, which was also shot on a shoestring budget and features a crazy cast of trashy, Southern misfits. It’s certainly not boring.
Other notable films of the year that didn’t make my list: An Ordinary Family (fresh take on the family drama that won the Best Narrative Feature prize at 2011 NOFF) and Where Soldiers Come From (best war doc I’ve seen, and there are a lot of them out there).
Lastly, I’ve not had the chance to actually see Margaret yet, but I love to support underdogs and am definitely #teammargaret.

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JOLENE PINDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
I can’t remember the last time my Top 10 list wasn’t jam-packed with documentaries, saving for an obligatory bone thrown to a single narrative film. Those days are gone. With my new role at the New Orleans Film Society, I now have (thankfully!) diversified my movie viewing with a bold step beyond the all-documentaries, all-the-time philosophy of yesteryear. Here goes, in no particular order…

The Hedgehog: What happens when you throw together an existential pre-teen, a curmudgeonly super, and a Japanese aesthete? It’s not a bad joke, I swear, but the proposition at the center of this film. This one took me by surprise with its candor, whimsy and a captivating cast of characters. At its encore screening at NOMA as part of French Week, dozens of people came up after the show for another chance to see it.

The Future: Sometimes, when I need a pick-me-up, I just think back to Miranda July’s sage feline narrator, Paw-Paw. For me, July’s second feature achieved notable quirk but with more substance than her first, Me and You and Everyone We Know.

Beginners: If I could have dinner with one couple, dead or alive, Beginners director Mike Mills and Miranda July would rank right alongside F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. But I digress… Beginners just eked out a spot on this list (watched it on New Year’s Day) for a nuanced story that stretches across time and space with decisive editing and solid performances. As an aside, I could watch a whole other film just about the mother character.

Bill Cunningham New York: Clearly, this one sweeps the NOFS Documentary of the Year award. You don’t have to care one iota about fashion to get sucked into this tale of a singular passion.

Guilty Pleasures: The writing was on the wall for me to love this film: a globe-trotting documentary about that offers an inside look into the world of romance novels and the people who voraciously consume them. It wasn’t fated for me to like this because I have a long-standing Harlequin obsession (I don’t); I just like docs that take you into the intimate crevices of subjects’ lives. All the better if they give you a peek at an unexpected subculture. Check and check. I was proud to be part of the Sidewalk Film Festival Jury that gave this film the top documentary prize.

Poetry: My pick from this year’s Film-o-Rama. A tender story about a woman who takes on her struggles (and they are mighty) by taking pen to paper. Enveloping, quiet and beautiful.

Senna: I had the good fortune to see this film in the majestic Alabama Theatre, on 35mm, at the Sidewalk Film Festival. Composed entirely of archival footage, it tells the fast-paced story of Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna. Never before have I seen a doc use archival footage with such mastery. Truly captivating.

Where Soldiers Come From: There has been a never-ending spate of documentary films over the last five years that deal with war and I’ve managed to miss every single one of them (admittedly, it was my own fatigue on the topic that kept me away). Except for this one. Director Heather Courtney has phenomenal access to a group of young National Guard recruits serving in Afghanistan. More impressively, she knows how to transform that access into deft storytelling.

The Florestine Collection: Helen Hill’s experimental animated film (completed posthumously by husband Paul Gailiunas) plays like a cine-poem centered around Hill’s serendipitous find, a bag full of dresses made by a local seamstress. The film, like Florestine’s dresses, was lovingly crafted.

Le Noms Des Gens (The Names of Love): When I walked out of this pick from our French Film Festival, I thought: “Why are our American comedies so often not funny?” Le Noms Des Gens is a culture clash love story that manages to be both incredibly funny AND smart.