MY YEAR IN FILM

It is a deplorable sign of the times that 2 of the 3 films in my top 3 have not been screened in Belgium. I was lucky enough to catch both gems at the always outstanding International Film Festival Rotterdam in January. Both films premiered at the Cannes film festival in May 2008 and especially Phillipe Garrel’s FRONTIER OF DAWN got mixed reviews. Many people found the movie pretentious, confusing or downright boring. I for myself left the theatre under a spell, amazed by this sublime meditation on love, faith and eternity. As with all art forms, the perception of a film lies in the basis of our own lives and often depends on the way we relate the film to our life. La Frontière de l’Aube touched me right in the heart.

1. La Frontière de l’Aube

a brilliant ghost story shot in sumptuous black-and-white

2. Das Weiße Band

a masterfully directed and hyper-intense drama

3. Four Nights With Anna

a grim and compelling Eastern European tale

4. The Chaser

thriller of the year comes from South Korea

5. Stella

… or why I loathed De Helaasheid Der Dingen (and adored Stella)

6. Three Monkeys

splendid film noir by this Turkish arthouse master

7. Strawberry Shortcakes

already from 2006 but this superbly directed Japanese film is too good to be forgotten

8. 24 City

a brilliant mix between fiction and documentary – I didn’t expect great things but was blown away by this masterly directed film

9. Precious

raw, pure & honest

10. The Story of Anvil

wonderful & heartfelt music documentary

11. The Sound Of Insects

final countdown to death – an amazing piece of film in every aspect

12. Bright Star

marvelous costume drama about the poet John Keats

13. Süt/Milk

spellbinding second part in Semih Kaplanoglu trilogy – a must-see!

14. Cargo 200

brilliant Russian comedy/horror/thriller

15. Let The Right One In

a subtle horror movie from Sweden

16. Un Prophète

grand cru prison drama

17. Antichrist

an upsetting but genuine piece of cinema

18. 35 Rhums

another powerful little gem by Claire Denis

19. The Wrestler

comeback of the year for Mickey Rourke!

20. Leonera

raw Argentinian prison drama



I also enjoyed: Milk, Teza, Afterschool, Fish Tank, Los Abrazos Rotos, Seraphine, Inglourious Bastards, The Loner aka Hikikomori, Departures, Paper Soldier, Morphia, Survival Song, La Mujer Sin Cabeza, Altiplano, Inland, Ocean Flame, La Maison Jaune, Songs From The Southern Seas, Still Walking, El Regalo de la Pachamama, Firaaq, Voy a Explotar, Vacation, Katanga Business, Treeless Mountain, A Festa de Menina Morta, Salamandra, Native Dancer, All Around Us, Funuke Show Some Love, Parque Via, Puisque nous sommes nés, La Vida Loca, Serbis, Izulu Lami, Soi Cowboy, Liverpool, Tokyo Sonata, Before The Burial, La Pivellina, Sahman, Gigante, Katalin Varga, Politist, Adjectiv, No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti, Yuki & Nina, Le Roi de L’Evasion, Wild Field, Petropolis, Applaus, Naked of Defences, The Weaving Girl, Fish Eyes, Il Divo, The Hurt Locker, Red Cliff

Films I haven't seen yet: Goodbye Solo, Revolutionary Road, La Belle Personne, Frozen River, Elève Libre, Lost Persons Area, Gran Torino