The 25 best films of 2012: 10 through 6

Tabu

10) Tabu, Miguel Gomes.

I did not get to see this until after I sent in several poll responses (OK, two), and was sad for that reason that it turned out to be exactly as miraculous as many people I trusted had said it was. The Murnau link is not even a sixth of it, honest. The narrative convolutions are as purposeful as they are expert, the imagery is never not gorgeous, and this is about as perfectly modulated in terms of humor, sadness, and genuine irony as movies ever get. (In a discussion for another time, and soon, I was bitterly disappointed with Tarantino's Django Unchained, and came out of Tabu saying "Now THIS is how you pull off a meta-movie!" And again, that's not even a fifth of it.) Seriously, see this. 

9) Holy Motors, Leos Carax, considered here and here. 

8) Looper, Rian Johnson, reviewed here. 

7) Lincoln, Steven Spielberg, reviewed here. Spoiler alert: the dance-contest movie is not in my top five. 

6) Cosmopolis, David Cronenberg, reviewed here. Tomorrow, if you're good, I'll put up a brief interview I did with the maestro the other day. 

Comments

[David Ehrenstein]

6. Moonrise Kingdom

7. Bernie

8. Laurence Anyways

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

10. Holy Motors.

[michaelgsmith]

Can't wait to read the Cronenberg interview.

10. Aita (de Orbe)
9. Cosmopolis (Cronenberg)
8. House of Pleasures (Bonello)
7. The Master (Anderson)
6. This Is Not a Film (Panahi)

[Clayton Sutherland]

Wow, I'm surprised to hear your reaction to Django, Glenn; I figured, based on reaction to the film elsewhere, it was headed for at least your Top 10 of 2012. Interesting...I guess I'll have to see the movie before reading your objections to it. At any rate, it's pretty clear, at this point, that Moonrise Kingdom (possibly my favourite film of the year, though I haven't watched it a second time yet...no Criterion Blu-ray) is right near the top of your list.

I'm going to guess that Amour and The Deep Blue Sea (which I should be getting from my public library within a few weeks) are topping Mr. Ehrenstein's list.

[Hugo Rodastein]

10. Tabu
9. The Master
8. Cosmopolis
7. Mekong Hotel (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
6. Red Hook Summer (Spike Lee)

[lazarus]

Hey, instead of discussing the films themselves, let's just each post our own lists!

This is Glenn's blog, right?

[Oliver_C]

As if the entire end-of-year exercise isn't largely arbitrary anyway (hand on heart, can a significant difference in value be discerned between the 17th and 18th movies, between the 12th and 13th?); as if the quality of our nearby cinemas (and their programming) isn't going to influence one's selection as much as the films themselves; as if, tallying up everyone's votes, the consensus is going to vary vastly from any single reputable critic's list.

With this in mind then, here's my top 10 -- the top ten black-and-white DVDs I've watched in 2012, chosen on the basis not just of filmic worth but transfer/extras quality as well, and all available only in SD (you'd think there was still a place here for the best of the format)...

Bellissima (Visconti, 1951) Masters of Cinema R2
Dark Days (Singer, 2000) Oscilloscope R1
The Fugitive Kind (Lumet, 1959) Criterion R1
Hobson's Choice (Lean, 1954) Criterion R1
Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection (various, 1929-40) RHI/Vivendi R1
A Man Vanishes (Imamura, 1967) Icarus Films R1
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (Ritt, 1965) Criterion R1
Strip-Tease (Poitrenaud, 1963) Mondo Macabro R1
This Sporting Life (Anderson, 1963) Criterion R1
The Virgin Spring (Bergman, 1960) Criterion R1

[David Ehrenstein]

"I'm going to guess that Amour and The Deep Blue Sea (which I should be getting from my public library within a few weeks) are topping Mr. Ehrenstein's list."

Excellent guess. They're near the very top -- where you'll find Ira Sachs' "Keep the Lights On." Ira is the REAL "Master" -- not PTA.

[Kevyn Knox]

Django!? Really?? Ah well, everybody can't love it - some of you have to be wrong. Ha! Just kidding, of course. Sorta. Anyway, nice to see Tabu on there. As for my top ten...that will come in due course (um, Jan 1st, to give such due course a more specific feeling) over at my old ratty place (and I think you know where that is). Happy Holidays, and all that jazz.

[Viriato]

I dread these words. Tabu was financed with Portuguese state money, and Miguel Gomes and his friends at Sound and Fury are now on the way to take the rein out of Oliveira for the biggest moochers off the Government. I loathe that way of making movies, and it has done nothing for no one working in this country anymore than making Gomes ask for the State for more money next year.

I won't even talk about how the money is distributed. It's open corruption in plein air and no one does anything about it. It's absolutely ridiculous, and although I generally agree with your reviewing, this one is my first missive.

[That Fuzzy Bastard]

Hunh, hadn't expected Holy Motors to make your best-of list after your ambivalent reaction. Now that I've seen it, I'd side with your reaction over this ranking; it's got a lot of lovely moments, but the fashion photographer yipping "Beautiful... beautiful... beautiful... Weird! Weird!" seems like a prophylactic avoidance of the knowledge that the film pretty much works according to the rules of fashion: nice light, contextless emotion-tweaking, some references for the pros, and less than meets the eye.