by MovieMan0283
#100 in Best of the 21st Century?, a series in which I view, for the first time, some of the most critically acclaimed films of the previous decade.
Rounding out the top 100, this entry on Silent Light concludes the “Best of the 21st Century?” series begun in February, with The Hurt Locker. If the previous post, on Let the Right One In, was the climax of the series, this is the epilogue. Not a written post but images from the film’s quiet, entrancing opening, in which the camera tracks in while the sun rises. Paradoxically, a good sequence to close with. Thanks for following the series, and I hope you enjoyed it. The pictures begin after the jump.
Previous film: Let the Right One In
It’s really been a monumental series, one of the most high-caliber of any offered at this site. It will be terribly missed, as will your pared-down involvement. But I am hopeful you will in time come up with another idea to perpetuate your dedication and appreciate of this great art form will all adore. I can’t even fathom this site without a continuing series from you, hence I grieve and keep up the hope.
As to SILENT LIGHT, it’s a visually ravishing film, but I’ve come to see it as overrated after repeated viewings. (here’s one that lost one second DVD viewing) It’s often beautiful, but I see some pretentiouness, and a lack of originality due to excessive emulation. The caps here are absolutely stunning!
Silent Light was compelling, but I agree that it’s not a great movie. The sex scene is fantastic, as are the opening and closing sunrise/sunset buttons, along the way there are some nice moments but the stylization felt a little distancing (which isn’t necessarily a criticism, but at times I thought the material called for something a bit less mannered). The Ordet homage (if you can even call it that, it’s a straight lift!) was a nice gesture – I’m always happy to see Dreyer, on the shortlist for being my favorite director, referenced! At the same time, it was rather distracting for me and took me out of the ending a bit – I wonder if it would have seemed out of place had I not known the earlier film. But an interesting movie, definitely worth checking out. Thanks for your own thoughts on it.
Since my mind wandered at times (I’d probably have to see the movie again to do it full justice), and also because I wanted to tie up the series with a simple gesture rather than a lengthy review, I went with this approach which is a nice, quiet conclusion for the series. Thanks for lending me your space, Sam, and I’m glad you enjoyed the effort!
This series was fantastic! Is there a list posted of all the titles you written on? Maybe I just need to do some searching.
I agree with the above posts about this film, though. Beautiful, but pretentious. The tracking shot into the garage where the men are working just annoyed me… it served no obvious purpose and felt like the director did it for the sake of being artistic.
Thanks MovieMan! I believe your comments regarding ‘extensive exercises’ and my ‘studies’ were probably meant for another Dave, as this is Dave Van Poppel. But I appreciate the links and the series altogether. Thanks again!
Ah, sorry Dave! Too many Davids and Sams around these parts, lol (we even have the one-letter-placement-different Jaimes and Jamies to confuse us). Hope you enjoy the other 21C pieces…
Ah everything comes to an end. Good job Joel. I’m with Sam that you have to do a continuing series of some kind. Maybe you can do the Western or War countdown. I would love to see your sustained take on a specific genre……
I’d hardly be a person for the Western countdown (I enjoy the genre, particularly its great entries, but it’s not my passion) – War maybe but the only genres I have any kind of specific affinity for (unless “60s European cinema” counts as a genre) are some of the “thriller” subcategories – gangster movies have a been a favorite since I was a kid, political thrillers are always the first I gravitate to if I’m just looking for a night’s entertainment, and “suspense” films or mysteries are also my natural instinct if I just want to relax and enjoy myself. The last category has strong overlap with noir, rendering a bit redundant after your series, and besides in none of those genre branches would I really consider myself a connoisseur.
That said, I did tentatively broach the subject of a documentary countdown. I concede it would hardly be the most popular topic (though now’s the perfect time, as the past decade has seen a doc renaissance) and it would have to at least a year, probably year and a half from now, so I could properly prepare – there are still a ton of docs I’d need to see before making it feasible. But it’s an idea…
Well there are a lot of great mystery films that are not really noir. Various Sherlock Holmes, Murder On The Orient Express (my favorite Lumet), Picnic At Hanging Rock, etc. A list could be achieved. A documentary countdown though is an even better idea!!!! I watched three just this week…. American Movie, My Best Fiend, and Hearts Of Darkness (the last two for the first time) and enjoyed all of them. I think you should entertain that idea more seriously.
Oh definitely on the mysteries – but like you, I think the doc idea is stronger. God though, there must be hundreds of titles I need to see, bare minimum, before I could seriously humor the idea. The more countdowns I can encourage in the interim, the better! Bring ’em all on, I need all the prep time I can get…
American Movie and Hearts of Darkness are fantastic. I haven’t seen My Best Fiend yet, though I can’t wait too – hard to go wrong with that subject. (Just saw Doctor Zhivago again, and man, Kinski steals every scene he’s in, few as they are…)
By the way, whenever I hear the title “American Movie” I get it mixed up with “American Dream,” another great but 180-degree different documentary (this time, though, I knew what you were talking about). The latter film, about a union struggle in the 80s, I’ve only seen parts of but based on what I’ve seen it would probably be shortlisted amongs the nominees for my countdown.
Part of the problem with this idea is that I also have an absurdly ambitious canonical idea for my own blog demanding my attention (if I put in several hours a day, not including watching the movies in question, I could maybe have this thing fully prepared in 2-3 years, so once again I’ve probably bitten off more than I could chew). Of course, I could definitely fold the two projects in together, as many of the docs would be in my own personal canon, so who knows…
I’ve enjoyed the series immensely. I haven’t seen this film, but have read elsewhere of the indeptedness (Sam says “emulation”) to Dreyer. I also hope you stay on. You are integral to this site’s coverage, and you’re one of it’s best writers. The documentary idea is a good one.
Thank you, Peter. I’ll be back no doubt in some incarnation. But some space had to be cleared for the time being, there’s just so much going on here already!
If you are interested, the Sunday Matinee will probably continue for a few weeks on my own blog (I moved it off of here to clear space before I realized I’d be concluding the 21st Century series). A few more Brit films, than 3 Czechs & 3 French before it wraps up.
Thank you Movie Man. I’ll pay that place a visit!
Why not post the Sunday Matinee on WITD????
A really enjoyable and very well written series, MovieMan.
Even if my answer to most (Best of the 21st Century?) would have been no, I got a lot from it and saw things in a new light.
May I suggest Romances as your genre MovieMan. Yes, Documentaries would be good, if you don’t fancy that. Or Minimalist cinema – not a genre, sure but a clear style – let’s bring out the Akermans, Bartases and Alonsos. The less that happens the better.
Stephen, oddly enough my answer to most would probably have been “No” as well, at least if we’re talking top 100! That said, I enjoyed and/or appreciated most of the movies I watched (I think In Praise of Love was the only one I panned, though I found Lives of Others overrated and A Serious Man somewhat baffling), and am really glad I undertook the exercise. I’ll probably continue to watch the movies on the list, though I won’t be writing about them.
As for future countdowns, not bad ideas, Stephen. But I think I still cotton to the doc idea the most – it’s sufficiently broad, yet specifically focused enough, to allow for some great entries. I love much minimalist cinema, but am at heart a maximalist so I should probably leave that field to others!
Great job on this series Joel. Sadly, I couldn’t comment on many, as I myself haven’t seen a lot of the ones you were missing. At least I have a good place to go for analysis when I get around to watching them, though.
So, with this finished, do you feel comfortable doing a ranking or commenting on how many of the ones you watched felt worthy of their lofty status?
Interesting task, Troy. I think there are only two I would immediately suggest for an all-time canon – Platform and Syndromes and a Century (this is including the films I reviewed in last December as part of the first version of this series, before TSPDT came out with an updated list). Beyond that there are several more I could definitely see awarding masterpiece status upon further re-viewings: Grizzly Man, Still Life, The World, and Moolaade leap to mind. Maybe Atanarjuat. And then among the rest, my personal favorites, the ones I’d be most likely to watch again, included The Hurt Locker, Summer Hours, The Gleaners & I.
This is just based on one or two viewings for each film. There are others that intrigued me but don’t leap out at me in the same way – Waltz with Bashir, which I know Bob loves, being one example – which future re-viewings could place a lot higher. Part of the idea of this series was that it was a “first view” and while sometimes I watched a movie twice before writing up, in general the essays reflected a first encounter.
I hope you do come back after seeing these films, if not to comment (and don’t feel compelled – one should only comment if one wants to, otherwise takes the fun out of blogging) then to mentally compare your own reaction to mine and see where they aligned.
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A terrific film with elements from four dynamic auteurs: Ordet from Carl Dreyer, Satantango from Bela Tarr, the latter half of films starting with the Mirror forward by Andrei Tarkovsky but mostly Terrence Malick – Days Of Heaven. Seeing the other works by director Carlos Reygadas does not necessarily prepare you for what transpires. A unique and unusual story to those of us whom live outside of a religious sect as lifestyle. As isolated as an Antarctic iceberg with just enough sun to thaw back into water. Sublime and prophetic.