Sparrow's Yearly List of the Best Films

by Sparrow, February 25, 2009

Avid blog-watchers wait each February for the 10 Best Films of the Year in "Quarter to Three" (this blog). As you probably know, I only see about 10 movies per year, so I'm happy to compile them into a list. I included every film I saw in 2008, except for The Dark Knight, which I found noisy, joyless and cruel (though I loved Heath).

1. "Before They Die!" Directed by Reggie Turner

At the Teaneck International Film Festival I saw Before They Die!, the tale of a city which turns on its own citizens, burning their houses to the ground and killing over 300 innocent people.  This horror story is true.  On May 31, 1921 a mob led by the Ku Klux Klan attacked the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Six airplanes strafed fleeing women, men and children.  Thousands of people were left homeless.  Before They Die! narrates this forgotten chapter in American history, and recounts the struggle by its aging survivors for reparations.  

For more information: http://www.beforetheydiemovie.com/

2. "Variations VII by John Cage" Directed by Barbro Schultz Lundestam

In 1966, composer John Cage collaborated with scientists from Bell Telephone Laboratories to stage a performance at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City. This film of the concert was recently completed.

3. "Milk" Directed by Gus Van Sant.

A few narcissistic Hollywood millionaires made this propaganda film for Activism. I wept constantly. (The ending -- a funeral procession for Harvey Milk, through the hilly streets of San Francisco -- is a secret AIDS tribute.)

4. "At the Edge of the World" Directed by Dan Stone

Two ships of eco-anarchists attempt to sabotage Japanese whaling vessels -- in the Antarctic Ocean! It's a documentary.

5. "Religulous" Directed by Larry Charles.

Bill Maher's essay on religious fanaticism. I personally am a religious fanatic -- and I still loved it!

6. "Frost/Nixon" Directed by Ron Howard

It's unusual to see a Hollywood actor portray a famous person without doing a meticulous imitation.

7. "The Counterfeiters" Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky

Believe it or not, there were officially-sanctioned Jewish counterfeiters inside the Nazi concentration camp, Sachsenhausen! Based on the memoir by Adolf Burger. More than any other film, this one captures the Joy of Counterfeiting. (Winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for 2008.)

8. "MUTO" by BLU

A street artist painted-then-erased thousands of drawings, forming an animated cartoon, in Buenos Aires and Baden, Germany. (See it on YouTube!)

9. "Berni's Doll" Directed by Yann J (Jouette)

A dystopic sex cartoon.

10. "Red Rabbit" Directed by Egmont Mayer

A short animated film about the horrible double life one leads while owning a giant rabbit.

(I saw four of these films at the Woodstock Film Festival.)