Best Movies of (My) Year 2011

A week before closing 2011 is a good moment to rank the best movies seen this year. Maybe in a different country the list would have looked like a proper summary of the year releases, but in Spain theatres and distributors "work in a different way" (ironic mode on), so some of the films listed have not even being released here yet. That's why the (My) of the title. Enjoy!

10. Synecdoche, New York
Creating a play of your life, as complex and detailed as your life. It has to be excruciating. Almost as hard as making a movie of that play. For what reason? Because you want to find an answer to existence, which is impossible. Except for Charlie Kaufman. In  "Synecdoche, New York", the world is a vast stage in which we all play an exclusive, starring role: our life. His first directing attempt was a megalomaniac, abysmal, somewhat failed masterpiece, but also the bravest film ever attempted to be made.

9. The Fighter

A boxing background excuse for a story of underdogs with real, flesh and bone characters and terrific playing from Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. In "The Fighter" the combat is not in the ring. Is against the filthiness of a life that seems fated to desolation, the need for survival and family curses that demand a lot of courage to confront. Loads of honesty and care for characters in the script and direction.

8. The Take
Another world is possible, but it won't happen without action. Argentinian workers decided to fight for their futures through a change of the economic system after "el corralito", becoming the workers and owners of the factories ruined thanks to the wild capitalism and the tyranny of the markets. Activist Naomi Klein and director Avi Lewis were there to film it and show us, that we need a global "The Take" today. That would be the real revolution.

7. Fish Tank

Desperation and bleak realism, combined with a tremendous hunger for life. Following the tradition of social British cinema (Ken Loach, Mike Leigh) "Fish Tank" hits hard and compels, thanks to the strikingly powerful character of Mia (extraordinary acting from newcomer Katie Jarvis) and the sharp script and direction of Andrea Arnold. 

6. Submarine
Meet Oliver Tate, a very peculiar kid facing his coming-of-age in a tragicomic and surreal ride. Enveloped in a wonderfully creative visual display, Richard Ayoade, on his directing debut, is able to capture the confusion and fun of Joe Dunthorne's book (currently reading) that surrounds the growing up Oliver with genuine charm. Add the amazing tunes of Alex Turner's soundtrack and the result is obvious. "Submarine" is our indie crush of the year.

5. Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon
The best music documentary seen on 2011 is not about KOL, a band which I don't particularly like, but as about their demons. And they have quite a few. The band trip to stardom clashing with a traditional family meeting. The universal success and its consequences battling with their roots. A past they cannot leave behind. "Talihina Sky" is an absorbing film about four people trying to deal with their contradictions.

4. Midnight in Paris
And when we thought we had lost him, the best Woody Allen returned. In "Midnight in Paris", the city and its romanticism, an overused topic with a very high risk of becoming a cliché, is used by our favourite neurotic to insufflate a much needed dose of magic to a tale where dreams and nostalgia can be haunting, but has to be overcome for a real desire to live the life we have in our hand. Prepare yourself to laugh and fall in love with the NY genius again.

3. Beginners
What a pleasant, loveable surprise this movie was. Director Mike Mills achieves a very rare feature with "Beginners". He created a bewitching story of love, loss and discovery, profoundly personal and with a peculiar structure that, at the same time, is capable of captivating and affecting the viewer thanks to a trio of leading characters so well constructed (and brilliantly acted) that their quest to find their own identities becomes something to empathise with.

2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
Documentary? Deep reflection on what's art today? Or just the best hoax ever filmed? Whatever your choice is, the result is invariable: a total triumph. As street-artist Banksy, the mastermind behind "Exit Through the Gift Shop" says during the film, this is "Basically the story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed." True, but nothing is what it seems. Who knew that sentence would hide so many, and amusing, meanings?

1. Blue Valentine
On top of the ranking, this raw and compelling dissection of a relationship. I saw the movie in July, and I'm still scared by the brutal, devastating deconstruction of a couple dynamiting their love. There's no way to hide in "Blue Valentine", no loopholes for pain relief. Even the good moments stress how awful will be the fall. This deep, to the bottom study-character could only work with two great actors capable of carrying Dean and Cindy in their shoulders. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams gave the best of their amazing talent, making every bit of their complex, human, fierce and sad relation credible and painful. Masterpiece.  

"Blue Valentine", dancing to the end of love

Blue Valentine
First advice: be aware of the moment (your emotional moment) when you decide to see the film, as it is going to affect you. And second advice: don't miss it, try to watch it by all means (probably won't get a release date in Spanish cinemas, that's why I say "all means", I know you have read this rant before).

Because "Blue Valentine" is devastating. Like reading Richard Yates. Like listening to "Blood on the Tracks" by Dylan, "Ultraviolet" or "Love is Blindness" by U2. Is one the of most raw and compelling dissections of the death of a relationship I ever seen. A realistic, profound and utterly sad study-character of a couple, showing us, back and forth, their relation as a complex puzzle (as every human relation is), a collection of moments and situations: the great, the good, the bad, the worse.

First, I have to praise the writing and direction of Derek Cianfrance. The premise of the film is far from being original (the superficial story could be defined even as pretty conventional), but he's capable to craft a movie that breaths, exudes honesty and its poignantly alive. A big part of it success lies in the terrific script. Measured scenes where the joy of love is condensed on a sentence, a look, a song (excellent soundtrack), or on the contrary, dialogues like sharp knifes, ready to become daggers to harm the one you once loved.   

Second, and intrinsic to the script, is the acting, which is simply exceptional. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are Dean and Cindy. I mean you are not seeing just characters evolving during a film, you are seeing flesh and blood persons crumbling in front of you, alternated with scenes when it seemed nobody/nothing can stop them from being together. It's scary (because of the topic) how well they complement each other on screen.Though I'm not surprised because I already considered both actors the best of their generation (30 and under), with "Blue Valentine" they have added one of the best performances of their careers.

Dean (Gosling) turns from a charming, romantic and careless guy to a frightened, insecure and verbally aggressive person. Cindy (Williams) evolves from a lovely, shining sweet and caring girl into a consumed, frustrated mother. Their degradation is obvious, even physically. And you can sense easily their desperation as well. We have "disordered" glimpses of their relationship: the past just before meeting, how they fell in love, and how their choices turned their happiness into the regret and misery of their present. But we don't need to know it all. Filling in the intentional holes (just a couple of times, minor regarding the story, where ellipsis might be too broad), like on good literature, is our task. That way Cianfrance direct us to a personal connection, sometimes even a recognition of ourselves in the film.What we see is far from being comfortable or pleasant (hard to remember a film where sex scenes have been so relevant and poignant for example), there's even a physical threat all around, but is sincerely human.

"Blue Valentine" is a rare, brave and fierce, brilliantly acted, masterpiece, about the most important subject: human relationships and love. Don't miss it, please.

SCORE: 9/10