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.  

"The Take", we can: a new economy without bosses

The Take

Those under 25 probably are too young to remember "el corralito". one of the biggest collapses a developed country has ever faced. It happened in 2001, and the country, once the wealthiest of Latin-America, was Argentina. The responsible of that disaster, that put the country into bankruptcy, a devastating unemployment rate and the sudden misery of Argentinian middle-class, were their perennially corrupted political class, banks, and the perverse policies of IMF. The picture hasn't changed that much since then, don't you think? After 10 years the problem is now planetary.

That's why watching "The Take" in 2011 is still relevant and attractive. Anti-globalisation activist Naomi Klein (responsible of "No Logo") and director Avi Lewis (in his first film) goes deep into Buenos Aires to portray the cost of wild capitalism and market... but this is not a reporting documentary or anti-globalisation manifesto. Is a fierce, because is real, example that another world is possible, and another economical system can work. 

Capitalism has tried to teach us that enterprises, run by entrepreneurs (what a nice euphemism) are the engines of economy we cannot live without. Even more, these enterprises have a boss, a hierarchy of power that has to be preserved. Bullshit. "The Take" shows a different model. One where cooperation is based in the best incentive: the common success, not just an individual, personal gain. It is called cooperation. And in a cooperative, a factory run by workers, where cooperation rules the structure, you don't need a boss.

Through the experience of Forja San Martín, an abandoned factory taken by 30 ex-workers, that is learning, struggling and figthing to rebuild the factory, the film exposes us to a real phenomenon. Other examples, like the historical sewing factory Brickmann run just by women or Zanón, are explored, so our vision becomes wider and richer. "The Take" focus on the workers, creating a compelling piece of their fair David-against-Goliath challenge. They vote, they doubt, they disagree, the divide the profits equally, the effectively manage the factory. They succeed. They prove there's an alternative.

The film also tries to explore the political responsibilities of the economic disaster in the country. These are the moments were the documentary gets closer to Michael Moore's style, but even then, Lewis and Co are wise enough to focus the film in real people and their relation with politics (the familiar dichotomy in election time is vividly presented to us) instead of wasting too much time in already-known slags (from Carlos Menem to Anoop Singh). This film is about really important people: Freddy Espinoza, Lalo Paret, Matilde Adorno, Celia Martínez...and a long and relevant etc.

There are few complaints to make to "The Take" aside the needed period where the film goes back into recent history (summarises many things too quickly). I would add the annoying music (unnecessary) and a more important one: the final part where Forja San Martín process (the legal process) is speeded-up, probably dramatically cut in the editing room in order to make the film more dynamic, but seriously hurting its level of realism.

Today, with the Global financial crisis, seeing "The Take" poses a question: "why should we let the ones who made us fail into this situation repeat the same mistakes again? Why don't we try a new approach? We know we can do different.

SCORE: 7,5/10