My Favorite Movies of 2004
Perhaps more than any other year, 2004 produced movies that struck an emotional chord, made me recall some of my most cherished (and often sullen) memories. Maybe it’s that movies are getting better, maybe its just that I’m getting older and so the wealth of my experience allows me to relate to movies in a way in which I never could have before… but 2004 was one of my favorite years for movies in recent memory. Of the movies on this list, all of them would have been in the top 5 in any year (except 1999) since 1997, when I began making these lists. The year was so good that for the first time in a long while I felt bad cutting movies (Motorcycle Diaries, Ray, Sideways, Kill Bill Volume 2, Finding Neverland, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, A Very Long Engagement, In Good Company, and a few others) from the list. Most of the time I find myself going back through the list of the years movies on IMDb and trying to find something worthy of the 10 spot. Not so this year, and I’m glad to finally be able to present to you my favorite movies of 2004. Hopefully you haven’t seen a few of these, and that’s a good thing… because I think most of these movies, even the lesser known ones, have an almost universal appeal. You don’t need to be a film snob to enjoy any of them. Sadly, I never made it to see Bad Education, which surely would have made this list (Almodovar is one of my favorite directors), so in that way, this isn’t complete. Also, I try not to divulge a lost of information about plot in these mini-reviews. Sometimes, you might not even know what the movie is about based on what I write, but I hope my passion for these 10 great movies is enough to make you see them. If you disagree with my list, or simply have other movies that you loved that didn’t make it, be sure to comment.So without further ado, the list:
10. Hotel Rwanda
When I heard that Don Cheadle was going to star in a movie based on the Rwandan genocide, I was glad for two reasons: First, Rwanda is an important story for American’s to know about, as its lessons still have not been learned. It is essential that the victims of the genocide are honored and remembered in a way that respects Africans, their culture, and their history. Hotel Rwanda is this movie. Since the release of Hotel Rwanda in Ann Arbor, there has been a noticeable shift in the way people talk about the humanitarian crises of history and of the present. That is the power of this movie. It makes you see the world in a different way.
It would be easy to dismiss the Rwandan genocide as an abstract conflict between two warring tribes. Hotel Rwanda obliterates any abstraction and gives the conflict a personal face. When watching the movie, you begin to understand the complexities of Hutu and Tutsi relations. You begin to understand the challenges and obstacles UN Peacekeepers faced. And you see the extreme cowardess and moral blindness with which the world reacted.
The second reason I was glad that this movie was made is that it finally gave the underappreciated Don Cheadle a place to shine. His performance in this movie is his best to date, and it was one of only two this year that made me physically shake in the theater. Cheadle garnered an Academy Award nomination for this film, and had the movie achieved more commercial success, he would have had a better shot to win.
Regardless, Hotel Rwanda is a film I recommend to anyone who wants to learn about a great stain on human history, and the heroism that accompanied it.
9. The Incredibles
If there was any doubt that animated film had finally arrived after last year’s Finding Nemo and Shrek the year before that, then The Incredibles should surely dispel that doubt. With The Incredibles we have been given a movie that finally lives up to the cliché: a fun movie for the entire family.
This movie has something for everyone: Beautiful animation, great action sequences, witty dialogue, a spot-on story, political satire, and family drama.
There’s not much more to say than this movie is as about as much fun as is possible at the movies. Please don’t disregard it simply because it’s animated, you will really be missing out. And if you liked this, you should check out Brad Bird’s other great animated film: 1999’s Iron Giant
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
There are few screenwriters whose work is worth seeing simply because they wrote it. This is partially because of a Hollywood system in which a writer’s work is consistently butchered, partially because studios lack the courage to make unique films (although, I must admit, they are getting much better), and partially because there are only a handful of creative geniuses. Charlie Kaufman is one such genius. His Being John Malkovich will be looked back on as perhaps the most influential movie in this era of film, inspiring a slew of filmmakers to explore the depths of their imaginations much like Pulp Fiction did for the bulk of the 1990s.
But Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is Kaufman’s masterpiece. With it, he has created something that I have never seen before, and it only makes me more excited to see what will come from this man’s brain next time. The movie has perhaps one of the most unique structures of this year, but is one of the most universally loved. That is the sign of true genius: being able to push on into the unknown, and being able to take the audience with you.
Also, director Michel Gondry is someone to look out for as well. His sense of environment and pace brought life to Kaufman’s vision, and if the special features on the DVD are any indication, he only made that vision better.
7. Garden State
There’s a scene towards the beginning of Garden State where Andrew Largeman, our over-medicated and under-emotional protagonist played by writer-director Zach Braff, wakes up on a couch in his friend’s house only to find a knight in shining armor standing a few feet away from him in the kitchen. The two exchange glances, turn away, and the knight proceeds to poor milk into his bowl of cereal.
There is an explanation for this, but I won’t spoil it for you. One of the small joys of the movie is that no matter how bizarre or out of place things might seem, they are always right where they belong.
In this way, Garden State is in the inverse genre of magical realism. In magical realism the fantastic is seemingly real. In Garden State the real is seemingly fantastic. The film is peppered with life’s tiny wonderments. The movie itself is a wonder: the tone perfectly set, the characters perfectly realized. In a lesser movie, the quirky dialogue would be a distraction. Here, it complements its equally quirky characters.
Take the role of Sam, played by Natalie Portman. During a scene in her bedroom, she jumps up and down and wiggles her arms and makes weird noises, with the expressed purpose of being the only person in the history of the world to have ever done such a thing in that exact spot. The character is so eclectic, so original, that it is a wonder that Portman portrays her without once veering towards caricature. The character is real, or it least she feels that way, and Portman is to be credited with this.
The performance that I fear has been overlooked in this film is Ian Holm’s portrayal of Andrew’s father, Gideon Largeman. Holm’s nuance of gesture, rather than sweeping emotional bravado, is both powerful and appropriate.
Garden State has drawn comparisons to Mike Nichol’s 1967 classic The Graduate. Both are stories about young men returning home after having been away. Both involve complex love affairs. Both are quests of self-discovery. Both rely on a soundtrack composed of contemporary music to guide the viewer through the film’s emotional and psychological troughs and crests.
However, Garden State seems more relevant. Perhaps still existent today is the generational divide that was so superbly characterized in The Graduate, and therefore makes that film less accessible to our generation than it was to our parents’.
There is something in Garden State for everyone to relate to, whether it’s Andrew’s inability to feel when he know he should, or the awkwardness of Andrew’s first visit to Sam’s house.
Plus, Garden State is grander. It is an odyssey in almost every sense of the word. We watch as Andrew emerges from his state of sedated lethargy. We wonder at the wide array of settings: from a doctor’s office so cramped with degrees that one extends onto the ceiling, to the deep abyss of a newly discovered canyon.
My only qualm with the movie is the ending. I won’t spoil it for you, but I believe there is somewhere an alternate (and more appropriate) ending that was canned by focus groups to make this seem more formulaic than it should.
When I first saw Garden State it felt like I was sitting in a movie about my life. It appears that many people have had the same reaction, as almost everybody I talk to thinks that this movie is about them. And, honestly, you can’t really get any more universal than that.
6. Before Sunset
This is the sequel to 1995’s Before Sunrise. In that movie, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke spend one magical night in Venice, only to depart at sunrise. Before Sunset takes place nine years later, as the two are reunited in Paris. Before Sunset has essentially the same structure as its predecessor, in that both revolve around a conversation between two people as they stroll through the streets of a European city.
Just as the characters have matured since Before Sunrise, so has director Richard Linklater of Waking Life-fame. He seems more confident here. Whereas Before Sunrise relied heavily on a cast of quirky minor characters and interesting settings to move the conversation along, Before Sunset allows the conversation to carry the film by itself. In terms of pure cinematic skill, Before Sunset is a better movie than its predecessor. But in terms of my connection to it, I preferred Before Sunrise, but mainly because I am at a similar stage in my life as the characters in that movie. Perhaps in nine years Before Sunset will seem more relevant to me, but for now I can only appreciate the depth of the character’s emotions, and the nuance and truth with which they are treated.
Before Sunset is a movie that trusts its audience’s intelligence. Which is something, sadly, that is rarely done today.
5. Goodbye Lenin!
This is probably the least known movie on my list, but I was still shocked that I was only able to find it on one Best of 2004 list (Kevin Polowy of Moviefone had it at #8) because its impossible not to love this film.
Set in Germany just before reunification, Goodbye Lenin! is about a son whose mother is in a coma during the key months that changed Germany. When she awakes, the son must keep the information of the fall of East Germany from his patriotic mother, because any amount of shock could kill her. In the process, he recreates East Germany for her by removing the labels from pickle jars and replacing them with the old version, by filming fake news reports that explain some of the strange things that are happening around them, and other antics that will make you smile and some that will make you cry.
I went in thinking that Goodbye Lenin! was a comedy, and in away it is, but it is also incredibly serious. It has a heart like few movies. It is a movie that makes few judgments. All it does is display the anxiety, excitement, and fear that accompany living in a changing world. It is a movie that everyone should see. I’m begging you to rent this movie; I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. And if you’re a student of German history, I’m sure you’ll pick up on a ton of things that I could not.
4. Collateral
This might seem hyperbolic, but I believe Collateral derives from the same tradition as 1948’s Bicycle Thief. In both we have a protagonist whose situation drives him to do things that he would have never done before, with the ominous presence of the city and its colorful cast of characters peppering the background. The use of handheld cameras gives both movies a gritty feel that compliments the grittiness of modern urban life.
Jamie Foxx has been getting a lot of attention for his performance in Ray, but he really shines here. It is not easy to steal a movie from Tom Cruise, but that is exactly what Jamie Foxx does.
I don’t want to divulge any plot points because the movie is a lot better if you don’t know much about it (if only the advertising executives understood this!). Again, this is another movie that didn’t have that much commercial success, but should do a lot better now that it is on DVD. Plus, my film teacher from last semester thinks that it was the best movie of the last five years.
3. Closer
On this list, movies #3, #2, and #1 could have all been the best movie of any other year. All of them are great examples of how one medium can achieve vastly different effects. Before I had seen the #2 and #1 movie on my list, I had been telling people that Closer was the best movie I had seen since 1999’s Magnolia. And at the time that was true.
This movie makes us confront the parts of our humanity that we would rather ignore. In this way, Closer is the most disturbing movie of the year. It makes you realize the incredible power that love and sex can have, and how when manipulated they can destroy you.
Each scene in Closer is like a short-film unto itself. Each is so satisfying and has its own unique tone, that you’re often upset when it ends. The disappointment doesn’t last long, because soon you’re caught up in another equally involving situation.
The dialogue in this movie is the best of the year, and it needed to be. The movie is about the power words have over us. They can cut deep wounds and they can make us believe in silly things. I found myself hanging on every word each character said. This is because the rhythm of the dialogue plays out like a symphony, taking you through the highs and lows, the excitement and sadness, that the characters love affairs take them through.
The four actors in this movie (Jude Law, Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, and Natalie Portman) are all superb. But the movie really belongs to Owen and Portman. This film marks the arrival of Owen and the maturity of Portman. I first saw Owen when he appeared as the driver in all of the BMW Films short films, and now there is talk that he might be the next James Bond. I never took Portman that seriously, but with her two great and completely different performances this year (she was also in Garden State), I now consider her one of the best young actresses in Hollywood.
Just a warning: While this movies oozes sex (I’ve never in my life been more purely sexually attracted to anyone than Portman in this film), it is the opposite of a date movie. See it alone, or with someone you have no romantic feelings for and don’t foresee the possibility of those feelings developing with. Trust me on this.
2. Shaun of the Dead
If pure enjoyment and desire to see a movie over and over again are the measure of how good a movie is, than this would be the best movie of the year. No one was more surprised at how much I love this film than I was. I have seen Shaun of the Dead (I’m not joking) ten times, and each time I learn something knew about the characters, about movie making, and about storytelling.
With all the talk about how great the screenplay for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is (and it is great), I believe Shaun of the Dead had the best screenplay of the year. The economy of characters, the observations about modern life, and its pitch-perfect pastiche/parody of the zombie genre make this a movie like none I have ever seen before. This is one of those movies that make me believe in the power of film and inspires me in my own creative endeavors. It instills in me the desire to improve my own craft and makes me believe that I can.
A lot of people will probably be turned off by the fact that the movie is a parody of a niche genre. But, I wouldn’t consider Shaun of the Dead a parody per se. It simply redefines the zombie movie. It is a comedy and a zombie movie at the same time. And the truth of the matter is that zombie movies have never been my thing, although I loved last year’s 28 Days Later. Shaun of the Dead, in redefining the genre, informs the audience about it as well: pointing out and subverting the conventions of zombie movies.
Plus, the movie is laugh-out-loud funny, even after the tenth viewing. I mean this quite literally. The tenth time I saw it, I laughed just as loudly as I did the first time, perhaps even harder. The jokes and comedic situations are that fresh that they remain hilarious even after you know the punch-lines.
If you’re in the mood for a great movie, but don’t want something super heavy, but that can stimulate you if you so choose, than Shaun of the Dead is the perfect movie for you.
This is a movie that will surely catch fire now that it’s on DVD. The word of mouth on this film will hopefully propel it to some success in the home video market. Please, please, please, please, please rent this movie. Even if you have no desire to see it, give this movie your financial support because it is imperative that movies like this continue to be made.
I don’t know how many more ways I can compliment a movie… but if could think of them, I would surely write them. Nevertheless, just know that this movie is worthy of any praise a movie can possibly receive.
1. Million Dollar Baby
What else can be said about this masterpiece that has not been said already? I feel terrible writing about how good this movie is this late in the game because anything I want to say will have already been said.
It used to be that when I saw a really great movie, I would say “this was the best movie since Magnolia”. Million Dollar Baby is now the measuring stick. It is the best movie since 1997s LA Confidential… which is perhaps the highest compliment I can give a modern movie, because LA Confidential is the film that made me want to be a film buff.
I usually hate it when things that I really like become super popular and receive tons of acclaim. Sometimes the fun is in loving something that few people have seen. But this movie is too important, too good to get caught up in such snobbery. Million Dollar Baby deserves every accolade it received and then some.
Unlike Shaun of the Dead, Million Dollar Baby can only be seen a few times, because the shear emotional power of this film is overwhelming. I have never had an experience in the theater like the one I had during Million Dollar Baby. The movie captures everyone in the audience, and you can feel that everyone is feeling it right along with you. There were several moments during the film when I was visibly shaking. When it was done, not a single person got up until the credits had ended.
I saw this movie on opening weekend, and didn’t quite know what to expect, and there is nothing better than being surprisingly blown away. Million Dollar Baby did more than that. Movies like this (and there are few) are the reason movies are made, the reason audiences keep coming back to the theater. It is the greatest movie in this generation of film.
This is the first time since I’ve been following this stuff that the Academy Awards have honored my favorite movie of the year as the Best Picture of the year. That makes this film immortal. It will be remembered forever, and I cannot think of a single movie more deserving.
posted by Chad Rochkind @ 2:01 PM
3 comments
