John Waters liked Away from Her??!!

More interesting than whatever overweight, middle-aged man who makes a living writing film criticism has to say about the merits of the films of a given year, I'm always interested in seeing what people who actually make films would list (I always wonder if Faye Dunaway attends films that she hasn't starred in... probably not). John Waters is always a reliable source for this, making a top ten for Artforum each year and being the only one I noticed to have included Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny on his list a few years ago (God bless John). This year is no different and his list is as follows:

1. Grindhouse - dir. Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, Rob Zombie, Edgar Wright
2. Before I Forget [Avant que j'oublie] - dir. Jacques Nolot [Note: Strand will have this out 2008]
3. Away from Her - dir. Sarah Polley
4. Zoo - dir. Robinson Devor [You knew John would love a documentary about horse-fucking]
5. Lust, Caution - dir. Ang Lee
6. Brand Upon the Brain! - dir. Guy Maddin
7. An American Crime - dir. Tommy O'Haver
8. I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With - dir. Jeff Garlin
9. Flanders - dir. Bruno Dumont
10. I'm Not There - dir. Todd Haynes

Of course some of the choices are kind of obvious, as Jeff Garlin was the director of his documentary This Filthy World, but I must applaud John for being the only critic I've noticed so far to have the balls to put Grindhouse on top of his list... and does anyone else wish they had a camera on Waters while he was getting misty-eyed for Julie Christie in Away from Her? I sure do. I'm also surprised that Lust, Caution made his list and Black Book didn't. IndieWire provided, a few years back, a rundown of famous people giving their lists of the year, including John Cameron Mitchell, Paul Schneider, and Peter Dinklage. Unfortunately, I haven't noticed them doing it lately, so... this will have to do. Plus, I know you were way more curious to see what John Waters liked this year than, say, Stephen King.