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01. Inland Empire, 2006, d. David Lynch, USA/Poland/France
Basically, my favorite film. I kind of hate saying that about a David Lynch film, since he's like the weird director that college freshmen wig out over and tell all their friends to rent at the video store so they can watch their confused faces at the end and say that they should totally smoke out while watching it next time so they can understand it more. But alas, it is. Can't imagine many better things to do with 3 hours of my time than watch this film for the nth time.
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Contains the single greatest shot I saw this decade, preceded by an hour and a half of relaxed, unstrained spirituality and whimsy (the good kind). Very funny, too.
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The film that motivated me to devote a majority of my time to seeking out 'art cinema.' No film I have seen captures awkwardness - in most of its forms - as thoroughly and concisely. Not to mention the Jeremy Blake factor, making the film just that more uneasy.
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Last April, I took a 14-hour bus from Toronto to Boston to see this film (and a 22-hour trip back (#won'tdothatagain)) after missing it in the Toronto Film Festival. Basically, it was worth it, especially when it was followed by a wonderful QA with Benning. Could be the perfect structural film project, matching the speed, lengths of trains with the qualities of the reel, and the origin of the medium. Helps that every shot is beautifully framed.
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Not here because it's the longest film I've ever seen; I think that if it was edited down to 2 hours, retaining the key elements, it could still be in this position. One of the only things the length contributed was the possibility of fucking up an amazing idea by making it unnecessarily long, which didn't happen. Instead, what would be 'just another amazing cinematic experience' is drawn out to a euphoric, almost day-long immersion in role changes, mysticism, performance art, Tropical Malady-esque jungle hunts, and, naturally, melancholia (AKA, right up my alley).
06. In the City of Sylvia [En la ciudad de Sylvia], 2007, d. José Luis Guerín, Spain/France
07. Tropical Malady, 2004, d. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/France/Germany/Italy
08. La ciénaga, 2001, d. Lucrecia Martel, Argentina/France/Spain
09. The New World, 2005, d. Terrence Malick, USA/UK
10. The Gleaners & I [Les glaneurs et la glaneuse], 2000, d. Agnès Varda, France
11. Synecdoche, New York, 2008, d. Charlie Kaufman, USA
12. Code Unknown [Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages], 2000, d. Michael Haneke, France/Germany/Romania
13. Dogville, 2003, d. Lars von Trier, Denmark/Sweden/UK/France/Germany/Norway/Finland/Netherlands
14. Mulholland Drive, 2001, d. David Lynch, USA/France
15. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, 2001, d. Steven Spielberg, USA
16. Wild Grass [Les herbes folles], 2009, d. Alain Resnais, France/Italy
17. Talk to Her [Hable con ella], 2002, d. Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
18. Hairspray, 2007, d. Adam Shankman, USA/UK
19. About Schmidt, 2002, d. Alexander Payne, USA
20. There Will Be Blood, 2007, d. Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
21. 25th Hour, 2002, d. Spike Lee, USA
22. Colossal Youth [Juventude Em Marcha], 2006, d. Pedro Costa, Portugal/France/Switzerland
23. The Romance of Astrea and Celadon [Les amours d'Astrée et de Céladon], 2007, d. Eric Rohmer, France/Italy/Spain
24. Ratatouille, 2007, d. Brad Bird, USA
25. The Triplets of Belleville [Les triplettes de Belleville], 2003, d. Sylvain Chomet, Belgium/France/Canada/UK
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02. Antony and The Johnsons - Antony and The Johnsons (2000)
03. Burial - Untrue (2007)
04. Antony and The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now (2005)
05. Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)
06. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)
07. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
08. The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat (2004)
09. The Microphones - Mount Eerie (2003)
10. Fever Ray - Fever Ray (2009)
11. Björk - Vespertine (2001)
12. Mount Eerie - Singers LP (2005)
13. Mount Eerie - Seven New Songs of Mount Eerie (2004)
14. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi (2002)
15. jj - jj n° 2 (2009)
16. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
17. The Knife - Deep Cuts (2003)
18. Sam Amidon - All Is Well (2007)
19. Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go (2008)
20. Akron/Family - Akron/Family (2005)
21. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)
22. Appaloosa - Easter Demos (2008)
23. Radical Face - Ghost (2007)
24. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (2006)
25. The Notwist - Neon Golden (2002)
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