greenbelt films of the year: the final list

With just over a week to go, here's the final list of what I consider to be the best films of the past twelve months, and some worthy of discussion that may or may not be good films, to be discussed at my 'films of the year' seminar at Greenbelt - I know this will be a controversial list, so do please comment on these in advance and I'll try to respond to some of the comments at the seminar. It's on the Monday afternoon, so I hope you'll join us for some serious film discussion and at least one major surprise.

THE BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR (released between end August 2006 - end August 2007)

16: The Queen - fascinating experience of seeing someone we had previously only seen in parody – what does it mean for what Britain is as a nation?

15: An Inconvenient Truth – truly campaigning film – changed the direction of the wind

14: Dreamgirls - for pure entertainment value, the most exciting film of the year

13: Little Children – when will we all grow up?

12: Flags of our Fathers/Letters from Iwo Jima - Clint Eastwood, a former Republican city mayor produces two of the most profound anti-war statements ever committed to film

11: Jindabyne - a Raymond Carver short story transplanted from the US to Australia, which manages to squeeze in reflections on men and women's relationships, aboriginal rights, ancient religious culture, guilt and shame, self-identity and the fear of what lurks under the bed

10: Into Great Silence - a film that makes you feel like you're living in a monastery

9: The Departed – violence as a way of life; what should policing be about?

8: Stranger than Fiction - what would you do if you really believed you could write your own life?

7: The Lives of Others - a film that makes you feel you might be living in a prison, but that your perceived enemy may well be your best friend

6: Zodiac - an American thriller that takes murder seriously

5: Little Miss Sunshine – let families be real by reducing your expectations

4: Ten Canoes – storytelling and how we muddy the waters

3: Children of Men – one of the finest films of the year – a fearful nightmare of what might be happening to us; but the lengths to which people will go to preserve human life out-reach the killing: love is stronger than death

2: Once - a beguiling love story that takes the underclass seriously

1: The Fountain - a film that actually succeeds in conveying what it feels like to be in love

WORTHY OF CONVERSATION

Bobby/Tell No One/Babel/Borat/Casino Royale/Pan’s Labyrinth/Shortbus/Sicko/Perfume/Apocalypto/A Prairie Home Companion/Crank/This Film is Not Yet Rated/Rocky Balboa/Old Joy/Notes on a Scandal/Transformers/Knocked Up/Half Nelson/Inland Empire/Idiocracy/Hot Fuzz/This is England/Beyond Hatred/300/Amazing Grace/Shooter/Alpha Dog/Black Gold/Die Hard 4.0/The Bourne Ultimatum

once in a while

once in a while, a film comes along that makes you believe the hype about small being beautiful, non-professional actors being more 'authentic', and digital video being the way forward. it gives credibility to the festival that awarded it prizes, it is worthy of the ecstatic reviews you've seen in the press, and it manages to hit high notes that are so personally resonant to the viewer you can't help imagining they made it for you.

'once' did this for me yesterday. it's an irish film written and directed by john carney, about two musicians, played by the frames' glen hansard, and marketa irglova, meeting and making music together in dublin. the music arises naturally out of the story - he's busking, or they're recording together, or singing at a party. the story arc is pretty conventional - boy meets girl, girl gives boy 10 cent as a busking contribution, boy fixes girl's vacuum cleaner, and the rest ensues in patterns that we've seen before, but the way 'once' does it is so beguiling that you easily forget you're watching a fantasy. this film feels like real life. paralleling the love story is a subtle commentary on the dublin underclass - both the sector of the indigenous poor that is fatally addicted to heroin, and the 'new irish', immigrants living a dozen to a house, sharing space so cramped that their landlords should be ashamed. or at the very least, those of us who live in ireland and know landlords should be shaming them into behaving ethically.

but what lingers most in the mind about 'once' is the story of two lonely people interacting with each other's souls. i love the rough edges of this film - some of the lighting isn't great, it's obvious at times that we're watching inexperienced actors - because this is what makes it feel like it's really happening. i also like the fact that it portrays the guy as the romantic, while the girl is the practical one who thinks clearly. a subversion of love story cliches, to be sure; but i think it also tells a certain kind of truth that is usually underplayed in the kind of movies that disempower women by portraying them as only waiting for their prince charming to ride in and sweep them off their feet. 'once', however, is a film that manages to entertain, move, educate, challenge, and provide realistic hope in the midst of an often despairing urban environment. 'once' is my favourite film of the year so far.

greenbelt films of the year seminar

it's that time of year again - just a couple of weeks to go and greenbelt will be upon us. i'll be doing my now-traditional films of the year seminar, and as with last year, i'm providing a sneak preview here of the films i'll be discussing - but this time round, i'd like to hear your views, both of films on this list, and any that are omitted that you think i should be talking about. the only rule is that the film needs to have been released in the UK since the end of August last year - check www.imdb.com if you're not sure of release dates. also, it should be noted that not all the films on this list are necessarily 'good' - but they're here because i think they have some cultural significance.

here goes with the list:

Crank – watch a man die as quick as he can

This Film is Not Yet Rated – asks silly questions about sex in the movies; but acknowledges that sex and violence are treated differently by the UK and US authorities

The Wicker Man remake – a ridiculous film about the 'dangers' of women which destroys the religious thoughtfulness of the original

Little Miss Sunshine – let families be real by reducing your expectations

The Black Dahlia – money after old rope

The Queen - fascinating experience of seeing someone we had previously only seen in parody – what does it mean for what Britain is as a nation?

An Inconvenient Truth – truly campaigning film – changed the direction of the wind

Talladega Nights – not as funny as it thinks it is

Children of Men – one of the finest films of the year – a fearful nightmare of what might be happening to us; but the lengths to which people will go to preserve human life out-reach the killing: love is stronger than death

World Trade Center – a film about honouring the courage of those who died – and the horror of what happened in there – people of the left need to face this; we need to express at least as much anger about what happened on 9/11 as we do toward George W Bush's response

The Departed – violence as a way of life; what should policing be about?

Slavoj Zizek's Pervert’s Guide to Cinema – movies as the projection of our own desires

Last king of Scotland – great central performance, but I wish it had done more to explore where Amin's motivation came from

Marie Antoinette – same with her as with Amin

Little Children – when will we all grow up?

Bobby – not a great film, but inspirational message; the non-violence speech at the end is great

The Prestige – the power of ambition

Ten Canoes – storytelling and how we muddy the waters

Tell No One - great barnstorming thriller with the power of love at its centre

Babel – life is a coincidence – four short films, the Japanese one has the most empathy; I could have done without the others

Borat - not quite sure what to make of it yet

Into Great Silence

Casino Royale

Pan’s Labyrinth

Shortbus

Stranger than Fiction

Sicko

Flags of our Fathers

Letters from Iwo Jima

Night at the Museum

Perfume

Apocalypto

A Prairie Home Companion

Rocky Balboa

The Fountain

Old Joy

Dreamgirls

Notes on a Scandal

Lives of Others

Half Nelson

Good Shepherd

Good German

Inland Empire

Idiocracy

Beyond Hatred

300

Amazing Grace

Catch a Fire

Why we Fight

Sunshine

Shooter

Alpha Dog

Spiderman 3

Night of the Sunflowers

Jindabyne

Zodiac

Black Gold

Die Hard 4.0

Simpsons Movie

Transformers

Nomadak TX

(slightly) disappointing simpsons movie

it made me laugh, but not as much as some of the episodes. quite surprised to find that they didn't seem to invest the time and thought necessary for a truly great script. not enough mr burns. good tom hanks cameo. nice to see the scope of springfield on a big screen. homer eats electrofied fish and nearly kisses a pig. funnier than it sounds. and everyone gets forgiven and goes home.

ray lamontagne, irish car bombs, and business travellers

Ray LaMontagne’s recent album "Till the Sun Turns Black" ends with one of the most beautiful songs about peacemaking I’ve ever heard—in which he simply repeats the refrain "War is not the answer, the answer is within you" over the most delicately lilting instrumentation. It’s the kind of sentiment that could be accused of being too vague to have any practical meaning, but warm and positive enough to be popular. But there’s something about it that feels deeper than that.

It comes to mind as I sit in a cramped and crowded airport in Missouri, between cities on a trip that will take me from the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest, meeting and talking with people seeking to explore faith at the margins of institutional Christianity. I’ll be part of a conference the week after next on the topic "Dangerous Living"(www.solitonnetwork.org)—a title ambiguous enough to invite further interrogation. The organizers aim to build a temporary community of fellow travelers asking questions and sharing experiences of what it means to follow the radical Jesus in a culture that often seems to privilege consumerism above all else and seeks to avoid anything resembling physical work at all costs. We’ll talk about faith and social justice—just what does it mean in our day to hear Jesus tell the rich young ruler how hard it is to get into the kingdom of heaven? We’ll investigate faith and authority: What kind of leadership is required when so many of our public role models leave so much to be desired? We’ll immerse ourselves in faith and creativity, hoping to become more attentive to the voice of God in art, film, music, and nature. Most of all, we will wonder together what it means to be stewards of the Christian tradition that we inherit without falling into the trap of religious imperialism. In other words, how can we take responsibility for sharing our faith without imposing it on others in a way that prevents anyone taking us seriously?

These questions were not far from my thoughts this afternoon, as we sat down for a meal at one of the in-house airport restaurants. Just after my Diet Coke arrived, the gentleman next to our table took a phone call, the first few lines of which went as follows:

‘Hi there—didn’t realize you were on that side of the pond. You looking for more bombers, or just drinking Irish car bombs?’

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