December 2013. Somehow, we’ve fumbled our way to the end of another
year, and as with any other, “top ten” lists are now popping up all over the
Internet – top ten Christmas presents for that “person who has it all,” top ten
beach vacations to beat the winter freeze,* top ten tactics to avoid holiday weight
gain, top ten cookie recipes that then totally sabotage those tactics…you get
the idea.
I have no wisdom to offer up in terms of gifting, baking, or
bloat-banishing yoga poses, but I would like to jump on this list-making
bandwagon anyway—‘tis the season, after all!
I’ll stick within my comfort zone and go with a selection of
my top ten films of 2013. But because I’m wild and crazy, I won’t be
restricting these to movies simply released
in 2013. Rather, it will be a series of mini-reviews, distributed over a few
days, of ten films I happened to watch for the first time within the last 12 months.** Also, in the interest of being concise, I’m adding the
challenge of limiting myself to one compilation
of all genres and countries. In other
words, I will not be doing separate Foreign/Documentary/etc lists. Come on,
now--I’m not that wild and crazy.
In no particular order, let us begin.
*unless you live in
Singapore, in which case your list’s title would be more like “Top Ten Ski Lodge Retreats to
Beat the Winter Humidity.”
**Is that cheating? That’s probably cheating. But the beauty
of having your own blog = you make the rules. Commence evil cackling.
#10: Before Midnight
Cast: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Director: Richard
Linklater
Release Year: 2013
Ahh, Jesse & Celine. The couple all couples wish they
could be (it can’t be just me, right?). Part three of one of the most beloved on-screen
romance series of the last two decades, Before
Midnight released this summer to soaring and starry-eyed expectations—and
delivered spectacularly. A little less
impulsive than Before Sunrise, not as
dreamy as Before Sunset, Midnight is considerably more layered
and rooted in reality, thanks to the characters’ ages and commitments to their
children. But what it lacks in spontaneity, it makes up for by faithfully
brimming with the organic unfolding of conversation that we all loved so much
in the first two films. The extensive long takes, this time through the streets
of a picturesque Peloponnese village, are just as impressive, the actors’ chemistry
just as uncontrived and electric. Moreover, the three co-writers hit a new high
with dialogue that is startling in its precision of male/female dynamics. Deep philosophical discussions
blend seamlessly with moments of sarcasm, tension, and hilarity, reminding us
that Jesse and Celine are as real as the rest of us.
A rare feat for a third installment, Before Midnight is, without a doubt, my favorite of the trilogy.
#9: Ilo Ilo
Cast:
Director: Anthony
Chen
Release Year: 2013
If you gave me one Sing dollar for every time someone told me that
"Singapore is such a great place to raise kids," or "it's so
easy to get household help in Singapore," by now I'd already be able to
fund my future, easily raised children's entire education. So ubiquitous is the
“maid culture” here that I shouldn’t be surprised by the premise of my first-ever
Singaporean movie experience: the relationship between a local family and their
new, live-in employee. Director Anthony
Chen’s debut feature, Ilo Ilo has
been on fire since its August 2013 release, snatching up awards at festivals
the world over.
My personal sentiments towards this nationwide dependence on
domestic workers aside, the accolades for the film itself are hugely deserved. Ilo Ilo is subtle and sensitive, delicately handled without glazing over the realities of the
characters’ dilemmas and demons. Most notable is the three-dimensionality that
Chen allows each of them, exposing their vulnerabilities without victimizing them and pointing out their faults without villainizing them. Worth a
watch, lah.
Check out my full review of Ilo Ilo here.
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