Dec 24, 2007
David Ansen (Newsweek) Picks 10 Best Films of 2007
Syndromes and a Century, David Ansen’s pick for the best film of 2007
David Ansen of Newsweek is a charming guy. Apparently he has seen almost 8,000 movies in his entire life and has chronicled each and every one of them. His Best of 2007 list is as follows:
1. Syndromes and a Century
2. There Will Be Blood
3. This Is England
4. The Lives of Others
6. Knocked Up
7. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
8. Away From Her
9. The Hoax
10. Sweeney Todd
The Runners Up
“Persepolis”
“No End in Sight”
“Eastern Promises”
“After the Wedding”
“The Savages”
“Rescue Dawn”
“Zodiac”
“Paprika”
“The Orphanage”
“The Wind That Shakes the Barley”
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2 Comments, Comment or Ping
Tim Hebb
Mr. Ansen,
Thanks to serendipity and PBS’ “Independent Lens” series, I’ve recently stumbled upon a brilliant, astonishing film (disguised or widely misunderstood as a modest and confused little Chinese road movie) that should have been on the 2006 top ten list of all movie critics worth their penlight. It was screened at Sundance but somehow eluded the notice of all but a few European critics.
Therefore, I’d like to bring it to your attention. It is Xiaolu Guo’s breathtaking “How Is Your Fish Today?” Ms. Guo, a poet, novelist and filmmaker who now lives in London, has done something truly remarkable in this amazing film. As a former film teacher at the Beijing Film Academy, she appears to be a successor to the Cahiers du Cinema critics-cum-auteurs who unleashed the French New Wave. She has organically assimilated their techniques, along with those of the European film community of a certain generation at large, and effortlessly employs them to assemble this exquisite hybrid of dramatic narrative and raw documentary.
I have been trying to adequately describe and assess this film, without success, since I saw it three times in as many days. It is simply overwhelming, and grows in stature with each viewing.
I sincerely hope you will make an effort to catch up with this movie – I can’t believe you have seen it yet, because I consider you the best short-form movie critic in America, and I know it would have been on your ten-best list had you seen it already. All I can say is, I will eat your lifetime list of movies (well, a copy; I know you wouldn’t part with the original) if you’re not ready to retroactively squeeze it into your 2006 Best list after you’ve seen it. Really, it’s that good.
Best regards,
Tim Hebb
Sherman Oaks, CA
timhebb@gmail.com
Feb 4th, 2008
CMAC
Hey Tim, we’ll be sure to forward your comments to David Ansen circa 2006, just as soon as we get this space-time continuum thing cracked.
Sincerely,
The Editors
Feb 4th, 2008
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