This year I saw just over 125 films. Below is the list of the films I liked the most, presented in chronological order, according to the date I saw them. Unlike other similar lists, no ranking is intended.
I did not see many of the blockbuster films that most people see. So do not expect to see them on this list. And I saw a few films that have not yet been officially released in the US. Expect to see them on the list.
- The Last Station – Michael Hoffman
- The Ghost Writer – Roman Polanski
- Mother / Madeo – Joon-ho Bong (2009)
- Everyone Else – Maren Ade (2009)
- Norteado / Northless – Rigoberto Pérezcano
- Vincere – Marco Bellochio (2009)
- I am Love /Io sono l’amore – Luca Guadagnino (2009)
- Winter’s Bone – Debra Grannik
- Dogtooth / Kynodontas – Giorgos Lanthimos (2009)
- Poetry / Shi – Chang-dong Lee
- Carlos – Olivier Assayas
- Inside Job – Charles Ferguson
Worth seeing:
- Red Cliff / Chi bi – Johnny Woo (2008)
- Le Refuge – François Ozon (2009)
- Madmoiselle Chambon – Stéphane Brizé (2009)
- Lebanon – Samuel Maoz (2009)
- Army of Crime / L’armée du crime – Robert Guédiguian
- A year ago in Winter – Caroline Link (2008)
- Certified Copy – Abbas Kiarostami
- Kawasawi’s Rose – Jan Hrebejk (2009)
- Outside the Law / Hors ls Loi – Rachid Bouchareb
- Aftershock / Tangshan dadizhen – Xiaogang Feng
Classics revisited:
- The Axe of Wandsbek / Das Beil von Wandsbek – Falk Harnack (1951)
- The Youth of Chopin – Aleksander Ford (1952)
- The Lower Depths – Akira Kurosawa (1957)
- Unknown Pleasures – Jia Zhang Ke (2002)
- Close-up – Abbas Kiarostami (1990)
- I was born, but… (Children of Tokyo) – Yasujirô Ozu (1932)
- Following – Christopher Nolan (1998)
- Dersu Uzala – Akira Kurosawa (1975)
- Breathless 50th anniversary – Jean-Luc Godard (1960)
- My Night at Maud’s / Ma nuit chez Maud – Eric Rohmer (1969)
- Beau Travail – Claire Denis (1999)
- White Nights – Le Notti Bianche – Luchino Visconti (1961)