Best Films of the Decade: 2003-12

Compiling a best of the decade list using only top 10 film lists from 2003-12 resulted in omissions from many of the best directors in the world. That meant no films from Claire Denis, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Pedro Costa, Béla Tarr, Manoel de Oliveira, Wang Bing, Terrence Malick, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke & Nuri Bilge Ceylan. In most cases, it took me a few years to catch up with the forenamed auteur’s work thereby making the film ineligible from an end of the year list. On a few occasions, worthy films narrowly missed out on the top 10. For example, Syndromes and a Century placed #12 in 2008, Uncle Boonmee.. was #15 in 2010 and The Turin Horse grabbed #18 in 2011.

In order to come up with a more complete best of the decade list, I put together a collection of stellar films that I caught a few years after the film’s release. Also, I included some films that were initially cut from my top 10 but placed in an end of the year list. The final tally of this collection ended up being a staggering 181 titles. These 181 titles combined with the original 100 more accurately reflects some of the best films of 2003-2012.

List 1 (reproduced here): 100 films from 2003-2012 top 10 lists

List 2 (in alphabetical order below): 181 films that were delayed viewing or narrowly missed out on the top 10.

12 (2008, Russia, Nikita Mikhalkov)
12:08 East of Bucharest (2006, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu)
15 Park Avenue (2005, India, Aparna Sen)
2046 (2004, Hong Kong co-production, Wong Kar-wai)
35 Shots of Rum (2008, France, Claire Denis)
4 Months 3 Weeks 2 days (2007, Romania, Cristian Mungiu)
5x2 (2004, France, François Ozon)
A Town Called Panic (2009, Belgium co-production, Stéphane Aubier/Vincent Patar)
A Useful Life (2010, Uruguay, Federico Veiroj)
After this our exile (2006, Hong Kong, Patrick Tam)
Agrarian Utopia (2009, Thailand, Uruphong Raksasad)
Alamar (2009, Mexico, Pedro González-Rubio)
Alexandra (2007, Russia/France, Aleksandr Sokurov)
Apocalypto (2006, USA, Mel Gibson)
Applause (2009, Denmark, Martin Zandvliet)
Attenberg (2010, Greece, Athina Rachel Tsangari)
Avenida Brasilia Formosa (2009, Brazil, Gabriel Mascaro)
Away from Her (2006, Canada, Sarah Polley)
Baixio das Bestas (2007, Brazil, Cláudio Assis)
Ballast (2008, USA, Lance Hammer)
Before I Forget (2007, France, Jacques Nolot)
Between Two Worlds (2009, Sri Lanka, Vimukthi Jayasundara)
Black Butterfly (2006, Peru, Francisco J. Lombardi)
Blind Shaft (2003, China co-production, Yang Li)
Blockade (2006, Russia, Sergey Loznitsa)
Broken Flowers (2005, USA, Jim Jarmusch)
Bug (2006, USA, William Friedkin)
Café Lumière (2003, Japan/Taiwan, Hou Hsiao-heien)
California Dreaming (2007, Romania, Cristian Nemescu)
Carcasses (2009, Canada, Denis Côté)
Certified Copy (2010, France/Iran/Italy, Abbas Kiarostami)
Children (2006, Iceland, Ragnar Bragason)
Chronicles of an Escape (2006, Argentina, Adrián Caetano)
Citizen Havel (2008, Czech Republic, Miroslav Janek/Pavel Koutecký)
Climates (2006, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Closer (2004, USA/UK, Mike Nichols)
Colossal Youth (2006, Portugal, Pedro Costa)
Continental: A film without guns (2008, Canada, Stéphane Lafleur)
Crane World (2003, Argentina, Pablo Trapero)
Crime and Punishment (2007, China, Zhao Liang)
Crimson Gold (2003, Iran, Jafar Panahi, Writer -- Abbas Kiarostami)
Curling (2010, Canada, Denis Côté)
De Muze (2006, Holland, Ben van Lieshout)
Delta (2008, Hungary, Kornél Mundruczó)
Departures (2008, Japan, Yôjirô Takita)
Dirty Carnival (2006, South Korea, Ha Yu)
Dogtooth (2009, Greece, Giorgos Lanthimos)
Dogville (2003, Denmark co-production, Lars von Trier)
Duck Season (2004, Mexico, Fernando Eimbcke)
Election (2005, Hong Kong, Johnnie To)
Elephant (2003, USA, Gus Van Sant)
Enter the Void (2009, France co-production, Gaspar Noé)
Euphoria (2006, Russia, Ivan Vyrypaev)
Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010, USA/UK, Banksy)
Good Bye Dragon Inn (2003, Taiwan, Tsai Ming-liang)
Happy New Life (2007, Hungary, Árpád Bogdán)
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2003, India, Sudhir Mishra)
Helvetica (2007, UK, Gary Hustwit)
Hunger (2008, UK, Steve McQueen)
I Wish I Knew (2010, China, Jia ZhangKe)
Import Export (2007, Austria/France, Ulrich Seidl)
In Memory of Myself (2007, Italy, Saverio Costanzo)
Independencia (2009, Philippines, Raya Martin)
Inland Empire (2006, USA co-production, David Lynch)
In the Pit (2006, Mexico, Juan Carlos Rulfo)
Invisible Waves (2006, Thailand, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang)
Iraq in Fragments (2006, USA, James Longley)
It’s Winter (2006, Iran, Rafi Pitts)
I’m Not Scared (2003, Italy co-production, Gabriele Salvatores)
Japanese Story (2003, Australia, Sue Brooks)
Julia (2009, France/USA/Mexico/Belgium, Erick Zonca)
Khadak (2006, Belgium/Germany, Peter Brosens & Jessica Hope Woodworth)
Khamosh Pani (2003, Pakistan co-production, Sabiha Sumar)
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003, USA, Quentin Tarantino)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005, USA, Shane Black)
La France (2007, France, Serge Bozon)
Last Life in the Universe (2003, Thailand/Japan, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang)
Let Each One go Where He May (2009, USA/Suriname, Ben Russell)
Like you know it All (2009, South Korea, Hong Sang-Soo)
Lion's Den (2008, Argentina co-production, Pablo Trapero)
Look At Me (2004, France/Italy, Agnès Jaoui)
Los Angeles Plays itself (2003, USA, Thom Andersen)
Los Muertos (2004, Argentina, Lisandro Alonso)
Lourdes (2009, Austria/France/Germany, Jessica Hausner)
Love Exposure (2008, Japan, Shion Sono)
L’Appolinde (2011, France, Bertrand Bonello)
L’Enfer (2005, France co-production, Danis Tanovic)
L’Intrus (2004, France, Claire Denis)
Machuca (2004, Chile, Andrés Wood)
Manufacturing Landscapes (2006, Canada, Jennifer Baichwal)
Memories of Murder (2003, South Korea, Joon-ho Bong)
Miami Vice (2006, USA, Michael Mann)
Mildred Pierce (2011, USA, Todd Haynes)
Milk of Sorrow (2009, Peru/Spain, Claudia Llosa)
Mirage (2004, Macedonia, Svetozar Ristovski)
Mithya (2008, India, Rajat Kapoor)
Mo & Me (2006, Kenya, Roger Mills/Murad Rayani)
Moolaade (2004, Senegal co-production, Ousmane Sembene)
Moon (2009, UK, Duncan Jones)
My Joy (2010, Ukraine co-production, Sergei Loznitsa)
Mysteries of Lisbon (2010, Portugal/France, Raoul Ruiz)
Mystic Ball (2006, Canada/USA, Greg Hamilton)
Mystic River (2003, USA, Clint Eastwood)
No Smoking (2007, India, Anurag Kashyap)
Notes on a Scandal (2006, UK, Richard Eyre)
Of Gods and Men (2010, France, Xavier Beauvois)
Oki’s Movie (2010, South Korea, Hong Sang-soo)
Oldboy (2003, South Korea, Chan-wook Park)
Our Beloved Month of August (2008, Portugal, Miguel Gomes)
Oxhide (2005, China, Jiayin Liu)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006, Mexico, Guillermo del Toro)
Paprika (2006, Japan, Satoshi Kon)
Paradise Now (2005, Palestine co-production, Hany Abu-Assad)
Paraguayan Hammock (2006, Paraguay co-production, Paz Encina)
Paranoid Park (2007, USA, Gus Van Sant)
Parents (2007, Iceland, Ragnar Bragason)
Poetry (2010, South Korea, Lee Chang-dong)
Putty Hill (2010, USA, Matthew Porterfield)
Rapt (2009, France/Belgium, Lucas Belvaux)
Requiem (2006, Germany, Hans-Christian Schmid)
Rhinoceros Eyes (2003, USA, Aaron Woodley)
Rumba (2008, France/Belgium, Dominique Abel/Fiona Gordon/Bruno Romy)
Secret Sunshine (2007, South Korea, Lee Chang-Dong)
Shame (2011, UK, Steve McQueen)
Shut up & Sing (2007, USA, Barbara Kopple/Cecilia Peck)
Siddharth: The Prisoner (2008, India, Pryas Gupta)
Sideways (2004, USA, Alexander Payne)
Silent Souls (2010, Russia, Aleksei Fedorchenko)
Songs from the Second Floor (2003, Sweden, Roy Andersson)
Spare Parts (2003, Slovenia, Damjan Kozole)
Still Life (2006, China/Hong Kong, Jia ZhangKe)
Summer Wars (2009, Japan, Mamoru Hosoda)
Sun Spots (2009, China, Heng Yang)
Syndromes and a Century (2006, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Synedoche, New York (2008, USA, Charlie Kaufman)
Take Shelter (2011, USA, Jeff Nichols)
The Barbarian Invasions (2003, Canada/France, Denys Arcand)
The Box (2009, USA, Richard Kelly)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007, France/USA, Julian Schnabel)
The Edukators (2004, Germany/Austria, Hans Weingartner)
The Ghost Writer (2010, France/Germany/UK,Roman Polanski)
The Girl Cut in Two (2007, France, Claude Chabrol)
The House of Sand (2005, Brazil, Andrucha Waddington)
The Inheritance (2003, Denmark, Per Fly)
The International (2009, multiple, Tom Tykwer)
The King and the Clown (2005, South Korea, Joon-ik Lee)
The Machinist (2004, Spain, Brad Anderson)
The Man’s Woman and other Stories (2009, India, Amit Dutta)
The Middle of the World (2003, Brazil, Vicente Amorim)
The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories (2007, Bulgaria, Director Andrey Paounov)
The New World (2005, USA/UK, Terrence Malick)
The Russian Dolls (2005, France/UK, Cédric Klapisch)
The Strange Case of Angelica (2010, Portugal co-production, Manoel de Oliveira)
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005, USA, Tommy Lee Jones)
The Tiger Factory (2010, Malaysia/Japan, Woo Ming Jin)
The Tree of Life (2011, USA, Terrence Malick)
The Turin Horse (2011, Hungary co-production, Béla Tarr/Ágnes Hranitzky)
The Wind Journeys (2009, Colombia co-production, Ciro Guerra)
The World (2004, China co-production, Jia Zhang ke)
The Wrestler (2008, USA, Darren Aronofsky)
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006, Brazil, Cao Hamburger)
There Will be Blood (2007, USA, Paul Thomas Anderson)
Three Times (2005, France/Taiwan, Hou Hsiao-hsien)
Tinker Tailor Sailor Spy (2011, UK co-production, Tomas Alfredson)
Todo Todo Torres (2006, Philippines, John Torres)
Tony Manero (2008, Chile/Brazil, Pablo Larraín)
Torremolinos 73 (2003, Spain, Pablo Berger)
Tropical Malady (2004, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010, Thailand co-production, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Undertow (2009, Peru co-production, Javier Fuentes-León)
United 93 (2006, USA co-production, Paul Greengrass)
Used Parts (2007, Mexico, Aarón Fernández)
We Own the Night (2007, USA, James Gray)
West of the Tracks (2003, China, Wang Bing)
Whisky (2004, Uruguay, Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll)
White Material (2009, France, Claire Denis)
Win/Win (2010, Holland, Jaap van Heusden)
Woman on Fire Looks for Water (2009, Malaysia/South Korea, Woo Ming Jin)
Woman without a Piano (2009, Spain, Javier Rebollo)
You, the Living (2009, Sweden, Roy Andersson)
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004, USA, Xan Cassavetes)

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Top 10 of the decade, 2003-12

1. L’Intrus (2004, France, Claire Denis)

2. Tropical Malady (2004, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul) 

3. Colossal Youth (2006, Portugal, Pedro Costa) 

4. West of the Tracks: parts I, II, III (2003, China, Wang Bing)

5. Crimson Gold (2003, Iran, Jafar Panahi) 
6. The Strange Case of Angelica (2010, Portugal co-production, Manoel de Oliveira) 
7. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005, Romania, Cristi Puiu) 
8. Three Times (2005, France/Taiwan, Hou Hsiao-hsien) 
9. Foster Child (2007, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza) 
10. Los Muertos (2004, Argentina, Lisandro Alonso)

Runners-up: 

Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures (2005, Brazil, Marcelo Gomes)
Liverpool (2008, Argentina, Lisandro Alonso)
Syndromes and a Century (2006, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
My Joy (2010, Ukraine co-production, Sergei Loznitsa)
The Turin Horse (2011, Hungary co-production, Béla Tarr/Ágnes Hranitzky)
Climates (2006, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

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The comparison of List 1 & List 2 is further proof that it often takes a few years to catch up with all the worthy films from one calendar year. And I am certain the above 278 titles still don't cover everything. I have missed many films over the last decade, including those by Lav Diaz, and need to catch up with a few 2011 & 2012 titles. So the above best of decade could still change in 2014.

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Update Log

Entry #1, Feb 13: Less than a few hours after posting this list, I realized that I left out The New World from the above list. So List 2 grew from 178 titles to 179. I am certain the list will grow in upcoming weeks, so I will gradually update this page and modify the top 10 as needed. But for now, the top 10 stays unchanged.
Entry #2, Feb 16: Hard to imagine I left out the wonderful Mexican documentry In the Pit. Also, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly deserves its place. Total titles in List #2 have been modified from 179 to 181.

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Best Films of the Last Decade

I have always refrained from assessing whether a particular year had a good cinematic output mostly because a majority of foreign films were out of reach for me. This meant I was a few years behind in catching all the newest film titles and as a result, many excellent titles missed my end of the year list. For example, past omissions have included personal favorites such as The Strange Case of Angelica, Mysteries of Lisbon, My Joy, West of the Tracks and Pedro Costa’s Colossal Youth. I had a 2 year delay for the first three films and it was almost 4 years before I finally saw the Costa. But ultimately at the end of the day, I can only judge what is available to me. With that in mind, I decided to tally up my top 10 film lists from 2003 - 2012 to determine a personal best cinematic viewing year. I cut down lists from some years which had more than 10 titles, such as 23 films in 2009.

A quick rundown of lists from 2003 - 2012.

Top 10 films of 2003

1. Lost in Translation (USA/Japan, Sofia Coppola)
2. And Now...Ladies and Gentlemen (2002, France/UK, Claude Lelouch)
3. Mr & Mrs Iyer (2002, India, Aparna Sen)
4. Teen Deewarein (India, Nagesh Kukunoor)
5. Adaptation (2002, USA, Spike Jonze)
6. 21 Grams (USA, Alejandro González Iñárritu)
7. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002, South Korea, Park Chan-wook)
8. Gangaajal (India, Prakash Jha)
9. Haasil (India, Tigmanshu Dhulia)
10. Saathiya (2002, India, Shaad Ali)

Top 10 films of 2004

1. Exiles (France/Japan, Tony Gatlif)
2. Monsieur Ibrahim (2003, France, Francois Dupeyron)
3. Kontroll (2003, Hungary, Nimrod Antal)
4. Samsara (2001, India co-production, Pan Nalin)
5. Carandiru (2003, Brazil co-production, Hector Babenco)
6. Kopps (2003, Sweden/Denmark, Josef Fares)
7. Control Room (USA, Jehane Noujaim)
8. About Baghdad (USA, Sinan Antoon & 4 other directors)
9. Checkpoint (2003, Israel, Yoav Shamir)
10. Before Sunset (USA, Richard Linklater)

Top 10 films of 2005

1. Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures (Brazil, Marcelo Gomes)
2. Yes (2004, UK/USA, Sally Potter)
3. L’Enfant (Belgium/France, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne)
4. Sepet (2004, Malaysia, Yasmin Ahmad)
5. Cache (France co-production, Michael Haneke)
6. Mountain Patrol/Kekexili (2004, China/Hong Kong, Chuan Lu)
7. Head-On (2004, Germany/Turkey, Fatih Akin)
8. Brokeback Mountain (USA/Canada, Ang Lee)
9. Good Night, and Good Luck (USA/France/UK/Japan, George Clooney)
10. Turtles Can Fly (2004, Iran/France/Iraq, Bahman Ghobadi)

Top 10 films of 2006

1. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005, Romania, Cristi Puiu)
2. Dosar (2006, India, Rituparno Ghosh)
3. El Violín (2005, Mexico, Francisco Vargas Quevedo)
4. Tzameti (2005, France/Georgia, Géla Babluani)
5. The Bet Collector (Philippines, Jeffrey Jeturian)
6. Khosla Ka Ghosla (India, Dibakar Banerjee)
7. The Descent (2005, UK, Neil Marshall)
8. The Lives of Others (Germany, Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck)
9. Election 2 (Hong Kong, Johnny To)
10. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005, South Korea, Park Chan-wook)

Top 10 films of 2007

1. Foster Child (Philippines, Brillante Mendoza)
2. Dans la ville de Sylvia (Spain, José Luis Guerin)
3. Slingshot (Philippines, Brillante Mendoza)
4. Children of Men (2006, USA/UK, Alfonso Cuarón)
5. Black Friday (2004, India, Anurag Kashyap)
6. The Bourne Ultimatum (USA, Paul Greengrass)
7. Zodiac (USA, David Fincher)
8. Rendition (USA, Gavin Hood)
9. Ratatouille (USA, Brad Bird)
10. Drained (2006, Brazil, Heitor Dhalia)

Top 10 films of 2008

1. Rachel Getting Married (USA, Jonathan Demme)
2. Happy-Go-Lucky (UK, Mike Leigh)
3. Wonderful Town (2007, Thailand, Aditya Assarat)
4. The Fall (2006, USA/India, Tarsem)
5. Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (India, Dibakar Banerjee)
6. Gomorra (Italy, Matteo Garrone)
7. Silent Light (2007, Mexico, Carlos Reygadas)
8. Tell No One (2006, France, Guillaume Canet)
9. Rock On (India, Abhishek Kapoor)
10. WALL·E (USA, Andrew Stanton)

Top 10 films of 2009

1. Be Calm and Count to Seven (2008, Iran, Ramtin Lavafipour)
2. Breathless (2008, South Korea, Yang Ik-June)
3. Wendy and Lucy (2008, USA, Kelly Reichardt)
4. Police, Adjective (Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu)
5. Buick Riviera (Croatia, Goran Rusinovic)
6. Call If You Need Me (Malaysia, James Lee)
7. Karaoke (Malaysia, Chris Chong Chan Fui)
8. Birdsong (2008, Spain, Albert Serra)
9. Everyone Else (Germany, Maren Ade)
10. Milk (2008, Turkey, Semih Kaplanoglu)

Top 10 films of 2010

1. Kill the Referee (2009, Belgium, Y. Hinant/E. Cardot/L. Delphine)
2. Liverpool (2008, Argentina, Lisandro Alonso)
3. El Pasante (Argentina, Clara Picasso)
4. The American (USA, Anton Corbijn)
5. R (Denmark, Tobias Lindholm/Michael Noer)
6. Manuel De Ribera (Chile, Pablo Carrera/Christopher Murray)
7. The Robber (Austria/Germany, Benjamin Heisenberg)
8. Carlos (France, Olivier Assayas)
9. Shutter Island (USA, Martin Scorsese)
10. The Life and Death of a Porno Gang (2009, Serbia, Mladen Djordjevic)

Top 10 films of 2011

1. Le Quattro Volte (2010, Italy co-production, Michelangelo Frammartino)
2. Do Dooni Chaar (2010, India, Habib Faisal)
3. Drive (USA, Nicolas Winding Refn)
4. A Separation (Iran, Asghar Farhadi)
5. Dhobi Ghat (India, Kiran Rao)
6. Another Year (2010, UK, Mike Leigh)
7. Nostalgia for the Light (2010, Chile co-production, Patricio Guzmán)
8. Aurora (2010, Romania co-production, Cristi Puiu)
9. The Kid With a Bike (Belgium co-production, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne)
10. Melancholia (Denmark co-production, Lars von Trier)

Top 10 films of 2012

1. Holy Motors (France, Leos Carax)
2. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
3. This is Not a Film (2011, Iran, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb/Jafar Panahi)
4. The Master (2012, USA, Paul Thomas Anderson)
5. Gone Fishing (2012, Argentina, Carlos Sorin)
6. The World Before Her (2012, Canada, Nisha Pahuja)
7. Found Memories (2011, Brazil co-production, Lucia Murat)
8. The Bright Day (2012, India, Mohit Takalkar)
9. Unfair World (2011, Greece/Germany, Filippos Tsitos)
10. Sleeping Sickness (2011, Germany co-production, Ulrich Kohler)

Best overall year

All the years contain many strong films but 2009 has the best overall selection with 10 outstanding entries. On top of that, there are 13 other worthy selections in 2009 that would have made an adequate top 10 substitute.

The Storm (Turkey, Kazim Öz)
Border (Armenia/Holland, Harutyun Khachatryan)
In the Loop (UK, Armando Iannucci)
The Limits of Control (USA, Jim Jarmusch)
Zidane (France, Douglas Gordon/Philippe Parreno)
Ain’t No Tomorrows (Japan, Yuki Tanada)
The Happiest Girl in the World (Romania co-production, Radu Jude)
The Hurt Locker (USA, Kathryn Bigelow)
The Class (France, Laurent Cantet)
District 9 (South Africa/New Zealand, Neill Blomkamp)
Katalin Varga (Romania co-production, Peter Strickland)
I Killed My Mother (Canada, Xavier Dolan)
The Prophet (France, Jacques Audiard)

2010 and 2011 are the next two best years with the highest number of personal favourites.

Top 10 from 100 films

In order to pick 10 titles from these quality 100 films, I ignored the previous year’s ranking and threw all 100 films into one big pot so that all entries were on equal footing. Even though the final list consists of films from 10 different directors and 9 countries, all the films either feature a journey or are shot in a verite style.

1. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005, Romania, Cristi Puiu)

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is called a dark comedy but it is entirely possible to view it as a bloodless horror film where the audience is given a front row seat in witnessing the slow disintegration of the title character. Even though Mr. Lazarescu is slowly edging towards his death, no one around him seems to notice because they are all weighed down by a bureaucratic system and can’t look up to see the obvious.

2. Foster Child (2007, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza)

In 2007, Brillante Mendoza pulled off a unique feat by making two powerful films, Slingshot and Foster Child, in the same year. The two works share many production similarities as both are shot in roughly the same amount of time (10 and 11 days respectively) in locations next to each other and utilize a verite style where actors are integrated with the slum residents to create a unique mixture of fiction and reality. However, the two film differ by their focus on the resident’s lives. Slingshot looks at how corruption and politics mixes with poverty while Foster Child looks at foster care in Philippines and individuals who adopt children and look after them. Foster Child smartly balances both the macro and microscopic view by depicting the larger hierarchal structure of adoption and the tender individual relationships that form between the children and those that care for them. As a result, the film is heart-wrenching and leaves a lasting emotional impact.

3. Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures (2005, Brazil, Marcelo Gomes)

Johann is a traveling salesman who cleverly uses cinema to sell aspirin. As engaging as his encounters are, what elevates this work is the director’s decision to overexpose the film negative. This gives each frame a yellowish tint which perfectly conveys the heat and brutality of the almost endless Brazilian landscape. The overexposed film shatters the fourth wall and ensures the audience gets a sense of Johann’s struggles thereby making them a passenger on his journey. The film also smartly shows how people’s idea of freedom varies and what makes one person happy can be torture for another.

4. Liverpool (2008, Argentina, Lisandro Alonso)

Farrel, a lonely man, leaves a ship’s confined space and heads off into the vast open land in order to seek closure from his past. Alonso’s flexible camera film allows one to breathe in the environment and take in all the sights and sounds while observing the weight drop from Farrel’s shoulders as he makes his way through snow covered paths to his goal.

5. Exiles (2004, France/Japan, Tony Gatlif)

Exiles follows two characters who leave Paris and head to Algeria to find their roots. Since this is a Tony Gatlif movie, flamenco musical sequences are present but this time a touch of Rai music is added to the mix. The music, which consists of a hypnotic 11 minute trance segment near the finale, heightens the emotions thereby ensuring an immersive work.

6. Samsara (2001, India co-production, Pan Nalin)

A beautiful soulful film that explores the philosophical question "How do you prevent a drop of water from drying up?". A Buddhist monk renounces his religious life for the worldly pleasures of sex and love. But despite getting married, he begins to realize that satisfying one desire always leads to more desires. The movie highlights his spiritual journey but more importantly, it tackles the spiritual question from a woman's point of view as well. It is always men who are willing to get up and leave for the mountains. But what about the women they leave behind? Did anyone ask what happened to Buddha's wife?

7. Be Calm and Count to Seven (2008, Iran, Ramtin Lavafipour)

This stunning poetic film opens with fast boats landing on a beach, followed immediately by burqa covered women hurriedly unloading goods off the boats and disappearing into mud houses. The contents of those bags are revealed later on in the film but both the contents and act of smuggling are minor details. The most important aspect of this film is observing the way of life on a tiny beautiful island in the Persian Gulf. If the character’s didn’t speak Farsi, then one would imagine the fishing village setting was Yemen or North Africa . But the film is Iranian and shows a rarely seen side of the Persian country.

8. Holy Motors (2012, France, Leos Carax)

Leos Carax creatively captures the essence of cinema from the silent era to contemporary times while paying homage to key genres throughout.

9. Dans la ville de Sylvia (2007, Spain, José Luis Guerin)

Guerin beautifully strips cinema down to its bare essence capturing every sound found in a vibrant European city, right down to a bottle rolling down a cobblestone street, in following a man's return to the city where he met the lovely Sylvia 6 years ago. It is clear that the man is haunted by memories of Sylvia and seems to encounter her ghost in every female he crosses.

10. Breathless (2008, South Korea, Yang Ik-June)

Breathless draws a direct line from domestic abuse to a gangster life. In doing so, the film clearly depicts the dangers of a violent life, both in a household or in a gang, and demonstrates that there is a consequence to every violent action even if sometimes that consequence takes two generations to manifest itself. Yang Ik-June’s debut film is a rare film that has a purpose for every brutal violent scene and as a result film makes a strong case for leading an anti-violent life.

Children of Men and Once Upon a Time in Anatoalia were very close to making the top 10 and are worthy runners-up.

Countries represented

There are 30 countries represented but 3 nations make up 43% of all films, with USA having 21 films, India with 14 and France 8. Here is the list of nations arranged by inclusions:

USA: 21
India: 14
France: 8

Brazil, Germany, Iran, UK: 4

Argentina, Belgium, Malaysia, Philippines, Romania, South Korea: 3

Chile, Denmark, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Turkey: 2

Austria, Canada, China, Croatia, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Serbia, Sweden, Thailand: 1

Note: in the case of co-productions, the primary country is selected.

Film distribution breakdown of all 100 films

Total number of films seen due to film festivals: 53
Multiplexes: 20
DVDs: 18
Arthouses/indie cinemas: 8
online streaming: 1

The high percentage of titles from USA, India and France is not surprizing as these three countries have a prolific film industry and an established distribution scheme which ensures their works are easily available around the world. This is especially true in Canada where American, Indian and French films are quite accessible via cinemas and DVD/online streams. In fact, for a better part of the last decade, French films were more easily available than Canadian films which were mostly found only at film festivals.

However, the difficulty of seeing films from other countries becomes an issue if film festivals are taken out of the equation. For example, all three Filipino titles came from attending VIFF for two years. So now that I am not attending VIFF, my access to quality Filipino titles has declined drastically. Another decline has come from the closure of a local indie DVD store that specialized in carrying classic and contemporary Asian films of all genres. Therefore, many titles from Hong Kong, China, Japan and South Korea have fallen completely out of my regular viewing schedule. Plus, the shutdown of some mail rental stores such as Videomatica in Vancouver has also hurt in getting access to foreign films. The online film streaming sites in Canada do not have a fraction of the collection that worthy arthouse/indie DVD stores carried previously.

It seems that every year I am forced to repeat similar words about the difficulty of seeing global cinema but the truth is the foreign film distribution model in North America is broken, unless one lives in New York. Foreign film distribution is similarly in bad shape around the world but no such distribution problems exist for substandard Hollywood productions which are available in every part of the world.

A few other observations

2012 is the only year when all 10 films came from 10 different countries.
2003 contains the lowest number of countries represented with 4.
2009: 9 of the 10 films were made available due to film festivals.

Best Films of 2010

An incredible cinematic year as highlighted by the presence of 68 films from a total of 27 countries. 43 of the 68 films (63%) came courtesy of film festivals with Rotterdam & CIFF providing more than half of the 43 film tally. Only 16 titles (24%) received a theatrical release in my city and 9 were found on DVD (13%).

I have decided to break things up into three categories to reflect a subjective ordering -- Gold (Favourites), Silver (worthy viewing), Bronze (Honorable Mention).

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Gold (20 titles) -- in order of preference

1) Kill the Referee (2009, Belgium, Y. Hinant/E. Cardot/L. Delphine)

Carlos and The Social Network worked hard to recreate reality whereas Kill The Referee captures real images viewed by millions of people and manages to turn them on their head. The film provides a fly on the wall perspective to referee committee meetings with UEFA officials and allows us to listen to on-field conversations between referees, linesmen and the players. The effect of this audio is as ground breaking like watching a talkie for the first time after only seeing silent films for decades.

The documentary also provides some of the best acting performances of the year. People who claim soccer players playact on the field will finally have proof with this film but the most surprising aspect is to discover that some referees are aware of cameras and can put on quite a show. Roberto Rosetti and Howard Webb are well knows refs but this film shows they would make worthy film actors as well.

This soccer documentary offers plenty to chew on for non-soccer fans and highlights how in the hands of the right directors/editors, documenting a game can provide plenty of drama, emotion and tension that scripted cinema can sometimes never capture.

2) Liverpool (2008, Argentina, Lisandro Alonso)

Lisandro Alonso’s free moving camera allows us to soak in the beautiful country side while providing a haunting tale. Messi & Argentina may not have won the World Cup this year but this Argentine film won my 2010 Movie World Cup.

3) El Pasante (Argentina, Clara Picasso)

Clara Picasso's sublime film cleverly uses a Buenos Aires hotel setting as a springboard to examine wider issues, such as male-female power games and the thin boundary that exists between private and public life. Not a single minute is wasted in the film's brisk 64 minutes.

4) The American (USA, Anton Corbijn)

5) R (Denmark, Tobias Lindholm/Michael Noer)

One of the most brutal and dark films of the year!! The tag 'dark film' is easily thrown around but in the case of R, the tag is entirely justified. Besides being completely savage, R is intelligent and that is demonstrated by a clever perspective shift two-thirds of the way into the film.

6) Manuel De Ribera (Chile, Pablo Carrera/Christopher Murray)

This visually stunning film is a fascinating mix of Lisandro Alonso and Bela Tarr yet is completely original.

7) The Robber (Austria/Germany, Benjamin Heisenberg)

A highly entertaining yet intelligent film. The two highs of running and robbing give Johann’s life meaning and as a result, the entire film is defined by fast movement, shown by Johann's marathon runs or his perfectly timed car getaways.

8) Carlos (France, Olivier Assayas)

9) Shutter Island (USA, Martin Scorsese)

A riveting throwback to the cinema of the 1950’s/60's when heightened music foreshadowed impending danger awaiting characters. Martin Scorsese has made a perfect Hitchcock tribute.

10) The Life and Death of a Porno Gang (2009, Serbia, Mladen Djordjevic)

11) Ocean of an Old Man (2008, India, Rajesh Shera)

12) Woman on Fire Looks for Water (2009, Malaysia/South Korea, Woo Ming Jin)

13) Valhalla Rising (Denmark/UK, Nicolas Winding Refn)

14) Incendies (Canada, Denis Villeneuve)

A beautifully crafted film that packs a mighty emotional punch. The film starts and ends in Canada but the rest of the film dives deep into the Middle East and is the kind of cinema that Canada needs more of, films that use second generation Canadian characters as a launching pad to explore their complex cultural background.

15) Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand co-production, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

Joe latest brew manages to blend dreams, spirits, reality, past and future in a single flowing work. Plus, there are some images that stay long in the memory. Red Eyes. Spirits at dinner table. And that catfish.

16) The Social Network (USA, David Fincher)

All about a girl and a drunken night of coding. Ah the endless possibilities of university life when everything is within reach. Sometimes, those possibilities work out for a select few while others sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

17) Tony Manero (2008, Chile/Brazil, Pablo Larraín)

A chilling film that shows that sanity cannot exist in a brutal dictatorship when individual survival and happiness blinds people.

18) Waste Land (Brazil/USA, Lucy Walker)

19) Scott Pilgrim vs the World (USA/UK/Canada, Edgar Wright)

A living breathing video game that humorously depicts the baggage a new relationship can sometimes bring. Ofcourse, not all relationships require killing 7 ex’s but strange things can take place in the Canadian snow.

20) Road, Movie (2009, India, Dev Benegal)

Dev Benegal’s film may feel heavily inspired by the wonderful Brazilian film Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures but Road, Movie manages to adapt perfectly to the Indian landscape. Plus, the added love for Indian cinema certainly makes this a wonderful treat.

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Silver (27 titles) -- in no particular order

Avenida Brasilia Formosa (2009, Brazil, Gabriel Mascaro)

A vibrant documentary that gives an insightful look at a Recife arrival city and the subsequent relocation of its residents to a squeaky clean yet isolated apartment complex. The film shares some ground with Pedro Costa's In Vanda’s Room and Colossal Youth with the one difference being that Gabriel Mascaro pulls his camera back to give us overhead shots of the arrival city thereby putting the plight of the residents into perspective.

Black Swan (USA, Darren Aronoksy)

A complex physiological battle is rendered in a simple accessible visual manner where reality and nightmares occupy the same frame.

The Japanese Wife (India, Aparna Sen)

Aparna Sen’s most accomplished visual film is also a tribute to a time when hand written love letters provided people with hope and sense of purpose.

Exit Through the Gift Shop (USA/UK, Banksy)

A humorous hoax that raises some valid points about the true price of art. Interestingly, this film is also the first time where the identity of the director is a mystery. Yes, the director is Banksy but good luck at seeing his face.

Curling (Canada, Denis Côté)

Denis Côté has gone with the bold choice to give Curling a cold chilly look. As a result, it takes a while to warm up to the material but once one gets past the cold exterior, then one can admire the tale of a father's resolve to raise his daughter away from society. In a way, Curling is a cousin of the Greek film Dogtooth in showing how incorrect parental decisions can alter a child’s life.

Winter’s Bone (USA, Debra Granik)

A powerful film that shows if one’s own blood is willing to kill their kin, then one has no need for enemies.

A Useful Life (Uruguay, Federico Veiroj)

This Uruguayan feature does not feel like fiction at all but instead feels like a documentary reflecting the sad state of our times when independent/art-house theaters and cinematheques are on the verge of extinction. The beautiful ending sequence clearly evokes the French New Wave. A must see film for cinephiles.

Ishqiya (India, Abhishek Chaubey)

Wonderfully acted and has the bonus of having the single best song of any Indian film in 2010.

Certified Copy (France/Iran/Italy, Abbas Kiarostami)
Burma VJ (2009, Denmark co-production, Anders Østergaard)
Woman without a Piano (2009, Spain, Javier Rebollo)
The Secret in Their Eyes (2009, Argentina/Spain, Juan José Campanella)
Inception (USA/UK, Christopher Nolan)
The Fighter (USA, David O. Russell)
Like you know it All (2009, South Korea, Hong Sang-Soo)
Sebbe (Sweden, Babak Najafi)
Crab Trap (2009, Colombia/France, Oscar Ruiz Navia)
Band Baaja Baaraat (India, Maneesh Sharma)
Win/Win (Holland, Jaap van Heusden)
Inside Job (USA, Charles Ferguson)
Kinatay (2009, Philippines, Brillante Ma. Mendoza)
Hunting & Zn (Holland, Sander Burger)
Lucky Life (USA, Lee Isaac Chung)
Steam of Life (Finland, Joonas Berghäll/Mika Hotakainen)
The Maid (2009, Chile/Mexico, Sebastián Silva)
The Illusionist (UK/France, Sylvain Chomet)
Mesrine 2: Public Enemy #1 (2008, France/Canada, Jean-François Richet)

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Bronze (21 titles) -- in no particular order

Heartbeats (Canada, Xavier Dolan)

Xavier Dolan's second feature is playful, funny and manages to neatly tuck in cute cinematic homages especially to the French New Wave.

Despicable Me (USA, Pierre Coffin/Chris Renaud)

It is difficult to raise kids but that task is made harder when one has ambitions to shrink the moon and conquer the world!

You Are All captains (Spain, Oliver Laxe)
Between Two Worlds (2009, Sri Lanka, Vimukthi Jayasundara)
Mundane History (2009, Thailand, Anocha Suwichakornpong)
Monogamy (USA, Dana Adam Shapiro)
Pelada (USA co-production, L. Boughen/R. Fergusson/G. Oxenham/R. White)
Taylor’s Way (2009, Canada, Rene Barr)
Oki’s Movie ( South Korea, Hong Sang-soo)
Harishchandrachi Factory (2009, India, Paresh Mokashi)
Love, Sex Aur Dhoka (India, Dibakar Banerjee)
Scheherazade Tell Me a Story (2009, Egypt, Yousry Nasrallah)
The Light Thief (Kyrgyzstan co-production, Aktan Abdykalykov)
Nora's Will (2008, Mexico, Mariana Chenillo)
Lola (2009, Philippines, Brillante Ma. Mendoza)
The Tiger Factory (Malaysia/Japan, Woo Ming Jin)
Bioscope (2008, India, K.M. Madhusudhanan)
Striker (India, Chandan Arora)
Guest (Spain, José Luis Guerín)
Peepli Live (India, Anusha Rizvi)
The Ghost Writer (France/Germany/UK,Roman Polanski)

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If I were to remove film festival & foreign DVD titles from the equation and only depended on local theaters to see movies, then I would be left with only a handful of worthy titles every year. So viva film festivals!

Note: I am including 9 DVD titles, most of them being 2008/09, because these films never received a theatrical release in my city.