The Best (and Worst) Movies of 2008 - Page 2

2. Silent Light – A true one-of-a-kind masterwork if you are willing to meet it halfway. Set in the Mennonite community in Chihuahua, Mexico, this immersive and languidly paced film recalls the best work of Carl Theodor Dreyer. It is a movie that requires patience, with dialogue almost as sparse as WALL·E and its unhurried storytelling of a family man who faces a crisis of faith as he falls in love with another woman. But, like Dreyer’s silent film classic, The Passion of Joan of Arc, its rewards are literally that of a miraculous leap, as it embodies and gives us emotional access to the values and beliefs of the community. In doing so, like any great film, it immerses us completely in another world with rare and resolute confidence. A great leap up for the Mexican artist turned filmmaker, Carlos Reygadas. This movie was originally released in Mexico back in late 2007 but I am including it this year, as I did not see it in time before picking last year’s list of the best films. It is now finally playing in select theaters across the US this January.

3. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days – Another movie that is technically a 2007 release (it won the Palme D’Or at Cannes that year) but gained a stateside release in 2008. If WALL·E and Silent Light immersed us in new worlds that we hardly knew about, this one directed by Cristian Mungju redefined the aesthetic of realism. With the pure filmmaking prowess of composing and shooting just one shot per scene, the movie paints an unforgettable, unsparing look at the cruelty women faced in the dictatorial Romanian regime and the difficult moral debate and reality of abortion. It also has two of the most naturalistic performances in a while in Anamaria Marinca as the brave, resourceful Otilia and Laura Vasiliu as the ungrateful best friend, Gabita, who makes Otilia go through every kind of suffering in arranging the backdoor abortion other than actually carrying the baby herself.

4. Let the Right One In – Offering a refreshing, original take on the vampire legend, this movie from Sweden is the one that, if there was justice in the world, would have grossed ten or even twenty times more money than the terribly mediocre Twilight did. Combining the moody introspection of Nosferatu with the harshness of childhood cruelty, this grave yet surprisingly warmhearted tale presents a most empathetic and captivating friendship between a 12-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl vampire who bond together beyond their natures because of need, loneliness, and desperation. It is also one of the most visually stunning works this year, as director Tomas Alfredson uses the key color of red to not only make the violence bleaker and more subtly unsettling but also to enhance the emotions the two characters feel.

Article Author: moviejohn

Joo-Wang John Lee is a computer programmer at Binghamton University by day and a movie critic by hobby. Upon insistent suggestion from people around him, he finally decided to start critiquing movies in writing instead of just verbal form among his friends. …

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