FILMS OF THE DECADE
UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES
2010, DIR. APICHATPONG WEERASETHAKUL
65 After the trippy wonders of Tropical Malady and Syndromes And A Century, Thai free-thinker Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s fever-dream of animism, reincarnation and lewd catfish spun wondrous twists on his whacked-out mystique. A man close to death revisits his past lives in the country; loved ones and ‘monkey ghosts’ join him. Odd though it sounds, the result emerged as a mesmerising, moving and slyly amusing play on slow-burn cinema, alchemised for sublime returns. KH Standout scene “But uncle – it’s a monkey.” Boonmee’s nephew meets his lost son.
THE FAVOURITE
2018, DIR. YORGOS LANTHIMOS
64 The decade delivered a slew of female-led, regal dramas but none quite so deliciously impressive as Lanthimos’ deadpan comedy about 18th Century monarch Queen Anne and the two ladies she favoured most. As Anne, Olivia Colman was on heartbreaking, hilarious and Oscar-winning form, while Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone’s ruthless machinations as Sarah and Abigail, respectively, were a delight to watch. Not since Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006) has a period movie felt so modern. HF Standout scene Queen Anne angrily confronts a servant who dares to look at her… after she has demanded they do exactly that.
BIRDMAN
2014, DIR. ALEJA NDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU
63 Iñárritu’s exhilarating Oscar-winner was a wonder of execution, boasting meticulously planned tracking shots filmed (partly) around New York’s St. James Theatre by DoP maestro Emmanuel Lubezki. But it also wowed as a showbiz satire, led by a soul-baring Michael Keaton as fading star Riggan Thomson, still tormented by the titular superhero he once played. A visceral, vital exploration of mental illness, with Emma Stone and Edward Norton among the sizzling support. JM Standout scene Riggan Thomson crosses Time Square… in just his tighty-whities.
