Film Comment Best of 2008: Sneak Peek

Thanks to our good friend glimmer for directing us to the results of the prestigious Film Comment Critics Poll. The complete lists with more detailed appraisals will appear in the January/February issue. This sneak peek from the Lincoln Center film blog not only gives us a look at the Top 20 films chosen by Film Comments “many contributors and members of the critical community” it offers up a tantalizing look at its list of 20 best movies not yet released that should be on our radar for 2009.

While Film Comment might seem to have a shaky relationship with eventual Oscar nominees, its list is not without relevance. Check out last year’s poll and you’ll find No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood ensconced at #1 and #2. We can also find find justification (and vindication) for our love for such films as Into the Wild, Zodiac, I’m Not There and Eastern Promises. It’s a reminder that the Oscars are not the ultimate arbiter of film excellence — and if nothing else, a list like this can comfort us in a couple of weeks when we realize we’ve seen all the “contenders” and find ourselves staring blankly at the wasteland of release dates for February-May of next year.

1. Wendy and Lucy Kelly Reichardt, U.S. 580
2. Flight of the Red Balloon Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan/France 564
3. A Christmas Tale Arnaud Desplechin, France 557
4. Happy-Go-Lucky Mike Leigh, U.K. 538
5. WALL·E Andrew Stanton, U.S. 534
6. Still Life Jia Zhang-ke, Hong Kong/China 521
7. Paranoid Park Gus Van Sant, France/U.S. 465
8. Waltz with Bashir Ari Folman, Israel/France/Germany 424
9. My Winnipeg Guy Maddin, Canada 406
10. Milk Gus Van Sant, U.S. 356
11. Let the Right One In Tomas Alfredson, Sweden 351
12. The Duchess of Langeais Jacques Rivette, France/Italy 335
13. The Class Laurence Cantet, France 334
14. Synecdoche, New York Charlie Kaufman, U.S. 297
15. Hunger Steve McQueen, U.K. 289
16. Silent Light Carlos Reygadas, Mexico/France/Netherlands 286
17. Ballast Lance Hammer, U.S. 283
18. Man on Wire James Marsh, U.K. 282
19. The Exiles Kent Mackenzie, U.S. 257
20. Gomorrah Matteo Garrone, Italy 253

Numbers after the titles are the aggregate scores earned in the polling. Whet your appetite for next year with Film Comments list of Top 20 Unreleased movies, after the cut.

1. The Headless Woman Lucrecia Martel, Argentina/Spain/France/Italy 201
2. 24 City Jia Zhang-ke, China/Hong Kong/Japan 171
3. Summer Hours Olivier Assayas, France 154
4. Still Walking Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan 102
5. Tulpan Sergey Dvortsevoy, Germany/Switzerland/Kazakhstan/Russia/Poland 84
6. RR James Benning, U.S. 83
7. 35 Shots of Rum Claire Denis, France/Germany 78
8. Of Time and the City Terence Davies, U.K. 76
9. Tony Manero Pablo Larrain, Chile/Brazil 74
10. Liverpool Lisandro Alonso, Argentina 70
11. Sugar Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck, U.S. 55
12. Tokyo Sonata Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan/Netherlands/Hong Kong 51
13. Birdsong Albert Serra, Spain 48
14. The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow, U.S. 47
15. United Red Army Koji Wakamatsu, Japan 40
16. Night and Day Hong Sang-soo, South Korea 36
17. Four Nights with Anna Jerzy Skolimowski, France/Poland 33
18. Me and Orson Welles Richard Linklater, U.K. 31
19. Il Divo Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France 29
20. Chouga Darezhan Omirbaev, Kazakhstan/France 28