I still haven't seen every 2012 release that I wanted to see, but it's silly to wait until, say, April, to put together a definitive list, so here we go, putting a bow on the best in show.
2012 was a pivotal year of sorts, and my list steps back a bit from any attempt at a grand analysis of cinema or the technical achievements of storytelling. As often as not I was aware of my moviegoing experience in the moment, and while I didn't forsake great filmmaking just for the popcorn and cushy chairs, I often treasured the idea of being in the theater with a certain crowd, stewing in that space in that time. I saw "First Position," a documentary about young ballet dancers, with a nearly sold-out contingent of mostly women and girls at the Guild Cinema. I packed in eight movies in two days with my favorite movie companion at the Santa Fe Film Festival in December. I walked out of "Damsels in Distress" after the first half hour in favor of a stroll around Downtown at sunset. I cried during "Flight" and "The Sessions" at the megaplex. I paid $13 in Manhattan for a solo matinee of "Oslo, August 31st." I was profoundly moved by "Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present" on a laptop in my living room.
But it was the kids who got to me the most. One-third of my Top 15 is made up of films that revolve around children. Let's not analyze it too deeply. I've developed a weakness, apparently. The Gilmore Girls have birthed a new generation.
So, while my list might seem a little more pedantic this year, it feels awfully personal and fulfilling. Here are my favorites for 2012 (so far):
THE TOP 15
1. Polisse - The cranky characters in a Paris precinct's child-protection division create the best "Hill Street Blues" episode ever
2. Monsieur Lazhar -A stunning, simple story of students and adults in Quebec dealing with one big tragedy and assorted little ones, with the help of a random kind stranger
3. The Kid With a Bike - A wrenching tale of a little boy looking for parental love
4. Flight - Exhilarating story, a great actor, delirious fun, deeply moving
5. Take This Waltz - Sarah Polley's perfect, lightweight snapshot of a hipster couple and their challenges and longings
6. The Sessions - A sweet old-fashioned movie with two daring, magnetic stars
7. Sleepwalk With Me - Mike Birbiglia serves up the funniest movie of the year, a real hoot
8. Searching for Sugarman - It broke my heart but then lifted it; the music still resonates
9. Farewell My Queen - A luscious visual feast and a gorgeous depiction of women bonding
10. Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present - The 2012 film that haunts me the most, six months on
11. Oslo, August 31st - A stark recounting of a young man's struggle to cope and go on
12. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia - Nuri Bilge Ceylan yet again has a firm grasp on the human condition
13. Hello, I Must Be Going - Melanie Lynskey is captivating yet understated in this quietly powerful story
14. Magic Mike - Maybe the most fun I had at a movie this year (on opening weekend with an audience that was almost entirely female)
15. Turn Me On, Dammit - The fifth film about kids on my list; this one is precious from beginning to end
JUST MISSED THE LIST
- Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson almost ended up on the "Off-Year" list below, and there's a tone-deaf performance by Bill Murray (speaking of off-years), but still a magical fairy tale of youth
- This Is Not a Film - Simple yet haunting; tied (with "Starlet," below) for the best ending of the year
- Footnote - A high-minded and engaging portrayal of our competitive nature
- Attenberg - Kinetic, provocative and fun
- Alps - A good year for the Greeks
- The Turin Horse - Bela Tarr is working on a whole different level than the rest of us
- Sister - A hell of a story and a great performance from pre-teen Kacey Mottet Klein
- Starlet - A beautiful story about a disaffected young adult and the old woman she befriends
- The Deep Blue Sea - From Terence Davies, a mature, moving period piece about a woman aching to be loved
- The Color Wheel - A sharp, free-wheeling road movie featuring wonderfully sarcastic siblings
- Chicken With Plums - Lovely.
- Barbara - A smart spy saga and a subtle love story from behind the Iron Curtain
- Declaration of War - A touching tale of a French couple dealing with their infant's illness, fictionalized by the couple themselves
- The Last Ride - This year's Aussie entry in "The Proposition" category
- Union Square - I simply loved Mia Sorvino and Tammy Blanchard's performances as estranged sisters thrown together again by the former's latest drama
- Dark Horse - Not Todd Solondz's best, but his best in quite a while, continuing the comeback he started with "Life During Wartime"
- 17 Girls - The French try their hand at a Sofia Coppola movie
- Jeff, Who Lives at Home - Silly at times, but also charming and touching in spots
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Kim Fupz Aakeson's Perfect Sense
TOP DOCS
- Beauty Is Embarrassing
- How to Survive a Plague
- Brooklyn Castle
- The House I Live In
- Samsara
IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S ME
(Good films where we just didn't click)
- Argo
- Seven Psychopaths
- Beasts of the Southern Wild
- The Queen of Versailles
- Holy Motors
- Rust and Bone
- Amour
GUILTY PLEASURES
- The Paperboy
- God Bless America (Bobcat Goldthwait has never let me down)
- Burning Man
- Nobody Else But You
- The Woman in the Fifth
ACTORS OF THE MOMENT
- Mark Duplass: Your Sister's Sister, The Do-Deca-Pentathlon, Safety Not Guaranteed
- Brit Marling: Arbitrage and The Sound of My Voice
AN OFF-YEAR FOR TOP DIRECTORS
- Crazy Horse (Wiseman)
- Trishna (Winterbottom)
- The Master (Anderson)
- Keyhole (Maddin)
- 4:44: Last Day on Earth (Ferrara)
THE DUDS
- The horribly anachronistic and tone-deaf Damsels in Distress
- The tedious, monotonous, uninteresting and unfunny The Comedy
- The ridiculously lachrymose and embarrassing Rob Reiner fluff The Magic of Belle Isle
DIDN'T BOTHER
- Zero Dark Thirty
- Lincoln
- Life of Pi
- Silver Linings Playbook
- Django Unchained
COMING ATTRACTIONS
- Tabu
- The Central Park Five
- Middle of Nowhere
- The Funeral Kings
- Not Fade Away
- Kumare
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