The Best 5 Of 2007

A whole year went by. This blog however launched in April, but didn't really start until May. 2007 was a year in which I saw a lot of films not only releases of 2007 but also from the past. Having seen so many good ones, it's time to decide which 5 films blew me away and have made such an impression that until this day I still remember them and the viewing experiences they gave me. Some were destined to be on this list the moment after I saw them, some asked for a bit more thought to have me deciding if they were truly worth having a spot on this list. Here are the final 5:

1. The Fountain

A dazzling film of which the visual beauty will be graved on my mind forever. It leaves you puzzled and aks you to question life and don't take it for granted. Darren Aronofsky really comes to show off his talent in this project of love which is the final step on that path to greatness which started of with Pi. Always trying to visually overwhelm his audience whith his spin of images, which are once again carried by the heartwrenching arrangements of Clint Mansell.

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey

A larger than life depiction of mankind's evolution. There's nothing like it. Stanley Kubrick has done a very impressive job in making one of the most memorable films which will be cherished throughout all the years which are still to come. It's a real classic and will leave a very haunting and lasting impression.

3. Dare Mo Shiranai

A story of strength and overcoming challenges, Hirokazu Koreeda's Dare Mo Shiranai is both a celebration of life showing a group of children trying to survive on their own and making the best of what they have, as well as a dark portrait of life and its losses, it feelings of loneliness, abandonment and how it tries to steal away our joy bringing upon us all its suffering.

4. Bin-Jip

With Bin-Jip I got introduced to Kim Ki-Duk and the style that has gotten him the praise and respect by critics and audiences all over the world. A love story in which the lovers fall for each other not because of their verbal abilities but because of their physicality, the sparks and twinklings bubbling underneath their skin, which errupt into a mysterious attraction to one another. Like many of Ki-Duk's films Bin-Jip lets you experience the beauty of silence.

5. Reprise

I never got to see its ending, but I did see everything that went before it, and all of that is enough to put it on this list. With Reprise Joachim Trier presents the big dreams of two young men. The power of the film lies more in the way it tells its story then the story itself. It's by making full use of the cinematic medium, challenging his audiences with images that seem to be flashbacks and flashforwards at the same time. It's this big visual splendor, throwing everything around and doing things the way he wants. The result is this incredible style which oozes freshness and orginality. Trier tries to do things differently, throwing off the conventional and creating something new.

Honorouble mentions: Blue Velvet, Être Et Avoir, Ratatouille, Breaking The Waves, Duo Luo Tian Shi, The Station Agent, Samaria, Anche Libero Va Bene, Le Conseguenze Dell'Amore, Match Point, Zodiac, Me And You And Everyone We Know, Gerry