Overlooked film highlights of 2012

cinema scope: Too soon? Controversy in Bigelow's 'Zero Dark Thirty'

Plenty of ink has spilled over the polarizing new Kathryn Bigelow film “Zero Dark Thirty.” During the past few months it has sparked perhaps the most heated discussion over politics in cinema in recent memory. “Zero Dark Thirty” has its share of vehement defenders and detractors; the debates concerning its merit had been fought long before it’s release. The discussion surrounding the film—chronicling a scrupulous procedural depiction of the ten-year C.I.A. investigation that led to the epic nighttime raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound and the terrorist’s execution—has spurred political scrutiny. It’s difficult to assess a film like this without also considering its moral and ethical dilemmas.

cinema scope

Overlooked film highlights of 2012

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

Sam Fichtner

Columnist

February 1, 2013

From the art-house to the multiplex, fiction to documentary, domestic to foreign, film was stellar this past year.

And by “film” I intentionally invoke the debates that continue among film critics about the death of the medium, usually coupled with a wary and obligatory acceptance of film’s cheap successor: digital video. To the doubters, I say look around and let the celluloid on display speak for itself. This was a year where we were blessed with the gorgeous 16mm compositions of “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Beasts of Southern Wild”, as well as the delectably rich 70mm panoramas of “The Master”. Yes, the business and technology are changing, but as Richard Brody of The New Yorker noted back in September: “The movies aren’t dying (they’re not even sick).”

Even standard Hollywood awards-bait (such as “Lincoln,” “Life of Pi” and “Argo”) was a cut above the usual cheap-swill we’ve gotten used to around this time of year. As per usual, our superheroes still saved the world a few times (“The Avengers” and “The Dark Knight Rises” unsurprisingly topped the year-end box-office), but we also received action gems like “Skyfall” and “Django Unchained.”

The year certainly didn’t skirt controversy either. Kathryn Bigelow opened up a critical and political tempest with “Zero Dark Thirty” and we also saw Iran rehash the age-old censorship conflict, with Jafar Panahi’s touching and imaginative “This is Not a Film,” a work infamously shot on an iPhone and smuggled out of the country to a film festival inside of a birthday cake.
But there was a lot in this superb year of cinema that was easy to miss. So here are five films you probably missed this past year.

1. “Amour”

We have a living legend in our midst in Michel Haneke. The Austrian director’s Palm D’Or winner at this year’s Cannes Festival is truly a masterpiece of restraint; each moment is brilliantly controlled and utterly devastating. Haneke follows an octogenarian couple during the wife’s physical demise. He does it solely within the confines of their Parisian apartment. His stars, Jean-Lois Trignant and Emmanuelle Riva—both monumental figures of the French New Wave—are nothing short of astonishing. It won’t win Best Picture (it’s far too brutal for the glitz and glam of Oscar night), though its nomination hopefully will give the film the attention it deserves.

“Amour”’s DVD release date has yet to be set. Expect to see it on Amazon some point this spring.

2. “The Deep Blue Sea”

If you thought Jennifer Lawrence gave the defining female performance of the year in “Silver Linings Playbook,” just prepare yourself for Rachel Weisz’s devastating portrayal of the existentially miserable Hester Collyer in Terrence Davies’ gorgeous adaptation of the 1952 stage play. Weisz, gorgeous as ever with stunning 50s London art direction around her, is caught in a doomed love triangle in which she bears the brunt of both of her lover’s indiscretions. Davies weaves us through Hester’s memories with swift camera fluidity and rich compositions, rendering each character with unrelenting honesty.

See “The Deep Blue Sea” on Netflix Instant Player or Amazon Instant Video.

3. “Tabu”

Miguel Gomes’ sophomore picture is a rich diptych about memory and regret set in present day Lisbon and 1960s colonial Africa.

In a dryly comedic first act, we follow three elderly women—one of whom, Aurora, is dipping into dementia in her dying days, and is convinced that her maid, Santa, is an incarnation of the devil coming to reprimand her for past sins. The film’s second half delves into said past through an extended voiceover detailing the passion and loss of a fatal love affair. Gomes’s black and white images evoke a perfect sense of fading memory, and, with perhaps the greatest use of music of the year, he renders the classic 60s hit “Be My Baby” the saddest piece of music you’ve ever heard.

The U.S. DVD release date for “Tabu” has yet to be announced.

4. “The Kid With a Bike”

The Dardenne brothers have a rare gift in elevating mundane actions—riding a bike down a street, a boy letting a faucet run, a father cooking a meal in front of his son—to the class of cinematic grandeur. “The Kid With a Bike” is centered around and gloriously upheld by its titular protagonist, Cyril (played by Thomas Doret), whom we so dearly wish to see triumph yet so often feel the need to step in and scold. At times so real that it hurts, the Dardenne’s human tragedy is as pure and sincere as any.

Watch “The Kid With a Bike” on Netflix Instant Player.

5. “Searching for Sugar Man”

In what was a banner year for superb and provocative documentaries, “Searching For Sugarman” offered a deeply interesting and uplifting tale of a legend that never was. Folk-rock artist Rodriguez was adored by producers in his day, but unknown by audiences, at least in the U.S. However, in South Africa, Rodriguez was a big as The Beatles, giving the country protest music it could stand behind during its tough history. Malik Bendjelloul’s film unfolds with immediacy and insight, subtly subverting what we though we knew about the rockumentary.

See “Searching for Sugar Man” online on Amazon Instant Video.

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