Favorites Of 1995

Favorite English-Language Films of 1995

1. DEAD MAN (Jim Jarmusch)
2. GEORGIA (Ulu Grosbard)
-- PERSUASION (Roger Michell)
-- SAFE (Todd Haynes)
5. BEFORE SUNRISE (Richard Linklater)
-- FROM THE JOURNALS OF JEAN SEBERG (Mark Rappaport)
7. ART FOR TEACHERS OF CHILDREN (Jennifer Montgomery)
-- THE NEON BIBLE (Terence Davies)
-- SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (Ang Lee)


Runners Up

Kids, When It Rains, Se7en, Land and Freedom, Bridges of Madison County, Dead Man Walking, Bang, Butterfly Kiss, The Usual Suspects, Beyond Rangoon, Welcome to the Dollhouse, A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies, To Die For.

*1995 was a remarkable year in American cinema. By the mid-90s, the American independent movement (which started in the 80s with Jarmusch, Spike Lee, Soderbergh and a few others) reached its peak. As a result, the industry as a whole seemed reinvigorated to me. The list above, limited to my fave 20 or so, leaves out a number of good Hollywood and independent films released that year: Casino, Toy Story, Heat, Babe, Leaving Las Vegas, A Little Princess, Flirt, Desolation Angels, Devil in a Blue Dress, Clockers, etc. I like these movies. In a weaker year, some would be among the runners up.

*Changes in my appreciation of The Usual Suspects over time help me bring up two issues:

-Opinions are not set in stone; they are variable and subject to change. I loved TUS when it came out and listed it near the top of my 1995 list. It's a highly popular film (and remains so) thus I was certainly not the sole admirer. I watched it twice more over the last decade and didn't like it nearly as much. Some of what's special about it is the creation a powerful myth around a motherfucker so evil that, upon receiving threats from foes involving his family, killed all his relatives himself to spite and spook them. What's best is perhaps how effectively the film conceals the villain's identity until the last scene. Which brings me to my second point.

-The best movies are the ones which can entertain and edify over several viewings. The pleasures and lessons that a great movie provides don't extinguish themselves once you've seen it. I realize now that once the mystery of who the villain is and once you know whether or not he is captured, the film doesn't leave one with much to think about because it's all about plot with insufficient attention to character. It remains among my runner ups because of the fun I had during that first viewing. It's a very effective mystery thriller. But it's not a great film.

1. GOOD MEN, GOOD WOMEN (Hou Hsiao Hsien/Taiwan)
-- UNDERGROUND (Emir Kusturica/Serbo Croatia)
3- CYCLO (Tran Anh Hung/Vietnam)
-- JOUR DE FETE-Color version (Jacques Tati/France)
-- MIDAK ALLEY (Jorge Pons/Mexico)
6. LE CONFESSIONNAL (Robert Lepage/Canada)
-- THE WHITE BALLOON (Jafar Panahi/Iran)
8. A MONGOLIAN TALE (Fei Xie/China)
-- THE CONVENT (Manoel de Oliveira/Portugal)
-- LA CEREMONIE (Claude Chabrol/France)
-- NELLY & MONSIEUR ARNAUD (Claude Sautet/France)

Runners Up

Beyond the Clouds, The Son of Gascogne, Fallen Angels, The Star Maker, Shanghai Triad, Whisper of the Heart, Rendezvous in Paris, See How Thay Fall, The Flower of My Secret, Guantanamera, Patron, Maborosi.

I have modified my list of "best personal" films (to use a term used by Tab that implies there is both objectivity and subjectivity in one's esthetic judgements) for the year 1995. I have moved Larry Clark's "Kids" to the runner-up list. This is a film I continue to admire for its mise-en-scene, naturalistic performance, and its powerful and shocking resolution. I think of "Kids" as a horror film of sorts where American teen boys are portrayed as monstrous. You may find the term "cautionary tale" applies here. However, I find that the perspective is rather narrow. Just out of the top 10 for me, in retrospect. Let's call it a Top 9 as for now, since I don't feel compelled to move one of my runners-up to the TOP.