Aaron

As I thought upon my Top 10 Films of 2005 list, I was struck by the fact that the most prevalent theme in movies this year was about exploring the consequences of our actions.  Sure it’s easy to see that trend in movies like Brokeback Mountain, Munich, or A History of Violence, but even the big popcorn flicks (as well as some surprising little gems) spent some time showing the effects of crossing those moral and ethical lines we’ve set for ourselves.  It’s been a long time since Hollywood had any kind of unifying theme to it’s releases, though I must say I’m glad it looks like studios have realized that you can tell intelligent stories and still entertain.  So let’s take a gander at the best of 2005.

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As I thought upon my Top 10 Films of 2005 list, I was struck by the fact that the most prevalent theme in movies this year was about exploring the consequences of our actions.  Sure it’s easy to see that trend in movies like Brokeback Mountain, Munich, or A History of Violence, but even the big popcorn flicks (as well as some surprising little gems) spent some time showing the effects of crossing those moral and ethical lines we’ve set for ourselves.  It’s been a long time since Hollywood had any kind of unifying theme to it’s releases, though I must say I’m glad it looks like studios have realized that you can tell intelligent stories and still entertain.  So let’s take a gander at the best of 2005.

10) Murderball:
Easily one of the most entertaining documentaries in years, Murderball tells the story of the most badass sports team you’ve never heard of: the American Wheelchair Rugby team.  You read that correctly.  Wheelchair rugby.  And it’s as brutal as the nickname ‘Murderball’ implies.  These guys are seriously tough, and this frank and open look at their lives is a fascinating peek at a world most of us will never know.

09) Broken Flowers:
You’d think anything starring Bill Murray and Jeffrey Wright would be an automatic Top 5 entry, but for all it’s charms Broken Flower is sparse enough to push it towards the bottom of the list.  Don’t be fooled by it’s low placement, however.  It’s a an excellent character piece with some truly amazing performances from it’s leads and the supporting cast.  Murray plays a self-isolated man who may or may not have fathered a son 17years ago.  Convinced by his wanna-be detective neighbor (Wright), Murray’s aging Lothario embarks on a journey that finds him catching up with his old flames and finding out that he’s the only one who hasn’t really moved forward.  It’s cinematic minimalism at it’s best, and it’s a great study of a man who knows he can’t fill a void he’s created.

08. Batman Begins:
Consider this my obligatory fan-boy entry, but make no mistake: Batman Begins has a lot going for it.  Christopher Nolan took the Bat franchise back to it’s roots, but with enough twist to keep it fresh and engaging. Christian Bale absolutely owns the character of Bruce Wayne (though I’ll admit he’s given short shift once the suit shows up), and overall it’s an entertaining comic book romp with more smarts than I expected.  The biggest (and best) chunk of the film focuses solely on Wayne and the inner demons that drive him to weat a funny hat and a cape, and never has the man behind the mask been more interesting.  An uneven last act kills any top 5 chances this film had (I’d have been estastic had the fabled bat suit not shown up until the last 10 minutes), but still one of the better popcorn films this summer and waaaaay more enjoyable than Lucas’s sad wrap up of the Star Wars series.

07. Oldboy
Technically this Korean film was released in 2003, but it just hit American theaters this past Spring.  Oldboy (The second entry in Chan-wook Park’s Vengeance trilogy) is a movie that redefines what can be considered a WTF? plot twist.  You’d think a film that tells the story of a man kidnapped off the street and confined to an apartment for 15 years only to be unceremoniously released by his anonymous captors might not have many surprises left, but damn would you be wrong.  A serious powerhouse performance by Min-sik Choi as a man with nothing left to live for except revenge is icing on a very violent cake.  In addition to the most eff’d up ending of all time, Oldboy boasts one of the best (and most realistic) brawl scenes you’ll ever see.  It’s out on DVD now so go rent this movie, but be prepared to take a very long shower afterwards.

06. Transamerica
This little film tells the story of a pre-op man-to-woman transexual who’s travelling across the country in the company of his/her newly discovered son.  It sounds like a gimmick movie just begging for an Oscar, but Felicity Huffman’s absolutely incredible lead performance elevates this not-so-simple road movie into truly powerful cinema.  Were that performance taken away, I’m not sure the remainder would warrant inclusion on any best of lists, but the barely recognizable Huffman really takes this film to the next level.

05. History of Violence
David Cronenberg stepped out of the fringe genres he’s helped create to take a just-shy-of-mainstream stab at this tale of a man forced into violence and the effect it has on his family.  Viggo Morgensten was a great choice to play the man who may or may not be the small town family man he appears to be, and Maria Bello (who was my second choice for Best Actress. Screw you Golden Globes and your best supporting nod) does an amazing turn as a wife coming to realize she doesn’t really know this man she’s made a life with.  Cronengberg plays both sides of the fence in this one by showing us just how damaging a single act of violence can be, while simultaneously reveling in that violence’s horrific effect on the human body.  History of Violence is a great reminder that a good deal of our favorite genre filmmakers are excellent directors in their own right, no matter what their subject matter may be.

04. Good Night & Good Luck
George Clooney’s second directorial debut echoes the outspoken star’s take on media and politics by tackling Edward R. Murrow’s very public fight against Sen. Joseph McCartney and his HUAC cronies.  Leaving aside the story for a second, I want to emphasize how beautifully made this film was.  Lush black and white photography, a set that perfectly recreated the CBS news room offices, and note-perfect mix of archival and recreated footage really showcase Clooney’s eye for quality cinema.  He was very seriously on my short list for Best Director this year, and it took guys like Ang Lee and Spielberg to knock him out of the running.  But let’s not overlook David Straithairn’s fantastic turn as Murrow.  His laconic voice and delivery were just perfect, as was the rest of this fantastic ensemble cast. Ray Wise, Frank Langella, Robert Downey Jr, and Patricia Clarkson, and Clooney himself round out this well executed powerhouse of a drama, and while it may take place in the early 50’s, it’s a message that’s all too relevant today.

03. Syriana
This sprawling look at Amercan interests in the Middle East comes from Stephen Gaghan, who penned the screenplay for the similarly sprawling (if more flawed) Traffic.  Based off of former CIA agent Robert Baer’s accounts in “See No Evil”, Syriana examines our actions in the oil industry from multiple levels, from the Washington power brokers who make the deals to the behind the scenes players who make them happen, to the anonymous workers of the oil fields themselves.  It’s a film that refuses to dumb down or compromise, instead asking the viewer to pay close attention to every little detail in order to fully understand what’s being portrayed.  If any film demanded you already have a small understanding of how our government truly works, it’s Syriana, but even those unaware can get sucked in.  This is the second Clooney flavored entry on this list, and it’s similarly an excellent ensemble cast with Clooney, Jeffrey Wright, Christopher Plummer, Matt Damon, Andrew Siddig, and Chris Cooper topping off it’s impressive credits.  It’s less clear a message than Good Night & Good Luck, but it’s similarly a message film that works without resorting to Michael Moore-ish tactics.

02. Brokeback Mountain
I’m personally sick of a the jokes this film is generating, if for no other reason that they usually reflect the maker’s unfamiliarity with the film itself.  Ang Lee (working from a Larry McMurtry script) turns in the year’s most gorgeously shot film, along with some incredible performances from Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams.  While it’s true that this is a film about two men who desperately want to be together at it’s heart it’s a story about desire and circumstance, and what happens when we repress our most powerful emotions.  As a love story it’s universal.  Thematically it’s most similar to Wong Kar Wei’s excellent ‘In the Mood for Love’, as both are stories of people trapped by social convention and circustances which keep them from pursuing what they truly want.

01. Munich
Spielberg isn’t known for fast turnaround, and the idea that he got this movie shot, cut, and released in about half a year is just jawdropping.  Perhaps the rushed production schedule helped shave off those prologues/epilogues that often contain Spielberg’s worst missteps, but regardless of how it came to be, Munich is very simply (and quite easily) the best film of the year.  Another period piece with powerful echos of current events, this telling of the aftermath of the 1970 abduction and killing of 11 Israeli atheletes explores the concept of vengeance from the perspective of the mean tasked with carrying it out.  Eric Bana (in a performance I personally think is the best of the year) heads up yet another stellar cast as the leader of a deep-cover group of Mossad agents whose only goal is to kill every one responsible for the Munich attack.  Eager to prove himself worthy of his hero father’s name, Bana jumps willingly into the moral abyss of political vengeance, and it’s through his experiences that we can understand the human cost of retribution.  The performance alone is worth the ticket price, but along the way Speilberg treats us to the most visually gritty film he’s ever made, which is stragely beautiful in a way only he can deliver.  What’s so amazing about this film is that it refuses to take sides, smartly claiming that violence will only perpetuate itself, no matter how righteous the cause.  For this Speilberg has taken no small amount of heat from just about everybody, but dammit he’s right, and someone needs to say so. 

I for one think this was a damn fine year for movies (even though the Spring was pretty dreadful), and with any luck the box office reciepts will put a fire under Hollywood’s pampered and self-entitled ass to recognize that films don’t have to be about explosions and fart jokes.  Your dollars going to those movies which rightfully deserve them will go a long way to driving that message home.  We live in an uncertain and turmultuous world, and sometimes we need films to remind us of the larger picture.  I’m pretty pleased with this year’s films all around, as coming up with this list wasn’t easy for all the choices out there.  For completion’s sake, here’s my Honorable Mentions: War of the Worlds, The Devil’s Rejects, Capote, Inside Deep Throat, and Hustle and Flow.

2005 may well be remembered as the year that Hollywood remembered it’s power to tell relevant stories with depth and intelligence. The theme of consequences has run through out most of the better films this year (a fact I’ll go into more with my end of year roundup), but topping off the list is Steven Spielberg’s Munich, which tells the story of Israel’s response to the killing of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympics by Palestinian terrorists. Eric Bana heads up a secret team of Mossad agents whose only job is to find and eliminate anyone connected to the plotting, funding, or execution of the Munich attack, a job he takes with relish only to find the cost of vengeance is always more violence. Beautifully shot with exceptional performances from all the actors involved, Munich tells a story that’s every bit as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. Perhaps it’s not the uplifting holiday fare you might seek on this Season, but Munich is very easily the best film of 2005.

Munich
5 Stars

How far is too far in righting a wrong? Can vengeance ever be a means to an end, no matter how noble the purpose? Or is retribution merely a link in an endless chain of violence? These are themes that resonate just as much today as they did in the mid 70s, when Steven Spielberg’s Munich takes place. Even handed to a point, Spielberg refuses to pick sides in the war of aggression between Israel and it’s attackers, but it’s perfectly clear that he knows that blindly labelling the other side as ‘evil’ won’t solve the problem. By showing us the bloodthirsty desires of a nation through the eyes of the men charged with making it happen, Spielberg reminds us that it’s far too easy to become that which we seek to kill.

Opening with a mix of archival and dramatized footage from Black September’s kidnapping and eventual killing of 11 Israeli athletes, Spielberg uses his opening salvo to show a world unfamiliar with terrorism: the Black September members are helped over the gate into the Olympic Village of 1972 Munich Germany by a group of carousing athletes who are unconcerned with security. Minutes later the world will change thanks in no small part to the 24 hour live television coverage of the kidnapping and shootout. People from around the world were shocked by a realization that times had changed, but none more so than the Israeli government, who soon decide to find those responsible and make them pay. Soon a group of Mossad agents are officially removed from the records and set loose in Europe with the single aim of tracking down and killing anyone involved in the Black September attack. Led by Avner (a phenomenal Eric Bana), these five men give up their identities, their families, and their country in the name of extracting a bloody retribution upon Israel’s enemies.

What begins as almost eager anticipation soon turns to grim determination (and finally outright paranoia) during the years Avner and his crew are out on their mission. Cut off from all they know, eventually they find themselves living and dealing among the same elements they’re supposed to be fighting. So much so that their grim crusade makes the team as hunted as their prey, unsure of who to trust or even who they’re supposed to be after.

Munich could easily be considered the flip side of Spielberg’s summer entry, War of the Worlds. Where WotW dealt with the assault, Munich explores the inevitable reaction of a government obsessed with retribution. But where Worlds was all CGI, flash, and thrill, Munich is washed out colors, grim 70’s style cinematography, and unrelenting tension. There are no easy bad guys in Munich. Even the so called enemy is giving a human face, and often the hit squad’s allies are as shady as their target.

Spielberg finds a perfect guide for us in Eric Bana’s Avner. The undistinguished son of a war hero, Avner is eager to prove himself in service of a country he loves even if it means leaving his pregnant wife for a mission that may well take years. He’s surrounded by a team as dedicated (and inexperienced) as himself, all portrayed rather convincingly by Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, and Hanns Zischler.

As difficult to watch as some of the violence is (indeed the returning flashbacks to the Munich attack are heartwrenchingly realized), it’s almost harder to watch Avner’s descent into moral confusion and paranoia.  After one of their own is killed, the remaining team members exact bloody vengeance on their own in a scene that’s one of the most disturbing of the film.  There’s no question the individual has it coming to them, but when it happens you feel the same horror and confusion as the men who are supposed to be the good guys.  It’s at that moment when they all realize that they’ve become no different from those they’re supposed tobe fighting against.  They seem to know it can only get worse from there.

A shockingly violent film that never lets you forget the cost of that violence, Munich strips away slogans and feel good phrases like ‘war on terror’ to show us the human cost of pursuing vengeance both personal and as a nation. A final shot that includes the then-new World Trade Center drives home the inescapable fact that until we forsake the desire for retribution, we’ll continue to pay a heavy price for our efforts. In a year of great films, Munich is an unflinching powerhouse of a movie, and easily the best thing Spielberg has made in years. Go see this movie.