It seems a little premature to me, but Times Online, the Web version of the United Kingdom’s The Times newspaper has recently released their picks for the top 100 films of the decade.
It’s quite a comprehensive list, and certainly worth a once-over for movie buffs, but I do have some quibbles over a few of their choices — and not just because I’ve never seen or heard of their selection for the best movie of the decade.
Their number one was a French-language film directed by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke called Hidden (also known as Caché). Back in 2005 this film premiered at Cannes and swept the European Film Awards — but it didn’t get a single Oscar nod. So, like me, you’ve probably never even heard of it.
The inclusion of a film like this proves the people making the list have done a little homework towards highlighting successes in international cinema. Movies from Belgium, France, Japan, and elsewhere show up on the list. Some notable non-Hollywood films they’ve chosen that I have seen include: Persepolis, an animated film from 2007 based on a young girl’s true experiences in Iran and France during the time of the Iranian Revolution; and Y tu mamá también, a racy Mexican drama from 2001 about two teenage boys and an older woman’s trip from urban privileged Mexico?City to a rural beach paradise.
Persepolis, which got an Oscar nomination in 2007, came in at 69 on the list, while Y tu mamá también turned up at 35 on the list.
Of course, the obvious tilt is toward big-budget Western blockbusters, like the James Bond revamp Casino Royale, which pops up in eighth, or both Bourne Identity sequels, which inexplicably share the second place spot.
Not a single Canadian film appears on the list. There are movies filmed but not set in Canada (‘Hollywood North’) like Brokeback Mountain, and movies starring Canadian leading men such as Jim?Carrey and Seth?Rogen fared all right, but no films set in Canada featuring Canadians in front of and behind the camera show up on the list.
The only Canadian filmmaker on the list is London, Ontario’s Paul Haggis who came in at a lowly 99th place with his brilliant 2004 film Crash. Crash, which features a compelling, interweaving story about life in L.A., won three Oscars including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, but, according to Times Online, this isn’t enough to compete with Casino Royale, which features Daniel Craig in a speedo.
When I look at cinematic offerings from?Canada like Men With Brooms, I can understand why some people wouldn’t believe there were any Canadian films this decade deserving to be on an international list like this. However, I can think of at least one
The Barbarian Invasions (or, Les Invasions Barbares) is a French-Canadian film from 2003 directed by Denys Arcand. Set in contemporary Montreal, it tells the story of eccentric Québécois academics that come together to spend time with a friend that is dying of cancer. In 2004, the film became the  first from Canada to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Evidently, the Times Online people left films like this off their list in order to make room for raunchy comedies like Wedding Crashers (90), and Anchorman (62).
Instead of making a list full of obscure titles that would please critics, or one that was wall-to-wall with well-known Hollywood vehicles to please your average fan, Times Online opted for a list that would please neither.