Final cut 2002: the editors and contributors review the year in movies

Film Comment, Jan-Feb, 2003

FILM COMMENT'S END-OF-YEAR POLL

20 BEST FILMS OF 2002 (Released theatrically in the U.S.)

1. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, U.S.) 597 points

2. Adaptation (Spike Jonze, U.S.) 471

3. Y tu mama tambien (Alfonso Cuaron, Mexico) 413

4. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar, Spain) 403

5. About Schimdt (Alexander Payne, U.S.) 367

6. Time Out (Laurent Cantet, France) 361

7. The Fast Runner (Zacharias Kunuk, Canada) 334

8. Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, U.S.) 318

9. Russian Ark (Alexander Sokurov, Russia/Germany) 303

10. Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, U.S.) 297

11. Minority Report (Steven Spielberg, U.S.) 296

12. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, Japan) 277

13. In Praise of Love (Jean-Luc Godard, France/Switzerland) 264

14. I'm Going Home (Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal/France) 247

15. Bloody Sunday (Paul Greengrass, U.K./Ireland) 236

16. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke. Austria/France) 220

17. What Time Is It There? (Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan/France) 200

18. Femme Fatale (Brian De Palina, U.S.) 192

19. The Pianist (Roman Polanski, Poland/U.K./ France) 185

20. Late Marriage (Dover Kosashvili, Israel) 174

10 BEST UNRELEASED FILMS OF 2002 (Seen last year but not yet released in the U.S.)

1. Unknown Pleasures (Jia Zhangke, China) 223

2. The Man Without a Past (Aki Kaurismaki, Finland) 237

3. Spider (David Cronenberg, Canada/U.K.) 209

4. Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, Iran/France) 174

8. Springtime in a Small Town (Tian Zhuangzhuang, China) 150

6. Millennium Mambo (Hou Hsiao-hsien, France/Taiwan) 145

7. Divine Intervention (Ella Suleiman, Palestine/France) 124

8. The Son (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgium and France) 123

9. To Be and to Have (Nicolas Philibert, France) 120

10. The Uncertainty Principle (Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal/France) 118

Fifty-nine of this year's contributors and selected colleagues voted for the 20 best films released in the U.S. in 2002, and the ten best unreleased films of the year. A number one vote received 20 points, a number two vote 19 points, and so on. Participants: John Anderson, David Ansen, Nicole Armour, Paul Arthur, Mike Atkinson, Marjorie Baumgarten, Chris Chang, Travis Crawford, Edward E. Crouse, Manohla Dargis, Roger Ebert, F.X. Feeney, Graham Fuller, Jason Gross, Ernest Hardy, Dennis Harvey, J. Hoberman, Robert Horton, Gary Indiana, Harlan Jacobson, Kent Jones, Kristin Marriott Jones, Dave Kehr, Sarah Kerr, Stuart Klawans, Michael Koresky, Nathan Lee, Jacob Levich, Phillip Lopate, Alice Lovejoy, Guy Maddin, Todd McCarthy, Maitland McDonagh, Wesley Morris, Nick Nicastro, Chris Norris, Geoffrey O'Brien, Mark Olsen, Gerald Peary, Richard Pena, Mark Peranson, Tony Pipolo, Alissa Quart, Berenice Reynaud, Rachel Rosen, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Gavin Smith, Roger Smith, Gregory Solman, Chuck Stephens, David Sterritt, Bob Strauss, Amy Taubin, Anne Thompson, Kenneth Turan, Giulia D' Agnolo Vallan, Armond White, Mike Wilmington.

EDITORS' CHOICE

GAVIN SMITH
Adaptation
Bloody Sunday
demonlover
Far From Heaven
Femme Fatale
Friday Night (Claire Denis)
Ichi the Killer
Super 8 films of Jose Rodriguez
Unknown Pleasures
The Visitation (Nathaniel Dorsky)

Video:
One Mile per Minute (Robby Abate)
Down from the Mountains
  (Alfred Guzzetti)

Music Video:
Six Days--DJ Shadow
  (Wong Kar-wai)

CHRIS CHANG
1. Minority Report
2. Late Marriage
3. Talk to Her
4. The Fast Runner
5. The Son
6. Ichi the Killer
7. Unknown Pleasures
8. Alias Betty
9. Domestic Violence
10. Exam (Nasser Refaie)

Short:
Zeno Writing
  (William Kentridge)

Best Dog:
Mouki (Late Marriage)

ALICE LOVEJOY
Adaptation
Domestic Violence
Gangs of New York
Late Marriage
The Man Without a Past
Russian Ark
The Son
Sunshine State
Talk to Her
To Be and to Have

Best Dog:
Tahti as Hannibal
  (The Man Without a Past)

KENT JONES
Afghanistan Year 1380
  (Vendemmiati & Lazzaretti)
Blissfully Yours
demonlover
Friday Night
Gangs of New York
The Son
Spirited Away
Springtime in a Small Town
Talk to Her
Unknown Pleasures

Shorts:
Voice of the Prophet (Bob Edwards)
Int. Trailer--Night (Jim Jarmusch)

And one great scene:
An SS officer peering through a
window at a demonstration of the new
gas chambers in Costa-Gavras's Amen

Best Dog:
Scooby Doo