The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

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127 points, 7 lists
Yi Yi
Director

Edward Yang, 2000

Starring

Wu Nien-Jen, Kelly Lee, Elaine Jin, Jonathan Chang

#50








129 points, 9 lists
Dancer in the Dark
Director

Lars von Trier, 2000

Starring

Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare

#49






Hint breakdown!

Ok, hint hint...

WARNING: spoilers below

One and one (Yi Yi means One One)
They come and go
With shattered dreams (both films have to do with this)
and tales of woe (weather it's dreams of being a dancer or following up family expectations)

Two and two (vague reference to dancing, but also to the twice repeated Yi Yi)
To left and right
Step in and dance (again, vague references to dancing)
With or without sight (I'm pretty sure this was the give away)

Three and three (vague reference to the three generations referenced in Yi Yi)
They all struggle
From children to granny (see above)
Careers and life juggle (haven't seen it, but again, apparently it has to do with career and life expectations and whatnot)
Hope it wasn't that vague, but like I said, I haven't seen either so I didn't want to dive in too deep into the plot of either.



Only seen Dancer in the Dark. I do like Trier. Love some of his work. Only seen this one once. It’s very dark and disturbing like so much of his work. Haven’t really had a huge desire to go back to it. But I liked it.

Not seen the other one but know of it.



Sadly still never seen Yi Yi despite wanting to for years now. Dancer In The Dark is interesting - love Björk, I like some of the musical numbers and the tale is ok but the dialogue does feel like it was written by a child at times to me.

Seen: 31/52 (Own: 22/52)
My ballot:  


Faildictions (millennial edition v1.01):
48. Elf (2003)
47. Hauru no ugoku shiro [Talk To Her] (2002)



Like I said, I haven't seen any of these, so no changes on my stats. Barely know anything about Yi Yi, but I've been curious about Dancer in the Dark for a while. Other than that, I have nothing to add.



Have yet to see any Trier so maybe this will be a good starting point. As for Yi Yi I remember liking A Brighter Summer Day so there's a good chance I will enjoy it.



51. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (121 points) - love this film. Deakins cinematography is world class. This film was #16 on my list

50. Yi Yi (127 points) - Not my favourite Yang film (that's A Brighter Summer Day (1991)) - but it is very very good. Just missed out on my list.

49. Dancer in the Dark (129 points) - This is one of the greatest films of the 21st century, and I don't like musicals..... von Trier's ability to construct musical scenes of tragedy and beauty by using everyday sounds is unreal. It was #7 in my list.



have fallen pretty far behind so i'm not gonna comment on everything but i wanted to say that collateral rules. i watched every michael mann film recently and it was my clear favorite, although it just missed my list.

was sort of indifferent to the pirates movies as a kid, but i've rediscovered them recently as great movies to get stoned with friends to. only problem is that they're so long, but the first one certainly outwears its welcome the least.

rewatched v for vendetta on the fifth of november this year, thinking i would give it another chance after finding it corny and overblown when i was 14, but turns out it was actually much stupider and even more irritating than i remembered. one of my least favorite movies.
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Society ennobler, last seen in Medici's Florence
• Seen both, #49 and #50. The Dancer back then in the theater, YiYi couple of years ago. Both needs a re-watch.
I've considered both of them for my ballot but cut them in the last minute since I though they'll get enough support anyway.
Actually, it is a bit of surprise they're not in top 30 at least. Not many people voted for them.
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Dancer in the Dark is ranked #6 and YiYi #8 in MoFo 2000 Film Chart.

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my stats

Seen 27/52.
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My list:
4. Snatch [#71.]
9. Amores perros [#81.]
10. The Wrestler [#54.]
14. The Man Who Wasn't There [#84.]

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(seen one pointers 3/38)

Not on my ballot Top 100 movies I'd support:  
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Dancer In The Dark is pretty good. Do agree with Chyp, in that I think the script loses me at times. Some great moments. Overall I have really liked Von Trier a lot, but I don’t rush to revisit or see his new stuff since something is keeping me at arm’s length. I’m sure it’s the dark tone of his movies, but I don’t really feel that way while watching.


Yi Yi was great despite me not having a great memory for it. Bright Summer Day is the same way for me. Think Yang has the potential to be a favorite of mine, those runtimes won’t be conducive to rewatches though.

Good pair. Keep it rolling.
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Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
Yi Yi is a good family saga and Yang obviously has an eye for affecting images. This clip also shows he has a way with words.

A lot of people find the Bjork/von Trier Dancer in the Dark a great tragedy and a dark, bravura musical, but I find it borderline watchable and still don't understand why von Trier's heroines continuously never fight back against their abusers. This clip is some of the bravura.

They didn't make my list.
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Yi Yi is a solid family drama, though it's one I should rewatch as my memory of it is kind of fuzzy. As for Yang, A Brighter Summer Day, which I saw earlier this year, left a bigger impact on me.

Haven't seen Dancer in the Dark.
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