The MoFo Top 100 of the 2000s Countdown

I will abashedly admit that I've been interested in Yi Yi for a long time, but the runtime always puts me off. 3 hours isn't even that long. I'll get to it this year I think.

I have an appreciation for Dancer in the Dark (which I just watched for a HoF) and I LOVE Bjork. I struggled a bit with the sense that Von Trier was trying to achieve a dizzying amount of bleakness and tragedy---as a stark contrast to Bjork's character's unfailingly chipper outlook---but the layering at times just comes off as a bit too mean-spirited. I do think that it really captures how some people who are different (I don't want to say "mental illness" per se, but definitely atypical) have these fixed internal rules that they will not bend from, no matter the consequences. It was nowhere near my top 25, yet I'm kind of pleased to see it on this list.

Two films I have always meant to watch since they were first released to theatres and somehow, after all these years, they keep falling through the cracks. I’ll have to remedy that sometime.

I haven't seen either. Nothing else to say

Yi Yi is my #1. Its theme of our inability to see everything that's happening around us and what the movie does with it is unlike anything I had seen before. It resonated with me deeply and may have changed my outlook on life. I also think it has the best use of the ensemble "hyperlink" style found in movies like Traffic, Magnolia, etc. It sounds like I need to see A Brighter Summer Day ASAP, though.

One vote. I had Yi Yi at #17 - it topped my last "yearly first viewing top ten" list with its sprawling tale of a year in the life of a Taiwanese family that covers everything - life, death, love, work, crime, childhood, old age, adolescence, video games - all in the space of a three hours that never makes itself felt. I was amazed by it and sought out a considerable amount of Taiwanese work this year as a result. Regarding Dancer in the Dark, I've only seen it the once and remember liking it, but I've never been back to it for a multitude of reasons (trying to think about how many LVT films I have watched more than once - the only one I can think of might well be The Idiots). Might try it sometime, though.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Of the last four reveals, I've only seen Brokeback Mountain. Don't really have much to say about it unfortunately, other than I thought it was perfectly fine. I only heard about Yi Yi for the first time a little while ago, and considered adding it to my watchlist. I probably will add it now though!

From the near misses, Millennium Actress was high on my list at #6. It's another Satoshi Kon film that I disliked the first time I saw it, but was completely mesmerized when I later rewatched it. While it blends fantasy and reality similar to Paprika, I think it's a little more elegant here, since the cause is the aging mind of Chiyoko, consistently confusing her lived experiences with her career as an actress. It's an absolutely beautiful film that tugs at the heartstrings quite a bit, and I'm sad to see it miss the Countdown.


Seen: 27/52

My List:
06. Millennium Actress (2001) - DNP
08. Mother (2009) - #96
10. Iron Man (2008) - #83
11. Paprika (2006) - #64
16. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) - #76
25. Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006) - 1-pointer

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I haven't seen either. I don't think I'd even heard of Yi Yi until earlier this year and my aversion to musicals has kept me away from Dancer in the Dark.

Seen: 29/52

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I should really really get around to Yi Yi since its in so many of my friends' top 5. Dancer in the Dark was on my list at #22. Bjork is just the greatest musical artist of the recording era so of course it made the list.

First off, I'm honored to be represented in the reviews, and I find it incredible that two Corleones were picked for the job.

Yi Yi was my number 7, my first top ten to reach this list and IMO the second most unlikely to make it. Its depiction of reality was overwhelming. When I finished all three hours, I was deeply tempted to restart it right then and there, but it was late.

Sent-In Ballot:
#7. Yi Yi (49)
#13. Million Dollar Baby (57)
#15. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (53)
#20. Iron Man (83)
#22. Pirates of the Caribbean (63)

Post-Ballot:
#7. Yi Yi (49) #12. Snatch (71)
#14. Million Dollar Baby (57)
#16. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (53)
#18. Slumdog Millionaire (not placed but it made my new 25)
#22. Iron Man (83)
#23. Fantastic Mr. Fox (70)
#25. Pirates of the Caribbean (63)

Seen 29/52

Yeeah, the first movie from my list is there.

I'm a couple days late, but it's Collateral which is my #15, It's one of my favorite action movie ever (if we can call it that). The cinematography is beautiful, the film is super tense, the 2 main performances are spot on. But what I particularly like is the philosophical aspect of the film, Tom Cruise perfectly plays a nihilistic ''bad guy'' who defends the position that there are no moral facts, things which have intrinsic value and the cab driver who never really thought about it that much tries to answer him while being scared. I also very much like the ending.

Excellent film!

yi yi is another film I've never seen because it's long, but that I know I need to watch.

I don't like Lars Von trier at all, Dancer in the dark is no exception

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I do not speak english perfectly so expect some mistakes here and there in my messages

Lars Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark placed at #38 on the MoFo Top 100 of the Millennium List. Edward Yang's YiYi: A One and a Two... did not make that list nor did it make the MoFo Top 100 Foreign Films List.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Ha! Totally unintentional didn't notice it until now.

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Two more from my ballot have shown in the past couple days as we make the turn into the top fifty. I think Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark is a masterpiece. I liked Björk fine before the movie but I loved the soundtrack for Lars' twisted Musical melodrama. On paper the plot description reads like Soap Opera tawdrieness, but through Von Trier's brutal prism and embodied by Björk's delicate otherworldliness it hit me like a ton of bricks. I have never wept as openly in a theater as I did the first time I saw Dancer in the Dark from just about the "I've Seen it All" number all the way until the gallows I was either tearing up or blubbering. I have seen it all the way through at least five or six times since then, still powerful, and I have purposefully not tried to deconstruct it too much to figure out why it knocks me on my emotional ass. If it is a magician's trick I do not want to know how it is done. It was my number two pick, twenty-four points from this crybaby.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was also on my list, though I only gave it six points as my number twenty. The Western as poetic character study, and for this fan of cinematic oaters I ate it up.

HOLDEN’S BALLOT
1. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (#86)
2. Dancer in the Dark (#49)
16. Fantastic Mr. Fox (#70)
17. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (#92)
18. A Serious Man (#66)
20. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (#51)

Looking at my ballot now I expect another fourteen or fifteen of my choices will be in the next forty-eight reveals, with a couple on the bubble and a couple that never really had much of a chance. But twenty-ish of mine making will be good. Very happy my top two choices made it, anyway.

Dancer in the Dark is yet another film that I should have rewatched for this but didn't. I do remember liking it, and I even considered it for my ballot momentarily. It may have ended in missing points because of my laziness. Yi Yi I haven't seen.

Seen: 26/52

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Quoted for truth.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

I see 8 more on my list making it with 2 potential fringe picks that I probably am just being too optimistic about.

50. Yi Yi : I don't believe I've ever heard of Yi Yi, and it looks awfully good so I'll get around to watching it one day soon. Another good find from frequenting these boards, which has been the greatest source of information on great films I've ever come across really. Just ticking off films from the Foreign Language Countdown has brought me enjoyment, finding many films I've been bowled over by.

49. Dancer in the Dark : Dancer in the Dark never gets old for me. Taken at face value it's a film that shouldn't have worked at all, with an eccentric and difficult non-actress in the lead role, and a very off-center depiction of the United States which looks and sounds nothing like it. It's also probably the darkest musical I've ever seen, a genre that's usually filled with joy, excitement and hope. Björk's Selma is an escapist whose love of musicals is what takes her away from the sheer misery of her life - and what misery it is. She's going completely blind, her son will suffer the same fate, and she's beset by horrific people who threaten to take everything from her. With her condition about to leave her with no economic means she must fight and sacrifice. The musical numbers are simply brilliant, and the pathos and emotion that builds up finds it's way directly into my soul - so every time we get to that damned ending I'm ripped apart yet again, but at the same time uplifted and electrified by what I consider to be a truly great film. From it's release in 2000 to the present day, this movie has been consistent in what it delivers to me personally, and I simply have to acknowledge on my list the standing this film has. It was my #8.

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Films I've seen : 41
Films that have been on my radar : 6
Films I've never even heard of : 5

Films from my list : 9

#49 - My #8 - Dancer in the Dark (2000)
#51 - My #6 - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
#56 - My #20 - In Bruges (2008)
#59 - My #16 - The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
#66 - My #9 - A Serious Man (2009)
#71 - My #23 - Snatch (2000)
#78 - My #13 - The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)
#84 - My #21 - The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
One pointer - World's Greatest Dad (2009)

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Happy New Year's to everybody. I will probably leave all the extracurricular stuff for some time tomorrow.

Critics

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Critics thoughts on our #50, Yi Yi...



It currently has a 97% Certified Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 8.2/10 score on IMDb (with 23,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★½ and said:

"Only rarely is a film this observant and tender about the ups and downs of daily existence."

While Kirk Honeycutt, of the Hollywood Reporter, called it:

"Irritating, indulgent and self-important."

As for our MoFo reviewers, @LordSlaytan said:

"Yi Yi is a movie about introspection and regret. It is also a story about quiet acceptance and courage. But above all, it is a story about life. Through the four family members, we are able to see that each generation has always had to suffer the same questions. Each generation has always had regrets and had to deal with loss. All of us search for the truth in our own way, and often we don’t find the answer, but if we’re lucky, we can accept the truth we are able to find out."

Critics

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Critics thoughts on our #49, Dancer in the Dark...



It currently has a 69% Fresh Tomatometer score among critics, and a 8.0/10 score on IMDb (with 107,000 votes).

Roger Ebert gave it ★★★½ and said:

"Dancer in the Dark is not like any other movie at the multiplex this week, or this year. It is not a 'well made film', is not in 'good taste', is not 'plausible' or, for many people, 'entertaining'. But it smashes down the walls of habit that surround so many movies. It returns to the wellsprings. It is a bold, reckless gesture."

While Peter Rainer, of New York Magazine, said:

"It's not just that the numbers are berserkly bad; they also don't seem to have any emotional connection to this bedraggled, Dickensian waif."

As for our MoFo reviewers, @Golgot said:

"I thought this was beautiful sadness, made joyful, made real. There was criticism and celebration. Castigation of greed, and a planting of seeds. Von Triers dancing camera still steered me to where he wanted me to be. Which is in the wide-open space of interpretation, but aware you can't really roam free."

While @Takoma11 said:

"At its best, the film is deliriously, darkly hilarious. Selma runs around like some sort of demented Amelie, only if Amelie existed in a world completely devoid of magic and whimsy. As the film progresses, Selma's quirks and the musical numbers take on an increasingly absurd element. It's one thing for her to tap her toes and dance around to the rhythmic sounds of a factory floor. It's quite another thing to flounce around in a literal life-or-death situation."