Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: Film & Music

Syndromes and a Century took the top spot in Cinematheque's most recent decade retrospective Photo: Anna Sanders Films

As the yet-to-be-named decade ends, there has been a rush of "Best of" lists filtering through the media. Attempting to stand apart from the crowd, the Ontario Cinematheque gathered together over sixty film historians, curators, programmers and the like to put together their lists for the best of the decade. This endeavour eventually bore a program of 54 films, which will be playing at the Cinematheque until Feb 23. Their "Alternative View" selection certainly lives up to its name, playing films that have barely made it onto the public's radar.

The list manages to avoid most of the critical and commercial hits of the decade, and instead has a greater focus on foreign and independent cinema. American filmmaker Gus Van Sant is present but instead of his better-known film Milk there are two parts of his "Death Trilogy," among only nine American films to appear on this list. North America takes a back seat with this "alternative" view, though Canada is represented with four films: David Cronenberg's A History of Violence, Zacharias Kunuk's Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner and Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg as well as the only short on the list, Heart of the World. With a strong focus on international cinema, France is the clear victor with 21 films in the selection, as well as many producing credits among the non French titles. Some include the great surviving stars of cinemas past: French New Wave is represented with Jean-Luc Godard and Agnes Varda, and though not French, Ingmar Bergman appears with Saraband, his last film. Many directors appear multiple times on the list and some, like French filmmaker Claire Denis, have their best-known films acknowledged. For Denis, this would be Beau Travail, in addition to a few of her lesser known works, such as L'Intrus. As a whole, the selected French films are as varied as those who made them.

The best film of the decade, chosen because it appeared on the most lists of those selected, is Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Syndromes and A Century, a film of dual narrative, little plot, stunning visuals and a great amount of uncertainty for the viewer. First focusing on doctors in a rural Thai hospital, the film suddenly shifts to another hospital in Bangkok forty years later with the same characters but a different outcome. This is certainly not The Dark Knight. Weerasethakul appears multiple times on the list and is cited as one of the most notable filmmakers of the decade. But the title for best director of the decade goes to Jia Zheng-Ke who is represented by three of his films, Platform, Still Life and The World. Jia is part of the sixth generation of Chinese filmmakers who focus on the lives of the common man in the face of communism's changing nature in the country. Stylistically, Asian cinema takes a forefront on the "Best Of" bill. Most of the films chosen from the Asian continent have little narrative and are often slow and thoughtful. The best known of the bunch is the Japanese animated film Spirited Away, which won the Oscar for best animated picture in 2001.

As a whole, the film list reflects a movement over the course of the decade towards minimalist narrative, striking visuals, a flair for the experimental (though no strictly experimental films appear on this list) and an overall focus on the life of the art film. Most of these films are rarely screened, and some are not even available on DVD. "An Alternative View" therefore offers a precious chance to see them on the big screen and, in some cases, to see them at all. The version of Platform screened by Cinematheque was the full-length version, which comes to over three hours and is otherwise inaccessible for viewing. While certainly not a reflection of this year's more mainstream lists, the series offers a chance to see what global cinema has been doing in the past ten years as well as expanding one's own views of cinema.

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