Best Seriously Overlooked Films of 2010
By Tom Houseman
March 16, 2011
Foreign language films are a sure bet for this category, and my number seven film is the first of four on this list. Wild Grass is one of the strangest, and most beautiful, films of 2010. Directed by Alain Resnais, this almost surreal drama follows Georges Palet as he meets, stalks, and falls in love with a complete stranger. The film veers from disturbing to heartbreaking to absurd without warning all while maintaining a slow, lyrical pace that the French somehow seem to pull off remarkably well. Stars Andre Dussollier and Sabine Azema give stunning performances in complex roles, grounding this film in reality as its story becomes more and more nonsensical. No matter what adjectives you place on it, nobody can deny that Wild Grass is memorable, although sadly it barely made more than $400,000 in the United States.
My number six film is one of the most brutal films of the year, Fish Tank. I never got a chance to see the film in theaters, and despite its January release (during which it made about $375,000) it is still not available on DVD in the US, which meant I had to revert to illegal means to see it. It was completely worth the unlawful action, however, as this portrait of a 15-year-old girl living in the slums of England is as captivating as it is depressing. Katie Jarvis makes her acting debut as protagonist Mia and, under the outstanding direction of Andrea Arnold (who also wrote the script) gives an honest and great performance. Newly crowned indie darling and soon-to-be Magneto Michael Fassbender costars as Mia's mother's boyfriend, and the relationship between him and Mia is both twisted and fascinating. This brutally stark film is reminiscent of similarly overlooked This is England, and I hope you take the chance to see it when it is finally released on DVD next week.
At number five is perhaps the most emotionally draining film on this list, which is quite the superlative, given its competition. While it was hugely successful in its home country, the Korean crime-drama Mother barely made a blip in the US, earning slightly more than $550,000. Joon-Ho Bong, writer/director of the horror satire The Host, takes on a much more human story, exploring the relationship between a mother and a son. The main character is only known as Mother, and when her son is arrested for murder, she is willing to go to any lengths to prove his innocence. Hye-Ja Kim is flat-out brilliant as the title character, and any moment she is on screen is a moment in which you cannot tear your eyes from her.
Made in Dagenham is one of the few light and genuinely uplifting films on this list, clocking in at number four, although its subject matter is just as important as any of the others. Nigel Cole's film is based on a true story, following a group of women working for Ford Motors during the 1960s when they decide to go on strike, demanding pay equal to their male coworkers. Sweet and moving and completely earnest, this film is willing to explore the hardships these women endured, but also find the comedy in their situation. Sally Hawkins stars, giving another wonderful performance, and a great cast makes this film truly delightful. The highest grossing film on this list, Made in Dagenham earned $997,735 in the US, which means that if maybe 250 more of you had seen this movie, it wouldn't have qualified. Shame on you, BOP readers.
We turn back to the emotionally scarring films for number three, the German drama Everyone Else. This is another one that I wrote about in length, so if you read that column and didn't see this movie, you have no excuse. To reiterate: this exploration of a disintegrating marriage is very difficult to watch, but completely worth it, mostly for the performance of star Birgit Minichmayr. While it didn't get the attention of its American counterpart Blue Valentine, this film is just as punishingly honest and just as heartbreaking, and sadly, barely cracked $100,000 at the US box office.
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