TIFF Cinematheque's Canada's Top Ten The Best Of The Decade: An Alternative View

Oh, how I love to point out faults and omissions in "best of" lists (for example, theBest of the Decadepoll includes, eesh, Gus Van Sant'sGerryand pretty much ignores commercial cinema). But instead of going off on a whiny tangent, I keep reminding myself about the dozens of great movies screening in these upcoming programs, many rarely ever seen in theatres.

Over sixty curators, historians, archivists, and programmers voted onThe Best Of The Decade: An Alternative Viewtitles (January 21 - February 23). And by the looks of this list, it's no doubt a bunch of folks spend most of their time touring film festivals and writing about film.

The selections include art-house favourites like Almod贸var'sTalk to Her, Mungiu's4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, Wong Kar-wai'sIn the Mood for Love,Mulholland Drive,Russian Ark,Cach茅, and so on. Plus, a few (token?) Canadian titles, Cronenberg's一个History of Violenceand Guy Maddin'sMy WinnipegandThe Heart of the World. (一个tanarjuat, The Fast Runneralso made the cut, but will not be screened). Check out the full listhere.

I have to admit that when theThe Best Of The Decaderundown was first announced sometime in November, I didn't recognize about a third of the titles. Neither did my most serious movie buff friends. The press release praised Thailand's一个pichatpong Weerasethakuland China'sJia Zhang-ke-- and I hadn't seen any of their films?!?

That said, between the familiar works there are certainly hidden gems to discover. I cozied up with Jia Zhang-ke over the holidays, starting with his 2004 filmThe World(Jan 23). It's a loose set of relationship stories within a group of young Beijingers working atWorld Park, a tacky, international landmark replica theme-park in the city's suburbs. And set within view of the Three Gorges Dam, Jia's 2006 filmStill Life(Jan 23, 27) follows a man and a woman, each searching for their spouses. The backdrop is key in both films, significant settings for stories that touch on contemporary Chinese culture and globalization. Jia Zhang-ke will be in attendance to introduce these films, plus a third,平台.

一个lso on at the TIFF Cinematheque this season,Canada's Top Ten(January 14 - 21) is an annual showcase of homegrown talent. I for one think this is an excellent initiative. Best bets from 2009 are Xavier Dolan's acclaimed and multi-awardedI Killed My Mother(Jan 14) and Denis Villeneuve'sPolytechnique(Jan 20) which, respectively, picked up the emerging artist and best Canadian feature honours at theToronto Film Critics Association's awards galaa couple of days ago.

The fullwinter scheduleandticketsare available online, at the box office at 2 Carlton Street, or at the screening venue, Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas Street West.