Charles
Mitchell’s Favorite Films of 2002 (All films rated out of five stars)
© Copyright 2003
by Charles Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.
1) Y Tu Mama Tambien *****
The best film
to come out of Mexco since Like Water for Chocolate, and the best coming
of age tale to hit the silver screen
since Beautiful Thing. Y Tu Mama
Tambien seeks to explore the tumultuous friendship between two teenage boys
while pondering the question: do homoerotic feelings often lie beneath the
sometimes competitive nature of male friends?
Having that question stir within two adolescents boys road trip with a
female companion through the Mexican countryside is like a journey into the
heart of darkness of burgeoning sexuality.
The movie acknowledges the political, and social upheaval of Mexico,
without ever allowing them to overpower the film. Like the journey itself, the relationships in
the motion picture begin smoothly, then turn off on to some dead ends before
eventually reaching their final destination, where sweat on bronze skin
smoulders against the backdrop of an ocean vista.
2) City of God *****
Based
on a true story. This intricately and meticulously
woven tale of poor youth growing up in a crime-ridden favela in Rio de
Janeiro blurs the lines between scripted dialogue and documentary. The film is both raw and emotional. And we never judge any of these kids who know
no other way of escaping or surviving the violence, than becoming a part of it
themselves.
3) Spirited
Away *****
This
4) The
Pianist ****1/2
2002’s
equivalent to Life is Beautiful. Director Roman Polanski methodically
illustrates how Jews in Poland didn’t stand up to the Nazis before World War
II, because Jewish rights were stolen at such a slow pace that one wouldn’t
believe that things could possibly get any worse. Adrien Brody’s physical body slowly deteriorates
throughout the film, and is a metaphor for his will to survive. Brody’s performance is quiet, yet speaks
volumes, and is well deserving of his 2003 
Oscar for best actor.
5) The
Believer ****1/2
Originally screened in 2001 at the Sundance Film
Festival this highly controversial motion picture captured the Grand Jury
Prize. The Believer is a
fascinating take on man versus himself.
The protagonist, Danny is a neo-Nazi skinhead who beats up anyone who
dons a yarmulke and sounds the rallying cry for the eradication of Jews. However, there is only one problem -- he is
Jewish himself. Danny friends and family
treat him like a mixed-up teen going through growing pains and his skinhead
associates see him as a mentor. Nineteen
year-old Ryan Gosling gives an affecting and tormented performance, that makes
you believe his anger toward Judaism, and his love of it, all at the same time.
6) Far from Heaven ****1/2
You
will never look at June Cleaver the same again.
This film re-examines the notion that the 50’s were a time of
innocence. After all, low crime and family values existed side by side
with racism and segregation, and even darker secrets. Julianne Moore owns
this movie as she does in The Hours. She conveys well, the plight of a woman who
tries to keep up appearances of the perfect family while she and her
husband both struggle for those they cannot have. Heaven is actually not that far away, just an
arms reach, but unfortunately those arms belong to someone society says is
forbidden.
7) Spider
****1/2
The only
picture in 2002 with the word spider in the title that was worth seeing. Ralph Fiennes effectively depicts a deranged
man trapped and tormented by his childhood, where his mother (played
brilliantly by Miranda Richardson) was killed by his father, or so it
seems. His mind spins cobwebs like the threads of yarn he weaves
throughout the house as a child. 
Director David
Cronenberg, as nutty as ever, inundates this feature with
metaphorical webs. The part where the broken glass forms a spider web is
dazzling. Slow paced but a film that creeps up on you – almost like a
spider.
8) Talk to Her ****
Along
with Adaptation, Talk to Her holds the title of “critics darling”
of the year. The movie is rather slow
moving, and less quirky than what we have come to expect from a Pedro Almodovar
effort. Two men bond and form an
enduring friendship when the women they love both end up in comas. There are two plot twists near end that seem
contrived, but perhaps Almodovar is still being quirky after all. 2003
9) Bowling
for Columbine ****
Michael
Moore continues his bashing of the “white man” (see the book Stupid White
Men). This time around he tries to
find out why the good-ole
10) Ararat
****
Ararat
is a film within a film that examines the Armenian genocide through the making
of a motion picture on the subject. Characters and dialogue juxtapose and
transition seamlessly with the real life movie, and the pseudo movie.
There are six degrees of separation in the relationships among characters, in
typical Atom Egoyan (the director) style, and are slowly unveiled through the
eyes of one character, Raffi (David
Alpay). Ultimately
what they learn about the genocide affects the decisions they make in the here
and now.
11) Adaptation
****
Director
Spike Jonze is still best known for his brilliant music videos (Fatboy Slim,
Bjork, Beastie Boys) but apparently he has no problem making the transition
into motion picture. Adaptation is a wacky, wild and unexpected trip
into the mind of a screenwriter, an author, a botanist, and their eventual
descent into debauchery.
12) Trembling Before God ****
A poignant documentary that shows how gay Hasidic and
Orthodox Jews must go to great lengths to hide their homosexuality while they
practice their faith.
13) Nowhere in Africa
****
A Jewish-German couple settles in
14) Punch-Drunk
Love ****
Adam
Sandler plays a salesman who is too young for a mid-life crisis, and too old
for youthful self-loathing. He’s like
the socially inept kid from high school who hid his rage and got beat up
instead, but hasn’t blossomed into a gorgeous model that comes back to take
revenge by appearing on a daytime talk show. Instead he’s still socially inept,
and still searching for love, or perhaps simply company, in all the wrong
places, until he meets the right girl played by the brilliant Emily Watson.
15) The
Hours ****
Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep all give wonderful
performances as women coming to terms with troubled relationships and their
existential angst.
16) Igby
Goes Down ****
Kieran Culkin plays a rebellious rich kid who goes
through one private school after another, and then runs away to
17) Monsoon
Wedding ***1/2
When 
year, and
a fine tribute to Bollywood films that touches on themes like child molestation
and adultery without losing its uplifting narrative.
18) Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) ***1/2
Canada’s
first full-length feature film made with only Inuit actors is long and at times
confusing, but still a visual wonder with a plot that effortlessly mingles a
modern love affair with traditional aboriginal mysticism.
19) Catch Me If You Can
***1/2
Leonardo
DiCaprio portrays a real life con artist who dropped out of high school and
impersonated a doctor, airline pilot and lawyer, all before age 21.
20) Lord
of the Rings II: The Two Towers ***1/2
A very
well crafted story that stays true to the book and gives us astonishing special
effects, which unlike other current films, don’t seem as fake as a Saturday
morning cartoon.
Honorable mention
Chicago
***1/2
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