Top Fifty Films of the Decade (Part 5 of 5) (1/14/2020)
- Heather German
- Jun 26, 2020
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 26, 2020
10. The Lighthouse (2019)
Despite how good The Witch was, nothing could have prepared us for The Lighthouse. The Lighthouse isn’t as scary as The Witch, and isn’t even strictly speaking a horror film, but it is more accomplished on almost every level. The cinematography is on an entire new level, using a black and white color scheme and a 4:3 aspect ratio that conjures up an old fashioned style of film, while also remaining modern enough in its sensibilities to feel like it’s still moving forward. Its moody, claustrophobic atmosphere is helped by the choice to film it in black and white, as the dull grays that permeate everything contribute to the dark and stormy atmosphere. The story itself is simultaneously layered and fascinating and ambiguous and abstract, and the further into insanity, the more fractured the narrative gets. But there’s such a sense of creativity and intentionality to everything that it becomes one of the best and most creative films of the decade.
9. Your Name (2016)
The highest grossing anime film ever made is also one of the best movies of the decade, period. With Your Name, director Makoto Shinkai takes sci-fi concepts and applies them to one of the most intimate and impactful romances I’ve ever seen. The characters are well developed and inherently likeable, and the chemistry between the two leads is phenomenal. What makes it really good, however, is the sheer outpouring of emotion that the film brings in its final hour. The second half of Your Name is one of the most raw and intense explosions of pure feeling that I’ve ever encountered in fiction, and no amount of wonky pacing or plot structure can even come close to diminishing its impact. It all culminates in one of the most perfect endings in recent cinema history, and a final shot that will linger long after the credits roll.
Also, it should be noted that the body swap concept of the plotline was one of the things that eventually made me that I was transgender, and this movie is very special to me as a result.
8. The Handmaiden (2016)
The Handmaiden is a delightfully twisted and brilliant Korean crime thriller/romance that grabs you from the start and never lets go. Take it from those who are in the know; nobody does it quite like the Koreans. The Handmaiden is constantly twisting and turning, reinventing itself from different perspectives and pulling out the rug from under your feet over and over and over again, but never crossing the line into absurdity. And to accompany the brilliant plot is director Park Chan-wook’s gorgeous set design and inventive camerawork and a deep story about the power of sexuality in both its oppressive and liberating forms. It’s also one of the weirdest and best lesbian romances ever put to film.
7. What We Do in the Shadows (2015)
Taika Waititi has made more powerful films than What We Do in the Shadows, more ambitious ones certainly. But, as much as Hunt for the Wilderpeople might be a better constructed film with a deeper message, I just can’t for the life of me bring myself to rank this any lower. What We Do in the Shadows is a phenomenal comedy, but it’s more than that too. It’s a passion project through and through, with almost no thought for profit put into it - hell, the only reason it screened in the States is because of a kickstarter. It’s a brilliant take on vampires and mockumentaries that I can watch again and again and never get tired of, and filled with more heart and soul than most other movies I’ve ever seen. It’s a movie that might gross you out, might jerk a tear or two, but more than anything else it’ll make you smile, and leave you feeling satisfied.
6. A Silent Voice (2017)
I watched A Silent Voice for the first time knowing little about it except that people were talking about it in the same vein as Your Name. When I sat down to watch it on a whim, I was in no way prepared for what I was about to witness. A Silent Voice is a heavy and almost harrowing film, as it plunges into the deepest depths of depression and self loathing in its exploration of an almost unspeakably difficult situation. But the emotional battering comes from the material itself, and not the filmmaking, which keeps a gentle, intimate touch that keeps the humanity of its subjects intact at all costs. It’s a devastating film that tackles subjects like bullying, depression, self loathing and suicidal ideation, but it does so with such grace and such visual artistry that there yet remains a hand outstretched for the viewer, ever guiding them through the maelstrom. Few will make it through this film with a dry eye, but all of the heartache is more than worth it for one of the most cathartic endings in recent memory.
5. The Shape of Water (2017)
The Shape of Water is a dizzyingly romantic fairy tale, as I’ve come to expect from Guillermo del Toro at his best. Not everything he does is great - actually, I’d argue that he has more decent movies than truly good ones - but even when he stumbles, he’s still a brilliant craftsman, and his movies are filled with interesting and unique ideas. And when he sticks the landing, it’s an absolute joy to behold. Not since Pan’s Labyrinth has a movie billing itself as a “dark fairytale” actually held up to that promise this well. The entire movie is incredibly hypnotic and visually masterful, and the story holds up just as well. It’s a powerful ode to the other, a fable for the marginalized and the downtrodden. It’s a powerful love story and a triumphant victory over hate and ignorance. Plus, it’s just some good old fashioned monster romance - something I could honestly use more of in the movies.
4. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
Anyone who knows anything about me should know that I love How to Train Your Dragon. The wait for its sequel was long, but it came at the time when I absolutely needed it most. I had just graduated high school, and my entire life was on the verge of changing. How to Train Your Dragon 2 came like an old friend with a warm hug, telling me that everything would be okay.
How’s the movie? Well, it’s great. Flawed, yes - there are plot holes and pacing issues that even I will wilfully acknowledge - but great nonetheless. It avoids the common animated sequel pitfall of being just another adventure with its titular characters that doesn’t really go anywhere, and instead takes the journey of Hiccup and Toothless into bold new directions, completely changing everything for them in the process. The stakes are higher and the movie is darker, but there’s a bright and shining heart at its center that’s impossible to ignore.
3. Moonlight (2016)
There is a scene in Moonlight towards the end that is possibly one of the most well directed scenes of any movie in recent memory. In it, the protagonist visits an old friend and once lover, whom he hasn’t seen in quite sometime. The friend has straightened out a life and made a living for himself, but our protagonist is still very much lost. The two of them talk, and they don’t say much, but there is so much conveyed beneath the surface. Every conflicting emotion; the joy, the sadness, the longing and the regret, everything is on full display through the camerawork and the acting. This is one of the more obvious examples, but the whole film is filled with moments like these. Moonlight conveys so much while saying so little, and even with how quiet of a film it is, its messages and themes are glass shatteringly loud. It’s an absolute masterpiece, and it’s sad that the Oscar gaffe it’s most famously associated with sometimes overshadows one of the most powerful explorations of isolation, identity and masculinity ever created.
2. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
I used to really, really like action movies, and I still do, though I’ve become fairly desensitized to them. It’s no longer enough to just see macho action with no plot or style. Mad Max: Fury Road is everything that I love in a good action movie and then some. It’s wonderfully stylized, incredibly well shot and well edited, with popping vibrant colours and the rusty retro aesthetic of Mad Max brought beautifully into contemporary cinema. The action is breathtaking throughout, but what really drew me in was its story. Mad Max: Fury Road is a triumph of visual storytelling, keeping words and dialogue scarce as it refuses to spell things out. The story is one of redemption and personal agency, and it’s beautifully well told while still being integrated into the action - which, by the way, lasts for almost the entire run time of the movie without getting old. Fury Road is a phenomenal cinematic achievement that sets a new bar for not just action films, but Blockbusters of all kind, and not a single second of its run time goes to waste in any way.
1. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Is How to Train Your Dragon objectively the greatest cinematic achievement that’s come out this decade? No. It won’t be number one on many people’s lists, but it is for mine, and I do it without hesitation, irony or regret. This movie changed my life, pure and simple. It helped me through rough times and inspired me for years. The friendship between Hiccup and Toothless touched me in ways film rarely has before or since, and Toothless himself is somewhat of a personal mascot for me. I could go on and on and on about the ways in which this movie has affected my life, but for brevity’s sake I’ll keep it short, and say that though this may not be objectively the best film of the decade, it was by far the most important one to me, and that’s what matters most when it comes to making this list. It’s a beautifully animated tail of friendship, tolerance and and self-acceptance, and I’ll never, ever forget it.
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