2010: Richard Suchenski

Conditions: With one exception, I restricted myself exclusively to films that were first screened publicly somewhere in the world in 2010.

1. Film Socialisme (Jean-Luc Godard; pictured)
2. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
3. The Strange Case of Angélica (Manoel de Oliveira)
4. Compline (Nathaniel Dorsky, 2009)*
5. Carlos (Olivier Assayas)
6. Mysteries of Lisbon (Raoul Ruiz)
7. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami)
8. I Wish I Knew (Jia Zhangke)
9. Of Gods and Men (Xavier Beauvois)
10. The Social Network (David Fincher)

*Also for Dorsky’s Pastourelle (2010) and Aubade (2010)

Honorable Mentions (alphabetical): The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu (Andrei Ujica), The Ghost Writer (Roman Polanski), Ha Ha Ha (Hong Sang-soo), O somma luce (Jean-Marie Straub), Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese).

There were many excellent films released in 2010 – including another glorious, unpredictable masterpiece by Apichatpong Weerasethakul and essential works by Manoel de Oliveira, Nathaniel Dorsky, and Olivier Assayas – but, for me, the richest was Film Socialisme. Nothing has given me more hope for the future of digital cinema – and especially for the development of new forms of montage – than this vital, adventurous, and uncompromising work, the latest (hopefully not the last) “first film” by a director who never stops redefining his art.

Richard Suchenski is Assistant Professor of Film and Electronic Arts at Bard College.