25 In 25: My Favorite Films of the First Quarter Century - 2006

It’s strange, looking back on a singular aspect of one’s life, trying to pinpoint exactly what was being thought or felt or absorbed at that precise moment in time.  This exercise is doing some strange things to me and my memories.  Not in a bad way, but delving deeply into my psyche and what I felt as a 28-year-old is fascinating.  Especially when it comes to the films in 2006. 

On one hand there are films like Casino Royale, a new take on James Bond played with such solitary stoicism by Daniel Craig and on the other hand, there were films like Pans Labyrinth that mesmerized me and terrified me and confused the crap out of me that to this day I still don’t know how to break it down (I do, but this works better).

There were films by legendary directors Martin Scorese and Christopher Nolan with The Departed and The Prestige.  One of which was a reinvention of another legendary directors film, Infernal Affairs from 2002 and the other another in long line of nonsequential storytelling Nolan has come to be known for with a twist ending that I don’t think ANYONE saw coming. 

But then, and now, the only film I care to discuss for this year is the sci-fi masterpiece, Children of Men directed by Alfonso Cuaron.

When people say “ten out of ten, no notes”, most of the time it’s hyperbole.  But when I say that about Children of Men, I mean it with all of my being.  From the opening scene to the closing credits there is not one second of footage I would cut, edit, reshoot, or remix.  It’s as close to a perfect film as we have been given in my lifetime.  It is also a bleak glimpse into a nearby future never more prescient than today. 

Instead of recapping the plot of this one, I want to implore you watch this one as soon as you possibly can.  And when I say watch, I mean study.  Follow how the camera moves.  Ask yourself why it moves that way or why the camera is placed where it is.  I want you to listen to the words and break them down in real time.  I need you to look outside the frame of focus and actually live in Cuaron’s world of 2027. 

One of the reasons I choose to write about film in a public space is to open people’s eyes to cinema.  I want more people to watch movies.  I need more people to go to the movies.  I want to talk to you all about these films.  So, I hope what I do piques something in your interests and you take these recommendations and run with them!!