Juliette Binoche in Summer Hours ( Jeannick Gravelines / IFC Films)
Olivier Assayas’ family drama Summer Hours has been named the best film of 2009 in indieWIRE’s annual poll of 114 film critics and bloggers, Eugene Hernandez reports. Also, David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. was chosen the best film of the decade.
Starring Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, and Jérémie Renier, Summer Hours tells the story of three siblings fighting for the possessions left behind by their deceased mother (Edith Scob) at the family's summer house. Earlier this month, Summer Hours was voted the best foreign language film of 2009 by the Los Angeles, New York, and Boston film critics.
Following in second place in indieWIRE's poll was Joel and Ethan Coen's A Serious Man, about the travails of a suburban Jewish man (Michael Stuhlbarg), and Kathryn Bigelow's widely acclaimed Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker, featuring a cast that includes Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Ralph Fiennes, Brian Geraghty, and Guy Pearce.
Jason Reitman's Up in the Air, which has been winning lots of awards from US-based critics groups, was #11 in the list. Michael Haneke's European Film Award winner The White Ribbon was #14 (perhaps because not enough indieWIRE interviewees have seen it, yet), Precious was #20, Avatar #26, Star Trek #46, and both Capitalism: A Love Story and The Lovely Bones #67.
Even Michael Jackson's This Is It and Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno made the cut at, respectively, #57 and #63, while C.R.A.Z.Y., a 2005 production, was #61. Halloween II was #59, along with 2008 Cannes winner The Class. Was that a joke?