2011, to most, was a good year for movies. It had its fair share of blockbusters, with their action, and their theatrics, and keeping the entertainment value proposition relatively high for most (see: X:Men: First Class), while disappointing the rest with their relative naivety to what people really wanted to see, say, set pieces that mattered ( see[or dont] Green Lantern). Even with all the blockbusters, we saw a great deal of films come out that pushed what it meant for films be an escape from reality itself to, worlds much like ours but with characters that felt like they mattered more then your average action hero. They were also conscious of who their audience would be and what it was that they were coming to see these movies for, and for that they made 2011 a year for movies, for people who loved to see movies about movies.
With films like Hugo and The Artist, both of which are nominated for Best Picture in the 2012 Winter Film Awards, we peer into Hollywoods past, with its rich history and see a place that we didn't expect to. As The Artist sought to tell the silent story of a silent film star coping with the onset of a films with sound, we saw Hugo bring the majesty of film and their lost magic, back to the screen with his story. Both those films are about film, and the rich history that most have long since forgotten to look back on and appreciate.
The films that are appreciated for their histories in recent memory however have been, well remakes of older films, and well tend to cause some to lose reverence for the past as, it is believed that the future can make them better. Woody Allen, Midnight In Paris, and Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive, were two directors this year that took their craft and tweaked them ever so slightly to make some of the best films of the year just my making them leaner and giving the audience more, with less, by using the past and our notion of of it from very different angles. While Allen used the past as his ground for why simplicity grounded in our appreciation for the past, while making the point that it would work in ones favor only if looking forward and to the new was the end goal. Refn on the other hand took the past idea of a super hero and flipped it on its head, with simplicity and a quiet demeanor about it, while making sure it had it explosive ferocity. Both men looked at the films they were making and made them uncompromisingly, as they tend to do, but made sure to give them a conscious sense of belonging to an art form rather then an entertainment medium.
It should also be noted the films like Terrance Malik's The Tree of Life, Lars Von Trier's Melancholia, and Roman Polanski's Carnage were all released this year. Now, that is significant because all three films did something very focused with their crafts and gave credence back to the idea of craft, back to film making because they were so focused. Malick's journey through the ages and through the eyes of the family was expansive and visually stunning because it was artistic in its endeavors, and was focused on that. Von Trier and Polanski honed in on what they were good at and by doing so, much like Malick, tore into their crafts and took films back to what they were, about theatrics and about why we want to go to the movies.
2011 was, as the title implies, a year for movies about movies, and their artisans. The people that made them were making them for the people that still felt that wonderment as they walked out of a theater wondering and thinking about what they just saw, not because they were outright confused, (though in some cases they would have been, a little)but because it brought back the questions we always ask about how they make us feel and what is there to come. Thats probably the reason so many of these are nominated for awards, because they bring the whimsey back to Award shows like the 2012 Winter Film Awards, which will be held on Feb. 9th- 12th. We hope to see you there!
Contributing Editor, Faisal Qureshi
