Goodbye Zeros - Top 20 films

More than 100 - mainly Greek- bloggers take part in a voting for their favourite films of the decade (organised by seagazing). Today's post is my top-20 list, the first of a series of posts about the first decade of the 21st century and, also, for the year 2009.

In my opinion the zeros was a great decade for cinema! It is interesting to note that six out of the twenty movies in the list are the director's debut films. Looking for more in the future! Unfortunately, many fantastic films were left out of this list (Mulholland Dr., Paradise Now, Caché, Memento, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Hero, No Country for Old Men, In the Mood for Love etc.)

*** The results are here ***

20. House of Sand and Fog - Vadim Perelman (2003)

Some dreams can't be shared. A gripping, honest and powerful drama! Great debut by the Ukrainian director!
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

19. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ...and Spring - Ki-duk Kim (2003)

This is more than a simple movie. A poetic piece of art by the amazing Korean minimalist. 3 Iron (2004) could easily be in this list!
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

18. Persepolis - Vincent Paronnaud/Marjane Satrapi (2007)

I agree that Pixar makes very nice animations. However, the best, most thought-provoking animations of the zeros were Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir (2008). Persepolis is a brilliant animated movie based on the Marjane Strapi's black and white comic.
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

17. Das Leben der Ander (The Lives of Others) - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2006)

Sonata for a good man! A stunning debut from Germany!
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

16. The Wind That Shakes the Barley - Ken Loach (2006)

Ken Loach is the most honest director around. I love his films. This one shows how a political movie should be made. A must-see for people in my country, Cyprus (Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots).
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

15. Cidade de Deus (City of God) - Fernando Meirelles/Kátia Lund(2002)

Breathtaking and terrifying! The masterpiece that introduced Fernando Meirelles to the rest of the world.
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

14. There will be blood - Paul Thomas Anderson (2007)

An epic movie about the underhanded "heroes" of capitalism. Daniel Day Lewis gives the best performance of the zeros, in my opinion (together with Bruno Ganz in The Downfall)
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

13. Hable con ella (Talk to Her) - Pedro Almodóvar (2002)

Pedro Almodovar's best movie.
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

12. Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain - Jean-Pierre Jeunet (2001)

Together with Little Miss Sunshine (2006), the best "feel-good" films of the decade! Outstanding music by Yann Tiersen!
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

11. Dead Man's Shoes - Shane Meadows (2004)

An amazing film about a man struggling to balance his desire for revenge and redemption. Stunning performance by Paddy Considine and direction by Shane Meadows (also great: This is England).
A Room to Breath In, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

10. Gegen die Wand (Head-on) - Fatih Akin (2004)

A raw, provocative drama about star-crossed love and the lives of immigrants caught between the traditional and modern. Fatih Akin is one of the most talented directors!
A Room to Breath In, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

9. Les invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions) - Denys Arcand (2003)

The occasion is death, but the movie is a joyous celebration of life!
A Room to Breath In, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

8. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - Tommy Lee Jones (2005)

Nobody is beyond redemption! Using Guillermo Arriaga's brilliant script, Tommy Lee Jones directed his first film, the best modern-day western of the decade. A tale of friendship, justice and redemption!
A Room to Breath In, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

7. Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood (2008)

A masterful piece of storytelling and a film which will rightly be regarded as a classic. Eastwood is on staggering form as an actor and equally inspiring as a director. Mystic River (2003) and A Million Dollar Baby (2004) could easily be in this list!
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

6. Vozvrashcheniye (The Return) - Andrei Zvyagintsev (2003)

One of the greatest surprises of the decade. A brilliant debut: breathtaking, emotional and disturbing. A quiet and disquieting masterpiece which gets under your skin and stays there long after you watch it!
A Room to Breath In, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

5. Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In) - Tomas Alfredson (2008)

One of the most layered, atmospheric and textured movies of the decade. A dark poem! Beautiful to gaze at, achingly romantic, emotionally involving, unexpectedly terrifying.
A Room to Breath In, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

4. Amores Perros - Alejandro González Iñárritu (2000)

Alejandro González Iñárritu's debut was the first part of the best trilogy of the zeros (together with the great 21 Grams and Babel). A film that shows a deep understanding of people, stunningly made, raw and authentic!
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

3. El laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth) - Guillermo del Toro (2006)

"Pan's Labyrinth is Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups", the greatest dark fairy tale I've seen in my life! A pure masterpiece!
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

2. Requiem for a Dream - Darren Aronofsky (2000)

If you can't move your legs after the end of a film, that means you liked it! A shocking and one the most powerful films I have ever seen. Clint Mansell's score and Darren Aronofsky's brilliant direction haunted me for years! It could as well be at number one with Aronofsky's The Fountain (2006) and The Wrestler (2008) also capable to make this list!
IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes

1. Oldboy - Chan-wook Park (2003)

"Be it a rock or a grain of sand, in water they sink as the same". This phrase was at the title of this blog for a while. Together with no.2, the best films of the decade and, definitely, in my top movies of all time! A dark and thrillingly horrible tale of revenge; a flawless movie with amazing direction, acting and music!
A Room to Breath In, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes