On a whole 1997 can be summed up in one word. "Titanic". Every other film just managed to fail in comparison. Director James Cameron made one of the highest grossing films of all-time. It was the start of Leo-Mania. Young teenage girls were going to see the movie 10 times. It dominated the box-office. I never saw it in theatres. I never had any interest. I eventually saw it when it was released on VHS (remember those?) and, not surprisingly, didn't like it.
Movies of 1997 were pretty good. You just had to know where to look and acknowledge that other movies beside "Titanic" were released.
Besides "Titanic" Matt Damon and Ben Affleck became major stars with their "Good Will Hunting". So far it is the only good movie Affleck has been in. "Boogie Nights" stirred up some controversy and became a critical darling. It didn't impress me. But, the modern day noir film "L.A. Confidential" certainly did. Putting Curtis Hanson on the map, making him a director worth paying attention to. He hasn't quite lived up to that promise.
Here are my choices for the best films of 1997!
1. THE ICE STORM (Dir. Ang Lee; U.S.) - A sad look at suburban life in America during the 1970s and the sexual revolution. The film put me in awe the first time I saw it. The performances given by the cast are pitch perfect consisting of Kevin Klein, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen and breakthrough performances by Katie Holmes and Christina Ricci. It is interesting to note the movie came out before "American Beauty". Lee sets the film up as pure poetry. It creates a wonderful yet devastating atmosphere.
2. DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (Dir. Woody Allen; U.S.) - For all the melancholy of the first choice here is a flat-out-funny comedy by one of our greatest and most underappreciated directors; Woody Allen. The 1990s were a pretty strong decade for Allen. With "Deconstructing Harry" Allen is holding nothing back. He is in full attack mode. The film is vulgar and unrelenting however it is funny beyond belief!
3. UNDERGROUND (Dir. Emir Kusturica; Bosnia) - Perhaps one of the greatest films made in the 1990s. The greatest of Kusturica's long and successful career and maybe one of the greatest films ever made. A satirical and jaded look at the history and downfall of the former "Yugoslavia". Like Fellini, Kusturica paints a dizzying portrait of his childhood and the country he loves. The movie is alive and exciting. The camera dances with joy following these characters. The film is big in scope and while some may feel it is a project which takes on too much it won the palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995.
4. AS GOOD AS IT GETS (Dir. James L. Brooks; U.S.) - It was such a good year for movies that honestly any of my first four choices could have easily been number one on my list. Every film was powerful in its own way. This film gives us one of Jack Nicholson's great performances. The movie has a wonderful old-fashion feel to it. Makes you feel good after watching it.
5. JACKIE BROWN (Dir. Quentin Tarantino; U.S.) - Usually regarded as one of Tarantino's worst films the movie got an unfair reaction, even among Tarantino fans. I remember this was the first of Tarantino's films I saw and it made me a fan ever since. Each and every one of his movies I find enjoyable. "Jackie Brown" has all the ingredients we expect in a Tarantino film. It has a bold energy you don't find in many American films.
6. TEMPTRESS MOON (Dir. Chen Kaige; China) - Kaige's follow-up to "Farewell My Concubine" was another film critics unfairly damned. In fact many critics have failed to admit that Kaige has made any film worth watching since "Concubine". "Temptress Moon" was a movie which took on a lot but with it, it has many rewards. It is a rich film.
7. EVE'S BAYOU (Dir. Kasi Lemmons; U.S.) - Marked the directorial debut of Lemmons. I originally said on amazon.com that another name for this movie could have been "secrets and lies". The movie is about the secrets we keep from others and from ourselves. It is an emotionally powerful film which Roger Ebert named as the best film of the year.
8. THE RAINMAKER (Dir. Francis Ford Coppola; U.S.) - Based on a John Grisham novel, "The Rainmaker' proved to be the most accomplished film Francis Ford Coppola directed in a decade. Seeming to do the impossible the movie makes us cheer for a lawyer. Matt Damon, fresh off us "Good Will Hunting" (1997) fame, plays a lawyer with a conscience going after an insurance company that refused a young man's claim for leukemia treatment. Though it sometimes shows us the seedy side of the law, with an unfortunate all too realistic ending, Coppola tells this story with great warmth, emotion, and humor. The cast, consisting of Jon Voight, Danny DeVito and Claire Danes, all get moments to shine.
9. ULYSSES' GAZE (Dir. Theo Angelopoulos; Greece) - One of the master of imagery's best films. The movie is a haunting and poetic dream of a man searching for his soul through the power of cinema. Harvey Keitel stars as a director searching for the first known film footage shot in Greece. It has Angelopoulos' usual slow-moving camera and lingering pace but the film is able to put you under a spell.
10. CRASH (Dir. David Cronenberg; Canada) - Features two things every guy should love; cars and sex. Only this movie combines both of them. A perverse film about a group of people (James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas) who find sexual satisfaction in car crashes. Has a David Lynch quality to it. It will probably turn off some viewers but whatever you may say about the film you cannot say it is not original.
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