Films 2008 Best Of

It was pretty grim year for cinema with few films finding critical favour, a situation not helped by the collapse of Tartan who were responsible for distributing Asia's best - a gap that has still not been plugged. I was out of the country for about half the year, only fitting then that I have a top 5 rather than a top 10. And so, for your consideration...

Lonesome Jim - comedies about depression are rare things but then so are good American films these days. This is neither blockbuster, obviously, or whiney US indie. It's a film by all round good guy Steve Buscemi. Casey Affleck stars as the eponymous Jim whose sometime girlfriend is played by Liv Tyler. Jim doesn't exactly ooze confidence as this question to his girl illustrates: "There's so many fun and cheery people in the world. Don't you think you'd be better off with one of them?"

Oddball characters abound in the small town setting, in a way that recalls Jonathan Demme's films of the 70s. This almost certainly didn't come to a cinema near you and probably never will. Teach the marketing jerks a lesson and seek this out by any means possible.


Caramel - wonderful female ensemble piece from the Lebanon set a Beirut beauty parlour. It's funny, heart-warming without ever being cheesy and very, very sexy.





The Edge of Heaven is another powerful Turkish/German co production from Fatih Akim. Although lacking the intensity of his previous film Head On, this tale of a Turk searching for the
daughter of a prostitute is father took a shine to, still packs a punch and another great soundtrack.

Shotgun Stories got very positive reviews, though it didn't greatly trouble the box office scorers. A shame as it's one of the best American films of the year.

Beautifully shot in a small town in Indiana it tells of a simmering feud between two families. The brooding menace and outright hate is tangible as it moves towards a powerful climax.


In Search of a Midnight Kiss is an American indie film. Think, a guy with a (shaky) camera telling a story about his mumbling friends in some dire American town. This is beautifully shot in LA in glistening b&w and there's nary a mumble within earshot. The main characters are well drawn and believable and the premise hinted at in the title is captivating. It's far from perfect but its charm edges it through some of the more dodgy moments.