CINEMA: 2007

A list of motion pictures that I saw (whether in film, video, DVD, or broadcast television format) in 2007, sorted according to letter grade. By recording these rankings I do not presume to reflect anything other than my personal taste and discernment. To formulate a grade, I evaluate various aspects of each movie -- the direction, screenplay, cinematography, acting, musical score -- and also factor in the degree of cinematic enjoyment (for lack of a better term) I derive when viewing each film.

My lists for other years: 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983, 1982.


A-

Au hasard Balthazar
Robert Bresson, dir. France, 1966.
Bande à part [Band of Outsiders]
Jean-Luc Godard, dir. France, 1964.
Science of Sleep
Michel Gondry, dir. France, 2006.

B+

Les glaneurs et la glaneuse [The Gleaners and I]
Agnès Varda, dir. France, 2000. Documentary.

B

Akai hashi no shita no nurui mizu [Warm Water Under a Red Bridge]
Shohei Imamura, dir. Japan, 2001.
C.R.A.Z.Y.
Jean-Marc Vallée, dir. Canada, 2005.
El violin [The Violin]
Francisco Vargas, dir. Mexico, 2005.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Minds
Michel Gondry, dir. USA, 2004.
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone
Tsai Ming-liang, dir. Taiwan, et al., 2006.
Jeux interdits [Forbidden Games]
René Clément, dir. France, 1952.
Ma vie en rose [My Life in Pink]
Alain Berliner, dir. Belgium, et al., 1997.
Touchez pas au grisbi
Jacques Becker, dir. France, 1954.

B-

Cirque du Soleil: Dralion
Guy Caron, David Mallet, dirs. Canada, USA, 2000. Performance documentary.
Forever Mozart
Jean-Luc Godard, dir. France, Switzerland, 1996.
Je vous salut, Marie
Jean-Luc Godard, dir. France, et al., 1985.
Nacido Sin [Born Without]
Eva Norvind, dir. Mexico, 2007. Documentary.
Sami
Anastasia Lapsui, Markku Lehmuskallio, dirs. Finland, 2007. Documentary.
Unser täglich Brot [Our Daily Bread]
Nikolaus Geyrhalter, dir. Austria, Germany, 2005. Documentary
Volver
Pedro Almodóvar, dir. Spain, 2006.

C+

La Bête Humaine
Jean Renoir, dir. France, 1938.
The Big Lebowski
Joel Coen, dir. USA, 1998.
Les Dames du Bois de Bologne
Robert Bresson, dir. France, 1945.
Les enfants du paradis [Children of Paradise]
Marcel Carné dir., France, 1945.
Jean Cocteau: Autoportrait d'un inconnu [Jean Cocteau: Autobiography of an Unknown]
Edgardo Cozarinsky, dir. France, 1985. Documentary.
Quai des brumes, Le [Port of Shadows]
Marcel Carné, dir. France, 1938.
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi [Spirited Away]
Hayao Miyazaki, dir. Japan, 2001.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Tim Burton, dir. UK, USA, 2007.
Une hirondelle a fait le printemps [The Girl from Paris]
Christian Carion, dir. France, 2001.
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Judy Irving, dir. USA, 2003. Documentary.

C

À Nous la Liberté
René Clair, dir. France, 1931.
The Agronomist
Jonathan Demme, dir. USA, 2003. Documentary.
Ascenseur pour l'échafaud [Elevator Gallows]
Louis Malle, dir. France, 1958.
Drama/Mex
Gerardo Naranjo, dir. Mexico, 2007.
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen
Norman Cohn, Zacharias Kunuk, dirs. Canada, Denmark, 2006.
Kamome shokudo [Seagull Diner]
Naoko Ogigami, dir. Finland, Japan, 2006.
Kurutta kajitsu [Crazed Fruit]
Ko Nakahira, dir. Japan, 1956.
Lapsia ja aikuisia - Kuinka niitä tehdään? [Producing Adults]
Aleksi Salmenperä, dir. Finland, 2004.
Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran [Monsieur Ibrahim]
François Dupeyron, dir. France, 2003.
Saving Face
Alice Wu, dir. USA, 2004.
Stestí [Something Like Happiness]
Bohdan Sláma, dir. Czech Republic, Germany, 2005.
Warchild
Christian Wagner, dir. Germany, Slovenia, 2006.

C-

Beau Travail
Claire Denis, dir. France, 1999.
À la folie . . . pas du tout [He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not]
Laetitia Colombani, dir. France, 2002.
Ciudad en celo [City in Heat]
Hernán Gaffet, dir. Argentina, 2006.
En'tracte
René Clair, dir. France, 1924.
Farväl Falkenberg [Falkenberg Farewell]
Jesper Ganslandt, dir. Denmark, Sweden, 2006.
The Prestige
Christopher Nolan, dir. UK, USA, 2006.
Rock'n Roll Never Dies
Juha Koiranen, dir. Finland, 2006.
Sang d'un poète, Le [The Blood of a Poet]
Jean Cocteau, dir. France, 1930.
Sous les toits de Paris [Under the Roofs of Paris]
René Clair, dir. France, 1930.
25th Hour
Spike Lee, dir. USA, 2002.

D+

El Callejón de los milagros
Jorge Fons, dir. Mexico, 1995.
Jeux d'enfants [Love Me if You Dare]
Yann Samuell, dir. Belgium, France, 2003.
Music from the Inside Out
David Anker, dir. USA, 2004. Documentary.
Rent
Chris Columbus, dir. USA, 2005.
Spider Lilies
Zero Chou, dir. Taiwan, 2006.

D

Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia
Ben Strout, dir. USA, 2006.

Go to the next year's cinema list: 2008 or go to the prior year's cinema list: 2006.

© Alan Mäkinen

Go to the prior year's cinema list: 2006.

© Alan Mäkinen