GSPT OOH! AHH! LAA! Backstage Interview

Other Notable Films of 2009

- District 9
- Antichrist
- A Serious Man

- Bright Star

- (500) Days Of Summer

8. Where The Wild Things Are

Maurice Sendak’s story just got stretched and the gaps filled in with putty by Spike Jonze. But was the putty the right colour? and more importantly, was it any good? I think so. I think the whole thing might be a bit heavy for anyone under the age of seven, but maybe that's the point. Even in your imagination things don't always work out well. I liked the wild rumpus bit and I can imagine kids would rather watch that bit on repeat than have to deal with the complications of the end.

7. Up

I'm going to admit it, I don't like Disney, I don't like Pixar, I don't like animations where everything looks like plastic. Why do we feed our kids this saccharine garbage? Why not give them something more imaginative like Hayao Miyazaki and the beautifully drawn works of studio Ghibli? This is what I thought until I saw Up. The characters of Up feel so much more genuine and the story holds down an undeniable ingenuity. In fact, it feels a little like Miyazaki's pencil has been wrapped in cling film. He's not secretly working for Pixar is he?

6.Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces)

I don't particularly like making a fuss of directors, but I love Pedro Almodovar unashamedly. He has not made a film I dislike and Broken Embraces is no exception. Everything is sensual once again and we're back in the world of strange fantasies and a world divided by sexuality. Has he done it before? Yes he has, but who cares, its still brilliant.

5. Das weisse Band (The White Ribbon)

The Palme d’Or this year went to this quite incredible film. Michel Haneke, in The White Ribbon shows us a film so expertly made it already feels like a classic. It balances with great expertise thrills, drama, intrigue and love. It is one of those films that comes with brilliant casting and such genuine acting that it is as believable as a documentary. A film that is as entertaining as it is provoking. Timeless.

4. 35 Rhums (35 Shots of Rum)

This isn't a film where telling the story or explaining the themes is going to have any impact on why this film is so brilliant. So I won't go down that route, instead I'll say that this is a film made with such expertise that every moment is an untold joy. A film in which everyday life becomes so tender and so transient, the characters so full but yet still unknown. It looks at a type of French life that is rarely seen, a land between the rural and the  cities. A mysterious piece of realism that stays with you.