While I still have a chance, let me rush to post my premature list of
favorite films the decade.

I started serious watching movies in the 1990s, when I was a graduate
student at Berkeley. The 90s was a glorious decade of cinematic
humanism. I religiously followed the latest art-house releases and
the art-house critics' reviews and recommendations.

Then came the 2000s, where cinema of humiliation took over. It was
awful; many of the same critics I used to follow seemed to have gone
mad. But there were plenty of films to fill out another top ten list.

(To borrow a Godardism: in humanist cinema you look up to the characters.
In the age of humiliation, you look down upon them, condescend, laugh
at them. Similar to a playground bully, or a guard at Abu Graib.)

In the 2010s, cinema was (and still is) largely redeemed by two names:
Terrence Malick and Jessica Chastain. The decade should be named in
their honor. I used to keep the list to a single entry per auteur;
not anymore.

1. _The Tree of Life_, Terrence Malick (starring Chastain)
2. _To the Wonder_, Terrence Malick
3. _Knight of Cups_, Terrence Malick
4. _Lore_, Cate Shortland
5. _Zero Dark Thirty_, Kathryn Bigelow (starring Chastain)
6. _You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet_, Alain Resnais
7. _Burning_ Lee Chang-Dong
8. _In the Name of My Daughter_, Andre Techine
9. _Agora_, Alenjendro Amenobar
10. _Plonger_, Melanie Laurent

I probably forgot many others and will rush to make amends later. Also
worth mentioning are the almost-great films, many by auteurs returning to
form: _Byzantium_ by Neil Jordan, _Everything Will be Fine_ by Wim Wenders, _Violette_ by Martin Provost, _Ned Rifle_ by Hal Hartley, _Miss Julie_
by Liv Ullmann starring Chastain, _Miss Sloane_ by John Madden starring Chastain; _Deep Blue Sea_ by Terence Davies, and many more.

More on this later, if I have a chance!

And thanks to everyone who has corresponded with me on this message board, especially the late Jim Stoller.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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