And it's funny, charming and cute. For the rest of us, the Broadsheet crew is sharpening their mace cans.

I know this probably belongs over on the letters section of the Altman essay, but I'll say it anyway. Why do we all feel the need to write so many wonderful things about a person who is dead? They don't know what we're saying. So the rest of us who don't care have to politely wait while there's 3 days worth of "he was a master" and "the world is a worse place without him" and "his farts could cure cancer".

For those of us who are sports fans, we had the same thing with Bo Schembechler a week ago. Sorry, but life goes on. Without whomever just died.

But anyway, good article as usual, Andrew.

These movies all sound like . . . homework.

Surely Pan's Labyrinth and The fountain should be in this list!

An unfortunate omission: The Aura (Argentina, made in 2005 but released in Europe and the States in 2006). Directed by Fabian Bielinsky ('Nine Queens') with the excellent Ricardo Darín playing the anti-hero protagonist. Dark, hypnotic, indelible. (For more about the film, see http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_aura/)

Mr. O'Hehir is absolutely correct in his assessment that Varda's "Cleo from 5 to 7" may be the best film of the French New Wave. Personally, I'd rate it a tie with Truffaut's seminal "400 Blows," but that's nitpicking.

Varda's rollicking, zestful film is a paean to the joys of cinema itself. It's absolutely one of the more original films you'll ever see, with inspired use of formal elements (color and b/w, jump cuts, moving camera, sound) creating a fascinating portrait of its subject.

I've never understood why Godard's ponderous and pretentious "Breathless" enjoyed more fame than "Cleo". But given the relentless sexism that is often found in French films of this period, I wonder if the simple fact that Varda is a woman resulted in some sort of dismissal of her work at the time.

In any case, I hope the new print makes it to other parts of the country. If not, you can still see a great print on DVD, courtesy of the Criterion company.

Really? What a dull list of films! I'm disagreeing with a lot of this list, but particularly Somersault<>/i>, which was only one of the most boring, slow, story-less films of last year. And I'm an Australian! It was completely beat up over here, and just as disappointing.

You left out the years best straight to video release, "Evil Bong"!

You write: "Some people just didn't want to deal with how funny it is ..." Oh yeah? Well maybe you ought to ask yourself why Borat soared through the roof while this thing sank like a stone. Both of them hit hard at American intolerance, but one was funny and the other simply wasn't. The jokes aren't there in CSA, and whatever shock value there is to the concept evaporates very, very quickly. I think the idea itself is what drew a big crowd at the theatre where I saw it -- a little art theatre here in Columbia, SC -- but the big laugh lines rarely got more than a courteous guffaw, and even those dwindled down to nothing over the course of the ice age it took for the film to play itself out. It was so boring.

Andrew,

I enjoyed reading your list. For me, this has not been a terribly exciting year, and so I'm even more interested in finding overlooked gems than usual. That said, if re-releases are allowed on the list, I'm very surprised to see Victor Erice's The Spirit of the Beehive missing! That was in theaters this year, no? The DVD just came out via Criterion.

Thanks,

Greg

" Road to Guantanamo.... I mean, now that the Democrats have won the election and U.S. foreign policy has returned to sanity, all that stuff is behind us, right?"

Return to sanity? I presume the reviewer is being facetious. On foreign policy, the Democrats aren't much different than the GOP. They voted overwhelmingly for the Iraq invasion and continued occupation, they backed Israel unconditionally while it was using phosphorus and cluster-bombs against Lebanese civilians, and they have let Republicans redefine relations with Mexico by their nativist hysteria (think "Lou Dobbs Democrats").

The Dems are better on other issues like the environment, embryonic stem-cell research, and the minimum wage. But on foreign affairs, there's not much difference.

That said, "Road to Guantanamo" is a timely piece of film-making. Cheney should be forced to watch it, while he is taking a break from hunting quail and waterboarding prisoners.

I have to put in a good word for my favorite indy film of 2006 - Johnny Was, starring Vinnie Jones, Patrick Bergin, Eriq LaSalle, Lennox Lewis and, in a much too small cameo, Roger Daltrey. (See Roger in this to get the taste of his recent stint on CSI out of your brain.)

It was made for about $2M in Northern Ireland, which explains the less than humongous special effects.

That said, the story (script by Brendan Foley) is captivating and utterly unique.

Vinnie Jones -- best known for playing supporting parts in films by Guy Richie or in the X-Men series, not to mention being known as one of Britain's favorite ex-jock bad boys -- shows a remarkable range as Johnny. Once an IRA operative, he has spent the past few years laying low in Brixton, sort of the London equivilent of South Central or the South Bronx.

Johnny has been hiding from his past, notably the violent actions carried out while working with the psychotic Flynn, played with demonic glee by Patrick Bergin.

Flynn breaks out of prison and finds Johnny, needing a place to hide until he can return to Kilburn, where he plans to re-ignite the Troubles, which have ripped Northern Ireleand apart for decades.

Johnny has no alternative than to try and help Flynn escape.

But his squat proves to be the least safe "safe house" in cinematic history.

Downstairs is a drug lord, played to perfection by Eriq La Salle and upstairs is a rasta priate DJ, played by former heavyweight champ, Lennox Lewis. (Is this not the weirdest and wildest indy cast of the year?)

Lewis is the moral center of the film and the Jamaican dubs he spins make for an unforgettable soundtrack.

The tension escalates when Daltrey, as another IRA soldier, is drawn into the action.

Unlike your average low budget action film, JOHNNY WAS fascinates because it has the full trifecta: a brain, a heart and courage.

It asks questions about loyalty, tribalism, and the true possibility of redemption in the face of pure evil.

I strongly recommend this film.