If you compare the movies released in the 2000s with other decades, the 2000s kinda come up short. Why is that, you might ask. Well, to begin with, there weren't very many studio films released in the 2000s that I would consider great. There were a few, don't get me wrong... but compared to the '90s and '70s... forget about it. (By studio film, I mean a film where the studio saw through to the production of it from the beginning... not just distributing the film after seeing it at a film festival). The '80s were rather lacking in the "studio film" department, although there's a good amount there too. I guess the problem is the plight of the Blockbuster. Studios rely on blockbuster films more than ever before. But why do they choose to release crap in January - March and August-September? They spend a good amount of money on crap films such as "Legion" but they can't immediately put their faith on the next Paul Thomas Anderson project?
Most of the great movies of the '90s and '00s were great because of who was behind the camera. They were the ones that took time to develop the project and saw it all the way through release. But in the '70s, there were a lot of great films, also made by great directors, but a lot of these films started out as "director for hire" fare. Take, for instance, films by Sidney Lumet or maybe even Hal Ashby... Alan J. Pakula, Arthur Penn... Bogdonavich... and occasionally Robert Altman, Schaffner... just to name a few. Lot of those guys were great directors, but they also had great material to work with. If you look at the films these guys made in the '80s, you won't see as many great films because the material was weak. The funny thing is that the '70s also had its share of great American auteurs, moreso than today which is what makes the '70s such a great decade for film.
But you know what the '00s DID have? Great foreign films. Some even surpassed great. The bulk of the great foreign films were released in Central Amerca and Spain, but Japan/South Korea/Hong Kong also had its fair share of great works. Of course, France, Germany, and Italy did as well, but that's not particularly surprising. Some of the filmmakers from Central America have also successfully crossed-over into making English-speaking films. Guys like Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron, as well as Inarritu.
Anyway, let's take a brief look at some of the films I'm talking about. Honestly, you name me a great America/English-speaking film of any year in the 2000s, and I can probably name a film from another country that's either as good, if not, better.
2000: Amores Perros, In the Mood for Love, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2001: Amelie, Y Tu Mama Tambien
2002: Hable con Ella, Hero, City of God
2003: Oldboy
2004: Mar Adentro, Der Untergang
2005: Tsotsi
2006: Lives of Others, Pan's Labyrinth, Volver
2007: 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days; Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2008: Let the Right One In, Revanche, Gomorrah
2009: The White Ribbon, A Prophet, Broken Embraces*
*I haven't seen those two films yet, but they're getting great reviews.
Honestly, unless I'm missing something, the '80s and '90s didn't really offer too much from the foreign film department. Pedro Almodovar made some memorable films, but he didn't hit his creative peak til '99s "All About My Mother." The '80s did offer some gems like Au Revoir, Les Enfants, Wings of Desire, Last Metro, some John Woo movies to name a few... and the '90s had some interesting work by War Kong Wai and there's the Three Colors Trilogy. '40s-'70s, you had great works made in the form of Italian neo-realism, French New Wave, New German Cinema, you also can't ignore Ozu, Bergman, Kurosawa, Fellini.... the 2000s wasn't defined by any one particular movement by one country just great films made from a wide variety of countries. I'd consider Lives of Others, City of God, Diving Bell and Butterfly, Amores Perros, and Oldboy to be among the finest films of the decade.
I hope this is a sign of things to come in the future. It's nice to see that even though Hollywood is getting staler and staler now relying on 3-D and superhero films to get back their money; there are plenty of countries around the world that are making great films. You don't have to be a phony liberal arts major to enjoy City of God or Oldboy... a lot of these films can be enjoyed by anybody and so I also hope that, in the future, our country will start paying even more attention into foreign films than ever before.
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