1999…twas an excellent vintage year for film.
And what a memorable list of films; Fight Club (twisty turny ending, who’d have thunk it?), The Matrix, Orphans, Ratcatcher, Magnolia (best film I had seen Tom Cruise in, though later on, Collateral), The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense, Three Kings, Rushmore, American Psycho (I was disappointed with Mary Harron, I expected so much especially after the brilliant I Shot Andy Warhol)….and Alexander Payne’s Election.
Ah yes, the films that introduced us to Max Fischer, Tracy Flick, Tyler Durden, students getting lost in the woods, a boy who sees dead people, a future world with a simulated reality controlled by machines but never fear the rebellion is being organised….and so on…
I remember watching The Matrix and knowing this was breaking new ground. So fasten your seat belt cos Kansas is going bye-bye for this rollar coaster sci-fi action-adventure ride, slick, fun, engaging storytelling, innovative, smart, original and creative (Wachowski Brothers inspired use of bullet time)…and cool soundtrack! Shame about the sequels………
I watched The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense within 10 days (I think) of each film. Both kinda gripped me, though Sight and Sound magazine in their synopsis of Sixth Sense included the spoiler regarding the ending…and what a twist? The Blair Witch was atmospheric and creepy along with docu-style DIY camera work (and can understand why the constant juddering camera movements made people feel a tad sick). With the (in)famous, creepy ending though one wag of a film critic argued that they all disappeared last seen laughing all the way to the bank before stopping off to visit king of B-movie horror, Roger Corman! Indeed…..
And the other films….Election..the wonderful satire on student politics which introduced the world to ….the iconic Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), scarily ambitious while her teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) plotting her downfall…..Splendid…and have to say one of my favourite films of the ’90s…and talking of iconic characters, Max Fischer, cool geek, from Wes Anderson’s Rushmore, another favourite and a great soundtrack.
Another film that was a hidden gem, totally understated and overlooked, was Peter Mullan’s Orphans. Outstanding debut, poignant, social realist portrayal of family life with added surrealism. I remember having to scout around London trying to find a cinema that was showing this film….
Anyway, that’s just a brief look at 1999, and it deserves another post reminding us about the global political situation as we were hurtling towards the millennium (ah yes, that waste-of-money creation, Millennium Dome…).
Was it it predictable just how far that Frankenstein monster NL was going to push neo-liberalism, free markets and of course later on the War on Terror..?
Anyhows I can’t wait for 10 years next year… as two of my favourites from 2000 were stylish modern noir thrillers. Christopher Nolan’s Memento (and there is a nice link between this and The Matrix as both starred Carrie-Anne Moss) and Dominik Moll’s Harry un ami qui vous veut du bien.
Oh yeah, I forget Fight Club, a mix of male aggression, fighting, social commentary and testosterone with the immortal lines, The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club…
I love Rushmore. Wes Anderson has this knack of making films that are totally offbeat and yet emotionally truthful. The Royal Tenenbaums does the same thing, but even better.
He has a great ear for soundtracks, too.
I started off the year 1999 by going to Hong Kong with my wife and one year old son to start a really well paid job. Our apartment was on the 27th floor and it was tiny. All the roads seem to have roadworks and drills booming away all night. We only lasted 3 months, well they went after two months, and I nearly cracked up because I missed them so much.