Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Compared to 2005, this year has been a relatively rich year in film offerings in Buenos Aires and although no one film stands out we have a good slice of worthwhile movies at the top end of the scale.  As a consequence the list of nominations for best performances has been especially hard to draw up and I feel that I have probably left out some very good efforts.  I will probably comment on one or two during the next few days.  Anyway, I have chosen what I liked and felt to be the most memorable and enjoyable works of celluloid for this year.

This year I have seen 121 films – about the same as 2005.  Countries largely represented in the production of films were:  The US, UK, France, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany.  Most films now seem to have a raft of intenrational financing these days and it is hard to say which country is the dominant producer.  As I comment later on, films with Middle Eastern settings were in vogue this year
with several Israeli based offerings and we also had some Austrian films for the first time in a while.  Nominations for awards were shared as follows:
Fateless, Munich and Va, Vis et Deviens get 6
Nobody Knows – 4
3 to A New World, King Kong, The Wind that shakes the barley, United 93
13 films got 2 nominations and another huge number got one.  The good qualities were really spread across the board!
We had enough documentaries to merit a category for them this year and the others are all chock full with finalists.
So, here goes for the 2006 film awards and summary.
To begin with let's look at some of the also rans:  the films that don't get a mention but had their merits.

Chronicles of Narnia – a good solid fantasy story with great scenery and a lovely lion.
Happy Endings – hip indie comedy worth it for the actors
The Family Stone – the best thing I have seen Sarah Jessica Parkerdo.  Not good enough for higher honours though
Memoirs of a Geisha – grand decors, costumes and photography[ but all rather self-conscious
Ae Fond Kiss – humorous and dead serious at the same time.  A goodie from Ken Loach
Ana y los otros – probably[ the most low-key and honest of the Argentine films this year and the one I liked best
Raising Victor Vargas – very nice coming of age NY indie.
In my country – a fascinating description of the South African truth and reconciliation trials seen though the eyes of journalists covering it.
Rent – some great musical numbers but it didn't grab me
Tape – theatrical three hander from Linklater with Uma, Ethan and Robert Sean.  Good story but best left on stage.
Mrs Henderson Presents – to enjoy Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins only.
Match Point – Woody Allen's latest was clever and different  but I found all the characters unlikeable and their actions …. even less.

Mon petit doigt a dit – Even a good French version of an Agatha Christie can't quite keep up with the BBC – this had Genevieve Bujold (much aged) to admire.
Nordrand – interesting film about Romanians trying to pick up a stolen car in Vienna and survive on the street in the meantime and other lowlife in suburban blighted Austria.
The Squid and the Whale – some people go to their shrink, others make a film about their troubled childhood.
El Custodio – slowest Argentine film on record about a bodyguard driver.  We waited every long hour with him!

Elizabethtown – has its weak points but Orlando Bloom comes out well and Dunst and Sarandon are always worth a look.
Cronica de una Fuga – Argentine film about an escape from the concentration camps in the Dirty War.  Authentic looking but didn't grab me.
Le Fils – the Dardenne brother's much feted film about a young couple ill prepared to bring up a child on the streets.  It is so carefully thought out and so right that in the end I felt it lost impact.
Eros – a three parter of a film in which the Soderbergh film is not very funny and Antonioni is just plain awful.  Wong Kar Wai saves the day with a very nice vignette.  Gong Li at her best.
The Da vinci Code – film by numbers.  Worst case of hype ever.
El Sabor de Té – lovely quirky Japanese film with elements of the supernatural
Paradise Now – interesting view of Palestine freedom fighters but has been hailed more for its origins than for its greatness as a film.
L'Ivresse du Pouvoir – an all-round four-star film from Chabrol with another excellent performance by Isabelle Huppert.  Doesn't quite lift it up to the top shelf
Separate Lies – remarkably good adult drama
Walk on water – one of the theme areas this year has been the Middle East and this Israeli film with elements of the Mossad, Nazis and gay Germans was also very enjoyable without reaching any stunning heights
Syrian Bride – ditto – this time bureaucratic craziness splits families in the Golan Heights.  Entertaining.
Swimfan – effective thriller
Bee Season – intriguing drama on family relations as frustrated father coaches spelling queen daughter and wife and son seek other outlets for their feelings.
The Saddest Music in the World – very creative and imaginative, well acted, just plain different and in the end it faded fast from my memory for just being insufficiently lovable
Friends with money – hinted at being rather good and it had some incisive points to make about couples but I couldn't really go for it.
Un couple parfait – Japanese directed French film about a marriage break up.  Realistic, slow and ultimately tedious.
Vers le Sud – Rampling rampling up a storm among the young studs on Haitian beaches in the seventies.  Poignant tales of love among the loveless but without any special spark.

Sophie Scholl – if I could nominate a scene of the year it might be the electrifying trial scene in this film about students protesting in Nazi Germany.  The rest of the film is all too carefully staged and loses impact.
Samsara – I rather liked this tale of a Tibetan monk balancing spiritual and earthly pleasures.  It has a special mood about it.
Las Manos – Argentine priest as healer evoking the wrath of the church.  Good acting in a rather pedestrian film.
Princesas – prostitutes in Madrid with hearts that hurt and dreams of ordinary girls.  Like Monday in the sun by the same director this is soooo politically correct it hurts.

And there were more.  The number of films with at least one nomination is sizeable so I will comment more on them in each category.