Film Comment Readers Pick Films of the Year

Here is a list of the Best Films of 2009, according to readers of "Film Comment," which includes myself.

The current issue with Matt Damon on the cover has a brilliant profile of controversial French director Catherine Breillat by one of the cinema writers of our time Amy Taubin.

My overall pick for Film of the Year was "Up in the Air," which finished eighth in the poll. Amazingly enough, "The Hurt Locker" was not only the top choice in both the critics and readers poll, it also won the Best Picture Oscar!:


1. "The Hurt Locker" (dir. Kathryn Bigelow)

2. "Inglourious Basterds" (dir. Quentin Tarantino, pictured)

3. "A Serious Man" (dir. Coen Bros)

4. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (dir. Wes Anderson)

5. "Summer Hours" (dir. Olivier Assayas, France)

6. "The White Ribbon" (dir. Michael Haneke, Germany)

7. "Up" (dir. Peter Docter and Bob Peterson)

8. "Up in the Air" (dir. Jason Reitman)

9. "The Headless Woman" (dir. Lucrecia Martel, Argentina)

10. "Where the Wild Things Are" (dir. Spike Jonze)


"The White Ribbon," which I am extremely eager to see now that it has finally opened in our market here in North Carolina, is the only film I haven't seen from this list.