‘Masterpiece’ is a powerful word and one that carries a lot of weight – “A work done with extraordinary skill, a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement.”
It is also a highly loaded term. Of all the movies I have seen over the past ten years, I'm not sure how many, if any, can live up to such a lofty definition.
In fact, several of the movies that comprise my Best of The Decade list fall short. Because while I adore the likes of Arrival, Logan, Steve Jobs, Skyfall, Interstellar et al, I do not consider them masterpieces of cinema.
It is entirely possible that I’m being far too pedantic, but for a movie to be dubbed a ‘masterpiece,’ it has to be more than good, more than great, more than exceptional.
It has to challenge and bring into question existing norms, from both a filmmaking and thematic standpoint. It has to make you think, it has to make you feel.
In some ways, it has to be without precedent. It has to set a precedent.
A “masterpiece” is a film that captures a moment in time and emotion that sticks in the hearts and minds of the culture, and where any alteration would make the movie ‘less.’
It is where the talents, potential, experience and point of view of a filmmaker all coalesce in one place and time in a perfect alchemy.
I confess there are some superfluous semantic gymnastics at play here, but given the weight of the word, for me, only one movie from the past decade is worthy of being branded with this grandest of epithets – ‘A masterpiece.’
(Although The Social Network comes might close.)
The Act of Killing (2012)
A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
Joshua Oppenheimer’s film is at once incendiary and revolutionary.
His incredible gambit – having mass murderers who killed thousands during the Indonesian killings of 1965-66 recreate and enact their murders, turns the camera into a window into the dark heart of humanity.
And it gives birth to one of the most powerful, haunting, harrowing, surreal and deeply moving documentaries of all time.
The Act of Killing can be too much to bear at points, but it stands as a glowing testament to the efficacy of documentary filmmaking, and more broadly, the power of film.
It is infuriating, appalling, yet impossible to look away from. While viewing the events unfold on screen with a combination of indignation and interest, one thing became abundantly clear - I was witnessing something remarkable.
Dare I say it; it is more than a movie. I have certainly never seen anything even remotely resembling The Act of Killing, and I don’t believe I will anytime soon.
It is astonishing. It is beyond outstanding. And it might just be a masterpiece.
Image source Google
Thanks for Reading
0 Comments