This year, no joint editor's ten, no cult DVD retrospective, no rambling overview: just lists, lists, lists. Apart from the loose criteria of keeping film selections within the parametres of the 2005 calendar year (by view date), the following carries no particular format or theme. Note: the lists published here reflect the views of the individuals – the contributors and staff called upon to maintain The Lumière Reader. Let the list-making begin.

Tim Wong
Founding Editor, The Lumière Reader

Theatrical:
» 2046 (Wong Kar-wai, 2004)
» The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004)
» I Heart Huckabees (David O. Russell, 2004)
» Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki, 2004)

Festival:
» Hidden (Michael Haneke)
» The Intruder (Claire Denis, 2004)
» Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin, 2004)
» The World (Jia Zhang-ke, 2004)

Rediscovered:
» I Was Born But... (Yasujiro Ozu, 1932)
» Love in the Afternoon (Billy Wilder, 1957)
» They Live By Night (Nicholas Ray, 1948)
» The Young Girls of Rochefort (Jacques Demy, 1967)

Overrated:
» Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch)
» The Edukators (Hans Weingartner, 2004)
» King Kong (Peter Jackson)
» Kung-fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2004)

Unreleased:
» Eros—The Hand (Wong Kar-wai, 2004)
» A Tale of Cinema (Hong Sang-soo)
» This Charming Girl (Lee Woon-ki, 2004)
» Time of the Wolf (Michael Haneke, 2002)

A parsing of the year that was – categorised, and viewed either theatrically or via DVD. Unlike 2004, pruning the best from the rest proved less torturous, given the outright awesomeness of films like 2046, and Martin Scorsese's frisky biopic The Aviator. Festival-wise, I was enamored: Kings and Queen lofted Moon River to greater heights; The Intruder knocked me out; The World I was simply in awe of. That neither one of these films can claim local distribution to date remains an inevitable frustration. Not all is lost though – DVD may still come to the rescue. It did for Michael Haneke's vastly overlooked Time of the Wolf; released abroad way back in 2002, it's tentatively poised to make its big screen debut at local film societies later this year. Also seen and loved: This Charming Girl, pressing the case for more films about meta-introverts; the Audrey Hepburn dark horse Love in the Afternoon, which sees Billy Wilder riff Ernst Lubitsch and manufacture one of the great film endings of all time; a shoddy print of Ozu's I Was Born But..., brought magnificently to life by the narration of Dr Tomoko Shimoda; and, easily the smartest comedy of the year, I Heart Huckabees (add Lily Tomlin, Isabelle Huppert and Naomi Watts to the mix, and there's no contest). The year's letdowns? King Kong, certainly – Jackson needs to turn down the volume from eleven for a start – followed closely by the Broken Flowers. Lethargically, Bill Murray and Jim Jarmusch sixty-nine their way through a black book of old flames and casual deadpan to no avail. Tilda Swinton and Holly Golightly notwithstanding, this will be remembered as hipster-on-hipster action without so much as a breath of cool.—TW

David Levinson
Senior Editor, The Lumière Reader

1. Last Days (Gus Van Sant)
2. Kings and Queen (Arnaud Deschelpin, 2004)
3. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
4. The Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach)
5. 2046 (Wong Kar-Wai, 2004)
6. Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2004)
7. Red Lights (Cedric Kahn, 2004)
8. The Intruder (Claire Denis, 2004)
9. Hidden (Michael Haneke)
10. Mysterious Skin (Greg Araki, 2004)

Alistair Kwun
Marketing/Communications Advisor, The Lumière Reader

1. Little Fish
Rowan Woods, Australia, 2005 | littlefishmovie.com

2. Stupid Boy (Garçon stupide)
Lionel Baier, France/Switzerland, 2004

3. Saving Face
Alice Wu, USA, 2004 | sonyclassics.com/savingface

4. Hidden (Caché)
Michael Haneke, France/Austria/Germany/Italy, 2005 | cache-lefilm.com

5. Rize
David LaChapelle, USA, 2005 | rizemovie.com

6. Kings and Queen (Rois et reine)
Arnaud Desplechin, France, 2004

7. Tony Takitani
Jun Ichikawa, Japan, 2004 | tonytakitani.com

8. Walk on Water
Eytan Fox, Israel/Sweden, 2004 | walkonwatermovie.com

9. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Doug Liman, USA, 2005 | mrandmrssmithmovie.com

10. Lords of Dogtown
Catherine Hardwicke, USA/Germany, 2005 | sonypictures.com/lordsofdogtown


5 Films to Watch Out For in 2006

1. Heights
Chris Terrio, USA, 2004 | sonyclassics.com/heights

2. No.2
Toa Fraser, New Zealand, 2006

3. Sione's Wedding
Chris Graham, New Zealand, 2006

4. Brokeback Mountain
Ang Lee, USA, 2005 | brokebackmountain.com

5. Superman Returns
Bryan Singer, Australia/USA, 2006 | supermanreturns.warnerbros.com

Alexander Bisley
Associate Editor, The Lumière Reader; Dominion Post Chief Film Critic

» 3-Iron
» The 40-Year-Old Virgin
» The Aviator
» The Child
» Darwin’s Nightmare
» Dig!
» Downfall
» Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room
» Gallipoli
» Head-On
» Hidden
» Howl’s Moving Castle
» I Heart Huckabees
» The Intruder
» King Kong
» Kings and Queen
» The Leopard
» Little Fish
» Look At Me
» Look Both Ways
» Moolaade
» My Architect
» Omagh
» Shake Hands With the Devil
» Tony Takitani
» U-Carmen
» Up and Down
» The White Diamond
» The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
» The World

Mubarak Ali
Long-time Contributor, The Lumière Reader

With the exception of two films, all of the following were experienced on the big screen (not surprisingly, mostly at the NZIFF):

1. The Wayward Cloud (Tsai Ming-liang, 2004)
2. The Intruder (Claire Denis, 2004)
3. Café Lumière (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2004)
4. Mutual Appreciation (Andrew Bujalski)
5. A Tale of Cinema (Hong Sang-soo)
6. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
7. Caché (Michael Haneke)
8. World Mirror Cinema (Gustav Deutsch, 2004)
9. 4 (Ilya Khrjanovsky, 2004)
10. Land of the Dead (George A. Romero, 2004)

Not forgetting: Last Days (Gus Van Sant), I Heart Huckabees (David O. Russell), The World (Jia Zhang-ke), Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki), The Child (Dardenne et Dardenne).

Also, loved the various retros this year, no matter how modest (standout films mentioned): Yasujiro Ozu (An Autumn Afternoon, Tokyo Story, Late Spring, Equinox Flower), Nicholas Ray (Bigger Than Life, On Dangerous Ground, The Lusty Men), Yuri Norstein (Tale of Tales, a.k.a. Best. Animated. Film. Ever.), Bill Morrison (Decasia, Light is Calling, Outerborough).—MA

Nicholas Butler
Contributor, The Lumière Reader

In no particular order:
» Bad Education
» 2046
» Me and You and Everyone we Know
» Rize
» Devil's Miner
(featured in the DOCNZ film festival about two young brothers who work in the silver mines in Bolivia)

John Spry
DVD Contributor, The Lumière Reader

Best Zone 4 DVD Releases:
» Star Wars Epsidode III: The Revenge of the Sith (Fox, 2-disc)
» Titanic (Fox, 4-disc CE)
» Madagascar (Universal)
» We’re No Angels (Paramount)
» Code 46 (MGM)
» Ben Hur (Warnber Bros, 4-disc CE)
» The Wizard of Oz (Warner Bros, 2-disc SE)
» Gladiator (Universal, 3-disc Extended SE)
» Kaikohe Demolition (Magna Pacific)
» Million Dollar Baby (Roadshow, 2-disc DE)

Best Zone 1 DVD Releases:
» Hoop Dreams (Criterion)
» Short Cuts (Criterion, 2-disc)
» Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Criterion)
» Ran (Criterion, 2-disc)
» F for Fake (Criterion, 2-disc)
» The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Criterion, 2-disc)
» Le Samourai (Criterion)
» An Angel at my Table (Criterion, 2-disc)
» La Dolce Vita (Koch Lorber, 3-disc DE)
» Frank Miller's Sin City (Miramax, 2-disc Recut & Extended)

Jacob Powell
Contributor, The Lumière Reader

Films I should have seen years ago… I have no excuse:
1. Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch, 1986)
2. Rosetta (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 1999)
3. Repo Man (Alex Cox, 1984)
4. Breaking the Waves (Lars vonTrier, 1996)
5. Glen or Glenda? (Ed Wood Jnr, 1953)
6. The Man from Laramie (Anthony Mann, 1955)

Festival/Theatrical 2005:
1. Whisky (Juan Pablo Rebella & Pablo Stoll, 2004)
2. 3-Iron (Ki-duk Kim, 2004)
3. Little Fish (Rowan Woods, 2005)
4. Night Watch (Timur Bekmambetov, 2004)
5. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog)
6. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
7. The Descent (Neil Marshall)
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mike Newell)