2007's best films

As voted by the Guardian's film writers

Friday December 7, 2007
The Guardian

1 Control
dir Anton Corbijn
What we said: "Control is a film about England, about music, about loneliness and love. There is melancholy in it, but also a roar of energy. I thought it might depress me. Instead, I left the cinema walking on air."
5 stars

2 Eastern Promises
dir David Cronenberg
What we said: "There are interesting scenes, moments, ideas, but Eastern Promises does not have the sinew and boldness of Cronenberg's best work."
2 stars

3 Silent Night
dir Carlos Reygadas
4 stars

4 The Lives of Others
dir Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
What we said: "Nothing could provide a more effective antidote to Ostalgie - that is, the tongue-in-cheek nostalgia for the days of the Berlin Wall in which educated Germans are said sometimes to indulge."
4 stars

5 Zodiac
dir David Fincher
What we said: "It is impossible not to enjoy Zodiac, if enjoy is the word for a picture so often scary and stomach-turning."
4 stars

6 Away From Her
dir Sarah Polley
What we said: "It is a deeply impressive and intelligent film about Alzheimer's disease."
4 stars

7 Climates
dir Nuri Bilge Ceylan
What we said: "The work of a film-maker who has established absolute mastery over his cinematic idiom. It does not trade in miserablism, but a kind of degree-zero clarity about the potential for alienation and anguish in our secular faith in romantic partnership."
4 stars

8 Ratatouille
dir Brad Bird, Andrew Pinkava
What we said: "I loved Ratatouille. I was even tempted to drop the odd bit of popcorn, like tipping the waiter after a particularly good meal."
5 stars

9 12.08: East of Bucharest
dir Corneliu Porumboiu
What we said: "It's amusing stuff - though not as funny as it would like to be - even if rather obviously studio-bound."
3 stars

10 Letters from Iwo Jima
dir Clint Eastwood
What we said: "His diptych is concluded with muscular conviction and decency, but it is subdued and respectful: a floral tribute presented at a celluloid memorial."
3 stars

11 Inland Empire
dir David Lynch
What we said: "The great eroto-surrealist David Lynch has gone truffling for another imaginary orifice of pleasure, with results that are fascinating, sometimes very unwholesome and always enjoyable."
4 stars

12 Half Nelson
dir Ryan Fleck
What we said: "Fleck has shown a measure of brilliance at filming [a] small, contained world."
3 stars

13 Syndromes and a Century
dir Apichatpong Weerasethakul
What we said: "If you want a film as challenging and exhilarating as the most weird and wonderful exhibition at Tate Modern ... then this is a film for you. Try it."
5 stars

14 This Is England
dir Shane Meadows
What we said: "When I think of his films, I think, for good or ill: this is English cinema."
3 stars

15 Apocalypto
dir Mel Gibson
What we said: "This is an extraordinary cinematic journey upriver: a worryingly potent Mr Kurtz is sitting in the director's chair."
4 stars

16 The Painted Veil
dir John Curran
What we said: "Manages to successfully combine a strong-limbed narrative about marital frustration with a painstaking account of the British imperial presence in 1920s China."
4 stars

17 Iraq in Fragments
dir James Longley
What we said: "A superbly made film, pessimistic but not simplistic."
4 stars

18 Mutual Appreciation
dir Andrew Bujalski
What we said: "Bujalski perfectly skewers the 'sort-of' generation: educated, mid-20s white Americans hemmed in by their own uncertainty."
3 stars

19 Superbad
dir Greg Mottola
What we said: "It's immature, gross and - some of the time - very funny."
3 stars

20 Beyond Hatred
dir Olivier Meyrou
What we said: "A film that ultimately empowers society's victims and leaves a feeling that there's hope for civilised society - in France, at least."