Top Five lists tend to be reasonably subjective. This list consists of my favourite films of 2009. They have been selected on some combination of quality, resonance, importance and personal taste. Feel free to use the feedback form at the base of the article to nominate your own favourite films from 2009.
1. Samson and Delilah
Back in March, I strolled the streets of Fitzroy in Melbourne's inner north with Warwick Thornton, trying to find a quiet spot for an interview. Two months prior to the release of his feature debut, Thornton was quietly hopeful his film would be positively received. It would go on to win the Best First Feature award at the Cannes Film Festival, and to claim seven prizes at the 2009 AFI Awards, including best film and best direction.
Review — Lessons in empathy for racist Australia: Samson and Delilah is an ode to Alice Springs and its extremes. It's an ethereal love story between Aboriginal adolescents, that takes place against a backdrop of addiction, violence and displacement. Racism is not an explicit presence in the characters' lives, but it is there, like a foul breath that muggies the air around them. Read more
2. Synechdoche New York
An imaginatively conceived and realised meditation on art, God and the fear of death. The directorial debut of scarily weird screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) survives — virtually requires — repeat viewing.
Review — New York's God of rot: Theatre director Caden Cotard sets about producing the most ambitious play in history. His cast of characters includes himself and those nearest to him, play-acting the events of his domestic life. Don't think for a second that this is inaccessible muck. Kaufman's sense of humour is dark and absurd but always surprising. Read more
3. Beautiful Kate
A haunting parable about a rural Australian family that has long since been fragmented along the fault-lines of guilty secrets. Particularly notable for strong and understated performances by Ben Mendelsohn, Rachel Griffiths and newcomer Sophie Lowe.
Review — Incest and redemption: The publicity poster for Beautiful Kate is as ambiguous as the controversial Bill Henson photographs it so blatantly references. The film unpacks these ambiguities, not solving but exacerbating them and making them sing with empathy. Read more
4. Blessed
Consider it a nod to what has been widely described as one of the greatest years ever for Australian films, that my top five contains three