Lists. iW Critics' Poll.

"Welcome to the first annual indieWIRE film critics' poll," announces Dennis Lim. "If you're experiencing deja vu, it's because this national survey is a direct descendant of the Village Voice poll, which I conducted from 1999 to 2005 ('Take One' through 'Take Seven') with the help of my former colleagues J Hoberman and Michael Atkinson. Recent developments at the Voice have left that poll without a home and the good folks at indieWIRE have graciously stepped in to adopt it."

And thank goodness, too. It'd be an awfully dreary list-making season without it - and its Passiondex. So: on to the results. Way out in front of all the others, The Death of Mr Lazarescu takes the #1 slot and, looking all up and down the final list, Dennis offers several possible - and intriguing - extrapolations.

Updated through 12/24.

"Is Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo the must unsung auteur in the US marketplace?" wonders Anthony Kaufman as he introduces the Best Undistributed Film poll - topped, of course, by Woman on the Beach.

Now here's your reading for the weekend: an avalanche of critics' comments - on the good, the bad and the orphans, those films that scored one lone defender.

Update: Tom Hall's been rousing up a parallel, open-to-all poll and draws up his own fine list, topped by Climates. Joining in so far...

• Gabe (#1: Volver).

• Jared Moshe (#1: Just My Luck).

• Update, 12/22: Karina Longworth (#1: The Science of Sleep).

Update, 12/24: Bilge Ebiri has sharp and extensive commentary at ScreenGrab.

Posted by dwhudson at December 21, 2006 6:41 AM