Cinema · 2002 Ranked
Best Films of 2002, Ranked by IQ Score
The year international cinema converged with American prestige work. The films of 2002, ranked by IQ Score.
2002 is the year international cinema converged with American prestige work at scale. City of God (Meirelles), Spirited Away (Miyazaki), both Best Foreign Language Film nominees, alongside Adaptation (Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman), The Pianist (Polanski), 25th Hour (Lee), Punch-Drunk Love (PTA), Talk to Her (Almodóvar).
The structural argument for 2002-as-canonical-year: the simultaneous international breakthrough (City of God, Spirited Away, Talk to Her), American auteur peak (Adaptation, 25th Hour, Punch-Drunk Love), Polanski's late-career Holocaust film (The Pianist won Best Director), and the underrated documentary canonical entry (Bowling for Columbine). The mid-decade prestige convergence.
11 titles · ranked by IQ Score
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