For the most part, the major players have already listed their top tens of 2008 but a few, including ourselves, are waiting a little longer to post theirs (look for ours next week). Though some lists carry more weight than others, one list that should be taken into consideration is Cahiers du cinéma‘s. Arguably one of the best film criticism magazines out there, they’re often ahead of the curve when it comes to championing misunderstood and/or little seen films and their list of best films of the year gave me a little pause, if only because it featured a few surprise titles.

Though I’d been avoiding it due to the poor critical reception, I may have to break down and finally see their number one film.

Please note that in a few instances, I’ve translated the titles:

1. Redacted – Brian De Palma
2. Colossal Youth – Pedro Costa
3. Cloverfield – Mat Reeves
4. No Country for Old Men – Joel & Ethan Coen
5. Two Lovers – James Gray
6. Waltz with Bashir – Ari Folman
7. Dernier maquis – Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche
8. Hunger – Steeve McQueen
9. A Short Film About the Indio Nacional – Raya Martin
10. On War – Bertrand Bonello

The magazine also listed their top directors of the year. Again, some titles have been translated:

1. The Silence of Lorna – Luc et Jean-Pierre Dardenne
2. No Country for Old Men – Joel & Ethan Coen
3. Waltz with Bashir- Ari Folman
4. A Christmas Tale – Arnaud Desplechin
5. There Will Be Blood – Paul Thomas Anderson
6. Two Lovers – James Gray
7. Vicky Christina Barcelona – Woody Allen
8. Hunger – Steeve McQueen
9. La Vie moderne – Raymond Depardon
10. The Class – Laurent Cantet