The Tuscan textures are ravishing (it takes place over the course of an afternoon in and around the village of Lucignano - or does it?), Juliette Binoche and William Shimell are easy on they eyes and ears (good thing, too, since the movie is practically one long conversation - or is it?), but for me the most enjoyable thing about it is the way the story and characters keep subtly (and not-so-subtly) shifting, refusing to be pinned down. What I like most about Abbas Kiarostami's "Certified Copy" is its slipperiness. "It's enigmatic and obvious, exasperating and beguiling, heavy-handed and understated, witty and poignant, all at once." The lack of comedy on the new list hearkens back to the Somber Ol' Days of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. As for the 2012 Sight & Sound Top Ten, compare it with 1982 ("Singin' in the Rain," "The General"), 1992 ("L'Atlante") and 2002 ("Singin' in the Rain"). I can name plenty of comedies that capture a mature vision of human existence (if you're into that kind of thing - like all of Buster Keaton), but a drama that (artificially) excludes humor is feels false and inert to me. Some might argue that comedy without drama is also limited and superficial, but I think comedy is more profound and complex - and more difficult to pull off successfully. I say this as someone who believes that comedy is everything, and that drama is lifeless (or at least emotionally stunted) without it. And with "Kane" bumped to #2 this time, The List has become, to paraphrase a great comedy from the 1980s, one less funny. They are flat-out fun (even if they are regarded as "classics").
At least "Sunrise," "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "8 1/2" have healthy senses of humor, but "Kane" and "Rules of the Game" are the only movies in the top 10 with the propulsive vitality of (screwball) comedy. There's not much in the way of chuckles or joie de vivre to be found in "Vertigo," "Tokyo Story," "Man with a Movie Camera," "The Searchers," "The Passion of Joan of Arc". OK, we know there are no losers, only winners! But, still, with the obvious exceptions of "Citizen Kane" and "Rules of the Game," this decade's consensus choices for the Greatest Films of All Time are not a whole lotta laughs, even though they're terrific motion pictures. The big loser in the 2012 Sight & Sound critics poll is.
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