Rounding out 2006 with a cinematic Top 10

So there's plenty of clutter to push away as I ponder my Top 10 list — which, as usual, is dominated by smaller, lower-profile films. These 10, after much thought, emerged as my favorites of the year. Some of these I watched several times, simply to have the pleasure of re-experiencing them; all remain fresh and vivid in my mind, often months after seeing them. Some made me laugh, some made me cry; all made me grateful. I hope each of you found 10 films this year that thrilled you as much as these did me.

Here's the list, in alphabetical order. (Though, if you really want to push me for a ranking, I'd probably put "The Queen" or "United 93" first. Today, anyway.)

"49 Up": Michael Apted's wondrous documentary project, which he revisits every seven years, has entered middle age. Twelve people — whom we've known since they were 7 — faced his camera and discussed their lives; some angrily, some happily, some serenely, all wrapped in footage of their younger selves. Watching it was an emotional, immensely moving experience; it's like watching life fast-forwarded before your eyes.

"Little Children": Todd Field's meticulous adaptation of Tom Perrotta's novel of discontented young parents got every detail right: the forlorn sound of a train whistle, the way a former grad student's face lights up when she discusses a book, the isolation of lonely parents at the playground. Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson did beautiful work, and Field ("In the Bedroom") proved himself a master of character study.

"Pan's Labyrinth": Beautiful, unsettling and unforgettable. Guillermo del Toro's film hasn't opened in Seattle yet (watch for it Jan. 12), but I couldn't leave it off this list. Told through the eyes of a young girl (lovely, quiet Ivana Baquero) in 1944 Spain, it's a strange, dark fairy tale that haunts you long after the lights have gone up and was easily the most imaginative film of the year.

"A Prairie Home Companion": Robert Altman's final film was a fitting elegy: a tuneful, soulful tale of a group of friends saying goodbye to something they've loved. Its cast seamlessly became a family (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, in particular, seemed as if they'd worked together forever), and its last moments, to the tune of "In the Sweet Bye and Bye," were as joyous as anything on screens this year.

"The Queen": Helen Mirren was perfection in Stephen Frears' elegant, tightly focused look at a world behind closed doors: that of Britain's royal family, in the days following Princess Diana's death. Mirren, with Michael Sheen (as Tony Blair) and the rest of the splendid cast, didn't seem to be impersonating; rather, she became Elizabeth II before our eyes. Wickedly smart (scripted by Peter Morgan) and ultimately very moving.

"Shakespeare Behind Bars": Hank Rogerson's quiet documentary was the year's most affecting depiction of the power of art. A group of convicts at a Kentucky prison staged a production of "The Tempest"; through rehearsals of the play, with its themes of banishment and forgiveness, they seemed to be learning more about themselves. As the Bard's lovely words soar, so did the men's emotions; the play raised and transformed them, if only for a moment.

"Thank You for Smoking": Jason Reitman's debut was smart, funny, and indicative of a very bright future. Based on Christopher Buckley's novel about a tobacco lobbyist (played, with preening glee, by Aaron Eckhart), the movie cheerfully takes on — and sends up — both sides of the tobacco divide. Reitman, still in his 20s, knows something that many more seasoned directors never figure out: how to make audiences laugh along with a film that's laughing at itself. Wicked fun.

"Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story": Laurence Sterne's supposedly unfilmable novel ("a postmodern classic before there was any modernism to be post about," as one of the movie characters notes) turns into a rollicking, whip-smart comedy. Director Michael Winterbottom and screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce (aka Martin Hardy) craft a delightfully twisted-and-turned-about movie within a movie — a goofy hall of mirrors both literate and wildly funny.

"United 93": This was the year's hardest film to watch, and though I know I'll never be able to watch it again, perhaps the most rewarding. Paul Greengrass' meticulous re-enactment of one of the hijacked flights on Sept. 11, 2001 was a sensitive, heartbreaking reminder that heroes come in many forms: Some speak loudly, some just whisper.

"Volver": Penelope Cruz lit up the screen as the glowingly lovely center of Pedro Almodóvar's film, a mother/daughter saga that flirted with ghost story and melodrama, finally settling on a gentle note of forgiveness. As the winds blew through a small Spanish town, sweeping secrets away, the female cast generated a warm, tangible spirit of sisterhood.

A second splendid 10: "13 (Tzameti)," "The Departed," "Dreamgirls," "Friends with Money," "Lemming," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer," "The Prestige," "Stranger Than Fiction," "Three Times."

Ten perfectly dreadful films I plan to never think about again: "Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker," "Basic Instinct 2," "The Break-Up," "Employee of the Month," "Failure to Launch," "Fast Food Nation," "A Good Woman," "Little Man," "Poseidon," "You, Me and Dupree."

And that's a wrap. May 2007 bring all good things, to the cinema and elsewhere.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com