Everyone has already released their TOP TEN films of the year. I hadn't actually planned on waiting until the last minute but here we are with two days before New Year's Day.
There have been some amazing films this year, some of which I haven't included in the 'top ten' as they haven't been released in the UK yet. 'The Shape of Water' was a truely superb film that was a favourite at the festival but it will have to be included next year. When it is released in February, I'll write something up along with the beyond beautiful art work from James Jean. To have notable mentions could take all day so I will limit myself to two British films that were both honoured at the BIFAs, Lady Macbeth and I Am Not a Witch.
Other top ten films of the year do look similar to mine but I have noticed a trend in many magazine and website lists. They are male orientated films. My choosing of my top ten was not entirely conscious. The diversity in my choosing isn't exactly great either, but this is to do with what films I have seen this year. I have a split of 6 female led films to 4 male led films which I am actually proud of. This is a happy accident.
Unlike my favourite film of last, 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople', which I was going on about for 6 months, my favourite film of this year came to me by surprise and chance. I am delighted at its success and acclaim and really hope that Timothee Chalamet is recognised for his work in the film.
Based on the novel of the same name by Andre Aciman, it has been described as a romantic coming of age story but I think the later genre description doesn't do this film justice. It is a film filled with desire and heartbreaking truths. Both Elio (Timothee Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer), perfectly paired, dancing around their feelings that does seem to shortly enjoyed, but their lasting feelings for one another is what gives hope to the last few exchanges and that magnificant last shot that has been talked about so often. Not to mention of the greatest speeches given by Elio's father, played to understated brilliance by Michael Stuhlbarg. Other moments of perfection is one of favourire dance scenes ever and a soundtrack I can't stop listening to. This is my favourite film of the year.
A favourite film early on in the year, with awards and festival buzz an acclaim around it. I only knew it as the 3 hour German comedy featuring a guy wearing false teeth. That was enough for me to go see this story about a father trying to connect to his daughter. This is a rare occassion where the simpler explaination is better than the longer one. A daughter who is so tightly wound and focused so hard on her career that she doesn't notice what's happening around her finds a way to connect to her father who is tries to make friends with people through pratical jokes is indeed funny but also heart warming, especially the scene where they embrace in the park, while he is dressed a traditional Bulgarian costume. Something to see in conext. I am also outraged at the idea of a remake. What is the point of a remake??
The Netflix film that challenged Cannes. The film that turned many to become vegetarians. I still eat meat but this film did affect me, I can't lie about that, but then again, so did On Body and Soul but I'll get to that film later. In an attempt to feed the growing population and to distract them, a huge corporation holds a competion giving farmers around the world a new breed of superpig which is all in all environmentally friendly and apparently easy to produce. The biggest pig wins as does the farmer. But when Okja from South Korea wins, her owner, young Mija sets out to find her and bring her home. With a great cast as an array of strange, disturbing and righteous characters this film touches upon how we consume and whether we really care.
Edgar Wright will always have a special place in my cinematic heart, even though it breaks it to hear of a sequel to this choreographed peice of cinema genius. Set the film to music is something very few directors could 'pull off' and still have a story behind it. Baby is a driver, that's what he does. A good guy just trying to get by. Add in epic car chases, some almost stereotyped criminals and the now disgraced Kevin Spacey, with a light touch of hope with Lily James, you've got a winner. More dramatic action than comedy (unlike Wright's previous work) and its a film I could watch anytime. This also serves a beacon for the future of Wright's filmmaking, but I'm hoping he makes it back across the pond home as he made his best stuff over here.
I enjoyed two other superhero movies this year immensely BUT neither of them made me feel as proud as I did sitting in that cinema in Peckham with everyone else practically cheering. It's cliche but it was empowering seeing a female superhero take centre stage finally. The scenes on the paradise island the Amazon Warriors call home were exciting to watch, training in battle and learning what it takes to be the 'chosen one'. The arrival of Chris Pine was amusing and actually sparked more comedic moments that expected. The Captain America parralells can't be ignored but its not a bad thing, as the first Cap film was more about war than superhero business and also sparked another true hero in Peggy Carter. Wonder Woman was by the book but in a whole different library, if you get my meaning. It was about gaddamn time we had Diana on screen, we just need more like her.
An adaptation of Sara Water's novel, Fingersmith, transports to Japanese occupied Korea in the 1930s. A thief, disguised as a maid is brought in to influence the naive heiress to marry the fake Count, but the lady and the maid fall in love with each other which changes everyone's plans. It really is a seductive setting, the design and costumes coupled with the intertwining plot is fascinating to watch. With mysteries around corners and basements and even in books, this was nother surprise hit for me.
Scetptyical at first but blown away by its visual beauty and sensitive at times storytelling, at art director Denis Villeneuve has managed so well with previous work. The legacy and future of this world is in capable hands. The issues that Blade Runner 2049 has which hard core feminists have with this and other science fiction stories is fair to point out but overall, it is also unfair to reduce this marvel to a few complaints. Cutting through the annoyances that this genre tends to suffer, the story and characters (apart from Jared Leto's Wallace who I didn't see the real point of) were twisted and turned to compliment what Villeneuve wanted to create, while doing fair justice to the first Blade Runner. The mantle is passed on, the story could continue, but this perfectly encapsulated film doesn't need more, does it?
A big winner at this year's BIFAs, the film's raw texture was felt by all who watched this story about young farmer who befriends and falls in love with a Romanian migrant worker brought in to help with the farm. What sets this story apart is that isn't a coming out story, its is about an angry lost man who doesn't know how to express his affection and love. The wild Yorkshire moors and the harsh land is mirrored in the tender moments between Johnny and Gheorghe. The changes that both men go through is subtle but bold making their characters journeys more significant that any old 'end of movie' speech.
Dreams are more meaningful than we realise, they can be an escape, they can warn you of the future or they can even help you find your soulmate. One of the most understated films I have ever seen. It may set in a harsh environment, an abattoir, but two lonely gentle people find themselves connected through circumstances. Cut between their day to day lives are their dreams where they are deer walking through the snow covered forest, eating leaves and drinking water from the stream. There comes a moment in the film when I realised this was a truely amazing film but it may not come to everyone.
Faced with haters of the film for many reasons, I will not go into detail why I think this is best Star Wars (only after Empire Strikes Back of course), I'll save that for the post I have planned for the new year. This film is something old, something new, something inbetween that really captures the essence of the balance.