The (global) best (and worst) of 2016
Really did it this time, watching 400 films from 67 countries this year. It was a pretty good year apart from the US, where movies are eclipsed in creativity by TV. As every year, it's a personal choice based on much exposure, and not for superhero drivel fans.
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40 titles
- DirectorCiro GuerraStarsNilbio TorresJan BijvoetAntonio BolívarThe story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of forty years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.My favorite this year. A once-in-a-lifetime experience. Descriptions don't do its impact justice.
- DirectorVetrimaaranStarsDineshSamuthirakaniAnandhiFour labourers are tortured by the police to confess to a theft they have not committed.My 2nd favorite this year. Tight storytelling, great script, strong performances in a courageous indictment of police corruption.
- DirectorMaren AdeStarsSandra HüllerPeter SimonischekMichael WittenbornA practical joking father tries to reconnect with his hard working daughter by creating an outrageous alter ego and posing as her CEO's life coach.My 3rd favorite this year. Best attempt to export German humor ever. Cannes festival critics's favorite, winner of European film prize and Oscar-nominated. Read my review if you like.
- DirectorNabil AyouchStarsLoubna AbidarAsmaa LazrakHalima KaraouaneA group of women in Morocco make a living as prostitutes in a culture that is very unforgiving toward women in that profession.Most audacious film of the year in my opinion, banned in its homeland. Read my review if you like.
- DirectorTaika WaititiStarsSam NeillJulian DennisonRima Te WiataA national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.Best comedy of the year. Another great performance by Sam Neill. Most successful Kiwi film ever.
- DirectorJocelyn MoorhouseStarsKate WinsletJudy DavisLiam HemsworthA glamorous woman returns to her small town in rural Australia. With her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women and exacts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong.Best women's interest film of the year with Kate Winslet in her greatest role yet. Read my review if you like.
- DirectorPeter Ho-Sun ChanStarsWei ZhaoHuang BoDawei TongA story centered around a divorced couple living in a southern Chinese city Shenzhen and dealing with the disappearance of their missing son.Best Chinese film of the decade, only got to watch it this year. Easily director Peter Chan's and actress Zhao Wei's best work.
- DirectorMartin ZandvlietStarsRoland MøllerLouis HofmannJoel BasmanIn post-World War II Denmark, a group of young German POWs are forced to clear a beach of thousands of land mines under the watch of a Danish Sergeant who slowly learns to appreciate their plight.Oscar-nominated, caused a stir in its native Denmark, delivers a much needed humanist message for our times.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsKim Min-heeHa Jung-wooCho Jin-woongA woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.Most artistically rewarding and beautifully photographed film of the year. One has to stay focused on this one, every detail matters.
- DirectorMatt RossStarsViggo MortensenGeorge MacKaySamantha IslerIn the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, challenging his idea of what it means to be a parent.Best American film of the year with Viggo Mortensen's best performance in a decade. Should land him the Golden Globe at least.
- DirectorKleber Mendonça FilhoStarsSonia BragaMaeve JinkingsIrandhir SantosClara, 65, lives her life to the fullest with her family and friends. A construction company wants her Recife oceanfront condo, as they've already bought all the other in the 3 story building. Clara's staying.Best female lead performance of the year. Sonia Braga delivers a wide range of emotions and characteristics. The film was seen as symbolic for the corruption leading to this year's political turmoil in Brazil and became therefore an instant classic.
- DirectorCristian MungiuStarsAdrian TitieniMaria DragusLia BugnarA film about compromises and the implications of the parent's role.Best script of the year, though Mungiu won best director at Cannes instead. Like many Romanians, I didn't care much for his Palme d'Or winning "3 Months..." but he succeeds in examining the origin and pervasiveness of corruption here.
- DirectorVuk RsumovicStarsDenis MuricMilos TimotijevicPavle CemerikicIn the late 1980s, a boy has been found in the mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nobody knows how he came about in the wild, nor if animals fed and raised him.My Youtube discovery of the year. One of the best films nobody has ever heard of with an excellent script and lead performance.
- DirectorRaja MenonStarsAkshay KumarNimrat KaurKumud MishraWhen Iraq invades Kuwait in August 1990, a callous Indian businessman becomes the spokesperson for more than 170,000 stranded countrymen.Best cinematography of the year for me in this ambitious blockbuster retelling of 1990 Kuwait, where the film was banned.
- DirectorMichael Dudok de WitStarsEmmanuel GarijoTom HudsonBaptiste GoyA man is shipwrecked on a deserted island and encounters a big red turtle, which changes his life.Best animated film if you focus on art instead of dialog, for it doesn't have any. Most family-friendly film of the year in my opinion (children are far cleverer than many adults tend to think in my experience).
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsRyunosuke KamikiMone KamishiraishiRyo NaritaTwo teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.One of the most successful animated films of all time, even though my previous knowledge of the director's work left me less impressed (read my review if you like).
- DirectorTravis KnightStarsCharlize TheronArt ParkinsonMatthew McConaugheyA young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armour worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past.Best US animation and family film may lead a path away from overdone CGI flicks to a blend with stop-motion.
- DirectorTakeshi NozueStarsAaron PaulLena HeadeySean BeanKing Regis, who oversees the land of Lucis, commands his army of soldiers to protect the kingdom from the Niflheim empire's plans to steal the sacred crystal which gives Lucis its magic and power.Best game adaptation, more a showpiece of what is technically possible than a film, weak story, but other game films have been train wrecks compared to this one.
- DirectorChristian DesmaresFranck EkinciStarsMarion CotillardMarc-André GrondinPhilippe KaterineIt's 1941 but France is trapped in the nineteenth century, governed by steam and Napoleon V, where scientists vanish mysteriously. Avril, a teenage girl, goes in search of her missing scientist parents.Other best European animated film, very imaginative but not free of flaws (read my review if you like).
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsPaul HaggisJason BegheSpanky TaylorA documentary looking at the inner-workings of the Church of Scientology.Most important documentary, only got to see it this year because of Scientology terrorizing exhibitors. Everyone should see this.
- DirectorYang ZhangStarsTsring ChodronTashi DawaTsewang DolkarA group of Tibetans make a 1200 kilometer pilgrimage to Lasa.Best documentary or docu-drama this year, owing to the intimacy of the pilgrim's portrayal and the landscape photography.
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsFerdia Walsh-PeeloAidan GillenMaria Doyle KennedyA young lad notices a beautiful girl who begins to occupy his thoughts. While struggling with poverty, personal relationships and life's woes, he starts a band, hoping to catch her attention.Best music film of the year, breakout performance by Lucy Boynton who will hopefully get more high-profile roles in the future.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsGreta GerwigKeaton Nigel CookeTracy LettsA dachshund passes from oddball owner to oddball owner, whose radically dysfunctional lives are all impacted by the pooch.Most underwatched film of the year; Todd Solondz is the last poet of American cinema, with important messages, and no audience to hear it.
- DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsGong YooJung Yu-miMa Dong-seokWhile a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.Best zombie film ever. More action/disaster than a horror film, it's relentlessly entertaining, gory and perfectly choreographed.
- DirectorNa Hong-jinStarsJun KunimuraHwang Jung-minKwak Do-wonSoon after a stranger arrives in a little village, a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman, drawn into the incident, is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.Best horror film of the year, much more creative than anything from the US even if it's a bit overloaded.