Load up your To Watch lists, it's that time of year again. Without further
ado, here are the 50 movies we most enjoyed and appreciated this year.
50. Queen of Glory
We said: "It's been a while since we’ve seen an indie with such natural
characterisation and absorbing sense of place: nothing seems forced here,
or calculated. A warm hug of a film, and a hugely impressive debut
feature."
49. Catch the Fair One
We said: "The film intimates that Weeta’s ethnicity and social class render her
unimportant to the authorities, a deeply frightening real life
issue."
48. Triangle of Sadness
We said: "Ruben Ostlund suggests that it's not so much money that turns people
into monsters, but rather currency, whether that's in the form of
banknotes, high cheekbones or a stash of pretzels."
47. Jockey
We said: "For all its familiarity, Jockey feels uniquely alive."
46. Attachment
We said: "Jewish mysticism and Jewish witticism make for a winning combo in
writer/director Gabriel Bier Gislason's feature debut."
45. Europa
We said: "Europa is shot with an incessant urgency, the sort of
ruined energy you get when you’re overtired, and at the edge of your
resolve."
44. The Girl and the Spider
We said: "The Zurchers fill their spaces with a bunch of horny but frosty Central
Europeans, which is more often than not a recipe for cinematic
success."
43. Everything Went Fine
We said: "Death might be the heaviest subject matter imaginable, but
Francois Ozon keeps things light without ever getting into
sentimental territory."
42. Her Way
We said: "The tight and compulsive plotting of Her Way is riveting,
as are its shifting moralities and deep humanity."
41. Next Exit
We said: "Katie Parker and Rahul Kohli share a remarkable chemistry, convincing as two lost souls who might just
have found something worth living for."
40. The Northman
We said: "Amleth's story may be a tale as old as time, but while the story beats
are familiar, the level of filmmaking on display here is an all too rare
treat."
39. Peace in the Valley
We said: "That Tyler Riggs plays this drama in a manner that never explicitly
broaches the subject of America's mass shooting culture is a damning
indictment of how normal and accepted such tragedies have become for that
nation's citizens."
38. After Yang
We said: "Kogonada's film is as tender as a tear-stained tissue, a mood
exemplified by Colin Farrell's magnificently understated
performance."
37. Crimes of the Future
We said: "Some elements are left obtuse and may require further viewings to fully
grasp, but we always feel we're in the hands of a filmmaker confidently
presenting ideas that he's been refining for close to 50 years now."
36. Bloody Oranges
We said: "Jean-Christophe Meurisse clearly has contempt for the people currently in charge
of his country, but his affection for those trying to keep their heads
above water is clear to see."
35. Barbarian
We said: "The work of a potentially very special filmmaker."
34. Living
We said: "Living is English with a capital E despite being a remake
of a Japanese film, Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru."
33. Huda's Salon
We said: "Grips with the low-key menace of its ever tightening plot."
32. The Worst Person in the World
We said: "While Joachim Trier indulges in heady themes, he does so in a
manner that's always amusing."
31. Flux Gourmet
We said: "Peter Strickland has assembled a knockout cast of current European cult
faves, all of whom are fully in sync with his unique brand of
filmmaking."
30. Decision to Leave
We said: "The central premise of a cop falling for a suspect is hardly novel, yet
Park Chan-Wook finds many ways to make it seem like it's the first
time we've seen this dynamic play out in a fresh and relatable
fashion."
29. All Quiet on the Western Front
We said: "War has rarely been depicted as so hellish, but it's undeniably
exciting."
28. You Are Not My Mother
We said: "Kate Dolan cleverly finds a way to tie her American and British movie
influences in with Irish mythology, weaving them together as tightly as a
St. Brigid's cross."
27. Memory Box
We said: "Memory Box expounds the sacred nature of collected media;
the value of pen committed to paper, the choices made with a limited roll
of camera film, the all-important curation of a mixtape."
26. The Banshees of Inisherin
We said: "An honest, observant take on how messed up we all are."
25. Rimini
We said: "Richie, along with his awful yet strangely catchy tunes, is a figure that
will linger in the viewer's mind for longer than you'd probably
like."
24. Fall
We said: "Several movies have given us vertiginous set-pieces, but none have
stretched them out to feature length as effectively."
23. Girls Girls Girls
We said: "What is most refreshing about Girls Girls Girls is its
generosity of spirit for its denizens, the portrayal of love and
forgiveness between friends, its breezy refusal of cliché."
22. Palm Trees and Power Lines
We said: "In her feature debut, Lily McInerny is quite the find."
21. Return to Dust
We said: "Wu Renlin and Hai Quing essay the sort of calm and uncomplicated companionship that should be
everyone’s ideal."
20. In Front of Your Face
We said: "Hong Sang-soo is one of a very small group of filmmakers who can make a
conversation cinematic."
19. The Retaliators
We said: "For genre connoisseurs, the inventive hyperbole of
The Retaliators could well make it the one of the most
comforting and enjoyable films not just for this week or for this year,
but for the ages."
18. Clara Sola
We said: "A rich, exciting and original film: in Clara Sola, wanking has never seemed so urgently and gorgeously liberating."
17. Resurrection
We said: "Matched by Tim Roth at his most menacing,
Rebecca Hall again gives an uncompromising, compelling
performance."
16. Vortex
We said: "We can't prepare for the death of a loved one but thanks to films like
Vortex, we can reflect on it."
15. Bones and All
We said: "Unlike so many exploitative hacks, Luca Guadagnino understands
that we don't watch horror movies to witness death so much as to feel
alive."
14. Nitram
We said: "Justin Kurzel has pulled off the difficult task of condemning an evil man
while making the rest of us wonder if we could do more to prevent the next
Martin Bryant."
13. Official Competition
We said: "A comedy whose cool characterisations and sophisticated folly is
unrivalled."
12. Sick of Myself
We said: "A cautionary tale of the lengths people will take to be noticed."
11. Red Rocket
We said: "Red Rocket has a manic energy matched by a sociopathic
protagonist that makes for a highly captivating but somewhat draining
viewing experience."
10. Swan Song
We said: "Todd Stephens’ film is in many ways about how male homosexual
culture has evolved over the last three decades, progressions which the
film positions as cautiously positive developments."
9. Tori and Lokita
We said: "A film as accomplished as it is essential in its informative
rhetoric."
8. The Souvenir Part II
We said: "Over the course of her two films, Joanna Hogg examines the
Briton's inability to express emotions, and why for this reason they need
art more than most people."
7. Cha Cha Real Smooth
We said: "Great cinema can often be as simple as writing a couple of good parts and
having two very charismatic people make googly eyes at one another."
6. The Great Movement
We said: "It is breath-taking and feels almost dangerous."
5. The Metamorphosis of Birds
We said: "This is the sort of film where any sequence of a minute or so contains
more riveting beauty and ravishing poetry than most other pictures manage
in a full running time."
4. Playground
We said: "The classrooms, halls and playground here act as a microcosm of greater
society, a distilling of the adult world down to its primal
origins."
3. Top Gun: Maverick
We said: "Top Gun: Maverick boasts the best action sequences you'll
see outside of Tom Cruise's other franchise, but it also
understands that other factor that made the original such a hit; it's got
heart, romance, and bags of charm."
2. Aftersun
We said: "A refreshing, invigorating, unsettling and profoundly sad piece of
filmmaking."
1. The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin)
We said: "Watching its beautifully composed images flicker by is like thumbing
though a forgotten pop-up book rediscovered in an attic."