My Favorite 2016 Films

I haven't posted on this blog since August. The past few months I tried getting a job and failed, resorting to an unpaid internship which turned out to be the best internship I've had so far. Anyway, the other night I saw a film that I unexpectedly love and decided to write a post summing up my three favorite films from this year.

All in all, I was very impressed with the films that came out this year. Okay, well basically just my three favorite films to be honest, but I know that they will be longtime favorites of mine and shows that amazing films are still being made. Looking back, the films that I saw last year were quite discouraging, so I'm very pleased that 2016 was an outstanding year in comparison and I hope next year's films will only be better. 

Arrival (Dir. Denis Villeneuve)

What separates this films from the other two, in my opinion, is that this film is intended to appeal to a larger audience. The score, cinematography, acting, writing, and effects were all on point creating such a spectacular film. While the premise may appear to be a typical sci-fi film, like most sci-fi films, it goes beyond science and is actually a reflection of our society. Apart from aliens invading Earth, Arrival is about humans communicating with one another and the importance of doing so. At the end, there is a stunning plot twist that shows how brave Louise (Amy Adams) is and how significant she is to the mission. Continuing with Amy Adams, this is without a doubt my favorite performance of hers and there really needs to be more strong female characters like Louise in Hollywood. 

American Honey (Dir. Andrea Arnold)

I put off seeing this for a while because I was really turned off by the plot. If I were to describe all of the characters in this film, you would wonder why the fuck was there even a film made about characters like these, but what I've noticed about Andrea Arnold's films is that it is not about explaining, but experiencing the characters and their lives through her films. There are so many shots of the landscape, insects, and of Star (Sasha Lane) observing her environment that you feel as if you are in the film. I love how Arnold hired basically most of the cast off the street which makes the characters feel more real. Sasha Lane did a great job, I didn't even know this was her first acting job, and of course Shia LaBeouf was AMAZING. Like I said, the plot is off putting, but somehow 2 hours and 43 minutes wasn’t long enough.

Moonlight (Dir. Barry Jenkins)

I easily cry while watching films, but no other film has moved me or made me cry like Moonlight did.  Separated into three acts, the film shows three defining stages of a man's life. Moonlight doesn’t tell us what Chiron is feeling, we can see it and feel it ourselves.The film is so subtle, but powerful and emotional. Just like American Honey, I don’t think my words could ever do justice on the film's beauty and it is something you have to watch yourself.

My Favorite Films I Watched At School

I recently graduated with a BA in film studies. While studying film, I was able to see a lot of films that I have probably never seen on my own time or even have never heard of a lot of films. Ironically all of my favorite films I saw are all foreign and most of them were made by female directors. Proof we need more female directors.  I saw a lot of films at school, mostly bad ones, but some amazing. Maybe you have never heard of the films I picked, I didn't know of them until school, so hopefully I will be suggesting films you didn't know existed!

Cache (2005, Michael Haneke)

I just briefly wrote about this film here, but since that contained spoilers, I will write a spoiler free summary. A French couple keeps receiving videotapes of the front of their house. It is a mystery on who records them and why they exist. Eventually the setting of the videos change, leading the protagonist to his next clue on why these tapes exist. I did not understand it the fist time watching it and that's the fun part! It's a great psychological thriller that leaves you with more questions than answers. 

Beau Travail (1999, Claire Denis)

This is the most beautiful film I saw at school. The cinematography is amazing, I love how the mise-en-scene tells more about the story rather than the dialogue, and I love the final two scenes. I will admit I didn't enjoy watching it nor understood it at first, but after I did my readings regarding the film, it all made sense and I saw it's beauty. 

Festen (1998, Thomas Vinterberg)

This film is an odd choice to be a favorite of mine, being about a son accusing his father of child molestation. I watched this film while taking a film on Scandinavian cinema, my professor enlightened us how this film comments on how Danish people celebrate, ignore controversial topics, and can be racist. In that class I wrote about this film and Vinterberg's other film Jagten (The Hunt), which I plan on posting soon. Both films handle the issue of accusation of child molestation, and it's odd to say both films are good, but they actually really are. 

Wuthering Heights (2011, Andrea Arnold)

It is kind of odd for me to put this on my list because I'm not telling you guys to watch this a soon as you can or that its the best movie ever, but this film really moved me. I watched this film learning about how films can portray senses, and with the close ups, I felt as if I could feel the wind blowing and the connection the two characters had. I'm not going to lie, I cried a lot during this film and if I watched it alone, I'm sure I would have cried much more. I haven't read the book, but I think the director made an emotional and moving film.

Les glaneurs et la glaneuse (2000, Anges Varda)

It's quite hard to say what my favorite Anges Varda film is. I really enjoyed most of the ones I saw in my class that was solely about this amazing French director. I wrote a guide to my favorite and essential films by Agnes Varda here, so check out which ones I recommend the most. But perhaps Gleaners is my favorite since it was the film that peaked my interest in the director, and it's a great documentary too. 

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels (1975, Chantal Akerman)

This is by no means an easy film to watch. The film is 3 hours and 45 mins of what seems to be Jeanne doing such mundane tasks, but it's actually very important to see Jeanne do these things. If you can handle slow burning films, watch this! And the last scene is quite unexpected so avoid spoilers of this film. I'm very glad I saw this at school, because I probably wouldn't have watch it all the way through.

Crimson Gold (2003, Jafar Panahi)

Before watching this in class, I joked calling it the pizza driver version of Taxi Driver, which ironically we watched in that class prior to watching this. What was my professor getting at? Anyway, this was my favorite film I saw at school for a while. To be honest, I don't think I can say I have a number one favorite because the films I liked are different from one another. What I loved about this film is that I really felt for the main character, Hussein. The director lingered on Hussein to show us moments of how he struggled and how he was a part of the lower class. A very sad film and well-made, way better than Taxi Driver in my opinion.