See enough movies in a given year…
…and the concept of “good” and “bad” years for movies doesn’t hold much weight. Still, 2013 was something special for cinema. From all angles, filmmakers brought out their best work. Enlightening documentaries. Crime sagas. Unforgettable romances. Experimental narratives. From Hollywood to Japan to Romania, from the independent arthouse to the IMAX superscreen — this list represents the very best of 2013’s incredible line-up of movies.
United States | Spike Jonze
Recommended if You Like: “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind;” “Being John Malkovich;” unconventional love stories; dramas with a cerebral twist
What’s it about? In the near future, Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) lives in L.A. as a writer during a time when man’s intelligent use (and dependence) on technology has reached new heights. After installing “OS 1,” a cutting edge artificially intelligent operating system, Theodore boots up his computer and meets his new personal assistant Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). With superhuman intelligence and an eagerness to learn more about the world, Theodore shares his life with Samantha and the unlikely couple begins to fall in love.
What we thought: The great feat of “Her” is that it dares to legitimize its improbable plot. By sticking its neck out and filling the lead roles with brilliant actors, “Her” manages to transport us to this light, quirky world for a great offering of cinematic escapism. It’s sparking with the electric originality of a filmmaker determined to make a work of transcendent power. Jonze’s film is full of satisfying questions to ask – How can their relationship be real when Samantha is only programmed to identify with major human constructs such as gender, friendship, and conversation? How does an operating system’s view of love and dating differ from the human perspective? “Her” is a sentimental, funny, and remarkably relevant challenge of romance in the modern age – it’s the defining film of 2013. Read the full review!
How to See it: In theatrical LIMITED RELEASE December 18th, 2013 (U.S.) and WIDE RELEASE January 10th, 2014 (U.S.) and February 14th, 2014 (U.K.)
United States | Joel and Ethan Coen
Recommended if You Like: Dark humor; folk music; “Fargo;” character studies
What’s it about? Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac), a solo folk singer living in New York City, is lost in the increasingly antiquated, band-lead world of the early 1960’s music scene. On his own after the death of his musical partner and best friend, he struggles by on the good nature of others while making a go at a career as a musician despite facing dead ends at every turn.
What we thought: Even for the Coens, Llewyn is one downtrodden as hell character. Fortunately, the comedy-laced melancholic tone is enthralling and irresistible. “Inside Llewyn Davis” is a revelatory success for lead actor Oscar Isaac, a triumph for the Coen Brothers, and a whole-hearted portrayal of grief, struggle, and folk music in 1961 Greenwich Village. Read the full review!
How to See It: In theatrical WIDE RELEASE December 20th, 2013 (U.S.) and January 24th, 2014 (U.K.)
Japan/France | Abbas Kiarostami
Recommended if You Like: “Certified Copy;” slow-moving, engrossing films; beautiful cinematography without any frills
What’s it about? Akiko (Rin Takanashi) is a college student moonlighting as an escort in Tokyo, Japan. One night, her pimp orders her to see an important man an hour outside of the city and she arrives to meet Takashi (Tadashi Okuno) – an elderly professor who’s looking for a platonic form of intimacy. Over the following day the two form a bond as others mistake them for grandfather and granddaughter.
What we thought: Rin Takanashi’s performance as Akiko turns on a dime from her on-screen woefulness to the perky persona that makes her a successful call girl. With only a handful of scenes filling out the two-hour runtime, “Like Someone in Love” isn’t for the action-hungry. Master director Abbas Kiarostami has mastered the formal drama, creating style from restraint. His first film in Japan is an exquisite, sensitive portrayal of loneliness and mistaken identity that revels in quiet storytelling and powerful camerawork. Read the full review!
How to See It: Currently available on DVD/Blu-ray in the U.K. – U.S. release TBA.
United States/United Kingdom | Steve McQueen
Recommended if You Like: Powerful lead performances; unfaltering looks at history; “Django Unchained” without the genre gimmicks
What’s it about? Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free negro and talented musician living in New York in 1841, is unable to verify his identity when he is captured and sold into slavery where he spends the next twelve years under the harsh supervision of slave masters.
What we thought: Steve McQueen continues to develop his unflinching habit of calling attention to things we’d rather not think about – political unrest (“Hunger”), sex addiction (“Shame”), and now American slavery in the 1800’s in this harrowing adaptation of Solomon Northup’s memoirs: “12 Years a Slave.” Again present are all of McQueen’s auteur flourishes: a rich, somber, string-heavy score by Hanz Zimmer, Sean Bobbit’s strong, naturalistic photography, and an appreciation for the anguish that a human face can express. While so many films released this time of year are made for the Oscars, “12 Years a Slave” is the type of film the Oscars were made to recognize.
How to See It: Opening in WIDE RELEASE November 8th, 2013 (U.S.) and January 10th, 2014 (U.K.)
United States | Richard Linklater
Recommended if You Like: Walk-and-talk dramas; “Before Sunrise”/“Before Sunset;” unforgettable romances
What’s it about? For the uninitiated, Richard Linklater’s masterful “Before” trilogy – including 1995’s “Before Sunrise”, 2004’s “Before Sunset”, and now 2013’s “Before Midnight” – is a continuing series of romantic dramas that were produced and take place nine years apart from one another. Consisting entirely of dialogue, each film in the series depicts only one day in the lives of Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) as they grow from strangers on a train, to lovers, to parents. Each of the first two films notoriously ends ambiguously, leaving a question posed twice: “Will they be together in nine more years?” We catch up with them in “Before Midnight” on the final night of a vacation in the southern Peloponnese. Time has taken some toll on their relationship – now sometimes edged with an irritation that was never there in the past. They aren’t dealing with the promise of love anymore but the weight of dealing with that love once it’s arrived and how the years can reduce the strength of it.
What we thought: Each addition to this adored series risks the damaging of the endearing cult legacy of the previous two films. It is with that eye for risk and reward that Linklater and co-writers Hawke and Delpy have crafted yet another triumphant, soul-stirring experience in “Before Midnight.” All the tricks from “Sunrise” and “Sunset” are back – long, tracking shots, philosophical discussions – but this time Jesse and Celine join larger conversations and we witness their personalities flourishing as they bounce off more than each other. Read the full review!
How to See It: Available now on DVD/Blu-ray and for digital rental/purchase.
Norway/Denmark/United Kingdom | Joshua Oppenheimer
Recommended if You Like: Must-see documentaries; “Shoah;” disquieting looks at the capabilities of mankind
What’s it about? In 1965, the Indonesian government was overthrown by the military and common gangsters were hired to lead death squads in the mass execution of Indonesians suspected of affiliating with communism. Anwar Congo is one such leader of death. Because the government overthrow was never reversed, these executioners never faced consequences of any kind and to this day are living wealthy, proud lives. Congo shares his story with documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer and takes part in a cinematic recreation of the torture and killings that he personally took part in over forty years earlier.
What we thought: As documentaries go, you can’t find subject matter much more appalling than the every-day look at the life of a man who has personally killed over 1,000 men, women, and children under the pretense of political disposition. “The Act of Killing” uses cinema as a medium for these death squad leaders to reflect on the horrifying acts of violence. Oppenheimer’s film is as powerful and important as they come this year. He leads us, and Congo, through an atrocity and towards the film’s haunting, unforgettable conclusion.
How to See It: Available now on DVD/Blu-ray.
United States | Destin Cretton
Recommended if You Like: Stories about troubled adolescents; independent films with raw, honest characters; strong female leads
What’s it about? Grace (Brie Larson), a twenty-something supervising staff member at Short Term 12 – a facility that houses at-risk teens for periods of 1-12 months – struggles with her day-to-day responsibilities at the foster-care center while grappling with a troubled past of her own that’s hindering the progress of a romantic relationship with her co-worker Mason (John Gallagher Jr.)
What we thought: “Short Term 12” takes a big risk by facing hard truths head-on that other films would no more than reference for fear of creating a story too dark. Second-time director Destin Cretton (“I Am Not A Hipster”) proves that with the right characters and a bittersweet sense of humor, we can be pulled through the darkness to reach profound hope. Staff and resident alike, all of these people are onions, and as the layers are peeled away we’re left with raw characters that, in most cases, were damaged by forces outside of their control. “Short Term 12” is full of heart for the troubled psyche. It will enrich your worldview. All hail independent cinema. Read the full review!
How to See It: Releases on DVD/Blu-ray January 14th, 2014.
Hungary | János Szász
Recommended if You Like: World War II dramas; powerful performances by child actors; must-see foreign films
What’s it about? In the midst of the Second World War, two Hungarian twin boys (played by András and László Gyémánt) – given only a notebook in which to record everything they see and hear – are left with their abusive, villainous grandmother (Piroska Molnár) at the age of 13 when their father goes to war and their mother feels it’s no longer safe in the cities. There, the boys are forced to work long days on the farm while enduring beatings in order to earn their supper. Witnessing the goings-on of war around them, the twin brothers decide to train their minds and bodies to defeat pain – all the while recording every detail in the notebook.
What we thought: Real-life brothers András and László Gyémánt, unnamed as characters until the credits in which they are listed as “One” and “Other,” drive “The Notebook” in what is startlingly their first performance. They aren’t asked to act so much as to live. Watching, listening, playing two extensions of a single performance. Their inseparable relationship is captured with the unmistakable cinematography of Christian Berger (“The White Ribbon”, “The Piano Teacher”), who brilliantly allows the twins to live inside the two-shot, leaving the single close-up of one or the other to the most emotionally demanding moments. Director János Szász achieves great pacing this one: patient enough to allow you to soak in the atmosphere, but nimble enough to sidestep any downtime. Read the full review!
How to See It: Not yet available.
France | Abdellatif Kechiche
Recommended if You Like: Beautiful, heartbreaking love stories; controversial films; “Blue Valentine;” movies about self discovery
What’s it about? Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a high school student in France, embraces unexpected self-discovery when she finds herself intensely attracted to Emma (Léa Seydoux)– an exuberant, blue-haired art school student. Over the period of several years, we witness the two womens’ passionate, explosive relationship.
What we thought: Exhaustive, draining, and bordering on pornographic, director Abdellatif Kechiche’s epic three-hour lesbian romance vows to create believable, truly living characters defined by multiple truths in the many-shaded, messy business of loving someone. These simultaneous textures of simplicity and complexity round out an unforgettable character study that rightfully won the Palm d’Or at Cannes in 2013.
How to See It: Available now on DVD/Blu-ray.
Romania | Cristian Mungiu
Recommended if You Like: Fringe societies; “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days;” haunting dramas more intellectually frightening than a horror film
What’s it about? Alina (Cristina Flutur) reunites with her childhood friend Voichita (Cosmina Stratan), who has since joined a convent in the hills of Romania. While trying to convince Voichita to return to civilization outside of the tight-knit religious community, orthodox traditions spiral out of control when a priest wrongfully interprets Alina’s depressed behavior.
What we thought: Deliberately paced and simmering with horror, “Beyond the Hills” begins as a story about a religious fringe society and slowly evolves into a shocking exorcism thriller. Mungiu’s camera is static and formal and captures the beautiful, 1800’s-esque production design of the monastery in wide frames. The film sucks you in like a sponge and it’s all capped off with one of the year’s best closing shots.
How to See It: Currently available on DVD/Blu-ray in the U.K. – U.S. release TBA.
United States/United Kingdom | Alfonso Cuarón
Recommended if You Like: Benchmark-setting technical marvels; movies that take place in space; epic, award-winning action-adventure
What’s it about? When their ship is destroyed by a catastrophic debris storm, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) become separated from their ship and each other and attempt to survive and seek rescue with nothing but nearly depleted oxygen tanks and the vast unknown of the cosmos surrounding them.
What we thought: From the largest rendering of Earth from space, to the smallest reflections in Ryan’s space suit helmet, “Gravity” is utterly immersive. This is the pinnacle of technology-driven cinema, and should keep movies out of space for a long time (good luck, J.J. Abrams). It’s so significant because the CGI is deeply entangled in the analog craft of cinematography. The on-set camera crew and the visual effects team in post-production pass the ball back and forth to create stunning 10 minute long takes that actually succeed in capturing the vast, inconceivable scale of deep space. The film begins with a title card reminding the audience of the lack of air – and thus, sound – in space. Cuarón and sound designer Glenn Freemantle understand the horror of silence. When the debris storm suddenly arrives it destroys everything in its path – shredding the ship to pieces, all without sound. But it’s not like imagining “Transformers” on mute. “Gravity” uses silence as a weapon – it turns around our growing comfort with chaos by removing the key audio element of the experience and what’s left is something like the thrill of watching an action set piece for the first time. It’s uncomfortable, unpredictable, and absolutely genius. Read the full review!
How to See It: Still in theaters in some major markets. Releases on DVD/Blu-ray Febraury 25th, 2014.
United States | Alexander Payne
Recommended if You Like: “Sideways;” roadtrip dramedy; father-son narratives; contemporary black-and-white photography
What’s it about? Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) is obsessed with traveling to Nebraska. What’s in Nebraska? A whole bunch of very flat land, long stretches of highway, and one million dollars. Woody’s been determined to get his million dollars ever since he received a marketing sweepstakes promotion in the mail and became convinced that the money is real and waiting for him. Walking straight out the front door and down the highway on foot towards Nebraska some nine hundred miles away, Woody is reluctantly offered a ride by his son, David (Will Forte), who agrees to play out this fantasy for the sake of spending time with his aging, possibly senile father.
What we thought: “Nebraska” is one of the more adult films of the year in terms of its retrospective nature. Age and personal experience are definitely factors as to whether this will connect or not. The screenplay (written by Bob Nelson) takes great interest in the important notion of reflection in our later years – to learn from what others have done and then eventually look back at our own lives and find peace with what’s there. David and Woody’s trip unfolds slowly. It may even be a bit boring, but the relationship between these two is ultimately quite moving. Read the full review!
How to See It: Still in theaters in some major markets. DVD/Blu-ray release TBA.
United States | Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
Recommended if You Like: Experimental films; unique cinematic experiences; deep sea fishing
What’s it about? “Leviathan” is an abstract documentary that puts the viewer onto a North Atlantic fishing trawler to observe the boat, its inhabitants, and the grotesque procedures involved in large volume fishing.
What we thought: While a typical documentary on deep sea fishing would likely involve a history lesson about the industry, narration, an introduction to the characters featured, and some sort of arch to guide the viewer along in a dramatic, constructed story, none of these elements are present in “Leviathan”. In fact, there is no filmmaker presence felt at all in the film. It is as if the footage is being captured on accident, from small Go-Pro cameras that are always recording. This is a one-of-a-kind, hypnotic document of a place and time in which visceral imagery and the sedative sounds of the ocean make for a truly nightmarish experience of sensory overload. Read the full review!
How to See It: Available now on DVD/Blu-ray and for digital rental/purchase.
Canada | Sarah Polley
Recommended if You Like: Documentaries about regular people; mysteries
What’s it about? Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates her family’s secrets and myths by retracing her mother’s life in the 1980s.
What we thought: Sarah’s mother died when she was only a young girl. What’s left of this woman are the stories. Through the collective memories of her siblings, Sarah pieces together the domestic puzzle using the camera as a filter for her own insecurities about her parents’ pasts. It’s part mystery, part comedy, and packed with authentic personalities. We all tell stories about our lives – this is a documentary looking at just one and how it has become a far-reaching influence on a filmmaker’s life. Read the full review!
How to See It: Available now on DVD/Blu-ray and for digital rental/purchase.
United States | Ryan Coogler
Recommended if You Like: Films in urban settings; emotionally devastating true stories; “Gran Turino”
What’s it about? Winner of the top prizes from both the Grand Jury and the Audience at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, “Fruitvale Station” tells the true story of the hours leading up to the infamous 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old living in Fruitvale (a neighborhood in Oakland, California), by a BART police officer.
What we thought: Much of “Fruitvale” is told as a domestic drama as Oscar goes about his day. It’s a patient story, one that will spend five minutes in dialogue with Oscar and his 4-year-old daughter, not just one, in order to give you a convincing family bond to latch on to. Oscar’s compassion for others and dedication to turning over a new leaf is frequently moving. It becomes overwhelming to sense the scope of the lives that will be affected by the tragedy to come. While the sentimentality brake is being pumped hard, Michael B. Jordan’s vividly human performance of Oscar brings the film back down to a gritty, real place. If you have any doubt to whether audiences will connect to this story, wait for the moment when the film reaches its jolting, devastating climax. It is followed up by a long and completely silent shot that will undoubtedly reveal the sniffling of dozens of audience members. Read the full review!
How to See It: Releases on DVD/Blu-ray January 14th, 2014.
United States | James Ponsoldt
Recommended if You Like: Coming-of-age stories; “The Breakfast Club;” realistic portrayals of adolescence
What’s it about? Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) (a likeable high school senior that’s always where the party is) strives to “live in the now” but has his world view changed when he meets Aimee Finicky (Shailene Woodley) – a quiet, stay-at-home reader of comic books and fantasy stories that Sutter finds himself drawn to as the looming threat of adulthood and college acceptance letters approach.
What we thought: While the first half of “The Spectacular Now” delicately unravels a convincing romance between two unlikely friends that form a powerful emotional bond, it is the second, darker half that really surprised me. It shouldn’t have been unexpected, considering the talent director James Ponsoldt (“Smashed”) has with stripping away the artificial, but I was genuinely shocked at the stark portrayal of adolescence as a time steeped in both hopefulness and hopelessness. This is a story where Sutter not only deals with the conventional tribulations of adolescence –meeting girls, fitting in, etc. – but also with the harsh truths of issues beyond his age and maturity. In order to move on as an adult, he must resolve these truths – about himself, about his father’s absence, about his feelings for Aimee, about the “now” and the “after.” It’s my favorite of this season’s new entries into the coming-of-age genre, and has a shot at becoming timeless, if such a thing can still happen. Read the full review!
How to See It: Available now for digital rental/purchase and on DVD/Blu-ray January 14th, 2014.
United States | Noah Baumbach
Recommended if You Like: Woody Allen; contemporary black-and-white photography; stories that take place in New York City; anti-romcoms
What’s it about? Frances (Greta Gerwig), a 27-year-old dancer living in New York City, struggles with adulthood and maintaining relationships with her friends who are quickly moving on and marrying off.
What we thought: Lead actress Greta Gerwig is the perfect portrait of today’s directionless young adult – passionate and full of life, but without aim in the world. New York City is featured prominently and in black-and-white, but it’s not quite as luxurious or well-conceived as “Manhattan.” Still, “Frances Ha” is a delightful throwback to French New Wave sensibilities that manages to speak to a generation of lost sort-of-adults.
How to See It: Streaming via Netflix, also available for digital rental/purchase and on DVD/Blu-ray.
United States | Jeff Nichols
Recommended if You Like: Character studies; Americana; “Stand By Me”
What’s it about? Ellis (Tye Sheridan), a fourteen-year-old boy that lives in a houseboat on a river somewhere in rural Arkansas, along with his best friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland), first discover a fugitive on the run named Mud (Matthew McConaughey) on the shore of a strange island and agree to help him evade bounty hunters and police while he searches for his girlfriend in the nearby town.
What we thought: Similar to director Jeff Nichols’ previous work (“Take Shelter”), “Mud” is examining love as a construct that shapes, or destroys, our lives. Mud is a fugitive because of untamable love, Ellis may lose the river life he’s grown accustomed to because of his parent’s deflating love, and he himself feels romantic love for the first time when he hits it off with an older high school girl. All of these portrayals work and take place in a peculiar world filled with interesting characters and beautiful lyrical sequences. Read the full review!
How to See It: Available now on DVD/Blu-ray and for digital rental/purchase.
United States | Martin ScorseseRecommended if You Like: “Goodfellas;” epic sagas with hard-R ratings; biopics
What’s it about? The true story of the rise of Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) – a Wall Street mogul in the late 1980’s and 90’s that lived a life of wild excess when his bogus brokerage firm that manipulated stock prices became the largest over-the-counter financial firm in the country.
What we thought: Cameos and slick camerawork abound; “The Wolf of Wall Street” is a feverishly exciting dramatic thrill ride that deals with issues of over-length. Scorsese’s new return to the crime saga format that made “Goodfellas” and “Casino” timeless hits is no doubt a little inflated. Spread throughout the three-hour run time is about 30 minutes of extra material that is not necessarily essential. That remaining 2.5 hours, though, is a great fun as Belfort engages in a never-ending procession of increasingly outlandish behavior. Hookers, drugs, and money, money, money. DiCaprio and Scorsese have been preparing for this kind of film for a decade and have finally made their defining collaboration.
How to See It: In WIDE RELEASE December 25th, 2013 (U.S.) and January 17th, 2014 (U.K.)
Denmark | Thomas Vinterberg
Recommended if You Like: Tense, slow-burning thrillers; unsettling stories; easy-to-watch foreign films
What’s it about? Mads Mikkelsen stars as Lucas, a kindergarten teacher in a small Danish town, and the victim of mass hysteria sparked by a wrongful accusation. The details involve an imaginative child named Klara (Annika Wedderkopp), a presumptuous kindergarten principal (Susse Wold), and a tight-nit village of parents willing to distort suspicion into hardened facts. As false rumors of Lucas’s supposed wrongdoings spread, everyone from his best friend to the local grocer turn their backs on him in a witch-hunt scenario that threatens to destroy his life.
What we thought: Lead actor Mads Mikkelsen is best known to English speaking audiences as the blood-crying villain of 2006’s “Casino Royale.” Here, Mikkelsen (who won the Best Actor award at Cannes in 2012 for performance) intensely embodies subtle dramatic notes without ever going over-the-top. Frustration, claustrophobia, oppression. There’s just such a great synchronization here between director and actor. Director Thomas Vinterberg has a powerful understanding of the audience’s discomfort and is able to manipulate these emotions through Mikkelsen’s performance. It elevates the somewhat simple screenplay into something that audiences will become emotionally invested in, eyes clinging to the screen. When a one-liner joke breaks the tension in the third act, the audience releases an immense laugh of relief. Read the full review!
How to See It: Available now on DVD/Blu-ray, streaming via Netflix U.K., and for digital rental/purchase.
United States | John Wells
Recommended if You Like: Large ensemble casts; theatrical histrionics; family drama unexpected twists and turns; “Ordinary People”
What’s it about? Violet (Meryl Streep), the matriarch of the Weston family, is reunited with her estranged family when her husband goes missing – giving her three daughters and their spouses and children a chance to catch up on lost time and rediscover what drove them apart in the first place.
What we thought: Tracy Letts first wrote about the Weston family for a theatrical production at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater in June 2007. The play went on to Broadway later that year and Letts won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the original script that he adapted into the screenplay for this film. With the exception of two or three exterior sequences, “August: Osage County” the movie isn’t so different from “August: Osage County” the Tony-award winning play. The film is almost entirely dialogue conducted with true virtuosity. When the characters are talking (arguing, whispering, yelling, and gossiping) for two hours, rhythm becomes crucial. Wells’ film finds its melodies and crescendos by giving us scenes that match up various combinations of the distinct characters – digging deeper into the past connections between sisters and in-laws while forging new ones to varying degrees of success. Streep stands at the helm of it all with a truly career-high execution of Violet’s neurosis. Read the full review!
How to See It: In NY/LA December 27th, WIDE RELEASE January 10th, 2014 (U.S.) and January 24th, 2014 (U.K.)
United Kingdom | Edgar Wright
Recommended if You Like: “Shaun of the Dead;” comedy/action mash-ups; easy, top-quality entertainment
What’s it about? Gary King (Simon Pegg), the leader of a pack of high school friends, gets the old gang back together twenty years later to reattempt an epic, twelve-pub pub-crawl only to find themselves in the midst of a robotic apocalypse.
What we thought: Edgar Wright and lead actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost return for the finale of their Cornetto Trilogy after having taken on zombies and a mysterious cult in “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz.” The new target? Robots. Dry humor, robotic gore, and an irresistibly fast-paced presentation make “The World’s End” the best comedy of the year. The surprising character depth and unanticipated emotional pay-off make it a decent drama, too. Room 101 writer Andy Taylor asserts, “’The World’s End’ will leave you giggling for hours and desperately wanting a pint. Or twelve.” Read the full review!
How to See It: Available now on DVD/Blu-ray and for digital rental/purchase.
Austria | Julian Pölsler
Recommended if You Like: Existentialism; “Into the Wild;” “The Seventh Seal;” “Under the Dome;” films carried entirely by one actor
What’s it about? A woman (Martina Gedeck) staying at a friend’s remote hunting lodge deep in the Alps ventures out one morning and slams into an invisible barrier. A wall: cool and flat as glass. Impenetrable, surrounding the entire mountain property. As the days draw to weeks and she is unable to escape her new, limited world of several square miles, she has no choice but to learn to survive on her own – planting potatoes, harvest wheat fields, and taking care of her only companion: Lynx the dog. She knows not if it will be tomorrow, or three years, or eternity before she can leave her new glassed-in world. All she knows is that she is completely alone.
What we thought: The true significance of “The Wall” is in its accessibility, its freedom of interpretation. Is the wall metaphorical, or is it just a device of a fantasy narrative? My allegorical assumptions are no more valid than yours. The joy is in discovering a personal connection; the thoughts you unveil during the viewing of this film will stay with you for days. Read the full review!
How to See It: Streaming via Netflix, also available for digital rental/purchase and DVD/Blu-ray.
Taiwan | Tsai Ming-liang
Recommended if You Like: Film-as-art; experimental cinema; movies that challenge you; “Post Tenebras Lux”
What’s it about? A father (Kang-sheng Lee) makes a sparse living as a human billboard while struggling to support his 12-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter who roam a supermarket by day and squat together in an abandoned building by night.
What we thought: …It’s somewhat sacrificial of the viewer’s enjoyment, but is a necessary burden in order to achieve eventual moments of understanding. Each shot is left on screen longer than you expect it to, allowing time for eyes to wander the frame, learning more about the foreign culture and characters through context. Small movements catch the eye, and the scrutiny of a resting face begins to tell you more than an actively emoting one. This sort of filmmaking stretches and perverts neorealism. Tsai is in absolutely no hurry to advance the plot, in fact this is anti-plot – the absence of a traditional narrative in the father’s life is what makes it so distressingly sorrowful to watch. Read the full review!
How to See It: Not yet available.
United States | Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett
Recommended if You Like: Music documentaries; inspiring true stories; punk rock music
What’s it about? Before the Ramones, before punk, there was a band called Death. Three Detroit-area African American brothers created a proto-punk band in their bedroom in the early 70’s but were unable to break through due to their off-putting band name and refusal to bend to a label’s demands. Nearly forty years later, their music has finally found resonance with the college punk crowd and the surviving members of the long-defunct band find themselves with an audience for the first time.
What we thought: “A Band Called Death” is a special music documentary that’s really more about the family at the center of the music than the music itself. Directors Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett use the first half of our time with Death to build up the relationship between Bobby, David, and Dannis Hackney as teenagers and pioneers of the loudest music anyone in their Detroit neighborhood had ever heard. By understanding their bond, we can grasp their pain, as one of them doesn’t live to see the eventual success of the band decades later. With a ton of slice-of-life charm, “A Band Called Death” doesn’t educate so much as it joyously entertains.
How to See It: Streaming via Netflix, also available for digital rental/purchase and on DVD/Blu-ray.
That’s a great list Taylor, and it is difficult to argue with any of those entries having watched most of them, although I found Leviathan pretty excruciating if I’m honest, but I don’t think it was meant to be watched on a laptop screen.
Good to see The World’s End on there too, which for me was the best of the ‘Cornetto Trilogy’ even if others disagree.
Honourable mentions for Rush, Filth and Captain Phillips.
I haven’t seen “Filth” yet but I’d agree with those honorable mentions, and many others! It’s a big year when there’s a full 30-40 films to feel passionate about logging in the history books.
Anyone that champions “Leviathan” takes their share of flack for it. My thing about it is that it’s a big experience film – maybe that was all about the theater setting, but coming out after the screening I was totally disoriented and had a “returning to Earth” feeling similar to “Gravity” — and those are of course two very different films! I found a lot of worth in the “hands-off” format and the way that small stories (and suspense) unfolded through the very creepy observation of the boat and its silent workers. I can see the excruciating monotony, though, and definitely felt it several times myself