A relatively slow year when it comes to films. Unlike previous, this year I only managed to see 99 films. That is almost 50 films less than last year. I am sure I missed quite a few. Around 700 films are annually released in the US. I probably saw maybe 10% of these, at most.
Many “good” films tend to be released towards the end of the year as some are thinking about the Oscars. Not surprisingly, we can find films in top 10 or 20 best film lists that have not yet been officially release. As a result, I only get to see them the following year. Those films will thus appear in my best list for that year.
The list below contains the films I liked the most, presented in the order I saw them along the year thus precluding rankings. Personally, I find it sort of difficult to have just ONE top film, unless I have happened to see a masterpiece. This was certainly not the case for 2015. In any event, this year I particularly enjoyed La Sapienza, Embrace of the Serpent, The Assassin, and 45 Years. Not that the others as not as good…
Unlike other annual best film lists, there is not limit set for the number of films I can have in my list. The number varies according to personal taste. No mysteries about this, none at all.
Films that include a year are those made at that time but only officially released in the US in 2015.
So here it is:
- Leviathan – Andrey Zvyagintsev (2014, Russia)
- Spare Parts – Sean McNamara (2015, US)
- Timbuktu – Abderrahmane Sissako (2014, Mauritania)
- La Sapienza – Eugène Green (2014, France)
- El Abrazo de la Serpiente – Embrace of the Serpent – Ciro Guerra (2015, Colombia)
- Phoenix – Christian Petzold (2014, Germany)
- Human Capital – Paolo Virzi (2013, Italy)
- A pigeon sat on a branch reflecting on existence – Roy Andersson (2014, Sweden)
- Brooklyn – John Crowley (2015, Ireland)
- Spotlight – Tom McCarthy (2015, US)
- Janis: Little Blue Girl – Amy Berg (2015, US)
- The Assassin – Hou Hsiao-Hsien (2015, China)
- The Big Short – Adam McKay (2015, US)
Worth seeing:
- Big eyes – Tim Burton (2014, US)
- Inherent Vice – Paul Thomas Anderson (2014, US)
- A Most Violent Year – J.C. Chandor (2014, US)
- The Duke of Burgundy – Peter Strickland (2015, UK)
- Clouds of Sils Maria – Olivier Assayas (2014, France)
- Far from the Madding Crowd – Thomas Vinterberg (2015, UK)
- Tangerines – Zaza Urushadze (2013, Georgia)
- La Tierra y la Sombra – César Augusto Acevedo (2015, Colombia)
- Man from Reno – Dave Boyle (2014, US)
- Jauja – Lisandro Alonso (2014, Argentina)
- Suffragette – Sarah Gavron (2015, UK)
- Trumbo – Jay Roach (2015, US)
- She’s Lost Control – Anja Marquardt (2015, US)
- Carol – Todd Haynes (2015, US)
- Youth – Paolo Sorrentino (2015, Italy)
Catching up (seeing the ones I missed in the past):
- The German Friend / El Amigo Aleman – – Jeanine Meerapfel (2012 ,Germany)
- Jealousy – La Jalousie – Philippe Garrel (2013, France)
- For a Woman – Diane Kurys (2013, France)
- The Towrope / La Sirga – William Vega (2012, Colombia)
- Heli – Amat Escalante (2013, Mexico)
- Take my eyes / Te doy mis ojos – Iciar Bollain (2003, Spain)
- Machete Language / El Lenguaje de los Machetes – Kizza Terrazas (2011, Mexico)
- Dormant Beauty – Marco Bellocchio (2012, Italy)
- Tangerines – Zaza Urushadze (2013, Georgia)
- A woman in Berlin – Max Färberböck (2008, Germany)
- Clandestine Childhood / Infancia Clandestina – Benjamín Ávila (2011, Argentina)
- In the House / Dans la Maison – Francois Ozon (2012, France)
- In Bloom – Nana Ekvtimishvili / Simon Groß (2013, Georgia)
And below is a list of oldies, revisited this year:
- Bullit – Peter Yates (1968, UK)
- I want to live! – Robert Wise (1958, US)
- Le Pont du Nord – Jacques Rivette (1981, France)
- Le Silence de la Mer – Jean-Pierre Melville (1949, France)
- Mystery Street – John Sturges (1951, US)
- La Haine – Mathieu Kassovitz (1995, France)
- The Kid – Charles Chaplin (1921, US)
Cheers, Raúl
