Sight & Sound's Top 20
Friday, December 2, 2016 at 7:26PM 
So many lists and awards announcements this week you'd think it was... oh, yes, it is December. Sight and Sound enter the fray now with their top 20 which is a mix of expected auteur worship titles, festival films that may or may not ever actually open. It's also very now. The oldest title here is the great German continuous shot film Victoria (which premiered at festivals last year -- we nominated it for cinematography in 2015) but almost everything else just opened or hasn't opened yet! It's to be expected but also deeply frustrating that distributors never really catch up to film buzz...
It's a mix of one 2015 title (Victoria), a lot of right-now film releases (if you like in NY or LA), handful of 2017 pictures (Personal Shopper comes to the US in March and who knows when we'll ever get Nocturama, Sieranevada, or The Death of Louis XIV) and films that will feel like 2017 offerings since they don't start platforming until after Christmas (I Daniel Blake, Paterson, Toni Erdmann, and Julieta.)
SIGHT & SOUND LIST
1. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade)
2. Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)
3. Elle (Paul Verhoeven)
4. Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)
5. American Honey (Andrea Arnold)
6. I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach)
7. Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan)
8. Things to Come (Mia Hansen-Løve)
9. Paterson (Jim Jarmusch)
10. The Death of Louis XIV (Albert Serra)
11. [TIE] Personal Shopper (Olivier Assayas)
Sieranevada (Cristi Puiu)
13. [TIE] Fire At Sea (Gianfranco Rosi)
Nocturama (Bertrand Bonello)
Julieta (Pedro Almodóvar)
16 [TIE] La La Land (Damien Chazelle)
Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson)
18 Love & Friendship (Whit Stillman)
19.[TIE] Aquarius (Kleber Mendonça Filho)
Victoria (Sebastian Schipper)
163 critics spoke… and the runaway winner of our Best Films of 2016 poll is a German comedy https://t.co/JHZYxofoqb pic.twitter.com/PI5MCDbejn
— Sight & Sound (@SightSoundmag) December 2, 2016
Some interesting films that just barely missed the list: Embrace of the Serpent (another 2015 title that only really got going in 2016... like some of these titles with 2016 to 2017), Lemonade and OJ: Made in America (both made for TV but nobody notices these differences anymore), The Ornithologist, and Neruda.
TWO QUESTIONS
Which of these titles are you most excited to eventually get around to seeing?
Which of these films critical response is most bewildering to you?
Reader Comments (39)
Their lists are always too pretentious for me.
Tr - Agreed. It's like they went to film festivals and never left.
Give me pretension over the inevitable avalanche of year-end lists pretending that, like, Fences is a must-see.
AR -- um, it is a must-see. First movie version ever of one of the great American Playwrights
I must admit I'm on the minority and am one of those horrible people who didn't love Moonlight. I though it was good, but with a number of big limitations. Almost all of my favorite critics (including of course you Nathaniel) love it, so I'm thinking of giving it a second look.
- Which of these titles are you most excited to eventually get around to seeing?
Love and Friendship, actually.
- Which of these films critical response is most bewildering to you?
None, of the ones I've seen (6).
And what Nathaniel said re: Fences.
Coco: Just want to let you know I'm also relatively unimpressed by Moonlight. A B/B- film for me. I love Victoria (from my 2015 To 10) and I've been looking forward to seeing Manchester by the Sea for so long, anticipation fatigue has set in. No doubt as these festival films dribble in to the theaters, some will be master works. Toni Erdmann and Elle are giving me something to live for, too.
I've seen 15 of these.
"Which of these titles are you most excited to eventually get around to seeing?
In order
1. Cameraperson
2. Sierranevada
3. Certain Women
4. I, Daniel Blake
5. The Death of Louis XIV
Which of these films critical response is most bewildering to you?
Victoria - gave me a migraine from the opening scene and I just was bored by the end. Things to Come - a little too paint by numbers
Special note: Personal Shopper - I'll revisit it because I was tired when I saw it and kept dozing off.
>>Which of these titles are you most excited to eventually get around to seeing?
Um.. hmm.. jeez... i dunno... let me see..... oh thats right: FREAKING MOONLIGHT!!!!!
Like I'm really happy for you that it's playing in your city but it doesn't come out here til freaking February 23rd!
I'm also angry I won't get to see La La Land til end of January.
The only other ones I haven't seen are Sieranevada and Cameraperson. Very much looking forward to both.
>>Which of these films critical response is most bewildering to you?
The Death of Louis XIV. Like, are we *all* going to pretend it's not shit-boring?
Otherwise - none, really. I didn't much like Fire at Sea and I Daniel Blake but I understand the appeal. There is one element of Paterson (the kooky imbecile girlfriend trope) that drove me insane but the rest of the film is beautiful, so I find it only mildly overrated.
Otherwise the films range from interesting (Nocturama, Victoria) to excellent (Things to Come, Love and Friendship, Julieta, Personal Shopper) to brilliant (Certain Women, American Honey, Aquarius) to oh-my-god-amazing (Elle, Manchester by the Sea) to, well, best of the year (Toni Erdmann).
So it's a very good list.
I just love that three of the top five are directed by women - when did that last happen?
Huppert has two pic in!!! I smelled a BAFTA!!
Coco and ken s, I too thought Moonlight was good but not great. I give the film a B+.
Out of the movies I've seen on here (only 8) I range from liking to loving all of them expect one. Moonlight, American Honey, and Things to Come are my favorites.
I'm most excited for Paterson, Personal Shopper, and Toni Erdmann.
Manchester by the Sea is the one here that I was disappointed by. It's basically your typical Sundance sad white guy goes back home to reconnect. It slags tremendously towards the second act and I dreaded the classical music score (unlike how effectively it was used in Moonlight). Even Little Affleck's performance I found one note.
The Academy Award for Best Picture is likely to go to 2, 7 or 16 on this list (all of which I've seen) or Arrival or Silence (both of which I've yet to see). Currently rooting for Moonlight (A-).
1- La La Land, I'm seeing that on my birthday.
2 - Love & Friendship. I just don't get what all the fuss is about.
I'm pretty breathless about seeing TONI ERDMANN once it eventually makes its way to me - everything I've heard about the tone and themes are just very much my taste lol
I'll be honest in saying I was not a fan of VICTORIA. I get what people see in it, but for me the rhythms were way off (you can really feel the lag time before the setups between locations) and I couldn't get past how ludicrous the entire scenario was. *Great* two lead performances though!
Which of these titles are you most excited to eventually get around to seeing?
PERSONAL SHOPPER
Which of these films critical response is most bewildering to you?
SIERANEVADA. It's way too long for what it wants to do (it would've been much more efficient and enjoyable if it had kept it at around two hours).
I've seen 2 on the list - Toni Erdnmann is hilarious and also a crushing criteria of politics in the world today. Certain Women was the best snooze I have had in ages. Truly dreadful.
Toni Erdmann is number 1 here and in Cahiers du Cinema. Too bad they haven't opened it big to put Sandra Huller in the race. Not even Huppert is better. Toni Erdmann could even get a screenplay nomination or even Actor in such a thin field. I love it!
Cal -- yeah, it's a pity that most of the foreign titles don't really *try* to get in on other categories because they all believe that a possible Oscar nomination is the only way to promote themselves* so they wait until Christmas to start and expand into the next year.
I'm not sure history bears out that that's the best move. ALL of Almodovar's biggest Oscar successes for example started their platform release in November (volver, talk to her, all about my mother, women on the verge) rather than waiting until late December like Julieta is doing.
There are three recent films, though, that found Oscar success in more categories than just foreign film that went the route that almost all of them want to go lately (Day of Christmas or post-Christmas opening with expansion not until the following year): Pan's Labyrinth, The White Ribbon and A Separation. But obviously that route can't work for every film and it's easier to pull off if you have a known quantity director that people are going to be interested in the film no matter when it opens (a separation being an exception but it was a masterpiece so people latched on quickly and now Farhadi is a name). I just don't think Maren Ade is famous enough to be all like... we'll get started after Christmas! If Huppert's campaign had tried that I don't think we'd see the surge we're seeing for her now and she and Verhoeven are way more famous than Maren Ade.
*this is also a false assumption since history is littered with films that waited until nominations to open and flopped anyway
No The Handmaiden???
Hüller is excellent, yes, but Huppert is out of this world in Elle. And now these left-field thoughts about her getting nominated for her work in the more Academy-friendly Things to Come won't stop bugging me... I believe there is a precedent for that happening, but I'm too lazy this a.m. to research it.
(Oh, yeah: Diane Keaton in 1977 and Alicia Vikander in 2015, off the top of my head.)
I'm intrigued by the buzz around Cameraperson, Toni Erdmann and La La Land. Like a couple of other posters, I was disappointed by Moonlight, so I'm somewhat befuddled by its near-universal critical adoration. I also did not care for Victoria at all, but I'm not a fan of the one continuous shot technique.
I'm glad Certain Women is so high on the list. When I first saw it, I thought it was good, but it slowly took a hold over me and I couldn't stop thinking about it for a week. That's the sign of a great film.
Paul, Elle has backing from Sony Classics. Although their previous BA vehicles were more Academy friendly movies -- the Academy does go there when they want to Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream.
I have to admit, I'm shocked how well Julieta is faring so far.
I do agree Huppert is out of this world in Elle. It's one of her best performances. But, still, it feels like a culmination of other chilly acid performances she's been giving like since tge beginning of her career? It's a perfect act, but it's an act we've seen.
Huller nails an extremely thankless and compkicated character and manages to make the part feel fresh with great range. Huppert stuns you. Huller makes you laugh and cry and laugh/cry. Different roles, of course, but Huller simply affected me more.
(I think both Huller and Huppert belong to the very best top 5 of female performances of this decade)
Something like:
Paul -- i am going to be so sad if votes for THINGS TO COME derail her Oscar nomination momentum for Elle. She's terrific in that one, too, but I don't really underrstand the idea that it's more Oscar friendly some people are floating. It's extremely intellectual and slice of life -- very French -- and I can't really think of an Oscar equivalent for something so subdued and cerebral. As good as it is it's not likely to stir up very many editorials or "water cooler" buzz and all those things that really help underdogs in the Oscar race.
I agree, if Huppert is to be nominated for an Oscar I want the nomination to be for the wildest and most non-conformist performance/character. It will be so Huppert. I started loving her with I <3 Huckabees, so I have that to thank O'Russell for.
About this list. Who said this was a bad year for film? I've seen six and them all have been truly memorable. I cried and cried with Manchester at the Sea and Moonlight. Julieta gave me a silent heartbreak but heartbreak nonetheless, I still don't understand a few of the negative responses. Aquarius was a tropical storm evolving into a hurricane, and I was stomping the ground by the time credits rolled in—wow, Braga, I can't stop saying this to everybody, see it. Elle=Huppert, enough said. And Toni Erdmann is truly a gem that grows brighter in memory and with time—it may make my own #1 of the year as well. I agree Sandra Huller deserves recognition, if only for her singing scene. This film reflected my own relationship with my father, and I'm grateful I learned something through it.
Who indeed? It has been far superior to 2015, when I could barely muster up a top 10. This year I have a pretty easy 20.
I don't think it would derail her chances entirely, rather that she's going to get nominated for one or the other. She won NYFCC for both, and both made it into the Sight & Sound list. Add to that Nate Parker, Casey Affleck and now Last Tango and I can see queasy voters wanting to reward Huppert without taking the Elle avenue. The timing is lousy. And Things to Come opens next week.
"Thankless" is how I described the character after seeing it, so I agree there. I'm probably one of the only people who's more familiar with Hüller's work than with Huppert's (weird I know), so I was in awe of what the latter pulled off in Elle. I was impressed by Hüller but not shocked or stunned.
Paul: Kris Tapley. On Twitter: https://twitter.com/kristapley/status/804408103173177344
^^^Poor thing is deluded, as the tweet itself suggests. ;-)
I for one will be delighted if LAFCA chooses Sandra Hüller and/or Sonia Braga and maybe a joint win for Emma Suárez and Adriana Ugarte in Julieta (although I would be ecstatic too if LAFCA chooses Rebecca Hall in Christine). It may not translate necessarily to an Oscar nomination but it would inspire people to see their films and put their names in moviegoers' radar from now on.
If you haven't yet, I'd recommend Sandra Hüller's previous film works especially Requiem and Über uns das All a.k.a. Above Us, Only Sky where she was unforgettable and mesmerising. She is truly deserving actress of winder recognition and in an ideal world, an Oscar nominee for Toni Erdmann (that is if you consider Oscar nomination/win as the pinnacle acting performance of a given year). I care for Oscar nominations more for the mileage an actress/actor gets, but Oscar winners very rarely mirror my own choices, so what do I really know?
I've a hunch LAFCA might have a Best Actress tie (again...they are known for awarding ties to their acting cat): I tink they will go w another actress from NYFCC & NBR.
They might pick an Oscar hopeful (Portman, Bening or Stone) AND a foreign actress w little chance of an Oscar nom (Huller or Kim Min Hee)
I forgot to post my top 5!
1 Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant
2 Juliette Binoche, Camille Claudel 1915
3 Sandra Huller, Toni Erdmann
4 Nina Hoss, Phoenix
5 Isabelle Huppert, Elle
It's a French/German top 5!!
I've seen 9 of the 20. I'm most excited to see American Honey and Things to Come.
I'm baffled by the response to Paterson, which was your standard indie movie, nothing more.
Can we talk about Toni Erdmann for a sec? Just saw it at the EU Film Festival. Really enjoyed it. The back-to-back party scenes, and then the following scene in the park ... I was laughing until I was crying and then crying until I was laughing.
So many of my friends refused to see it with me because of the close to 3 hour run time. I didn't really feel like it was close to 3 hours, which is almost impossible for me to say because I have a bladder the size of a bb. But is the run time going to scare people off?
Also, Sandra Huller ... amazing. Where has this woman been all my life?
@ CharlieG
I personally thought the film would have profited from shaving off about fifteen minutes. It's the only flaw I found in it. I also think Peter Simonischek's work is brilliant, but no one is talking about it (in this particular conversation). Reminds me of how it was with Trintignant in Amour.
@ Paul Outlaw - 15 minutes would have done the movie some good. And you are so right about Peter Simonischek. Huller's job was to react to him. But someone has to start the magic, right? Side note: couldn't agree more about Trintignant in Amour.