Top Twenty Movies of 2016, Part 2 (#10-1)

And then there were ten. I've tried my best not to squawk about it too much over the course of the year, but I stand by the opinion that 2016 was not a vintage year for film. I do, however, think it may be the year wherein the importance of film (and our cultural sphere, in general) was clearer than ever.

Many might dismiss the pageantry of awards seasons and the minutia of 'Top Ten' lists as utterly frivolous in a year with so much noisy social and political unrest, with much larger (and disheartening) things happening outside the cinema bubble. But such tumultuous times are when we should cherish the movies even more.

The right movie at the right time can have tremendous power; It can soothe the vexed mind with magical escapism, it can educate by giving exposure to unseen people or issues, and it can provide connection to worlds we may never have known we could connect with. These ten movies do all that and then some. Congratulations to them, especially the top five, which represent my personal nominations for Best Picture of 2016.

#10: LOVE & FRIENDSHIP (dir. Whit Stillman)

Austen brings the wit and Whit brings the Austen in this hilarious parlour farce of buttoned-down niceties and social machinations. Stillman's translation of the epistolary novel Lady Susan represents perhaps the craftiest piece of adaptive writing enjoyed by cineastes this year, dressed to the nines and cannily performed by a sharp-tongued cast. Would that all dry humour were this flavourful.

#9: HELL OR HIGH WATER (dir. David Mackenzie)

This taught neo-Western that examines the many faces of oppression was one of 2016's biggest art house sleeper hits, though to label entertainment this watchable as “art house” is a stretch. Much is owed to the quartet of engaging performances at its centre and to Taylor Sheridan's keen screenplay, which works as both political parable and semi-satirical dissection of masculine power dynamics.

#8: LION (dir. Garth Davis)

It's not the soft lob it looks like on paper. Davis and writer Luke Davies distill the thematic substance of this inspiring true story about connecting with one's roots, and channel it into a graceful, focused two-act drama. Much of it plays like a stream-of-consciousness between reality and memory, evocatively realized through a rich collage of image, sound, and a lovely emotive score.

#7: THE HANDMAIDEN (dir. Park Chan-wook)

This kinky Korean melodrama – or 'erotic thriller', or 'dark comedy', or 'historic crime caper', or 'Asian lesbian romance' if you honestly think you can peg it into a single genre – is nothing if not absorbing. The sumptuous production design and costumes attract our gaze, but its Park's bold stylistic flourishes, shifting narrative perspectives and sly sense of humour that hold it.

#6: KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (dir. Travis Knight)

Laika draws on the tradition of classical samurai morality tales (à la Kurosawa) to deliver a hero's journey brimming with magic and adventure, but tempered with a strong undercurrent of melancholy. Look beyond its magnificent Oscar-worthy visuals and you'll find a touching fable about the strength we draw from family – present or departed – and the importance of seeing humanity in a savage world.

#5: 13TH (dir. Ava DuVernay)

From what could have been a painfully academic exercise, DuVernay sculpts a vital essay on the systematic incarceration of African Americans that's both engaging and enraging. Though basically a parade of talking heads, their insights are punctuated by framing, musical and graphic choices that are deliberate and artful. This is what skilled documentary filmmaking looks like. Essential viewing.

#4: ARRIVAL (dir. Denis Villeneuve)

Science-fiction for the thinking moviegoer – superbly adapted by Eric Heisserer from a nebulous Ted Chiang novella – which voices the power of empathy and the value of communication in its own surreal, circular, beautiful language. It may favour the cerebral over the sentimental, but not at the expense of true emotion. With master of atmosphere Villeneuve pulling the strings, it's utterly hypnotic.

#3: 20TH CENTURY WOMEN (dir. Mike Mills)

I could bask for hours in the mellow, slightly psychedelic aura of this inviting slice of life, set in that forgotten era between the sexual revolution and the information age. Mills' welcomes us to get to know – if not fully understand – his characters, interpreted with naturalistic humour by the year's best ensemble.
The struggle to understand people is the most beautiful experience of this film.

#2: LA LA LAND (dir. Damien Chazelle)

Like an intoxicating riff on an old jazz standard, this unapologetic musical homage to the classic showbiz romance plays a familiar tune with a whole new set of notes. But it dwells high above mere pastiche. Shot, choreographed and edited with a dynamism and bold Technicolor palette that would make the likes of Busby Berkeley and Gene Kelly envious, it is a dazzling invention of pure cinema.

#1: MOONLIGHT (dir. Barry Jenkins)

A humanist triptych unlike any you've ever seen, built upon a triumvirate of achingly authentic performances (from Hibbert, Sanders & Rhodes), and accented by muted strokes of aural and visual expressionism. You needn't be black, or gay, or male to be moved by this stunning portrait on film; It's universality makes it all the more profound. It speaks to all, and at a time when all need to hear it.

Winners of my 2016 awards will be unveiled tomorrow. To recap, here are my nominees:

Best Picture

13th – Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick, Howard Barish

20th Century Women – Mike Mills, Megan Ellison, Anne Carey, Youree Henley

Arrival – Denis Villeneuve, Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, David Linde, Aaron Ryder

La La Land – Damien Chazelle, Fred Berger, Gary Gilbert, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt

Moonlight – Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Best Director

La La Land – Damien Chazelle

Moonlight – Barry Jenkins

20th Century Women – Mike Mills

13th – Ava DuVernay

Arrival – Denis Villeneuve

Best Actor

Manchester by the Sea – Casey Affleck

The Lobster – Colin Farrell

Captain Fantastic – Viggo Mortensen

Moonlight – Trevante Rhodes

Fences – Denzel Washington

Best Actress

20th Century Women – Annette Bening

Elle – Isabelle Huppert

Loving – Ruth Negga

Jackie – Natalie Portman

The Edge of Seventeen – Hailee Steinfeld

Best Supporting Actor

Moonlight – Mahershala Ali

Love & Friendship – Tom Bennett

Hail, Caesar! – Alden Ehrenreich

A Bigger Splash – Ralph Fiennes

Queen of Katwe – David Oyelowo

Best Supporting Actress

Fences – Viola Davis

20th Century Women – Elle Fanning

20th Century Women – Greta Gerwig

Moonlight – Naomie Harris

Queen of Katwe – Lupita Nyong'o

Best Acting Ensemble

20th Century Women

Fences

Moonlight

Sing Street

The Witch

Best Original Screenplay

20th Century Women – Mike Mills

Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan

Jackie – Noah Oppenheim

The Lobster – Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou

Sing Street – John Carney, Simon Carmody

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival – Eric Heisserer

Lion – Luke Davies

Love & Friendship – Whit Stillman

Moonlight – Barry Jenkins

Silence – Jay Cocks, Martin Scorsese

Best Animated Feature

Kubo and the Two Strings – Travis Knight, Arianne Sutner

Moana – John Musker, Ron Clements, Osnat Shurer

The Red Turtle – Michael Dudok de Wit, Toshio Suzuki

Zootopia – Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Clark Spencer

Best Foreign Film

Elle – Paul Verhoeven, Saïd Ben Saïd, Michel Merkt

The Handmaiden – Park Chan-Wook, Lim Syd

The Salesman – Asghar Farhadi, Alexandre Mallet-Guy

Tanna – Martin Butler, Bentley Dean

Toni Erdmann – Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Michel Merkt

Best Documentary

13th – Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick, Howard Barish

Cameraperson – Kirsten Johnson, Marilyn Ness

I Am Not Your Negro -- Raoul Peck, Rémi Grellety, Hébert Peck

Tower – Keith Maitland, Susan Thompson, Megan Gilbride

Weiner – Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg

Best Cinematography

Arrival – Bradford Young

La La Land – Linus Sandgren

The Light Between Oceans – Adam Arkapaw

Moonlight – James Laxton

Silence – Rodrigo Prieto

Best Editing

20th Century Women – Leslie Jones

Arrival – Joe Walker

Hell or High Water – Jake Roberts

La La Land – Tom Cross

Moonlight – Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders

Best Production Design

Hail, Caesar! – Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh, Dawn Swiderski

The Handmaiden – Ryu Seong-hee

Kubo and the Two Strings – Nelson Lowry, Jesse Gregg, Trevor Dalmer

Passengers – Guy Hendrix Dyas, Gene Serdena

The Witch – Craig Lathrop, Mary Kirkland, Andrea Kristof

Best Costume Design

Allied – Joanna Johnston

The Dressmaker – Marion Boyce, Margot Wilson

The Handmaiden – Cho Sang-Kyung

Kubo and the Two Strings – Deborah Cook

Live By Night – Jacqueline West

Best Original Score

Arrival – Jóhann Jóhannsson

La La Land – Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

Lion – Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka

Jackie – Mica Levi

Nocturnal Animals – Abel Korzeniowski

Best Adapted Score

The Lobster – Amy Ashworth

Love & Friendship – Mark Suozzo

Trolls – Justin Timberlake

Best Original Song

“Letter To The Free” 13th – Common, Karriem Riggins, Robert Glasper

“No Dames” Hail, Caesar! – Henry Krieger, Willie Reale, Chris Gattelli

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” La La Land – Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

“Where You Are” Moana – Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i, Mark Mancina

“Drive It Like You Stole It” Sing Street – Gary Clark

Best Sound Mixing

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi – Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Mac Ruth

Arrival – Bernard Gariépy Strobl, Claude La Haye

La La Land – Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee, Nicholai Baxter, Steve A. Morrow

Lion – Robert Mackenzie, Steve Burgess, Nakul Kamte, Andrew Ramage

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – Christopher Scarabosio, David Parker, Stuart Wilson

Best Sound Editing

Arrival – Sylvain Bellemare, David Whitehead, Michelle Child

Deepwater Horizon – Wylie Stateman, Renée Tondelli

Hacksaw Ridge – Robert Mackenzie, Andy Wright

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – Christopher Scarabosio, Matthew Wood

The Shallows – Brandon Jones, Tobias Poppe

Best Visual Effects

Deepwater Horizon – Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington, Burt Dalton

Doctor Strange – Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli, Paul Corbould

Kubo and the Two Strings – Steve Emerson, Brad Schiff, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean

The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Dan Lemmon, Andrew R. Jones

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel, Neil Corbould

Best Makeup & Hair

Florence Foster Jenkins – Daniel Phillips, J. Roy Helland

Hacksaw Ridge – Shane Thomas, Larry Van Duynhoven

The Handmaiden – Song Jong-Hee

Silence – Noriko Watanabe

Star Trek Beyond – Joel Harlow, Khank Trance, Richard Alonzo