This list is coming fairly early in the year with me, though there are a lot of 2018 foreign films that I still need to see. I'm perfectly happy leaving those for the "Plus One" spot for next year. I saw slightly more features in total than last year, reversing the recent downward trend. However, I've been shifting away from mainstream films toward more independent and Netflix releases lately.
My criteria for eligibility require that a film must have been released in its own home country during 2018, so film festivals and other special screenings don't count. Picks are unranked and listed in no particular order, previously posted reviews are linked where available, and the "Plus One" spot is reserved for the best film of the previous year that I didn't manage to see in time for the last list. And here we go.
You Were Never Really Here - A horrific, whimsical, terribly sad look into the mind of a traumatized hit man as he struggles to complete his latest job. Director Lynne Ramsay examines the physical and psychic costs of violence in unusual detail, and there's real thoughtfulness and care in the way that violence is depicted in this film. The stream-of-consciousness narrative is potent and absorbing, while Joaquin Phoenix's performance is one of his most touching. His casual conversation with a dying man he's just shot is unforgettable.
The Favourite - I've been wary of Yorgos Lanthimos, but I love how he and Olivia Colman turned the obscure Queen Anne into a cinematic icon. Here, she's a distaff King Lear, a figure of great power and tragedy trapped in a hell of her own making. Unlike Lear, however, she's very funny, and supported by an ensemble of vile schemers who are also very funny. As they vie for position and influence, old costume drama tropes are upended, bawdy adult content is liberally applied, and the trappings of nobility never looked so perverse.
Leave No Trace - I like how deliberately paced the film is, giving us a chance to experience each new development and change of scenery along with the characters. And here the scenery is everything, mirroring the emotional state of our leads and their relationship. It's also a rare film where there is no villain, no character can be said to be in the wrong, and everyone generally wants to be kind and welcoming. It questions the worth of society, but embraces community and compromise in such a lovely way. And the act of letting go.
Capernaum - What makes this portrait of childhood misery a cut above the rest is the committed performance of its young lead. The systematic breaking down of the protagonist is made so much more impactful because he demonstrates again and again that he is resourceful, clever, loyal and worthy of our sympathies. I also appreciate the way that the film approaches certain hot button political topics, tying the social ills we see to various moral questions. The child's perspective neatly reframes the conversation in a way that really drives its points home.
BlacKkKlansman - One of the most pointedly political and topical films that Spike Lee has made in a while, but also one of the most entertaining and funny. It helps the copious commentary go down so much easier, as skewerings of the KKK, the media, and the Man, are deftly worked into a rolicking yarn about a daring police operation that delivers some real fist-pumping moments of triumph. The cast is especially strong, from John David Washington and Adam Driver as the leads, to the unsung character actors playing the ghastly gang of KKK members
Burning - Lee Chang-dong considers the nature of belief and the transience of human existence, this time through the story of a murder that we have no evidence was actually committed. The pace is slow, but the story is absorbing, laying out how our protagonist's obsession grows and grows until the shocking ending seems all but inevitable. Lee finds such intriguing ways to express the film's themes, from the unseen cat to momentary glimpses of reflected sunlight. Then there's the reptilian interloper played by Steven Yeun, a fascinating mystery himself.
Can You Ever Forgive Me? - In a year of so many self-important dramas about substance abusers and LGBT folks, it's nice to come across a film about a pair of LGBT alcoholics who have absolutely no time for or interest in self-pity. Melissa McCarthy kills it as the misanthropic Lee Israel, with Richard Grant as her charming partner in crime/drinking buddy. Watching them con their way through New York's literary establishment is a joy, but watching Israel rediscover and accept her own passion is even more so. They don't make enough biopics like this anymore.
Lean on Pete - A harrowing boy and his horse story that is the farthest thing from uplifting. It follows an Oregon teenager who is desperate to save an aging racehorse, though they boy's situation is hardly much better than the horse's. Candidly exploring the lonelier expanses of the Pacific Northwest and its fringe-dwelling inhabitants, this can be viewed as a western of a sort. However, it's a western that's bleakly devoid of much hope or promise, where the indifference of modern society can be just as dangerous and cruel as anything in the wild.
Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse - I like saving a spot my lists for the mot purely enjoyable film I saw, and this year that spot has to go to "Spider-verse." It is an explosion of creativity and innovation, willing to upend the Spidey status-quo even as it pays homage to it. I love all the new characters, and the way the old ones are rebooted or recontextualized. The storytelling is so clever, the concepts are so appealing, and the central messages of diversity and perseverance are immensely touching. Miles may not be your Spidey, but he's the one we all deserve.
Roma - Alfonso Cuaron's most intimate and personal film is set in the Mexico City of his youth, but contains events and images as epic as anything found in his Hollywood work. The level of the filmmaking is exemplary throughout, and every element from the performances to the sound design are just a pleasure to experience. The cinematography stands out, however, with more than one impressive shot where I was left to wonder how the filmmakers had managed to accomplish such a feat. The greatest marvel however, was undoubtedly Yalitza Aparicio's heartfelt lead performance.
Plus One
Western - A group of German construction workers take on a job in Bulgaria, where tensions develop between them and the local villagers. Barely able to communicate with each other, the two groups keep their distance until one of the Germans becomes curious and starts reaching out to the villagers. The films is an absorbing, frequently frustrating watch that got me intrigued and kept me guessing. One potential key is the film's title, evoking other tales of unknown frontiers and clashing cultures.
Honorable Mentions
We the Animals
Minding the Gap
Happy as Lazzaro
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