2017 was a good year for cinema, there was a lot of pieces of great quality, some of them could made to be in the eye of the world, even being Oscar nominees, but others althought of being claimed by critics, did not achieve to be in the comments of the massive audience. To continue, here is my list, of the best films of the last year:
10.- The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected). Directed by: Noah Baumbach
The favorite theme of the director of The Squid And The Whale is present in this film: The familiar drama. In this ocassion it takes it with a lighter tone, mixing dramatic situation with comedy and to doing so works with actors related to the latter genre, Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller, here these actors don't make the role of foolish, instead, they are mature men who have not solve ego and attention problems with their father (Dustin Hoffman). The directorial work is simple, its strongest point is on the script, that gives the characters and its interactions real emotions that audience can relate with.
9.- The Florida Project. Directed by: Sean Baker
The Florida Project stands out since it's premise, which is to show to less magical side of the american dream, which is has been show before, but this time, the setting is in Orland, Florida, close to Disneyland and the point of view is on some kids. The kids live in apartments on precarious conditions, surrounded of prostitution, violence, and economic struggle. The bests aspects of the film, are first, the tone that remind of Italian Neoralism like in Vittorio De Sica's Bycicle thief. Tone is not tragic the most of the time, the kids are shown in hard situations, but also playing, the camera if almost all the time above with the kids, and stays with them. Baker knows to suggest with it's narrative without fall on obviousness.
8-. Baby Driver. Directed by: Edgar Wright
Wright is a director that in previous ocassions has demonstrated, like in Shaun Of The Dead or Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, that enjoys sychronizing action scenes wiht music, which results in pure awesomeness and in this, his most recent film takes this aspect to a whole new level. Baby Driver is a film a but a (you guessed) a driver called Baby, who works for bank robbers, and Baby is the best on the steering wheel, this due to his ability to make shunts according to the music he listens to. This premise could sound ridicolous on the hands of another director, but here the result if deployment of creativity and attention to detail. The better aspect, is of course, the sound mixing, the fast editing and the work behind the camera full of movements always justified with narrative purposes.
7-. Blade Runner 2049. Directed by: Dennis Villanueve
The franchise of Blade Runner is one full of loyal fans, which for sure were scared with the announcement that would be a sequel, and even more, when it was known that would not be Ridley Scott who directs. Luckly, the project fell down on the hands of the skilled canadian, who untill doesn't even have a weak film. Also, behind the lightning there was one of the most talent cinematographers on hollywood, Roger Deakins. The final product of this team with this legendary saga is outstanding, the aesthetic is flawless, even more, a total achieve. The use of lightning, the colors, the sound, the scenery it is more than outstangding. Blade Runner 2049 doesn't nothing to envy to it's predecessor, is a film that stands for itself.
6-. Columbus. Directed by: Kogonada
This film reminds to the directors like Richard Linklater and also masters of filmmaking like Yasujiro Ozu. This is a film silmple in plot, but deep on characters and emotions. Two persons, apparently opose and tied to the city of Columbus meet each other by casualty and talk about the city, their personal lives and arquitecture. The arquitecture is specially important, is the arquitecture of Columbus what gives the film title and also plays a visually important part as well as it is an important aspect in the lives of the two characters. All compositions in this piece are meticolously thought approaching the cinematic language in every shot.
5-. The Killing Of A Sacred Deer. Directed by: Yorgos Lanthimos
The greek filmmaker introduces us one more time in his slightly surrealist world and cold characters. This time closer to the genre of psychological thriller. Obviusly inspired by the master, Stanley Kubrick, specially to The Shining because of the symmetry, the uncorfortable sensation at any time and the use of high angle lenses that in this case make the characters look tiny to his envyroment, which is not for free, in this film Lanthimos uses as hypotext a greek tragedy in which a man is punished for killing a deer by accident. Something similar happens in this film, but you most watch it to know.
4-. Three Bilboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Directed by: Martin McDonagh
The first of the Oscars nominees on my list, and the one that deserved it more. It catch you since it's premise: a woman pays for putting three billboards to call the attention of the local police claiming for justice for her daugther who was raped and murdered. As with The Florida Project the theme is important to show the side that the US want to hide. There is angry people in the US that would like to act as Mildred did in this film, but, McDonagh goes beyond than just a social statement, not everything that the protagonist of this do is good, moreover, there are not just simple good and bad characters on this film, here everyone has his reasons and makes mistakes just as any person. The biggest achievement of the film is on the screenplay, but also, has a great direction, cinematography and an amazing acting from most of the characters.
3-. Phantom Thread. Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
The most recent piece by consecrated director Paul Thomas Anderson is not less what it could be expected from him. This film is flawless, since it's acting, it's screenplay, the camerawork, the cinematography, the music, the sound, the editing, the costume design and just everything. Everything works
like an orchestra perfectly coordinated. In this ocassion Anderson introduces to Reynolds Woodcock, a controlling, cool, completely inmersed on his work, fashion designer who one day falls in love for a woman, Alma. The relationship of this two will become in a back and forth of power. The character of Woodcock is one high psychological complexity as usual on the filmography of Anderson. The summary given to the plot it falls short to understand what makes this character so well written, and if you want understand it you most pay attention to detail because Anderson is not a director who put the answers on the nose, but one that gives small clues as any masterful filmmaker should do.
2-. A Ghost Story. Directed by: David Lowery
This is a film about, as the title expresses it explicitly, a phantom. Moreover, a phantom that is presented as a white sheet with to holes as eyes. This could sound ridicoulous but this piece is very far from that. This film even has Malickesque feeling, for it's oniric sensation. It explores a wide range of themes, like death, the time, the overcoming of pain, the trascending of the individual existence and soul. For doing so, it uses very few dialogue and instead focuses on the more cinematic resourses which are used perfectly to the story. It could end being too slow for some viewers but this slow pacing is a most for the film. Is thanks to that very slow shots that we can feel how the phantom experiences time; because for him the past, the present and the future are not linear thing, and beyond that, for him year could pass in a blink but watching his loved one doing a daily routine could be eternal.
1-. Loveless. Directed by: Andrey Zvyagintsev
The most recent piece by one of the most interesting directors working in the world today. This time his story is about a kid who tired of his cool parents decides abandon his home. The plot, on the surface is simple, but Loveless is much more than just a sequence of events. At firt appereance is a domestic drama, but it's true intention is to speak about Russia through how the characters on the film behave. The characters are like this country full of snow, they seem to lack of any feeling, they remain interested only in their salaries, and banalities like social networks. On the technical aspects of the film there is nothing than could be critisized, each movement, each ligtning, each color, each elemente in any single frame is meticolously planed to convey the intentions that the director has. Is also worth saying that the work with the actors is outstanding, every actor on the film deserves an Oscar, and moreover, even the child actor makes it perfectly. This a film that only could be made by a director that is not only world class, but also one who will be remember and studied in the years to come.