Since last year, I have given out imaginary awards to the films I love most or hold in high regard for the year.
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Author / Eternality Tan
Vengeance (2009)
More of what we have come to expect from Johnnie To operating in the crime-thriller territory, but now with a French lead in tow.
Life During Wartime (2009)
Continue reading →A slow and thematically dense drama about forgiving, forgetting, and remembering, backed by a decent ensemble performance.
Border (2018)
Continue reading →One of the European discoveries of 2018, Ali Abbasi’s second feature is assured filmmaking that is fascinating and unsettling in equal measure.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Continue reading →One of Marvel’s weaker efforts to date—it is neither consistently compelling nor has the gravitas of a solidly-mounted studio movie, though it should at least mildly please fans.
At Eternity’s Gate (2018)
Continue reading →Schnabel’s latest is about capturing the psychological essence of Van Gogh’s ingenuity/insanity – it may take a while to get into some kind of momentum, but Willem Dafoe’s fascinating performance helps it through its less than invigorating portions.
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2007)
Julian Schnabel’s work here is sublime and powerful, so is his lead actor Mathieu Amalric in one of 2007’s finest performances.
Everlasting Moments (2008)
Continue reading →Charting a woman’s dour domestic life as a mother in early 20th century Sweden, and whose artistic awakening comes in the form of a camera, Troell’s late-career triumph is a layered, exquisite delight.
Here Is Your Life (1966)
Continue reading →Jan Troell’s naturalistic if poetic debut feature may have been well-regarded in Swedish cinema, but it is difficult to be absorbed by a work that is too meandering and elliptical for its own good.
Emigrants, The (1971)
Continue reading →A ‘historical epic’ about a Swedish family emigrating to the States, told unhurriedly in the most intimate and natural of ways.
