LOST IN PARIS (2016/2014)/ Dir. Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon (France)

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (2016)/Dir. Kenneth Lonergan (US)

One of the more anticipated films on my list, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA will almost certainly quietly asserts itself in many a year-end best films list. Kenneth Lonergan, a meastro of slice-of-life film and observing the ‘ordinary’, succeeds again helped by a career best from Casey Affleck who – recent allegations of less-than-respectable off set behaviour not withstanding –  has gone and done a ‘Solange Knowles’ by clearly establishing himself outside of his brother’s shadow (not that he ever really was). Affleck plays Lee, a deliberately solitary janitor, who after the sudden death of his older brother Joe (the ever delectable in my book Kyle Chandler) returns to his hometown to unwillingly become legal guardian to Joe’s son Patrick and to face his ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams – with a small but nonetheless devastating presence) and a hostile community he left after a past tragedy.

Lonergan’s director credits may be considered ‘slight’ (just three films over sixteen years) and after the debacle over the final cut of MARGARET (2011), its understandable why Lonergan might ever have been hesitant about returning to films. But he has and I personally thank my lucky stars because since discovering YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (2000) which is and will forever be one of my favourite films (number two to THE STATION AGENT of course) I find much pleasure in watching Lonergan’s work. While the stories he tells may be diametrically different to my life experiences, I mine so much relatable universal truths, in this instance, the overpowering effects of grief. For me that’s the mark of a great storyteller.

MINDHORN (2016)/ Dir. Sean Foley (UK)
MIRZYA (2016)/ Dir. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (India)
PLAYGROUND (2016)/ Dir. Bartosz M. Kawalski (Poland)
AMERICAN HONEY (2016)/ Dir. Andrea Arnold (UK/US)
QUEEN OF KATWE (2016)/ Dir. Mira Nair (USA)
TONI ERDMANN (2016)/Dir. Maren Ade (Germany)

Less a wall-to-wall comedy prescribed to TONI ERDMANN when it made it’s successful sophomore presence felt in Cannes but more a studied look at a fractious periodically tragic father/daughter relationship, this nonetheless impressive near-three hour feature contains more than enough chuckles and even a few laugh-out-loud moments to make ERDMANN one of the more good times at the movies.

TONI ERDMANN can only be described as brave. Brave in the fact that its longer than even a Judd Apatow comedy (which despite my fondness for THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN, Apatow’s film lengths often fill me with a sense of dread) as no film, particularly a comedy, has any business being  longer than 90 minutes thank you very much. Brave in that it’s so wonderfully arthouse in it’s commitment to being all times unapologetically awkward and banal (the film isn’t very pretty, its all very clinical almost like a fly-on-the-wall doc) while magnificently tossing moments of extreme absurdity, tempered with sweetness that are never saccharine.

It’s a mean feat to make a 162 minute comedy that succinctly showcases the complex shit storm that is life and relationships and much of the props go to not only Ade’s astonishingly capable directing but to the two leads Peter Simonischek and Sandra Huller who seem game for any of the ridiculous setups they are faced with and are capable honed in performances in their own rights.

I have to admit there was one moment late on in the film where I wasn’t being taken in by Ade’s use of what I call the “Stewart Lee Method” where a joke is played so long that it alternates between hilarity  — threatening to no longer be funny — getting annoying –punchline –hilarity! Ade takes one of her biggest risks so late in the film (displaying a reckless but impressive laissez faire attitude that is bloody admirable) with a long comedic scene that is also the most unsubtle scene (visually and as well as comedically) in the whole film. Relying heavily on the goodwill of audiences for to stick with it, I personally was a little unconvinced by the scene. But then just as the tinges of exasperation started to become more apparent Ade hit’s with a glorious payoff -the modus operandi of TONI ERDMANN

UNA (2016)/Dir. Benedict Andrews (US/UK/Canada)
13TH [DOC] (2016)/Dir. Ava DuVernay (US) – available on Netflix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V66F3WU2CKk
FREE FIRE (2016)/Dir. Ben Wheatley (US/UK)
LADY MACBETH (2016)/ Dir. William Oldroyd (UK)

https://youtu.be/Wrj9Ynu3z3s

It may be as much as a surprise to you as it is still to me but Florence Pugh is a fantastic actress. What could have possibly happened between then and now? LADY MACBETH happened. A “whim watch” rather than something on my radar, LADY MACBETH proved to be one of the best surprises of the Festival. A masterful adaptation of Nikolai Leskov’s novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk, this deliberately sparse and paced film – lacking a score or any particularly appealing mis-en-scene  – became one of the most tense pieces of cinema seen this year (this is coming from someone who watched the traumatizing playground http://cineuropa.org/vd.aspx?t=videoembed&l=en&rdID=314864&did=314944&fmt=“>PLAYGROUND).

A domestic battle of wills; the violent power struggles at play within a dominant patriarchal system and the way power poisons once obtained; an unflinching morality tale about moral ambiguity when human survival is at stake; racial and class politics. These are all expertly explored as in this tale of female-empowerment gone corrupt.    Katherine (Pugh) is sold into marriage to a middle-age mine owner. Bored in a loveless and sexless marriage, Katherine succumbs to the brutish charms of groom Sebastien (in a contrived manner that should be forgiven and forgotten) gleefully engaging in all her carnal desires with free abandon. When their lack of discreetness threatens to destroy their little sex heaven, Katherine determines to continue at whatever cost, revealing a sociopathic drive to maintain dominance at the expense of whomever gets in her way, be it friend or foe.

Pugh is blistering as Katherine, initially rye and witty, a relatable heroine, its as  devastating for  the audience as it is for Sebastien and her faithful maid Anna, as she reveals the depraved depths of manipulation and treachery she’ll sink to to get what she wants and keep it. The ever-changing dynamics between Katherine and the people around her keep the suspense of her actions always at the forefront – a sense of dread that permeates the film but makes for compelling viewing. There’s a strong commentary, insightfully knowing, on modern societal structures that fits quite naturally within a period piece narrative. Thus LADY MACBETH not only showcases  Pugh’s talents but William Oldroyd’s capabilities as Director from what is his sophomoric offering.

So you have it, I’m Florence Pugh’s new biggest fan. 2016. What a year.

ETHEL & ERNEST (2016)/ Dir. Roger Mainwood (UK)

Sweet and sentimental (but in a good way) and never mawkish, ETHEL & ERNEST an animated adaptation of Raymond Brigg’s graphic novel is an evocative treat. A biographical voyage of Brigg’s parent long and loving marriage through some of Britain’s most turbulent times in modern history (World War II, the creation of the welfare system and the counter-culture scenes of the 1960s). The film is both an inviting history lesson and a deeply personal story of those who lived it, ETHEL& ERNEST is an eloquent and understated ode to understated and ordinary people living in extraordinary times.

While based on actual people that the audience will not have met, there is something universal and familiar about Brigg’s parents. The intimacy gained from the unfussy focus on the ordinariness of life make for an exquisite and involving experience. They may seem unremarkable, even to themselves as they encounter extraordinary obstacles with a stoicism and resiliation that maybe in someone else’ s hands (ahem Ken Loach and SPIRIT OF ’45) might have come off as off-putting hero-worship, but in Roger Mainwood’s skilled hands, Ethel and Ernest Briggs are our grandparents we adore. The animation and voices help – the recognizable voices of Brenda Blethyn and Jim Broadbent – create the familiarity and the charming unshowy animation style fits perfectly with the central characters’ persona and world they live in.

There are moments of darkness in ETHEL & ERNEST that refocuses the story as real-life and not just wistful nostalgia. There are also moments of levity that reveals the film’s great affection for its characters. An ongoing joke in the film is the political differences between the couple; Ernest a staunch working class Labour supporter affectionately  clashing with Ethel’s more Conservative alignment is as much  satirical as it is sharp observational material. This area of -albeit small – conflict between the pair pokes fun at the wider and defining feature of British society – the class system. While gently laughing at Ethel’s pretensions and aspirations, the film simultaneously never commits to laughing at Ethel. It’s a delicate balance that the film manages to treating its characters contemptuously.

A beautifully realised tribute.