Out of the 50-odd 2011 releases I’ve seen, these five films have made my year. A Separation and Senna are probably the two I’d put at the very top of the list, having responded quite strongly to them emotionally, while the other three are more aesthetic choices.
A Separation (Asghar Farhadi — Iran)
Superb Iranian drama that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. The acting is superb across the board.
Original blog post => HERE
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Senna (Asif Kapadia — UK)
Thrilling, gripping, moving, gut-wrenching & inspiring. That about sums it up, I think.
Original blog post => HERE
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Meek’s Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt — USA)
Bleak and austere, beautiful and hypnotic, there’s very little dialogue but plenty of stunning shots & some great acting (Michelle Williams really shines in this and Bruce Greenwood is unrecognizable). This is definitely going to be on my Best-of-2011 list. About the polarizing ending: the last shot is exactly what I had imagined the film would end with.
Original blog post => HERE
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Mysteries of Lisbon (Raúl Ruiz — Portugal)
Full-blown intrigue and romanticism, women at their most delicate fainting right left and center, some awesome tracking shots and camera angles, tons of characters, locations, languages, sub-plots, costumes, and some seriously grandiose interiors. And all that over 4.5 hours.
Original blog post => HERE
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The Turin Horse (Béla Tarr — Hungary)
Gloom, doom and gusty winds.
Original blog post => HERE
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Films of 2011 blogged on this tumblr => HERE
Films of 2011 I saw and liked (not ranked, but listed in some sort of chronological order) => HERE
