As far as I’m concerned, the Golden Globes are just one more pretext to talk about films. By the time the event rolls in each year I have hardly had the chance to watch a few of the films released the previous year which I would be interested in. This year is no different. I have watched some of the movies nominated in various categories, but not many, so I will only remotely approach the subject of the nominations. I would rather talk about the films of 2016 that I liked. Many of them would deserve more recognition, not necessarily on the awards circuit (who cares about that anyway besides producers and distributors?), but in general. They should be made more available for people to see them.
So far, one of my absolute favourite films of last year is American Honey. Andrea Arnold has a way to tell stories that stays away from clichés. In American Honey, we find recurrent elements in her films, like social inequality, rebellious spirits, dangerous attractions. Both road journey and coming-of-age story, Andrea Arnold’s film captures the midland-American youth culture with electrifying energy. It feels real (the non-professional actors help achieve that), authentic, alive, there is always the promise of tomorrow hovering over. I also have to mention the performances of Sasha Lane (her feature debut), Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough – all very good.
Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente, Colombia) is another great movie. Directed by Ciro Guerra, it is visually astonishing (filmed in black and white), impassioned, honest, a bold criticism of colonial imperialism and a powerful, honourable portrayal of disappearing cultures.
Isabelle Huppert is nominated for Elle (I hope she wins), but in Mia Hansen-Løve’s L’avenir (Things to Come), she delivers another great performance. And what I probably love more about the latter is that Isabelle is even more commanding on screen in this understated, note-perfect, warm performance than she is in her more controversial roles. I still don’t get the attention around Verhoeven’s Elle and I was expressing my opinion of it being a movie with problematic implications here, hence my reticence towards it and towards the appreciations it has constantly gained. L’avenir, on the other hand, is subtle and intimate and graceful and it left me with a smile on my face.
I was pleasantly, but not unexpectedly, surprised by Tom Ford’s second movie, Nocturnal Animals. Strangely seductive, beautifully constructed, cautiously glamorous. I also talked about Amy Adam’s costumes in a previous blog post. She did a great role, too, but deserves to be nominated for Arrival. The actor that did deserve a recognition for Nocturnal Animals is Michael Shannon. Instead, another supporting actor was nominated, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, which is beyond my understating.
Other notable mentions: Certain Women, by Kelly Reichardt, Emily Blunt’s performance in The Girl on the Train, Ben Affleck in The Accountant (that was a nice surprise). I had highly anticipated Pedro Almodóvat’s Julieta, and while it’s not a bad film, and most certainly not a bad cinematic experience, it left me with the impression that something was missing. The two leading actresses, Emma Suárez, Adriana Ugarte, and Rossy de Palma, in a supporting role, all did great though.
Of what I haven’t yet watched, what I am looking forward to the most is Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson. Also, Manchester by the Sea, directed by Kenneth Lonergan, and Hell or High Water, by David Mackenzie. What else? Yes, the Golden Globes nominees. Let’s have a little talk about them, too. Moonlight has been gaining much momentum. I am yet to watch it, and although my instinct tells me it probably is good, I can not shake off this vague feeling I have that some of the interest it has sparked is driven by the unspoken resolution of the Americans to avoid the risk of other discrimination issues as it was the case last year.
“Are they going to forgive Mel Gibson?” “Are they going to leave his mishaps behind?” I have repeatedly read this kind of thing in the media. For the record, Gibson’s film, Hacksaw Ridge, is a contender in two important categories, best picture and best director. I haven’t yet seen it, but what kind of talk is that? Did he make a good film? Then, damn it, give credit where it’s due! Leave the politics and political correctness aside. It is so pathetic what the movie industry has largely become, plain and simple, a business, dictated by people who, most times, don’t know and don’t give a damn about films. And I just have to quote Jim Jarmusch here, from an interview for The Talks. “My French distributor is a business, but he is also a cinephile. So if I mention Dziga Vertov’s films to him, he knows exactly who I am talking about. If I mention Dziga Vertov to someone in Hollywood, they go, “Is she a Russian model?” They don’t know what movies are. Sam Fuller told me once: “These people in LA, they used to run underwear factories, and now they tell us how to make movies.” What kind of thing is that?”
Update (07.01): I’ve just seen La La Land and it made it to my list of favourites. I didn’t expect to like it, from the simple fact that I rarely like musicals, even classics, but I absolutely loved Damien Chazelle’s modern classic. The leads, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are just perfect, singing and dancing, and Gosling also playing the piano. La La Land offers the kind of escapism and dream-chasing optimism that do you good. I wasn’t a fan of the opening scene, but the rest of the film made up for it and I really liked the bittersweet ending – I am so glad they didn’t mess it up as they usually do in Hollywood.
photos, from top left, clockwise: 1-L’avenir (Detailfilm/Arte France Cinéma) / 2-Embrace of the Serpent (Buffalo Films/Buffalo Producciones) / 3-American Honey (Parts and Labor/British Film Institute) / 4-Nocturnal Animals (Artina Films/Fade to Black Productions)
