My Top Film Festival movies for 2017 (in list order)
Artful films that took my fancy in competition at Cannes, Venice and Berlin 2017...
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26 titles
- DirectorSamuel MaozStarsLior AshkenaziSarah AdlerYonatan ShirayA troubled family must face the facts when something goes terribly wrong at their son's desolate military post.1. A powerful three act story told with a surreal absurdist style and creative flair... (Venice)
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsFrances McDormandWoody HarrelsonSam RockwellA mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter's murder when they fail to catch the culprit.2. Sheer brilliance in all departments... (Venice)
- DirectorRuben ÖstlundStarsClaes BangElisabeth MossDominic WestA prestigious Stockholm museum's chief art curator finds himself in times of both professional and personal crisis as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit.7. Starts as a brilliant farce on the machinations of an art museum and soon spirals into the fascinating downfall of an art curator, showing that the prestiges art world is even a wild jungle... (Cannes)
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsEthan HawkeAmanda SeyfriedCedric The EntertainerA minister of a small congregation in upstate New York grapples with mounting despair brought on by tragedy, worldly concerns and a tormented past.9. Schrader is back in form with this soul searching mindfield... (Venice)
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsSally HawkinsOctavia SpencerMichael ShannonAt a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.10. Mesmerizing and hypnotic due to del Toro's wild imagination, even the corny bits were perfect... (Venice)
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsTilda SwintonPaul DanoAhn Seo-hyunA young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend - a fascinating beast named Okja.22. It has plenty to say about the horrid state of our eating habits and the political games we all play to justify it, even the ones fighting against it. All this in an entertaining over-the-top style with a real emotional depth amongst all the zaniness... (Cannes)
- DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsAdam SandlerGrace Van PattenDustin HoffmanAn estranged family gathers together in New York City for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.27. A tremendous cast are given snappy dialogue and quirky characters and make it work wonders... (Cannes)
- DirectorSebastián LelioStarsDaniela VegaFrancisco ReyesLuis GneccoMarina, a transgender woman who works as a waitress and moonlights as a nightclub singer, is bowled over by the death of her older boyfriend.31. Well thought-out drama with a standout performance from Vega... (Berlin)
- DirectorRobin CampilloStarsNahuel Pérez BiscayartArnaud ValoisAdèle HaenelMembers of the advocacy group ACT UP Paris demand action by the government and pharmaceutical companies to combat the AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s.34. A fascinating and passionate look into the machinations of the AIDS ACT UP group in Paris during the late Eighties and the struggles of one of its founding members, Sean... (Cannes)
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsLouis GarrelStacy MartinBérénice BejoIn 1967, during the making of "La Chinoise," film director Jean-Luc Godard falls in love with 19-year-old actress Anne Wiazemsky and marries her.39. Being Godard is hard, but being with him is more difficult as witnessed in this warts and all story of love with cinema's renowned director done the Godardian way to perfection... (Cannes)
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsMatt DamonChristoph WaltzHong ChauA social satire in which a man realizes he would have a better life if he were to shrink himself to five inches tall, allowing him to live in wealth and splendor.40. The tiny adventures of Paul Safranek in this engaging satire... (Venice)
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsNicole KidmanKirsten DunstElle FanningThe unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.53. Sofia sets the perfect tone for this dark sinister unique tale set in a remote southern manor where an injured Union Soldier manipulates a group of women in order to survive... (Cannes)
- DirectorAndrew HaighStarsCharlie PlummerAmy SeimetzTravis FimmelA teenager gets a summer job working for a horse trainer and befriends the fading racehorse, Lean on Pete.56. Somber and effective piece about a teenager who hits the road with a stolen horse as the world crumbles around him... (Venice)
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsBarry G. BernsonHerb CaillouetBill CampSteven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behavior of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister.57. Yorgos and Farrell team up again for more absurdity but this time with a darker sinister twisted tone that hooks you in for the strange ride... (Cannes)
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsOakes FegleyJulianne MooreMichelle WilliamsTells the tale of two children separated by fifty years. In 1927, Rose searches for the actress whose life she chronicles in her scrapbook; in 1977, Ben runs away from home to find his father.65. There are certain elements within the story that work magically in the book, but on screen you just have to accept the coincidental accidents that bind the story which Haynes pulls off with creative flair... (Cannes)
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsMasatoshi NagaseAyame MisakiTatsuya FujiA passionate writer of film versions for visually impaired people meets an older photographer who is slowly losing his eyesight.73. An intriguing premise of a woman narrating movies for the blind where she meets a photographer losing his sight makes this an interesting artful story... (Cannes)
- DirectorWarwick ThorntonStarsHamilton MorrisShanika ColeEwen LeslieWestern set on the Northern Territory frontier in the 1920s, where justice itself is put on trial when an aged Aboriginal farmhand shoots a white man in self-defense and goes on the run as a posse gathers to hunt him down.76. A meditative view into the hardships of Indigenous life in early outback Australia with strong visuals telling a harrowing tale... (Venice)
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsMatt DamonJulianne MooreOscar IsaacAs a 1950s suburban community self-destructs, a home invasion has sinister consequences for one seemingly normal family.93. A neat homage to Fifties Hollywood thrillers with a bit of Film Noir thrown in as well as some racial tension which makes for an interesting mess... (Venice)
- DirectorFrançois OzonStarsMarine VacthJérémie RenierJacqueline BissetChloé, a fragile young woman, falls in love with her psychoanalyst, Paul. A few months later she moves in with him, but soon discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity.110. Ozon goes Hitchcock but adds his twisted take on it and almost pulls it off... (Cannes)
- DirectorAki KaurismäkiStarsSherwan HajiSakari KuosmanenKaija PakarinenA poker-playing restaurateur and former traveling salesman befriends a group of refugees newly arrived to Finland.113. Aki's skewed view of a refugee's plight is downplayed but yet effective... (Berlin)
- DirectorBenny SafdieJosh SafdieStarsRobert PattinsonBenny SafdieJennifer Jason LeighAfter a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.117. An intense setup that loses steam when one of the main characters drops out of sight until the stunning simple ending, and the end credit song with Iggy Pop was the best of 2017... (Cannes)
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsJennifer LawrenceJavier BardemEd HarrisA couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.128. Aronofsky's mind bender plays like early psychological Polanski mixed with the zanniness of later Fellini, turning it into a muddled symbolic shambles of the fascinating kind... (Venice)
- DirectorJian LiuStarsChanglong ZhuKai CaoJian LiuA city in southern China and a bag containing a million yuan draw several people from diverse backgrounds with different personal motives into a bloody conflict.147. A mixture of Tarantino and Guy Ritchie but in animation form, and a clever idea at that... (Berlin)
- DirectorJacques DoillonStarsVincent LindonIzïa HigelinSéverine CaneeleAn account of the famous French sculptor's romance with Camille Claudel.150. Plays like a highlight reel of the life and work of a passionate and true artist during the creation of his finest work... (Cannes)
- DirectorLynne RamsayStarsJoaquin PhoenixJudith RobertsEkaterina SamsonovA traumatized veteran unafraid of violence tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered leading to what could be his death trip or his awakening.169. An artful violent film with a purpose... (Cannes)
- DirectorSally PotterStarsTimothy SpallKristin Scott ThomasPatricia ClarksonJanet hosts a party to celebrate her new promotion, but once the guests arrive, it becomes clear that not everything will be going down as smoothly as the red wine.179. Apart from the brilliant ending, this is a hit and miss theatrical piece maybe worthy of the cast... (Berlin)