Being the year’s final issue, custom dictates I give you my best of 2014. Ordinarily, we only review English-language releases, but since many of these films are now available on DVD/BluRay and streaming media, I won’t limit myself here.
5. Blind / Nymphomaniac (Parts I & II)
Tying is a cheat, but if Cannes can, so can I. Eskil Vogt’s directorial debut is a surprisingly sensual, lucid dream experience that brushes up against uncharted territory for the medium. Lars Von Trier’s epic meta-narrative is aggressively confrontational, culturally challenging and serves to remind us why he’s still as significant as he knows he is.
4. Like Father, Like Son
Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan’s modern-day Bergman, brings us his most satisfying – and mainstream – film to date. It’s a wonderfully touching drama about two families who discover they’ve been raising the other’s son.
3. The Look of Silence
Joshua Oppenheimer follows up on his 2012 masterpiece with this, a quieter but no less potent examination of the aftermath of Indonesia’s mid-60s genocide.
2. Nightcrawler
Imagine Citizen Kane written by Paul Schrader and directed by Michael Mann. Jake Gyllenhal is at his gaunt, crazy-eyed best as freelance news journalist Lou Bloom.
1. Boyhood
Richard Linklater’s latest masterpiece is a unique exploration of youth and time – the culmination of his work so far. Pure cinema, and not to be missed. (MW)
