Accounting For Taste

Film Comment 2014

Intro

The following films appeared in the Film Comment best of 2014 poll. The poll is divided between films that received US theatrical distribution in 2014 and those that did not (including self-distributed films). These are abridged versions of the lists as they appeared in the print edition of the magazine.

Sources: Best Films of 2014, Best Unreleased Films of 2014

Films

1. Boyhood

USA
Richard Linklater

Lists: Cinema Scope (Special Mention, 2014) | New York Times (Dargis, 2014 / 1 - Scott, 2014) | Sight & Sound (1, 2014)

Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2014) | Sundance (Premieres, 2014)

2. Goodbye to Language

Adieu au langage
France
Jean-Luc Godard

Lists: Cinema Scope (2, 2014) | New York Times (Dargis, 2014) | Sight & Sound (2, 2014)

Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2014) | Locarno (Out of Competition, 2014) | New York (Main Slate, 2014) | Toronto (Masters, 2014)

3. The Grand Budapest Hotel

USA, Germany, UK
Wes Anderson

Lists: New York Times (Dargis, 2014 / Runner Up - Scott, 2014) | Sight & Sound (6, 2014)

Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2014)

4. Ida

Poland
Pawel Pawlikowski

Lists: New York Times (2 - Scott, 2014) | Sight & Sound (9, 2014)

Festivals: Rotterdam (The State of Europe, 2014) | Sundance (Spotlight, 2014) | Telluride (2013) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2013)

5. Under the Skin

UK, USA
Jonathan Glazer

Lists: Sight & Sound (5, 2014)

Festivals: Telluride (2013) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2013) | Venice (In Competition, 2013)

6. Stranger by the Lake

L'inconnu du lac
France
Alain Guiraudie

Lists: Cinema Scope (1, 2013) | Sight & Sound (9, 2013)

Festivals: Cannes (Un Certain Regard, 2013) | New York (Main Slate, 2013) | Rotterdam (Spectrum, 2014) | Sundance (Spotlight, 2014) | Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema, 2013)

7. Citizenfour

USA
Laura Poitras

Lists: New York Times (3 - Scott, 2014) | Sight & Sound (18, 2014)

Festivals: Berlin (LOLA at Berlinale, 2015) | New York (Main Slate, 2014)

8. Birdman

USA
Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Lists: New York Times (Dargis, 2014) | Sight & Sound (16, 2014)

Festivals: New York (Main Slate - Closing Night, 2014) | Telluride (2014) | Venice (In Competition - Opening Film, 2014)

9. Inherent Vice

USA
Paul Thomas Anderson

Lists: Cinema Scope (6, 2014) | New York Times (Dargis, 2014) | Sight & Sound (9, 2015)

Festivals: New York (Main Slate - Centerpiece, 2014) | Rotterdam (Limelight, 2015)

10. The Immigrant

USA
James Gray

Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2013) | New York (Main Slate, 2013)

11. Two Days, One Night

Deux jours, une nuit
Belgium, France, Italy
Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Lists: Cinema Scope (Special Mention, 2014) | New York Times (Runner Up - Scott, 2014) | Sight & Sound (16, 2014)

Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2014) | New York (Main Slate, 2014) | Telluride (2014) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2014)

12. Only Lovers Left Alive

UK, Germany
Jim Jarmusch

Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2013) | New York (Main Slate, 2013) | Rotterdam (Spectrum, 2014) | Sundance (Spotlight, 2014) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2013)

13. Mr. Turner

UK
Mike Leigh

Lists: New York Times (8 - Scott, 2014) | Sight & Sound (11, 2014)

Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2014) | New York (Main Slate, 2014) | Telluride (2014) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2014)

14. Force Majeure

Turist
Sweden
Ruben Östlund

Lists: Cinema Scope (Special Mention, 2014)

Festivals: Cannes (Un Certain Regard, 2014) | Rotterdam (Limelight, 2015) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2014)

15. Norte, the End of History

Norte, hangganan ng kasaysayan
Philippines
Lav Diaz

Lists: Cinema Scope (2, 2013) | Sight & Sound (9, 2013)

Festivals: Cannes (Un Certain Regard, 2013) | Locarno (Jury Films, 2013) | New York (Main Slate, 2013) | Rotterdam (Spectrum, 2014) | Toronto (Masters, 2013)

16. Whiplash

USA
Damien Chazelle

Lists: Sight & Sound (11, 2014)

Festivals: Cannes (Directors' Fortnight, 2014) | New York (Main Slate, 2014) | Sundance (US Dramatic Competition, 2014) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2014)

17. Stray Dogs

Jiao you
Taiwan
Tsai Ming-liang

Lists: Cinema Scope (6, 2013)

Festivals: New York (Main Slate, 2013) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2013) | Venice (In Competition, 2013)

18. National Gallery

USA, France
Frederick Wiseman

Lists: New York Times (Dargis, 2014) | Sight & Sound (11, 2014)

Festivals: Cannes (Directors' Fortnight, 2014) | New York (Spotlight on Documentary, 2014) | Toronto (Docs, 2014)

19. Manakamana

USA, Nepal
Stephanie Spray, Pacho Velez

Lists: Cinema Scope (Special Mention, 2013) | New York Times (Dargis, 2013 / 2014)

Festivals: Locarno (Filmmakers of the Present, 2013) | New York (Motion Portraits [Documentary], 2013) | Rotterdam (Bright Future, 2014) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2013)

20. Snowpiercer

Seolgungnyeolcha
South Korea, Czech Republic, USA, France
Bong Joon-ho

Lists: New York Times (Dargis, 2014 / Runner Up - Scott, 2014)

Festivals: Berlin (Forum, 2014)

Undistributed

1. The Wonders

Le meraviglie
Italy, Switzerland, Germany
Alice Rohrwacher

Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2014) | New York (Main Slate, 2014) | Rotterdam (Limelight, 2015)

2. Hill of Freedom

Jayuui eondeok
South Korea
Hong Sang-soo

Festivals: New York (Main Slate, 2014) | Toronto (Masters, 2014) | Venice (Horizons, 2014)

3. Pasolini

USA
Abel Ferrara

Festivals: New York (Main Slate, 2014) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2014) | Venice (In Competition, 2014)

4. The Iron Ministry

USA, China
J.P. Sniadecki

Festivals: Locarno (International Competition, 2014) | New York (Spotlight on Documentary, 2014) | Rotterdam (Spectrum, 2015)

5. From What Is Before

Mula sa kung ano ang noon
Philippines
Lav Diaz

Lists: Cinema Scope (10, 2014)

Festivals: Locarno (International Competition, 2014) | Rotterdam (Spectrum, 2015) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2014)

6. Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait

Eau argentée, Syrie autoportrait
Syria, France
Wiam Bedirxan, Ossama Mohammed

Festivals: Cannes (Special Screenings, 2014) | Locarno (Jury Films, 2014) | New York (Spotlight on Documentary, 2014) | Toronto (Docs, 2014)

7. Approaching the Elephant

USA
Amanda Wilder

Festivals: Rotterdam (Bright Future, 2015)

8. The Kindergarten Teacher

Haganenet
Israel, France
Nadav Lapid

Lists: Cinema Scope (7, 2014) | New York Times (7 - Dargis, 2015)

Festivals: Cannes (Critics' Week, 2014)

9. Stray Dog

USA
Debra Granik

Festivals: New York (Spotlight on Documentary, 2014)

10. Socialism

Sosialismi
Finland
Peter von Bagh

Festivals: Locarno (Histoire(s) du Cinema, 2014) | Telluride (Backlot, 2014)

11. The Harvest

USA
John McNaughton

12. Journey to the West

Xi You
France, Taiwan
Tsai Ming-liang

Lists: Cinema Scope (9, 2014)

Festivals: Berlin (Panorama, 2014) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2014)

13. Young Bodies Heal Quickly

USA
Andrew T. Betzer

14. We Come as Friends

Austria, France
Huber Sauper

Festivals: Berlin (Berlinale Special, 2014) | Sundance (World Cinema Documentary Competition, 2014)

15. The Japanese Dog

Câinele Japonez
Romania
Tudor Cristian Jurgiu

16. History of Fear

Historia del miedo
Argentina
Benjamín Naishtat

Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2014)

17. For the Plasma

USA
Bingham Bryant, Kyle Molzan

18. August Winds

Ventos de Agosto
Brazil
Gabriel Mascaro

Festivals: Rotterdam (Spectrum, 2015)

19. A Girl at My Door

Dohee-ya
South Korea
July Jung

Festivals: Cannes (Un Certain Regard, 2014) | Toronto (City to City, 2014)

20. Fort Buchanan

France, Tunisia
Benjamin Crotty

Festivals: Locarno (Signs of Life, 2014) | Rotterdam (Bright Future, 2015)