2017
Intro
The following films appeared on year-end lists in Cinema Scope, Film Comment, The New York Times, and Sight & Sound. Selection for the Berlin, Cannes, Locarno, New York, Rotterdam, Sundance, Telluride, Toronto, and Venice film festivals is noted.
Films
3/4
Bulgaria, Germany
Ilian Metev
Lists: Film Comment (9 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (Filmmakers of the Present, 2017) | Rotterdam (Bright Future, 2018) | Toronto (Discovery, 2017)
Araby
Arábia
Brazil
Affonso Uchoa, João Dumans
Lists: Cinema Scope (Special Mention, 2017)
Festivals: Rotterdam (Tiger Competition, 2017)
BPM (Beats Per Minute)
120 battements par minute
France
Robin Campillo
Lists: Film Comment (19, 2017) | Sight & Sound (12, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2017)
Call Me by Your Name
Italy, France
Luca Guadagnino
Lists: Cinema Scope (Special Mention, 2017) | Sight & Sound (3, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Panorama Special, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Sundance (Premieres, 2017) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2017)
Dawson City: Frozen Time
USA
Bill Morrison
Lists: Film Comment (17 - Undistributed, 2016 / 14, 2017)
Festivals: New York (Spotlight on Documentary, 2016) | Rotterdam (Regained, 2017) | Venice (Horizons, 2016)
The Day After
Geu-hu
South Korea
Hong Sang-soo
Lists: Cinema Scope (Special Mention, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Rotterdam (Limelight, 2018) | Toronto (Masters, 2017)
The Death of Louis XIV
La mort de Louis XIV
France, Portugal, Spain
Albert Serra
Lists: Cinema Scope (5, 2016) | Film Comment (7, 2017) | Sight & Sound (10, 2016)
Festivals: Cannes (Special Screenings, 2016) | New York (Explorations, 2016) | Rotterdam (Signatures, 2017) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2016)
Distant Constellation
USA, Turkey, Netherlands
Shevaun Mizrahi
Lists: Film Comment (17 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (Filmmakers of the Present, 2017)
Drift
Germany
Helena Wittmann
Lists: Film Comment (19 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Rotterdam (Bright Future, 2018) | Venice (Critics' Week, 2017)
Dunkirk
UK, USA, France, Netherlands
Christopher Nolan
Lists: New York Times (1 - Dargis, 2017) | Sight & Sound (9, 2017)
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
USA
Frederick Wiseman
Lists: Cinema Scope (Special Mention, 2017) | Film Comment (6, 2017) | New York Times (2 - Dargis, 2017)
Festivals: Toronto (TIFF Docs, 2017) | Venice (In Competition, 2017)
Faces Places
Visages villages
France
Agnès Varda, JR
Lists: Film Comment (8, 2017) | New York Times (3 - Dargis / 5 - Scott, 2017) | Sight & Sound (6, 2017 / 18, 2018)
Festivals: Cannes (Out of Competition, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Telluride (2017) | Toronto (Masters, 2017)
A Fantastic Woman
Una mujer fantástica
Chile
Sebastián Lelio
Lists: New York Times (7 - Scott, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2017) | Telluride (2017) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2017)
The Florida Project
USA
Sean Baker
Lists: Film Comment (13, 2017) | New York Times (4 - Dargis / 1 - Scott, 2017) | Sight & Sound (9, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Directors' Fortnight, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Rotterdam (Limelight, 2018) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2017)
Le fort des fous
France, Algeria, Greece, Germany, Qatar
Narimane Mari
Lists: Film Comment (8 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (Filmmakers of the Present, 2017) | New York (Projections, 2017) | Rotterdam (A History of Shadows, 2018) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2017)
A Gentle Creature
Krotkaya
France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands
Sergei Loznitsa
Lists: Film Comment (2 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2017) | New York (Film Comment Presents, 2017)
Get Out
USA
Jordan Peele
Lists: Film Comment (4, 2017) | New York Times (5 - Dargis / 3 - Scott, 2017) | Sight & Sound (1, 2017)
Festivals: Sundance (Secret Screening, 2017)
A Ghost Story
USA
David Lowery
Lists: Sight & Sound (11, 2017)
Festivals: Sundance (Premieres, 2017)
God’s Own Country
UK
Francis Lee
Lists: Sight & Sound (15, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Panorama, 2017) | Sundance (World Cinema Dramatic Competition, 2017)
Golden Exits
USA
Alex Ross Perry
Lists: Film Comment (11 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Forum, 2017) | Sundance (US Dramatic Competition, 2017)
Good Luck
France, Germany
Ben Russell
Lists: Cinema Scope (Special Mention, 2017) | Film Comment (16 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (International Competition, 2017) | New York (Projections, 2017) | Rotterdam (Signatures, 2018) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2017)
Good Time
USA
Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie
Lists: Cinema Scope (6, 2017) | Film Comment (1, 2017) | Sight & Sound (7, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2017) | Locarno (Piazza Grande, 2017)
Graduation
Bacalaureat
Romania, France, Belgium
Cristian Mungiu
Lists: New York Times (8 - Scott, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2016) | New York (Main Slate, 2016) | Telluride (2016) | Toronto (Masters, 2016)
The Human Surge
El auge del humano
Argentina, Brazil, Portugal
Eduardo Williams
Lists: Cinema Scope (8, 2016) | Film Comment (11, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (Filmmakers of the Present, 2016) | New York (Projections, 2016) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2016)
Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc
Jeannette, l'enfance de Jeanne d'Arc
France
Bruno Dumont
Lists: Cinema Scope (8, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Directors' Fortnight, 2017) | Rotterdam (Signatures, 2018) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2017)
Lady Bird
USA
Greta Gerwig
Lists: Film Comment (10, 2017) | New York Times (6 - Dargis / 2 - Scott, 2017) | Sight & Sound (19, 2017)
Festivals: New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Rotterdam (Limelight, 2018) | Telluride (2017) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2017)
Lady Macbeth
UK
William Oldroyd
Lists: Sight & Sound (12, 2017)
Festivals: Rotterdam (Limelight, 2017) | Sundance (Spotlight, 2017) | Toronto (Platform, 2016)
Life and Nothing More
Spain, USA
Antonio Méndez Esparza
Lists: Film Comment (14 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema, 2017)
The Lost City of Z
USA
James Gray
Lists: Film Comment (9, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Berlinale Special Gala, 2017) | New York (Main Slate - Closing Night, 2017)
Loveless
Nelyubov
Russia, France, Belgium, Germany
Andrey Zvyagintsev
Lists: Sight & Sound (8, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2017) | Telluride (2017) | Toronto (Masters, 2017)
Milla
France
Valérie Massadian
Lists: Film Comment (4 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (Filmmakers of the Present, 2017) | Rotterdam (Bright Future, 2018)
Mother!
USA
Darren Aronofsky
Lists: Sight & Sound (19, 2017)
Festivals: Toronto (Special Presentations, 2017) | Venice (In Competition, 2017)
Mrs. Fang
France, China, Germany
Wang Bing
Lists: Film Comment (6 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (International Competition, 2017) | Rotterdam (Signatures, 2018) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2017)
Mrs. Hyde
Madame Hyde
France, Belgium
Serge Bozon
Lists: Film Comment (12 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (International Competition, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Rotterdam (Voices, 2018)
Mudbound
USA
Dee Rees
Lists: Film Comment (18, 2017) | Sight & Sound (19, 2017)
Festivals: New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Sundance (Premieres, 2017) | Toronto (Gala Presentations, 2017)
Nocturama
France
Bertrand Bonello
Lists: Cinema Scope (3, 2016) | Film Comment (3 - Undistributed, 2016 / 5, 2017) | Sight & Sound (13, 2016)
Festivals: Rotterdam (A Band Apart, 2017) | Toronto (Platform, 2016)
The Nothing Factory
A Fábrica de Nada
Portugal
Pedro Pinho
Lists: Film Comment (1 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Directors' Fortnight, 2017) | Rotterdam (Bright Future, 2018) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2017)
Okja
South Korea, USA
Bong Joon-ho
Lists: New York Times (7 - Dargis, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2017)
On the Beach at Night Alone
Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja
South Korea
Hong Sang-soo
Lists: Cinema Scope (4, 2017) | Film Comment (16, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017)
The Other Side of Hope
Toivon tuolla puolen
Finland, Germany
Aki Kaurismäki
Lists: Film Comment (12, 2017) | Sight & Sound (25, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Telluride (2017) | Toronto (Masters, 2017)
Personal Shopper
France
Olivier Assayas
Lists: Film Comment (3, 2017) | Sight & Sound (11, 2016 / 16, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2016) | New York (Main Slate, 2016) | Rotterdam (Limelight, 2017) | Toronto (Masters, 2016)
Phantom Thread
USA
Paul Thomas Anderson
Lists: Cinema Scope (5, 2017) | Film Comment (15, 2017) | New York Times (8 - Dargis / 6 - Scott, 2017) | Sight & Sound (2, 2018)
Festivals: Rotterdam (Limelight, 2018)
PROTOTYPE
Canada
Blake Williams
Lists: Cinema Scope (10, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (Out of Competition, 2017) | Toronto (Wavelengths, 2017)
The Quartet (Elohim, Abaton, Coda, Ode)
USA
Nathaniel Dorsky
Lists: Film Comment (18 - Undistributed, 2017)
A Quiet Passion
UK, Belgium
Terence Davies
Lists: Film Comment (2, 2017) | New York Times (9 - Dargis / 9 - Scott, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Berlinale Special, 2016) | New York (Film Comment Presents, 2016) | Toronto (Masters, 2016)
The Shape of Water
USA
Guillermo del Toro
Lists: Sight & Sound (16, 2017)
Festivals: Rotterdam (Limelight, 2018) | Telluride (2017) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2017) | Venice (In Competition, 2017)
Spoor
Pokot
Poland, Germany, Czech Republic
Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik
Lists: Film Comment (7 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Competition, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017)
The Square
Sweden
Ruben Östlund
Lists: Film Comment (20, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2017) | New York (Main Slate, 2017) | Toronto (Special Presentations, 2017)
Streetscapes [Dialogue]
Germany
Heinz Emigholz
Lists: Cinema Scope (7, 2017) | Film Comment (3 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Forum, 2017)
Strong Island
USA, Denmark
Yance Ford
Lists: Sight & Sound (16, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Panorama, 2017) | Locarno (Histoire(s) du Cinema, 2017) | Sundance (US Documentary Competition, 2017)
Tonsler Park
USA
Kevin Jerome Everson
Lists: Film Comment (5 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: New York (Projections, 2017) | Rotterdam (Signatures, 2017)
Twin Peaks: The Return
USA
David Lynch
Lists: Cinema Scope (1, 2017) | Sight & Sound (2, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Special Screenings - episodes 1 & 2, 2017)
Until the Birds Return
En attendant les hirondelles
France, Algeria, Germany
Karim Moussaoui
Lists: Film Comment (15 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Un Certain Regard, 2017)
Untitled
Austria
Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi
Lists: Film Comment (20 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Berlin (Panorama, 2017)
The Venerable W.
Le vénérable W.
France, Switzerland
Barbet Schroeder
Lists: Film Comment (10 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Special Screenings, 2017) | Locarno (Out of Competition, 2017) | New York (Spotlight on Documentary, 2017) | Telluride (2017)
The Wandering Soap Opera
La Telenovela Errante
Chile
Raúl Ruiz, Valéria Sarmiento
Lists: Film Comment (13 - Undistributed, 2017)
Festivals: Locarno (International Competition, 2017) | Rotterdam (Signatures, 2018)
War for the Planet of the Apes
USA
Matt Reeves
Lists: New York Times (10 - Scott, 2017)
Wonder Woman
USA
Patty Jenkins
Lists: New York Times (10 - Dargis, 2017)
Wonderstruck
USA
Todd Haynes
Lists: Film Comment (17, 2017)
Festivals: Cannes (Competition, 2017) | Locarno (Histoire(s) du Cinema, 2017) | New York (Main Slate - Centerpiece, 2017) | Telluride (2017)