![]() In the so-called real world of politics and public discourse, 2015 may have felt like a running series of horror-movie outtakes, too outlandish and disgusting for any self-respecting producer of mid-‘80s teen slasher flicks. What might be called “gender issues” play a central role in nine of the 11, which is another way of saying they’re about human beings.Īny number of movies I really liked did not make this list, or the second-tier honorable mentions, and I look forward to your earnest messages of correction and castigation. Two feature Kristen Wiig, which isn’t surprising since she seemingly appeared in a dozen films this year. Two others have protagonists who were sent to Auschwitz, with radically different results. Two of the films feature transgender sex workers, one a documentary made on the streets of New York, the other a drama made on the streets of Los Angeles. As God is my witness, I never considered that as a factor. Of the movies in my top 10 (by personal convention, I always pick 11), only three were directed by white American men. There are some obvious themes this year, though how to interpret them I’m not sure. Today’s movies - oh, what the hell, today’s cinema - are more daring, more aesthetically varied, more global in scope and vastly more diverse than ever. Auteur-type directors who find themselves at the top of my list this year, like Todd Haynes or Christian Petzold or Abderrahmane Sissako, do not expect to be culture-vulture cocktail-party heroes the way Bergman or Fellini once were, and they’re better off for it. But anyone who thinks it will bring back the glory days of Hollywood is kidding themselves. ![]() Abrams’ relaunched “Star Wars” franchise will keep the swimming pools of Brentwood and Beverly Hills chlorinated, and the Audis and Beemers fueled with premium gas, for a few more years. (Bearing in mind that if we adjust for inflation, it probably still won’t be as big as “Gone With the Wind.”) At the other end of the spectrum, we repeatedly saw indie or art-house directors all over the world respond to the challenge of TV by creating ambitious and unpredictable work meant to be seen in the dark, amid a roomful of strangers. ![]() ![]() We had a Disney-crafted, mega-marketed sequel or remake or whatever it was that will almost certainly end up as the top-grossing movie of all time. If movies aren’t quite what they used to be in terms of cultural impact and centrality - and neither is “cinema,” a term that connotes something slightly different - 2015 was nonetheless a year of dazzling riches. ![]()
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