THE BEST OF 2014
*1- TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT- The Dardenne Brothers improve their neo-realistic technique as they follow the struggle of a woman trying to save her job. With a breathtaking Marion Cotillard on the leading role, the film explores social issues such as the insecurity of financial despair but its main focus is on reestablishing the relationships among humans and the task of compassion and integrity amidst the materialistic and individualist era. What a supreme fight!
*2- LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON- A family is strike by an unexpected revelation. Their little son, whom they’ve learned to love and care, is not really theirs. Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda examines the situation, observing each player’s reaction, provoking the audience with a profoundly tragic tale about a family divided by moral, consciousness and their conflict between love and the disturbing facts.
*3- OMAR- Living in the middle of the conflicting war in Gaza, the young Palestinian keeps on running from authorities, and from what could lead him into temptation. He’s constantly climbing walls that divide him from his love interest. And each time he crosses the border he’ll test his own limits, as we watch a devastating look on the horrors of modern war.
*4- IDA- A Spectacular and mesmerizing study on female personalities, this Polish gem, gorgeously shot in B&W analysis the impacts suffered by a young nun, when she visits her aunt, investigating faith, virtues and moral values, as well as the essential circle of life itself.
*5- BOYHOOD- Richard Linklater is genial and has always been portraying young generations. And then he decided creating a 12-year long project that examines the growing process and transformations of a kid, his sister, his parents and the world around him, making a truly great American film that should be honored for its originality and honesty, as a remarkable and inspiring love letter to Life and Creation.
*6- BIRDMAN- Like many films this year, Alejandro Gonzalez’s cynical, delightful and aggressive comedy focused on the role of media, the preoccupation of the public opinion, the importance of The NY Times, while exposing the troubles of an artist’s creative process, the ego, self-sufficiency and the risks of fame. Brilliant!
*7- GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL- Wes Anderson enchants once again with his visionary, sensitive and cheerful aspects of a great American story-teller, adding up violence as an element to conceive the funniest and most original film of the year.
*8- CLOSED CURTAIN- Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was banned from making films in his country and decided making his response clandestinely. He shut himself, his dog, and a few other actors in a house by the sea, creating a metaphorical puzzle for the repressive politic his country has to endure.
*9- MOMMY- Xavier Dolan observes a young troubled boy riding on his skateboard, his tumultuous relationship with his mother, their anguish and motives, shattering our hearts with a devastating and revealing look on the disintegration of modern families and the need of saving it.
*10- SELMA- While the film depicts the battles of Martin Luther King for African-Americans’ Rights, it feels like an accurate call for peace and understanding on the current situation of rising racial conflicts in the country. Besides that, it is powerful, vibrant and it carries the Words of the Highest Law.
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