The Best Movies of 2016, By Roger Costa

1- THE TREASURE (Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu)- A humble, honest, humane anti-capitalism soft comedy about keeping up with integrity, virtues and family priorities. Two neighbors risk their tidy income to invest on a hunt for a buried inheritance. The tender process, the dedication and mutual respect involved, and most important how the hunt ends, strike us with a powerful message reflecting on ‘love thy neighbor as you love yourself’.

2- THE OTHER SIDE (US, Roberto Minervini)/ 13th (US, Ava DuVernay) / LO AND BEHOLD (US, Werner Herzog) (tie)- Three alarming documentaries, each revealing a dark side of human condition while addressing some of America’s most crucial and haunting social conflicts. A revelatory look on drug addiction and racism in Louisiana; the corruption behind lawmakers, racial brutality and modern slavery; and how technology is governing/manipulating this generation and shaping the next. Truth definitely hurts.

3- OUR LITTLE SISTER (Japan, Hirokazu Koreeda)- This lovely and emotionally-charged study of four sisters experiencing the joys of youth, is a universal tale about family bounds and the importance of sticking together.

4- LA LA LAND (US, Damien Chazelle)- Here’s from the ones who believe in the magic of cinema as a healer, escapist, adventurous sacred art: Thank You Damien for making dreams come true with this celebratory masterpiece that unifies comedy, romance, music, dance and the splendor of image with magnificence.

5- MIA MADRE (Italy, Nanni Moretti)- Mr. Moretti turns his lens into the feminine world of Margherita, a strong, settled, mature woman dealing with multiple crisis in her life. A powerfully delicate, unforgettable, heartbreaking look at human experiences, such as caring, loving, helping, and losing at some point. Bravo!

6- THE MEASURE OF A MAN (France, Sandrine Brize)- Evoking Neo-realism, the film is a mesmerizing character study that follows the reactions of a man facing financial challenges and a lower position job. A devastating moral tale that meditates on aging insecurity and compassion, while the show belongs entirely to actor Vincent Lindon with his remarkable ability of expressing his haunting troubles.

7- I, DANIEL BLAKE (UK, Ken Loach)- A vigorously raw portrait on how we treat, respect and care for each other, deeply reflective analysis on social injustice and fight for righteousness, with Oscar-caliber performance by Dave Johns, a widowed carpenter facing unemployment and bureaucracy.

8- MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART (China, Jia Zhangke)- Poetical and humorous, Zhang-ke crafts a love triangle on a triple-time structure as a master of storytelling: the film is efficient both as a sensuous and intriguing melodrama and as a political statement on social differences. An accomplished look on the transformations in economy, society, family values, and how capitalism plays a major role on uniting and dividing.

9- TIKKUN (Israel, Avishai Sivan)- A young orthodox Jewish student is confronted by his natural desires and aspirations in this visually arresting meditation on faith, loyalty and the inspiring power of developing a relationship with the Creator. Complex, controversial and thought-provoking.

10- MANCHESTER BY THE SEA (US, Kenneth Lonergan)- A moving, undeniably beautiful and painful observation on life as it is, carefully designed as a raw portrait of modern dysfunctional families, a dark canvas of the American way of life, and a statement on relationships, between men and women, old and young, parents and children.

OTHER HONORABLE 10: the troubled teen cultural clash father-son indie “Morris From America”; the beautiful portrait of three phases of a gay black American man “Moonlight”; the marital rituals in the seductive “Ixcanul”; the lovely free spirit of Richard Lynklater’s college comedy “Everybody Wants Some!!”; the youth cry for freedom and creation of an artistic voice in “As I Open My Eyes”; the philosophical mature tale of resistance and abandon in “Things To Come”; the mystical, magical spirituality of “Cemetery of Splendor”; the witty sci-fi father-and-son chasing thriller “Midnight Special”; the intensity, turbulence and emotionally charged performances of “Jackie”; and the horrors of being a refugee in Audiard’s “Deephan”.

Also excellent: Captain Fantastic, A Bigger Splash!.
Best Brazilian Film: Don’t Call Me Son by Anna Muylaert.
Best Discovery: First Love by Krzysztof Kieslowski at Momi.
Cinematography: Hell or High Water, Jackie, Silence, La La Land.
Guilty Pleasure: Absolutely Fabulous, Green Room.
Actors: Dave Johns, I, Daniel Blake; Ben Foster, Hell or High Water. Casey Affleck, Manchester By the Sea;
Actresses: Isabelle Huppert, Elle/Things To Come. Natalie Portman, Jackie. Emma Stone, La La Land.
The Worse: The Lobster, Arrival, Knight of Cups, Deadpool.