Voilà AWAV’s annual list (for last year’s, go here). This was an unusual year for movies, as theaters were closed for over seven months, during the second confinement, or lockdown, which began on October 30, 2020. After the confinement was lifted, on May 19th, a big backlog of movies—most made before the pandemic and which did not open in 2020—hit the salles, with at least four or five opening in any given week, and through the year, that were well-reviewed and looked worth seeing. And so I saw quite a few (though some I really didn’t need to). Par contre, I spent five weeks in the US last summer and went to the cinoche but once. When it comes to going to the movies, France (and particularly Paris) is so far superior to America. N.B. I did not see ‘No Time to Die’, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, or ‘Dune’, and regardless of stellar reviews and word-of-mouth. Not my genres. I also have not seen Steven Spielberg’s remake of ‘West Side Story’, as IMHO this is not a movie that needed to be remade.
TOP 10:
Ballad of a White Cow (Le Pardon قصیده گاو سفید)
Drive My Car (ドライブ・マイ・カー)
Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares)
Just 6.5 (La Loi de Téhéran متری شیش و نیم)
Kuessipan
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Sound of Metal
The Father
The Mauritanian
There Is No Evil (Le Diable n’existe pas شیطان وجود ندارد)
HONORABLE MENTION:
A Hero (قهرمان)
Good Mother (Bonne mère)
Nomadland
The Endless Trench (La trinchera infinita)
The Speech (Le Discours)
BEST MOVIE FROM KAZAKHSTAN:
A Dark, Dark Man (Чёрный, чёрный человек)
BEST MOVIE FROM CAMBODIA:
White Building (អគារពណ៌ស)
BEST MOVIE FROM CHINA SET IN TIBET:
Balloon (气球)
BEST MOVIE FROM JAPAN WITH A WORLD WAR II THEME:
Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle (万夜を越えて)
SECOND BEST MOVIE FROM JAPAN WITH A WORLD WAR II THEME:
Wife of a Spy (Les Amants sacrifiés スパイの妻)
BEST COMEDY FROM JAPAN:
Hospitalité (歓待)
BEST FRANCO-ARMENIAN MOVIE SET IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH:
Should the Wind Fall (Si le vent tombe)
BEST MOVIE FROM FINLAND SET IN RUSSIA:
Compartment No. 6 (Hytti nro 6 Купе номер шесть)
BEST MOVIE FROM RUSSIA SET IN THE EARLY 1960s SOVIET UNION:
Dear Comrades! (Дорогие товарищи!)
BEST NOT BAD MOVIE FROM ENGLAND SET IN THE EARLY 1960s SOVIET UNION:
The Courier
BLEAKEST MOVIE FROM LITHUANIA SET IN THE LATE 1940s SOVIET UNION:
In the Dusk (Sutemose)
ZANIEST MOVIE FROM ROMANIA:
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc)
BEST BIOPIC FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC ABOUT A FORGOTTEN CZECHOSLOVAK HERBALIST HEALER WHO WAS FAMOUS IN HIS ERA:
Charlatan (Šarlatán)
MOST AUSTERE MOVIE FROM SLOVAKIA:
Servants (Služobníci)
BEST MOVIE FROM DENMARK ABOUT A BUNCH OF MIDDLE-AGED GUYS TRYING TO DRINK EACH OTHER UNDER THE TABLE:
Another Round (Druk)
BEST MOVIE FROM NORWAY ABOUT AN AMIABLE THIRTYSOMETHING WOMAN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HER LIFE:
The Worst Person in the World (Verdens verste menneske)
BEST MOVIE FROM SWEDEN ABOUT THE SLEAZY SIDE OF THE ADULT FILM INDUSTRY IN LOS ANGELES:
Pleasure
BEST MOVIE FROM ENGLAND ABOUT A SIXTYSOMETHING ENGLISH CONVERT TO ISLAM WHO DISCOVERS A SECRET ABOUT HER BELOVED DECEASED PAKISTANI HUSBAND:
After Love
BEST SWISS MOVIE FROM UKRAINE:
Olga
BEST SWISS MOVIE FROM LEBANON:
Skies of Lebanon (Sous le ciel d’Alice)
BEST ROAD MOVIE FROM PALESTINE:
200 Meters (٢٠٠ متر)
BEST ROMANTIC COMEDY FROM PALESTINE:
Gaza mon amour (غزة مونامور)
MOST NOT TOO GOOD MOVIE FROM MOROCCO ABOUT AN OVER-THE-HILL HIP HOP SINGER IN CASABLANCA:
Zanka Contact (Burning Casablanca)
BEST NOT BAD GAY-THEMED MOVIE FROM SOUTH AFRICA ABOUT THE SOUTH AFRICAN ARMY IN THE APARTHEID ERA:
Moffie
BEST MOVIE FROM SENEGAL ABOUT TWO BROTHERS IN A VILLAGE WHO ARE IN CONFLICT OVER TRADITION VERSUS MODERNITY:
Nafi’s Father
BEST MOVIE FROM HAITI ABOUT TWO SISTERS TRYING TO GET BY IN THE MIDST OF STATE COLLAPSE:
Freda
BEST BIOPIC FROM COLOMBIA ABOUT A MEDELLÍN SOCIAL ACTIVIST DOCTOR AND ALL-AROUND GOOD MAN WHO WAS A VICTIM OF COLOMBIA’S TRAGEDY:
Forgotten We’ll Be (El olvido que seremos)
BEST BIOPIC FROM QUEBEC ABOUT A FAMOUS AND BELOVED QUÉBÉCOISE POP SINGER:
Aline
BEST BIOPIC FROM FRANCE ABOUT A FAMOUS AND NOT NECESSARILY BELOVED FRENCH RAP SINGER:
Suprêmes
BEST HOLLYWOOD BIOPIC ABOUT THE TRAGIC LIFE OF A FAMOUS AND BELOVED AMERICAN JAZZ AND BLUES SINGER:
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday
BEST BIOPIC FROM FRANCE ABOUT THE ARCHITECT OF THE EIFFEL TOWER:
Eiffel
BEST MOVIE FROM FRANCE BASED ON A BALZAC NOVEL:
Eugénie Grandet
SECOND BEST MOVIE FROM FRANCE BASED ON A BALZAC NOVEL:
Lost Illusions (Illusions perdues)
WORST MOVIE FROM FRANCE BASED ON A PHILIP ROTH NOVEL:
Deception (Tromperie)
BEST THRILLER FROM FRANCE ABOUT CORPORATE MALFEASANCE:
Red Soil (Rouge)
SECOND BEST THRILLER FROM FRANCE ABOUT CORPORATE MALFEASANCE:
Black Box (Boîte noire)
BEST MOVIE FROM FRANCE WITH A REPRESSED MEMORY OF THE ALGERIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE THEME:
Home Front (Des hommes)
BEST POLICE ACTION MOVIE FROM FRANCE ABOUT ROGUE COPS VERSUS DRUG TRAFFICKING GANGS IN THE MEAN HOUSING PROJECTS OF MARSEILLE:
The Stronghold (BAC Nord)
BEST DRAMA FROM FRANCE ABOUT THE POINTLESS SECURITY THEATER OF FRANCE’S ANTI-TERRORISM MILITARY STREET PATROLS:
The Third War (La Troisième guerre)
BEST COURTROOM DRAMA FROM FRANCE ABOUT GETTING AT THE TRUTH IN A SEXUAL ASSAULT CASE:
The Accusation (Les Choses humaines)
BEST MOVIE FROM FRANCE ABOUT A 22-YEAR-OLD WOMAN AND THE NIGHTMARE OF UNWANTED PREGNANCY IN THE PRE-LEGAL ABORTION ERA:
Happening (L’Événement)
BEST HORROR MOVIE FROM FRANCE ABOUT A WOMAN WHO RAISES EDIBLE LOCUSTS ON HER FARM BUT WHICH GETS OUT OF HAND:
The Swarm (La Nuée)
BEST GEM OF A LIGHT COMEDY FROM FRANCE ABOUT A GROUP OF TWENTYSOMETHING YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER:
All Hands on Deck (À l’abordage)
BEST MOVIE FROM FRANCE ABOUT A PROSTITUTE AND HER TEENAGE SON IN STRASBOURG WITH LAURE CALAMY IN THE LEAD ROLE:
Her Way (Une femme du monde)
BEST ROHMERESQUE ROMANTIC COMEDY FROM FRANCE ABOUT THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN A YOUNGER WOMAN AND AN OLDER WOMAN WITH ANAÏS DEMOUSTIER AND VALERIA BRUNI TEDESCHI IN THE LEAD ROLES:
Anaïs in Love (Les Amours d’Anaïs)
BEST MOVIE FROM FRANCE ABOUT MARITAL POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CLASS CONFLICT IN A HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM DURING THE GILETS JAUNES MOVEMENT WITH VALERIA BRUNI TEDESCHI AND MARINA FOÏS IN THE LEAD ROLES:
The Divide (La Fracture)
BEST MOVIE FROM FRANCE ABOUT A MARRIED COUPLE DEALING WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER WITH LEÏLA BEKHTI AND DAMIEN BONNARD IN THE LEAD ROLES:
The Restless (Les Intranquilles)
BEST NOT BAD MOVIE FROM FRANCE ABOUT ASSISTED SUICIDE WITH ANDRÉ DUSSOLLIER AND SOPHIE MARCEAU IN THE LEAD ROLES:
Everything Went Fine (Tout s’est bien passé)
MOST WILD-AND-CRAZY FRENCH MOVIE SET IN 17TH CENTURY TUSCANY WITH VIRGINIE EFIRA AND CHARLOTTE RAMPLING IN THE LEAD ROLES:
Benedetta
MOST WILD-AND-CRAZY FRANCO-BELGIAN MUSICAL OPERA SET IN LOS ANGELES WITH ADAM DRIVER AND MARION COTILLARD IN THE LEAD ROLES:
Annette
MOST NOT ALL THAT GOOD FRENCH MUSICAL SET IN LOURDES WITH MATHIEU AMALRIC AND JOSIANE BALASKO IN THE LEAD ROLES:
Tralala
MOST NOT ALL THAT GOOD FRENCH POLITICAL PARODY SET IN THE CORRÈZE WITH JEAN DUJARDIN AND GRÉGORY GADEBOIS IN THE LEAD ROLES:
Présidents
MOST NOT ALL THAT GOOD HOLLYWOOD MOVIE SET IN MARSEILLE WITH MATT DAMON AND CAMILLE COTTIN IN THE LEAD ROLES:
Stillwater
MOST NOT ALL THAT GOOD HOLLYWOOD MOVIE WITH CAREY MULLIGAN IN THE LEAD ROLE:
Promising Young Woman
BEST HOLLYWOOD MOVIE WITH NICOLAS CAGE IN THE LEAD ROLE:
Pig
BEST NOT BAD HOLLYWOOD MOVIE ABOUT A KOREAN IMMIGRANT FAMILY IN ARKANSAS:
Minari
BEST INDIE MOVIE ABOUT A KOREAN ADOPTEE IN LOUISIANA WHO RUNS AFOUL OF AMERICA’S CRUEL AND INHUMANE IMMIGRATION LAWS:
Blue Bayou
MOST AMUSING NETFLIX PARODY OF THE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN ZEITGEIST:
Don’t Look Up
MOST DISAPPOINTINGLY NOT VERY GOOD NETFLIX MOVIE ABOUT BLACK AMERICAN PASSING IN THE PRE-CIVIL RIGHTS ERA:
Passing
MOST FRANKLY TERRIBLE FRANCO-ALGERIAN MOVIE ABOUT INTER-GENERATIONAL CONFLICT IN A BOURGEOIS ALGERIAN FAMILY IN PARIS:
Honey Cigar (Cigare au miel)
BEST DOCUMENTARY ABOUT A FORGOTTEN 1969 NEW YORK CITY MUSIC FESTIVAL:
Summer of Soul
BEST DOCUMENTARY FROM ROMANIA ABOUT THE HEROIC WORK OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS TO EXPOSE CORRUPTION AND STATE INCOMPETENCE THEREBY UNDERSCORING THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF A FREE PRESS IN A POLITY:
Collective (Colectiv)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FROM FRANCE ABOUT THE UNLIKELY COLLABORATION OF A RADICAL LEFT-WING AND MODERATE RIGHT-WING PARLIAMENTARY DEPUTY TO ENACT LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF POORLY REMUNERATED AND OVERWORKED FEMALE HOMECARE ASSISTANTS:
Debout les femmes!
BEST DOCUMENTARY FROM FRANCE ABOUT AN ANTI-NAZI RESISTANCE COUPLE DURING THE OCCUPTION WHO PROTECTED DOZENS OF JEWISH CHILDREN IN THEIR SCHOOL OUTSIDE PARIS BUT WERE NONETHELESS ACCUSED OF COLLABORATION AFTER THE WAR:
Pingouin & Goéland et leurs 500 petits
BEST MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENTARY SHOT ON A SMARTPHONE ABOUT THE JOURNEY TO EUROPE OF AN ASYLUM-SEEKING FAMILY FROM AFGHANISTAN THAT MUST BE SEEN BY ANYONE WITH AN OPINION ON ASYLUM-SEEKERS FROM COUNTRIES IN THE THROES OF WAR OR STATE COLLAPSE:
Midnight Traveler
BEST DOCMENTARY ON THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCE IN FRANCE SEEN THROUGH THE PRISM OF AN ELDERLY ALGERIAN COUPLE IN A TOWN IN THE AUVERGNE AND THE LIFE EXPERIENCES OF THEIR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN:
Leur Algérie
BEST DOCUMENTARY FROM ALGERIA ABOUT AN ENDEARING SEVENTYSOMETHING WOMAN WHO RUNS A MODEST CAFÉ IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT:
143 Sahara Street (143 rue du Désert)
BEST MOVIE BY RIDLEY SCOTT:
The Last Duel
BEST MOVIE BY PAUL SCHRADER:
The Card Counter
BEST MOVIE BY KELLY REICHARDT:
First Cow
BEST MOVIE BY LEYLA BOUZID:
A Tale of Love and Desire (Une histoire d’amour et de désir)
MOST SUCCESSFUL DIRECTORIAL DEBUT BY SAMIR GUESMI:
Ibrahim
MOST MORE OR LESS SUCCESSFUL DIRECTORIAL DEBUT BY VIGGO MORTENSEN:
Falling
BEST OKAY MOVIE BY MAÏWENN:
DNA (ADN)
MOST MERELY OKAY MOVIE BY JACQUES AUDIARD:
Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades)
MOST INCOMPREHENSIBLE MOVIE BY KIRILL SEREBRENNIKOV THAT ONE LIKELY HAS TO BE RUSSIAN TO UNDERSTAND:
Petrov’s Flu (Петровы в гриппе)
MOST TECHNICALLY IMPRESSIVE BUT CONVOLUTED AND BORING MOVIE BY WES ANDERSON:
The French Dispatch
MOST OVERRATED MOVIE BY JANE CAMPION:
The Power of the Dog
MOST FLAWED MOVIE BY MATHIEU AMALRIC:
Hold Me Tight (Serre moi fort)
MOST RIDICULOUS LOVE STORY BY NICOLE GARCIA:
Lovers (Amants)
MOST FAILED PARODY OF THE MEDIA BY BRUNO DUMONT:
France
MOST FAILED FRANCO-ALGERIAN FAMILY MELODRAMA BY YAMINA BENGUIGUI:
Sisters (Sœurs)
MOST QUITE SIMPLY FAILED MOVIE BY AMOS GITAI:
Laila in Haifa (לילה בחיפה)
MOST INSUFFERABLE MOVIE BY NADAV LAPID:
Ahed’s Knee (הברך)
POSSIBLY THE WORST MOST SOPORIFIC MOVIE EVER BY BENOÎT JACQUOT:
Suzanna Andler
POSSIBLY THE WORST MOST ABSURD MOVIE EVER BY CLINT EASTWOOD:
Cry Macho
POSSIBLY THE WORST CANNES FILM FESTIVAL PALME D’OR WINNER EVER:
Titane