The Films of 2012

Film of the year - The Turin Horse

A pretty much faultless film, Bela Tarr’s ninth and, he assures, last film is a nihilistic breakdown of religion and humanity. A difficult film to watch, a difficult film to enjoy and an even harder film to write about The Turin Horse is stunningly shot, hauntingly scored, bleak and ultimately apocalyptic. It is pure cinematic wonder.

The other 11

Beasts of the Southern Wild

The most wildly emotionally engulfing experience in cinema of the year, Benh Zeitlin’s first feature is an interesting counterpoint to The Turin Horse. Coming down on the other side of the life and death fable it’s a tale of facing death in a setting that’s both fantastically timeless and politically relevant. 

Lawless

The most violently underrated film of the year, John Hillcoat and Nick Cave’s follow up to Aussie-Western masterpiece The Proposition is an amazing piece of visceral filmmaking. Cave’s script is lyrically written yet earthy, witty and grounded and his soundtrack with Warren Ellis is, as always, superb. Lawless also delivered the greatest surprise in film this year sporting the best performance of the year in the shape of Shia LaBeouf. Who would’ve thought that? 

   

Searching for Sugarman

Knowing nothing of the artist, Rodriguez, I was enamoured by the best mystery tale I had seen in a film in years. And, with a pinch of salt, it’s real. The key to Searching for Sugarman’s success is the very simple, it’s just a really well told story and what a ripping yarn it is. The supposed liberties the filmmakers take with the story are totally irrelevant because they add so much to the perception of the film and the journey it takes you on. Searching for Sugarman is the most inventive and riveting documentary in years and snatches the top spot from Into the Abyss as documentary of the year.     

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

It is both the most formulaic and laid out police procedural and the most wildly inventive and progressive. The most cathartic film in years, when Ceylan want you to be calm, frustrated, reflective, bored even, you are. And that's really not a bad thing. Really. Show cases the beauty of cinema and how it is a wonderful art of manipulation. Ceylan cements himself as the leading creative coming out of the flourishing Turkish film scene.

Into the Abyss

Not just Herzog’s best documentary since My Best Friend back in 1999 but also his best film in years, Into the Abyss is a genuinely illuminating and moving observation on the value of life. The purest and most balanced documentary since Marc Singer's Dark Days. 

Cosmopolis

Cosmopolis was a surprise for me personally. It was a film that, after the disappointment of A Dangerous Method, I was quite wary of. Cronenberg being one of my very favourite directors, I held out hope, mainly to the credit of a belting trailer but as its release drew nearer people I trust and respect started hinting that maybe it wasn’t so good. Due to the films limited release in London I didn’t manage to catch it in the cinema and only ended up watching it recently and thankfully loved it. It’s just such a measured, composed film. It pulses with a detached, voyeuristic energy. Cosmopolis is Cronenberg’s most conceptual film since Crash and when the concept is as reflective, topical, bizarre and divisive as this, it is compulsive, important viewing. 

 

Excision

The most brain-bustlingly bizarre film of the year, Excision also manages to be one of the most original and best. Carried by AnnaLynne McCord’s extraordinary, out of character performance the film recalls the works of John Hughes spliced with Georges Franju’s Eyes Without a Face and a dash of John Walters. A dizzying, disturbing and perversely erotic descent into teenage insanity and very much the best horror film since last year’s sublime The Woman.

The Hobbit

Yes, I’m biased. The Lord of the Rings were the films of my formative years and still some of my very favourite and I do think some of the very best. However, trying to strip away my bias on repeat viewings I still think The Hobbit is a cinematic marvel. It’s a lush, delightful epic that crams its overlong running time with so much content and wonder that any criticism that the book was being drawn out over three films are entirely unfair and just wrong. Each Lord of the Rings book corresponded to one film but we must also note that at least a third of each book was left out of the films to keep the trilogy from being five or six films. Forget the cynics, forget the inevitable backlash, The Hobbit is a soaring spectacle that is simply a pure joy to watch and with humble Martin Freeman delivering one of the finest performances of the year, it really is the year of the unexpecteds.

Killer Joe

It isn’t as lean and intense as Bug, Friedkin’s previous descent into Letts’ claustrophobic creations, but it has a manic, perpetual state of unrest and a film of such tight craftsmanship that is hard not to admire. I do admire the film very much and I enjoyed the film very much also. The film shocked me and took me aback but with atmosphere, with ingenuity and with violent lunacy, not with grim torture and pain free from irony. And that in this age of cinema is a success.

The Dark Knight Rises

Batman Begins remains the crown jewel of the trilogy and a veritable benchmark in cinema but as a trilogy, as a vision, Christopher Nolan has created something of such exhilarating scope and intelligence the likes of which is virtually unheard of. The Dark Knight Rises concludes a towering cinematic achievement. 

About Elly

From the director of A Separation, Asghar Farhadi, comes a stunningly crafted social drama with disconcerting and elusive roots in mystery and thriller cinema recalling The Vanishing. Perfectly composed and played by everyone in the cast, About Elly cements Asghar Farhadi as the leading talent emanating from the fruitful landscape of modern Iranian cinema.

Runners up (because 12 was never going to be enough)

The Hunt

Nostalgia for the Light

American Mary

The Raid

The Imposter