CAHIERS DU CINEMA CROWNS TONI ERDMANN THE BEST FILM OF 2016

The leak was correct! Cahiers du Cinema, that most prestigious of centres of film criticism, has unveiled its choices for its ever-anticipated year-end poll, and they're precisely as yesterday's leaked list suggested. It looks like failing to win over George Miller's Cannes jury might have been the best thing to happen to Maren Ade's Toni Erdmann, as it can add first place on this poll to its already-hefty roster of accolades, including a FIPRESCI Grand Prix. Indeed, the entire top seven here is comprised of Cannes competition entries, not one of which claimed a jury award at the festival in May. Check it all out below, and, if you haven't seen any (or even some) of the films in this top ten, make sure to check them out too!

1. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade)

2. Elle (Paul Verhoeven)

3. The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn)

4. Aquarius (Kleber Mendonca Filho)

5. Slack Bay (Bruno Dumont)

6. Julieta (Pedro Almodovar)

7. Staying Vertical (Alain Guiraudie)

8. La Loi de la Jungle (Antonin Peretjatko)

9. Carol (Todd Haynes)

10. The Woods Dreams Are Made Of (Claire Simon)

REVIEW - THE NEON DEMON (NICOLAS WINDING REFN)

'Pure cinema' is all very well, but it's what a filmmaker makes of such a model that makes their product more than that: very good. If Only God Forgives proved that Nicolas Winding Refn isn't very good at making anything of this model, yet is very good at the making of the model itself, here comes The Neon Demon to prove that he's not very good at finding anything to make of it anyway. It's a lacklustre fumble for a purpose that entirely eludes him, a misguided attempt at furthering his artistic agenda whilst proving himself to those who'd lambaste that agenda in its essence. The Neon Demon opens promisingly, with a seductive sequence that is pure style, if not 'pure cinema.' It's once Winding Refn wishes to use this style to actually say something that the film begins to falter; the insistent virtue of that style sustains interest, even if it's over-insistently applied, and frequently unfocused - an intersection between fashion editorial and cinematic art piece, the visuals often only emulate either, rather than replicating both. And our interest demands a whole lot more sustenance still - the point of true pulp is in the payoff, even if that payoff isn't of the expected nature. The Neon Demon pays up too little, too late, otherwise necessitating its audience to settle into material that repels the very intention of settling. It's a most stunning sheen to this slipperiest of surfaces, but it's of negligible value if it's not built upon something truly substantial. In quantity, if not in quality, the promise isn't met, not even by an unexpected payoff as opposed to an expected one. Sex and violence constitute key characteristics of the substance of pulp, and they're simply denied us too long in The Neon Demon. And it'd make for an impressive piece of 'pure cinema' were Winding Refn not so determined to find something to make of it. It's a shallow film, and only given that it appears uneasy with its shallowness, so too are we.

THE NEON DEMON - NEW TRAILER

The above trailer isn't the first for The Neon Demon - this one was. It's not even the second, which is like something in between the first and this one. It's the third, and it's as stylish and sexy as both of the others. Nicolas Winding Refn's latest Cannes competition entry opens in the US on the 24th of June and in the UK on the 8th of July.

TRAILER FOR NICOLAS WINDING REFN'S THE NEON DEMON

My bet is that Nicolas Winding Refn disappears even further up his own derivative ass with The Neon Demon, predictably confirmed for a competition slot at Cannes yesterday. But, truth be told, based on previous experiences, the inside of Refn's rectum is a picture I wouldn't mind watching again. Get over it! As for release dates, we have a definite slot in the UK of the 8th of July; currently slated for an opening somewhere in June in the US.