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 - JULIETA (PEDRO ALMODOVAR)

Pedro Almodovar delves into the design of the mind in Julieta, which sees the famously flamboyant Spanish director in a more restrained mood than usual. It's a fine move to make, since Almodovar has no intention of shunning those qualities that define his style and sensibilities - laid out calmly and quietly, Julieta offers the viewer an excellent opportunity to absorb his methods and assess their significance. Bold strokes for a bold narrative, of course, as Almodovar indulges in a typically ripe melodrama; the synergy of style and content does not overpower the subtler, more softly-spoken thematic and emotional concerns, however. These all are used in direct conjunction with one another, as Almodovar uses the volume of his technical devices to allude to the oscillating mental states of his characters. In such an emotionally knotty story, this may be a plain and predictable strategy, but it's also a successful one, and it permits an otherwise harrowing film, surely susceptible to succumbing to maudlin despair, to be fun! Julieta is hardly Almodovar at his most playful - not that that's saying much - but after ironically weighing his recent films down with too much lightness and frivolity, you might just be grateful for this scaling back. It's a sensitive and affecting film with superb performances and no small amount of empathy. Julieta further confirms that few filmmakers today understand the design of a woman's mind better than Pedro, and it's a modest, but most welcome, return to delving inside them.

NYFF ANNOUNCES FULL 2016 SELECTION

The New York Film Festival has announced its full selection for its main slate of films for its 2016 edition. Under-the-radar filmmakers showing at the fest for the first time include Barry Jenkins with Moonlight and Dash Shaw with My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, already confirmed for a TIFF Vanguard screening as well. They join NYFF vets and renowned auteurs such as Pedro Almodovar with Julieta and Paul Verhoeven with Elle - two of 11 titles from the Cannes Film Festival's top competition lineup this year. Keep an eye out for the announcement of NYFF's sidebar selections - Convergence, NYFF Special Events, Projections, Retrospective, and Spotlight on Documentary - in the near future. NYFF 2016 runs from the 30th of September to the 16th of October. The full main slate lineup is below.

Main Slate
13th (Ava DuVernay) - opening night film
20th Century Women (Mike Mills) - centrepiece film
Aquarius (Kleber Mendonca Filho)
Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt)
Elle (Paul Verhoeven)
Fire at Sea (Gianfranco Rosi)
Graduation (Cristian Mungiu)
Hermia and Helena (Matias Pineiro)
I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach)
Julieta (Pedro Almodovar)
The Lost City of Z (James Gray) - closing night film
Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan)
Moonlight (Barry Jenkins)
My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea (Dash Shaw)
Neruda (Pablo Larrain)
Paterson (Jim Jarmusch)
Personal Shopper (Olivier Assayas)
The Rehearsal (Alison MacLean)
Sieranevada (Cristi Puiu)
Son of Joseph (Eugene Green)
Staying Vertical (Alain Guiraudie)
Things to Come (Mia Hansen-Love)
Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade)
The Unknown Girl (Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne)
Yourself and Yours (Hong Sang Soo)

PEDRO ALMODOVAR'S JULIETA - TRAILER #1

I'm not Pedro Almodovar's biggest fan by any means, but this trailer for his next film, Julieta, impressed me. I love the framing, the close-ups, the palpable sense of that balmy embrace in the Spanish air, the genuine compassion for female relationships. It brought to mind my favourite Almodovar film, All About My Mother. Looking forward to seeing this asap; a Cannes debut is widely tipped (it opens in France on the 18th of May), after which, British audiences will get to see Julieta on the 26th of August.