2017: The 5 Best

In 2017 I watched 368 films for the first time, and many of those were classics considered some of the greatest films of all time. So that I don't have to pick and choose between the best of the classics I watched and the best new films I watched, I created two lists for my best. This is a list of the 5 best films I saw at the cinema this year, films that were released in Australia in 2017.

*This list was originally supposed to be in no particular order, but as it is it's pretty representative of how I'd order the films if I had to, going from 5 to 1 moving from top to bottom.

The Big Sick (2017)

Inspired by real life events of Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon, The Big Sick is as heart-breakingly human as it is funny. This film seems incredibly personal, a life’s troubles shared with bare honesty and humour that cuts to the core of the stories it shares. Every actor’s performance is top notch and tempered by dialogue so real it’s unbelievable. Special consideration goes to Holly Hunter, who manages to destroy your very being with a single, cold sentence.

   

Dunkirk (2017)

Nolan’s best film is purely experiential. The sound design and visuals are immersive, creating a strong illusion of presence that allows you to feel just as if you’re right in the middle of every scene in the film. From the very first gunshot that pierces the silence and your eardrum, you’re in for a moment-to-moment fight for survival, and the film keeps you in the thick of things until the very last moment, engaging you with the pure instinct in human nature.

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Casey Affleck’s Oscar-winning performance carries an extremely tragic and moving movie that pulls no punches and remains engaging as it wavers between hope and hopelessness. Affleck achieves near to the pinnacle of naturalistic performance, restrained and believable and never the bit melodramatic.

Silence (2016)

Martin Scorsese’s piece on the oppression of a couple of Christian missionaries in feudal Japan is one of the most fully realised and challenging looks at the faith ever made. It forces an expansion of ideas surrounding the lengths people go to for their faith, and grinds you down with its viscerally harrowing experiences. It also features sterling performances from Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver and some of the most naturally beautiful visuals of the year.

Moonlight (2016)

Moonlight earned its title of Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It is film crafted in a way unlike anything I’ve ever seen, at once ethereal and yet disturbingly real, a piece of human innocence dashed against the rocks of society told with such amazing heart. I’ve come back to it a couple of times since originally seeing it, and it’s unforgettable how universal this film makes a singular experience by appealing to that which is simply human, while also presenting it with almost unparalleled technical skill.

Honourable Mentions

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

The Florida Project (2017)

Get Out (2017)

Published December 30th, 2017