(Sandra Huller &
Peter Simonischek in “Toni Erdmann”)
Report by Patrick Compton
Losing the exclusive Cinema Nouveau site at Gateway was the
biggest disappointment of the year, something that unfortunately outweighed the
pleasure gained by the relatively few good films that reached Durban in 2017.
Marketing “art” films is a particularly important function
when the increasingly dominant majority of movies produced wouldn’t test the
intellectual acumen of a silkworm. Throwing in a few “Nouveau” screens in a
haphazard manner that get lost in the mix of commercial screens is not the way
to go to encourage Durban’s already thin art movie crowd.
Some grey hairs will remember that, years ago, the Labia
cinema in Cape Town twice attempted to set up a branch in Durban (in Durban
North and opposite Robert Mauvis’s St Geran restaurant in the city). Those
worthy experiments each lasted for about a year before folding for lack of
patronage, so I suppose we deserve what little we have now. I still fantasise
about what I would love to do to fill the gap by establishing a repertory
independent cinema, though I would have to win the European Lotto to make it
happen.
Ok, whinge over. Here are my top 20 movies of the year,
although you have to bear in mind that I missed a fair number of films, for one
reason or another, along the way. In general, I was able to go to the movies
once a week, which occasionally meant sacrificing a movie I would otherwise have
wanted to see. Two of those were Baby
Driver and Logan Lucky, and there
were also some that only paid a fleeting one-week visit to the city because
Ster-Kinekor didn’t persevere with them.
So here goes.
20. Stronger. Jake
Gyllenhaal and Miranda Richardson give strong performances as the victim and
his wayward mother in this movie about the aftermath of the Boston Marathon
bombing.
19. Hacksaw Ridge.
Mel Gibson’s powerful, extremely bloody World War 2 drama about a religious
pacifist who served as an unarmed medic in the Pacific.
18. Battle of the
Sexes. Bobby Riggs v Billie Jean King. Excellent performances by Steve
Carell as Riggs, Emma Stone as King and Andrea Riseborough as her lover.
17. War for the Planet
of the Apes. Impressive third instalment of the Apes reboot series.
16. The Sense of an
Ending. Sensitive adaptation of the award-winning Julian Barnes novel.
15. Wind River.
The writer-director of the marvellous Hell
or High Water, Taylor Sheridan, returns with this taut neo-Western murder
mystery set in a wintry Indian reservation. Good central performances from
Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen.
14. My Cousin Rachel.
Fine adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novel with Rachel Weisz in great form.
13. Jackie.
Natalie Portman gives a brilliant performance as the widow of president John F
Kennedy in the immediate aftermath of his assassination.
12. Alien Covenant.
Ridley Scott back to form with this latest rousing edition of the Alien series.
11. Dunkirk.
Christopher Nolan’s stunning rendition of the 1940 “miracle”. Best seen at
IMAX.
10. Their Finest.
Delightful comedy-drama about making propaganda movies in World War 2. Directed
by Lone Scherfig and featuring fine performances from Gemma Arterton, Sam
Claflin and Bill Nighy.
9. I Daniel Blake.
Ken Loach’s moving, angry drama about the English social benefits jungle, with
Dave Johns giving a strong central performance.
8. The Salesman.
Intriguing film about marital discord in Iran directed by Asghar Farhadi.
Influenced by the famous Arthur Miller play.
7. Professor Marston
and the Wonder Woman. A saucy story about the origin of the comic book
heroine featuring a riveting performance from Rebecca Hall.
6. The Big Sick. A
fresh, witty slice of romcom featuring the tangled relations of a Muslim
standup comic and his secret, mainly comatose girlfriend.
5. T2 Trainspotting.
Danny Boyle’s male midlife crisis follow-up to the famous heroin movie.
4. Detroit.
Kathryn Bigelow’s intense 50th anniversary rendition of the Algiers Motel
incident during the 1967 Detroit riots.
3. Manchester By The
Sea. Kenneth Lonergan’s searing drama featuring a standout performance from
Casey Affleck.
2. Blade Runner 2049.
Like Dunkirk, Denis Villeneuve’s visually
extravagant sequel to Ridley Scott’s original truly fills the (IMAX) screen.
Toni Erdmann.
Maren Ade’s wonderful, bittersweet German comedy featuring outstanding
performances from Sandra Huller and Peter Simonischek as a fraught
daughter-father pairing.
TURKEY
Mother! I simply
didn’t “get” Darren Aronofsky’s hysterical psychological horror movie.
Absolutely ’orrible! – Patrick Compton
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