SABLUES.ORG’S CULTURAL ATTACHÉ JEROME DOUVENDAHNS APPRAISES THIS YEAR’S MOVIES
and presents
THE TOP MOVIES of 2021
...and those to avoid!
Best Film of the Year?
Has Hollywood lost the plot? Enough with the super heroes and overt political correctness already!
Seems that many of the best movies this year were made elsewhere. The following two movies are compelling in their scope and frankness. Do not embark on watching them if Hollywood escapism and frivolity is what you are after.
Both of the following movies were actually made in 2019 but not available in Australia until this year.
THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR
The Painted Bird (Czech)
The focus is on the profound struggles of a young boy in war-torn Eastern Europe. Join him if you dare. Through him you will witness the brutalities of WWII and experience his abandonment and his struggle to survive. Filmed in black and white with a running time of 2 hours 49 minutes this is truly a saga that will leave you wasted but indebted that you have taken the time to watch it.
Runner-up to THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR
Blizzard of Souls (The Rifleman) (Latvia)
What Jerome?! Not another brutal and painful story about a young boy in war torn Europe! Well yes. This is the story of Arturs and is set during WWI onwards in what is now Latvia. He experiences the futility of trench warfare, the hypocrisy of post war resolutions and the struggle to rebuild family and homeland.
BEST MUSIC / DOCO OF THE YEAR.
Summer of Soul. (USA)
It’s the never-before-seen footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. See engaging performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension, and more. Marvel over the community spirit and respectful behaviour of the crowd.
Woodstock 99: Peace Love and Rage
Now catch up with the doco Woodstock 99: Peace Love and Rage and lament the music, the riots, the looting and sexual assaults.
BEST EROTIC LESBIAN NUN FILM OF THE YEAR.
Benedetta (French)
The story of a 17th-century nun. Christ got more than he bargained for with this bride. Religious chastity …as if!
Bring on the sexual perversion, the debauchery and the miracles but spare me the Black Death!
BEST MURDER MYSTERY OF THE YEAR.
Only The Animals (French)
The lives of five people are inextricably linked to the disappearance of a woman during a blizzard in the highlands of southern France.
BEST WTF MOVIE OF THE YEAR.
Titane (French)
Off-the-wall events by director Julia Ducournau who may well be off-her-face. Eccentric in the extreme and a guilty pleasure.
BEST ADVENTURE MOVIE OF THE YEAR.
Riders of Justice (Danish)
Join the engaging and oddball adventures of Otto and his weirdo friends, one who believes he can predict the future through math.
BEST CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THRILLER OF THE YEAR.
Enforcement (Shorta) (Danish)
BLM? Defund the police? Try joining these Danish cops on the beat as they deal with a mob of vengeful rioters …and see how you go!
BEST HISTORICAL EPIC OF THE YEAR.
The Last Duel
The 3 way story of the alleged rape of Marguerite de Carrouges. It is an EPIC set in the 14th-century France. Brace yourself for the clang of armour and the gushing of blood.
BEST ‘LARGELY TRUE’ / ‘BASED ON A TRUE STORY’ / ‘REIMAGINED EVENTS’ MOVIE OF THE YEAR.
The Dig
One of the treasures I got to behold in the British Museum was the Sutton Hoo Helmet. ‘The Dig’ reimagines the events of this remarkable 1939 excavation of those Anglo-Saxon artefacts discovered near Woodbridge in the UK.
BEST ROMANTIC COMEDY OF THE YEAR.
I’m Your Man (German)
Why not participate in this extraordinary and playful study and see how Alma fairs with her tailored life partner. Delightfully lightweight.
BEST THRILLER OF THE YEAR.
The Night House.
Wow. The riveting revelations about the secret life of a woman’s late husband. A gem of a thriller!
BEST OZ FILM OF THE YEAR.
The Dry. (Australian)
Join Eric Bana in the Oz Outback as he investigates the decades-old death of a teenage girl.
‘CRITIC’S CHOICE’ MOVIE OF THE YEAR …to be avoided.
Drive my car. (Japan)
Lauded by many critics! You can take these innumerable car rides or watch the grass grow …your choice.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
EPIC FANTASY ADVENTURE FIZZER OF THE YEAR.
The Green Knight.
Here is an epic fantasy adventure best not taken with the Green Knight.
Kiss good night to this one.
