When it comes to selecting a Top Ten, 2017 looks healthy enough (it is worth noting that such notable titles as Aquarius, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool and The Work were just outside my ten, along with Lady Macbeth, Elle, Marjorie Prime and Call Me by Your Name not far behind). It was too a year in which the competition for Best Actress was particularly strong (think Cynthia Nixon, Florence Pugh, Isabelle Huppert, Lois Smith, Sonia Braga, Judi Dench and many others).
Dig deeper, however, and 2017 was a year of warning signs for cinema here. Foreign language films, less widely seen than heretofore, struggled to make their usual mark and, away from my own sphere of interest, Hollywood's blockbusters had a terrible time. Cinemas were often fighting to draw in audiences due to home viewing via Netflix and the like becoming increasingly popular. Let’s enjoy cinema while we still can.
Human Flow
Mansel Stimpson’s Favourites:
1. Human Flow
2. A Quiet Passion
3. Denial
4. Paddington 2
5. I Am Not Your Negro
6. Detroit
7. Dunkirk
8. The Florida Project
9. Machines
10. Heartstone
