I thought this was a really strong year for cinema in terms of films released in Australia theatrically and online. I had more trouble narrowing my list down and ordering the top ten than usual. However, my real highlight wasn’t a film, but a television show:
Favourite moving image/media I watched in 2017
Twin Peaks: The Return (David Lynch, 2017)
Released May, June, July, August and September
My top ten films
Released in Melbourne, Australia, in 2017
1. Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt, 2016)
Released April
2. Jackie (Pablo Larraín, 2016)
Released January
3. Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
Released January
4. Call Me by Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017)
Released December
5. Logan (James Mangold, 2017)
Released March
6. A Monster Calls (JA Bayona, 2016)
Released July
7. Clash, (Eshtebak, Mohamed Diab, 2016)
Released March
8. Graduation (Bacalaureat, Cristian Mungiu, 2016)
Released June
9. Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017)
Released October
10. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016)
Released February
Honourable mentions
Twenty more films I loved this year, listed alphabetically:
20th Century Women (Mike Mills, 2016)
Released June
Baby Driver (Edgar Wright, 2017)
Released July
Brigsby Bear (Dave McCary, 2017)
Released October
Colossal (Nacho Vigalondo, 2016)
Released April
Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2017)
Released July
Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017)
Released May
God’s Own Country (Francis Lee, 2017)
Released August
Good Time (Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie, 2017)
Released October
I Am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck, 2016)
Released September
Kedi (Ceyda Torun, 2016)
Released June
Lion (Garth Davis, 2016)
Released January
Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan, 2016)
Released February
My Life as a Zucchini (Ma vie de Courgette, Claude Barras, 2016)
Released July
Personal Shopper (Olivier Assayas, 2016)
Released April
Raw (Grave, Julia Ducournau, 2016)
Released April
T2 Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 2017)
Released February
The Big Sick (Michael Showalter, 2017)
Released August
The Florida Project (Sean Baker, 2017)
Released December
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (Noah Baumbach, 2017)
Released October
The Villainess (AK-Nyeo, Jeong Byeong-Gil, 2017)
Released June
This list was compiled for the upcoming Senses of Cinema 2017 World Poll
Thank you to everybody who read my monthly summaries this year. I’ve started stepping back from film reviewing even more than ever before by finishing up my two regular radio spots, and I’m not sure what will happen in 2018. Hopefully I’ll at least continue sharing my monthly highlights here and maybe one day I’ll even give this blog a long overdue redesign! But let’s not get too carried away.
Thomas Caldwell 2017
CINEMA AUTOPSY 