By Film Comment
Nothing like a good battle royal of cinephile cults to whip voting into a frenzy. In our poll’s lucky 13th edition, Leos Carax’s starry-eyed supporters delivered Holy Motors the top spot, out-mobbing not one but two Andersons, Paul Thomas and Wes. Richard Linklater made his triumphant return with Bernie, an under-the-radar success, while the year yielded some provocative odd-couple neighbors in the rankings: dueling historical procedurals (Lincoln/Zero Dark Thirty), psychiatric outcasts (Oslo, August 31st/Silver Linings Playbook), and death trips (Amour/The Turin Horse). Over on the unreleased list, please note the new law of the land (see below), all part of our attempt to spotlight films in need of a pick(-me-)up. A note on the poll’s workings: over 100 North American colleagues ranked their favorites in two categories: 1) those that received theatrical runs and 2) those viewed this year but not receiving U.S. theatrical distribution in 2012 or 2013. For each ballot, a first-place choice was allotted 20 points, 19 for second, and so on.
- Holy Motors
Leos Carax, France/Germany - The Master
Paul Thomas Anderson, U.S. - Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson, U.S. - This Is Not a Film
Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Iran - Amour
Michael Haneke, France/Germany/Austria - The Turin Horse
Béla Tarr, Hungary/France/Switzerland/Germany - The Kid With a Bike
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, France/Belgium - Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey - Lincoln
Steven Spielberg, U.S. - Zero Dark Thirty
Kathryn Bigelow, U.S.
Tabu
- Tabu
Miguel Gomes, Portugal
The Deep Blue Sea
- The Deep Blue Sea
Terence Davies, U.K.
Bernie
- Bernie
Richard Linklater, U.S.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
- Beasts of the Southern Wild
Benh Zeitlin, U.S.
Cosmopolis
- Cosmopolis
David Cronenberg, Canada/France
Barbara
- Barbara
Christian Petzold, Germany
The Loneliest Planet
- The Loneliest Planet
Julia Loktev, U.S./Germany
Silver Linings Playbook
- Silver Linings Playbook
David O. Russell, U.S.
Oslo, August 31st
- Oslo, August 31st
Joachim Trier, Norway
Neighboring Sounds
- Neighboring Sounds
Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil
Django Unchained
- Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino, U.S.
Almayer’s Folly
- Almayer’s Folly
Chantal Akerman, France/Belgium
Magic Mike
- Magic Mike
Steven Soderbergh, U.S.
Argo
- Argo
Ben Affleck, U.S.
Attenberg
- Attenberg
Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece
The Color Wheel
- The Color Wheel
Alex Ross Perry, U.S.
Rust and Bone
- Rust & Bone
Jacques Audiard, France/Belgium
Killer Joe
- Killer Joe
William Friedkin, U.S.
Looper
- Looper
Rian Johnson, U.S.
Life of Pi
- Life of Pi
Ang Lee, U.S.
A Man Vanishes
- A Man Vanishes
Shohei Imamura, Japan
Skyfall
- Skyfall
Sam Mendes, U.S.
The Gatekeepers
- The Gatekeepers
Dror Moreh, Israel
Elena
- Elena
Andrei Zvyagintsev, Russia
Haywire
- Haywire
Steven Soderbergh, U.S.
Damsels in Distress
- Damsels in Distress
Whit Stillman, U.S.
Abendland
- Abendland
Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Austria
Two Years at Sea
- Two Years at Sea
Ben Rivers, U.K.
How to Survive a Plague
- How to Survive a Plague
David France, U.S.
Keep the Lights On
- Keep the Lights On
Ira Sachs, U.S.
A Burning Hot Summer Phillipe Garrel
- A Burning Hot
Summer
Philippe Garrel, France
Miss Bala
- Miss Bala
Gerardo Naranjo,
Mexico
Footnote
- Footnote
Joseph Cedar,
Israel
Compliance
- Compliance
Craig Zobel,
U.S.
Alps Yorgos Lanthimos
- Alps
Yorgos Lanthimos, Greece
Kill List Ben Wheatley
- Kill List
Ben Wheatley, U.K.
Farewell My Queen
- Farewell, My Queen
Benoît Jacquot, France/Spain
In Another Country Hong Sang-soo
- In Another Country
Hong Sang-soo, South Korea
Dark Knight Rises
- The Dark
Knight Rises
Christopher Nolan, U.S.
The Day He Arrives
- The Day He Arrives
Hong Sang-soo, South Korea
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