I spend a lot of time each year watching movies and reading books. The fruit of all that effort shows up each week here. This week I traditionally “take off” from doing the usual reviews. So I thought for 2016 I’d take a look at what reviewed over the last twelve months and pick out what really stayed with me.
Let’s begin with the movies. I reviewed 59 movies this year. My highest rating is five stars, a “must see” or “highest recommendation”. Seven movies made that cut in 2016. They were(links provided to my reviews):
- The Bicycle Thief – A simply stunning Italian film from 1949 that was everything I thought it would be and then just kept on going.
- Glengarry, Glen Ross – A profane, scathing and brilliant story told by a brilliant cast.
- The Kid – One of the greatest silent movies of all time
- Hud – Paul Newman as the ultimate anti-hero. A movie that gets both the big things and the tiniest details absolutely perfect.
- Night of the Hunter – A chilling noir tale of religious fanaticism and death.
- The Grapes of Wrath – One of the undeniable movie classics. Also classic Capra optimism.
- Hobson’s Choice – Easily the least known one of the list. A great English film with an astounding performance by Charles Laughton as Hobson.
As I thought about the movies above, I realized that there were two other movies I watched this year that I have kept coming back to in my thoughts. Both were less than perfect technically, but brilliant in their storytelling. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m all about the storytelling. These two just won’t let go of me:
A Face In the Crowd – The story of the amoral con man with a thousand stories, Lonesome Rhodes. Andy Griffith plays the character to the absolute edge, creating the dark mirror image of the roles for which we all know him best. Some wonderful smaller performances here as well. The script lacks the kind of polish of the ones above, but particularly following this year’s political campaign, this movie feels very timely. I will never forget Lonesome Rhodes.
The Way – A deeply personal and spiritual collaboration between father and son (Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez) in a story about a father and son. Written by Estevez with his father specifically in mind, it follows the devastation and rebuilding of a man who tries to deal with his son’s death by following in his footsteps. Again, not a perfect script with some directorial shortcomings but a story that I will carry with me forever. I’m not sure which movie is going to get bumped off my personal Top Ten, but I don’t see any way this one doesn’t take a spot there.
So in the end, I’ve decided I have to pick just one for the top slot. And that has to go to “The Way”. Movies can affect us differently based on when we saw them first, or even most recently. Given my recent personal history, “The Way” was the right movie at the right moment.
For me, it is the Movie of the Year for 2016.
My look at the books of the year will post on Wednesday.
Peace
Stories Are My Life 
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