It’s December, and you know what that means. No, not Santa Claus coming down the chimney or Jesus’ birthday. No, we mean it’s time for legendary filmmaker John Waters to unveil his Top 10 films of the year. And much like his 2018 list, this year’s top 10 is full of quite a few interesting movies that many might have overlooked.
There are several films out of the ten that you might see on other lists, including “Joker,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and “Pain & Glory.” But right up at the top, in the #1 spot, there’s a film that many talked about in the first half of the year but seems to be forgotten as we approach awards season — “Climax.” The psychedelic dance thriller, directed by Gaspar Noe, ranks as Waters’ favorite film of the year.
“Frenzied dance numbers combined with LSD, mental breakdowns, and childhood trauma turn this nutcase drama into ‘The Red Shoes’ meets ‘Hallucination Generation.’ Freak out, baby, freak out!” said the filmmaker.
Coming in at #2 is a sequel to a film that Waters trumpeted last year — “Joan of Arc.” The filmmaker included Bruno Dumont’s last film, “Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc” on his list in 2018 and thus, it makes sense that the filmmaker would be just as enthusiastic about this year’s sequel. You can’t get much higher praise than what the filmmaker said about “Joan of Arc.”
He raved, “There is a God and his name is Bruno Dumont. His piously poisonous sequel to last year’s best film, ‘Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc,’ is artier, holier, and will give you Catholic goosebumps.”
The rest of his top 10 is just as interesting and eclectic, giving spots to some overlooked films such as Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir,” the hilarious doc “Hail Satan?” and even one of the early-2019 festival standouts, “Border.”
- Climax
- Joan Of Arc
- Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
- Border
- Amazing Grace
- Hail Satan?
- Pain and Glory
- The Golden Glove
- The Souvenir
- Joker
You can find the entirety of his list, with Waters’ comments about each, over at Art Forum.