Todd Haynes‘ "Carol" popping up on a year-end list is not a surprise anymore, nor is George Miller‘s "Mad Max: Fury Road." And you’ll certainly find both on Film Comment’s Top 10 Films Of 2015. But dig deep and there are definitely some titles getting some love here that perhaps didn’t get enough attention elsewhere.
Foreign films such as Abderrahmane Sissako‘s "Timbuktu" and Christian Petzold‘s "Phoenix" made the cut, while Hou Hsiao-hsien‘s arthouse fave "The Assassin" also made the grade. Surprisingly, Pixar‘s "Inside Out" snuck in there, while I’m very surprised to see Olivier Assayas‘ "Clouds Of Sils Maria" rank so high.
Film Comment which polled over 100 film critics, journalists, film-section editors, and past and present contributors also ranked their best unreleased films of the year, many of which screened at festivals across the past twelve months. Hong Sang-soo‘s "Right Now, Wrong Then," Athina Rachel Tsangari‘s "Chevalier," and Andrzej Zulawki‘s "Cosmos" are some of the highlights there.
Check out the full lists below.
Film Comment’s Top 10 Films Released in 2015:
1. Carol Todd Haynes, U.S.
2. The Assassin Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan
3. Mad Max: Fury Road George Miller, U.S.
4. Clouds of Sils Maria Olivier Assayas, France
5. Arabian Nights Miguel Gomes, Portugal
6. Timbuktu Abderrahmane Sissako, Mauritania/France
7. Spotlight Tom McCarthy, U.S.
8. Phoenix Christian Petzold, Germany
9. Inside Out Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen, U.S.
10. The Look of Silence Joshua Oppenheimer, Denmark/Indonesia
Film Comment’s Top 10 Unreleased Films of 2015:
1. Right Now, Wrong Then Hong Sang-soo, South Korea
2. Chevalier Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece
3. The Sky Trembles and the Earth Is Afraid and the Two Eyes Are Not Brothers Ben Rivers, U.K.
4. The Academy of Muses José Luis Guerín, Spain
5. Don’t Blink – Robert Frank Laura Israel, U.S.
6. Cosmos Andrzej Zulawski, Poland
7. Journey to the Shore Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan
8. Happy Hour Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Japan
9. Lost and Beautiful Pietro Marcello, Italy
10. Minotaur Nicolás Pereda, Mexico