It was another cinematic year of thrilling discoveries and some career-best work from both emerging and beloved auteurs–with much of the finest films arriving before the packed fall season. In fact, in my top 15, only 3 films premiered after September. It also looks like next year may follow suit, so as we turn to the early months of 2019, be sure to keep these on your radar. But first, let’s take a look back at the last twelve months.
It hurt to leave off Ismael’s Ghosts, Araby, If Beale Street Could Talk, John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection, and Zama, but when all is said and done, here are the 15 films that most resonated with me this year (and a bonus mention). Along with the below feature, one can see a vague ranking of all ~160 new films I’ve viewed here, as well as my 100 favorite non-...
It hurt to leave off Ismael’s Ghosts, Araby, If Beale Street Could Talk, John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection, and Zama, but when all is said and done, here are the 15 films that most resonated with me this year (and a bonus mention). Along with the below feature, one can see a vague ranking of all ~160 new films I’ve viewed here, as well as my 100 favorite non-...
- 1/1/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Following our top 50 films of 2018, it’s time to zero in on the best performances of the year. Rather than divide categories into supporting or lead–or even male or female–we’ve written about our thirty favorite performances, period. Check out our countdown below and start watching the ones you’ve missed here.
30. Michelle Pfeiffer (Where is Kyra?)
A pervading sense of isolation and despair runs through Where is Kyra? and Michelle Pfeiffer carries it all with an emotionally resonant performance of subtlety and deep ache. The story of a woman struggling to make ends make following the death of her mother, Andrew Dosunmu’s drama is keenly attuned to the pressures of living in a city that doesn’t care whether you’re there or not. Bradford Young’s distinct eye for solitude also painstakingly paints Pfeiffer’s character into the desolate corners of her locale until there...
30. Michelle Pfeiffer (Where is Kyra?)
A pervading sense of isolation and despair runs through Where is Kyra? and Michelle Pfeiffer carries it all with an emotionally resonant performance of subtlety and deep ache. The story of a woman struggling to make ends make following the death of her mother, Andrew Dosunmu’s drama is keenly attuned to the pressures of living in a city that doesn’t care whether you’re there or not. Bradford Young’s distinct eye for solitude also painstakingly paints Pfeiffer’s character into the desolate corners of her locale until there...
- 12/24/2018
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
A Bulgarian construction site is the focus for an acute interrogation of masculinity and economic imperialism
The third feature from German film-maker Valeska Grisebach sharply observes two intersecting communities of men with a woman’s needling gaze. Though titled Western, it is set in eastern Europe, close to Bulgaria’s Greek border (hinting at the presence of refugees). Wild country – politically volatile, physically harsh, and its own kind of wild west frontier.
Lonely cowboy Meinhard (Meinhard Neumann) is a German construction worker and former legionnaire sent to spend the summer building a hydroelectric power plant in rural Bulgaria. More comfortable in the company of pearl grey steed Tornado than he is with his boss, Vincent (Reinhardt Wetrek), Meinhard ditches his testosterone-fuelled colleagues and befriends Adrian (Syuleyman Alilov Letifov), one of the villagers. His fellow Germans are a parody of hyper-masculinity, spending their off-duty hours drunkenly braiding one another’s hair around a campfire,...
The third feature from German film-maker Valeska Grisebach sharply observes two intersecting communities of men with a woman’s needling gaze. Though titled Western, it is set in eastern Europe, close to Bulgaria’s Greek border (hinting at the presence of refugees). Wild country – politically volatile, physically harsh, and its own kind of wild west frontier.
Lonely cowboy Meinhard (Meinhard Neumann) is a German construction worker and former legionnaire sent to spend the summer building a hydroelectric power plant in rural Bulgaria. More comfortable in the company of pearl grey steed Tornado than he is with his boss, Vincent (Reinhardt Wetrek), Meinhard ditches his testosterone-fuelled colleagues and befriends Adrian (Syuleyman Alilov Letifov), one of the villagers. His fellow Germans are a parody of hyper-masculinity, spending their off-duty hours drunkenly braiding one another’s hair around a campfire,...
- 4/15/2018
- by Simran Hans
- The Guardian - Film News
After an 11-year hiatus, German filmmaker Valeska Grisebach returns with an intelligent, subtle, consistently engaging culture-clash drama. Grisebach’s naturalistic style and refusal to adhere to convention brings Western’s remote Bulgarian setting to life and, despite her time away, foregrounds her as a director to watch.
Meinhard (Meinhard Neumann) is the newbie to a group of German construction workers who have been tasked with erecting the foundations of a power plant in the Bulgarian countryside. Led by foreman Vincent (Reinhardt Wetrek), the crew are loud, boorish and disrespectful of the neighbouring village locals. They ignorantly plant a German flag at their camp and harass local women at a nearby river. Meinhard, a quiet, reserved individual, finds himself struggling to fit in. He doesn’t share the group’s disdain for the locals and, despite the language barrier, he slowly warms himself to some of the Bulgarian villagers, particularly local...
Meinhard (Meinhard Neumann) is the newbie to a group of German construction workers who have been tasked with erecting the foundations of a power plant in the Bulgarian countryside. Led by foreman Vincent (Reinhardt Wetrek), the crew are loud, boorish and disrespectful of the neighbouring village locals. They ignorantly plant a German flag at their camp and harass local women at a nearby river. Meinhard, a quiet, reserved individual, finds himself struggling to fit in. He doesn’t share the group’s disdain for the locals and, despite the language barrier, he slowly warms himself to some of the Bulgarian villagers, particularly local...
- 4/13/2018
- by Luke Channell
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Pastiches, homages, and carbon copies of films made years, decades, and movements ago clog today’s cinema. Art house fare as diverse and varied as Clouds of Sils Maria (2014), Queen of Earth (2015), The Death of Louis Xiv (2016), The Untamed (2016), and First Reformed (2017) all draw from a—now sizeable—history of cinema, for better or for worse. Add Valeska Grisebach’s Western to the batch. Eleven years since her previous work, Longing (2006), Grisebach returns to cinema with a slow-boiling film that injects the DNA of the western genre into a narrative concerning inter-European relations. And to be sure, Grisebach had some movies in mind while making Western (a few low-key nods to My Darling Clementine here and there), but as she told Daniel Kasman on this site, “it was more like they were traveling with [her] while [she] was making the film.” Western isn’t so much an homage as a muted mutation.
- 2/13/2018
- MUBI
"You're either with us or against us." The Cinema Guild has debuted a new Us trailer for the highly praised German drama Western, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and played at every other major fest in the fall of last year. From director Valeska Grisebach, Western is a slow burn about a group of German construction workers who take on a job on the Bulgarian countryside. The men compete against each other for the attention of local women, and get into some trouble. I still think the title doesn't fit the film, but Western is a solid examination of masculinity and the hot-headedness of men. Meinhard Neumann stars, with a cast including Reinhardt Wetrek, Syuleyman Alilov Letifov, Viara Borisova, Kevin Bashev, and Aliosman Deliev. This film has received rave reviews from critics all over the world, and is worth your time to discover if you're looking for something...
- 2/2/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
One of the most compelling, intense character studies I’ve seen in a great while is Western, which made its premiere at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. After a festival tour which included Karlovy Vary, Tiff, Nyff, London Film Festival, AFI Fest, and many more, Valeska Grisebach’s drama will now arrive in theaters this month courtesy of Cinema Guild. Ahead of its opening on February 16 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, we’re pleased to premiere the official theatrical trailer.
The long-awaited return of the director whose last film was 2006’s Longing, Western–produced by Toni Erdmann director Maren Ade–follows a group of German construction workers in a remote Bulgarian town. Specifically, Grisebach centers on Meinhard (Meinhard Neumann), who finds himself out of touch with the masculine environment and the subtle, growing hostility from the other men.
Our own Jake Howell loved it at Cannes, saying in his review,...
The long-awaited return of the director whose last film was 2006’s Longing, Western–produced by Toni Erdmann director Maren Ade–follows a group of German construction workers in a remote Bulgarian town. Specifically, Grisebach centers on Meinhard (Meinhard Neumann), who finds himself out of touch with the masculine environment and the subtle, growing hostility from the other men.
Our own Jake Howell loved it at Cannes, saying in his review,...
- 2/2/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The following essay was produced as part of the 2017 Nyff Critics Academy, a workshop for aspiring film critics that took place during the 55th edition of the New York Film Festival.
The western is an iconic genre tied to the very genesis of cinema itself, but it doesn’t have the currency it held decades ago. That’s why it’s such a thrill to see Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” and Valeski Grisebach’s “Western” — two highlights from this year’s New York Film Festival — reshape the genre from the ground up.
It’s only possible to appreciate that if you consider how far the genre has come. The western reigned Hollywood for decades—particularly from the ‘30s to the ‘60s. The genre’s appeal was that its unequivocal good vs. evil narrative could translate to any cultural zeitgeist. It wasn’t until Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns and...
The western is an iconic genre tied to the very genesis of cinema itself, but it doesn’t have the currency it held decades ago. That’s why it’s such a thrill to see Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider” and Valeski Grisebach’s “Western” — two highlights from this year’s New York Film Festival — reshape the genre from the ground up.
It’s only possible to appreciate that if you consider how far the genre has come. The western reigned Hollywood for decades—particularly from the ‘30s to the ‘60s. The genre’s appeal was that its unequivocal good vs. evil narrative could translate to any cultural zeitgeist. It wasn’t until Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns and...
- 10/12/2017
- by Caroline Madden
- Indiewire
It’s beginning to look a lot like fall festival season. On the heels of announcements from Tiff and Venice, the 55th edition of the New York Film Festival has unveiled its Main Slate, including a number of returning faces, emerging talents, and some of the most anticipated films from the festival circuit this year.
This year’s Main Slate showcases a number of films honored at Cannes including Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or–winner “The Square,” Robin Campillo’s “Bpm,” and Agnès Varda & Jr’s “Faces Places.” Other Cannes standouts, including “The Rider” and “The Florida Project,” will also screen at Nyff.
Read MoreTIFF Reveals First Slate of 2017 Titles, Including ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Downsizing,’ and ‘Call Me By Your Name’
Elsewhere, Aki Kaurismäki’s Silver Bear–winner “The Other Side of Hope” and Agnieszka Holland’s Alfred Bauer Prize–winner “Spoor” come to Nyff after Berlin bows.
This year’s Main Slate showcases a number of films honored at Cannes including Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or–winner “The Square,” Robin Campillo’s “Bpm,” and Agnès Varda & Jr’s “Faces Places.” Other Cannes standouts, including “The Rider” and “The Florida Project,” will also screen at Nyff.
Read MoreTIFF Reveals First Slate of 2017 Titles, Including ‘The Shape of Water,’ ‘Downsizing,’ and ‘Call Me By Your Name’
Elsewhere, Aki Kaurismäki’s Silver Bear–winner “The Other Side of Hope” and Agnieszka Holland’s Alfred Bauer Prize–winner “Spoor” come to Nyff after Berlin bows.
- 8/8/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
It is, undeniably, a bold decision to title one’s film Western: on the one hand, the word carries geopolitical weight and a cultural hegemony that the cinema is dominated by; this truth remains an important one at the Cannes Film Festival, where white men dominate the competition (Western opened in the sidebar program, Un Certain Regard).
On the other hand, of course, Western implies a cinematic reference—a genre, in and of itself. A genre, to be clear, with tropes galore that are just as problematic as the industry that propagates them. In titling her film as such, however, Valeska Grisebach’s contemplative, brilliant film sparks a dialogue on all of these components, prompting us to think critically on their intersections.
Western opens on the border between Greece and Bulgaria, where a group of German construction workers are tasked with building new infrastructure in a lush valley. But...
On the other hand, of course, Western implies a cinematic reference—a genre, in and of itself. A genre, to be clear, with tropes galore that are just as problematic as the industry that propagates them. In titling her film as such, however, Valeska Grisebach’s contemplative, brilliant film sparks a dialogue on all of these components, prompting us to think critically on their intersections.
Western opens on the border between Greece and Bulgaria, where a group of German construction workers are tasked with building new infrastructure in a lush valley. But...
- 5/27/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
For those with a sudden interest in new German cinema thanks to last year’s Toni Erdmann, the Cannes Film Festival has again selected another powerful, deeply human and intricately political drama in Valeska Grisebach’s terrific Western. Like Maren Ade, with whom she has collaborated, Grisebach has made two films—the lovely graduation short feature Be My Star (2001) and Longing (2006), a small town tale of a fireman’s love life—with long pauses in between. Western comes more than a decade after her first proper feature, and it confirms that the director is as talented as ever.The setting is a German worker camp in the modern day Bulgarian countryside, and, as as the title daringly states, this is indeed a "western." The isolated Germans are the encroaching (economic) colonizers—“we come here to work,” they say, flush with money and a reputation dating from the Second World War...
- 5/27/2017
- MUBI
Meinhard Neumann and Syuleyman Alilov Letifov.For those with a sudden interest in new German cinema thanks to last year’s Toni Erdmann, the Cannes Film Festival has again selected another powerful, deeply human and intricately political drama in Valeska Grisebach’s terrific Western. Like Maren Ade, with whom she has collaborated, Grisebach has made two films—the lovely graduation short feature Be My Star (2001) and Longing (2006), a small town tale of a fireman’s love life—with long pauses in between. Western comes more than a decade after her first proper feature, and it confirms the director as talented as ever.The setting is a German worker camp in the modern day Bulgarian countryside, and, as as the title daringly states, this is indeed a "western." The isolated Germans are the encroaching (economic) colonizers—“we come here to work,” they say, flush with money and a reputation dating from...
- 5/22/2017
- MUBI
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