The Mala Noche's Top 10 Films of 2017
It’s fair to say that 2018 was a tremendous year for movies. From massive blockbuster hits to indie darlings, there was a lot of reasons to rejoice as a fan of the seventh art. But before we can examine the highlights of the year, many of which we are still waiting to see in the coming weeks, it’s time to look back at the exemplary filmmaking that came in 2017. That’s why here at The Mala Noche we are proud to present our long-awaited list of the best films of 2017! Perhaps some of your favorites made the cut or you might discover some great ones that you missed. Whatever may be the case, we hope that you enjoy it and that you keep watching movies!
10. COLOMBUS
“Colombus” (2017)
I saw this late one night without expecting much, and I was completely blown away by it. This is a quietly beautiful little film that flew under the radar even though it has some of the most beautiful shots of 2017. Director Kogonda utilizes framing and location like few do today. He allows enough time to fully internalize each new setting and then uses his characters, wisely, to simply inhabit them and tell a story that is universal, while also being deeply personal and relatable. The movie is slow and meditative, and if you allow it, can be completely hypnotizing. Haley Lu Richardson and John Cho share a chemistry that is odd but empathetic. They are two lost people slowly finding each other, ala “Lost in Translation.” This movie perfectly encapsulates what I love about indie films: they take risks. They’re not afraid of being a bit alienating because they are interested in finding people who actually understand what they’re going for. They refuse to settle for what you and I, as an audience, are used to. They want to show you something different and, if possible, make you fall in love with its uniqueness. –Christian Jatar
9. DUNKIRK
“Dunkirk” (2017)
There are many forces at play within Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” and because of this, plenty of paradoxes emerge. As one of the most unconventional bellic narratives to reach theaters in recent years, the story focuses not on victory but on defeat. There are no conquests or advancements at the end of this military struggle, but only the resolution of a tactical failure that is accompanied by a miracle. While heroism is occasionally present, panic dominates this veridic playground of frightened children. It rejects the sentimentality of personal experiences in the face of unabashed danger, and yet it’s unequivocally humanistic for its compassion in telling the tale of a massive retreat. It’s perhaps the most authorly of Nolan’s catalog, but it served as a gigantic box office success.
Part of the reason for such success has to be attributed to the masterful work of composer Hans Zimmer, whose tortuous, ascending sounds force the audience closer to the maddening anxiety suppressed among the troops. Similarly, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema beautifully colored the fractured spaces of Nolan’s tryptic script. All paving the way for an account that concurs the director’s previously examined ideas of time and synchronicity with a new stage of historical analysis, showcasing all the maneuvers that had to coincide just so that 340,000 British and French soldiers could hold on a bit longer for the next battle. –Miguel Torrellas
8. LADY BIRD
Coming of age stories are a dime a dozen. They have lost all their inherent charm, their relatable aura, their fresh take on the lives of the reckless youth. They’ve become derivative versions of all those other films that inspired them. Then came “Lady Bird,” the coming of age film to, finally, do something different with the overused formula. This is a movie so charming, so lively, so filled with loving craftsmanship that you just can’t hate it. This is thanks, in large part, to its pitch-perfect tone, amazing acting, and killer writing from the one and only, Greta Gerwig. Gerwig, in my eyes, is charisma incarnate. On screen, off-screen, behind the camera, in front of the camera. She’s just fucking great. She managed to bring all the aspects of what makes her such a unique voice in the indie-filmmaking scene to her debut film, and thank god she did. One of my favorite moments in the film comes towards its closing minutes. When Lady Bird is forced to view the place she was brought up in with different eyes, a new perspective. That nostalgic feeling, which the film so effortlessly transmits, is a feeling I bet many people have lived through when going back home after a long time away. That feeling of a deep new appreciation for the place you grew up in. The place that, for better or worse, made you into the person you are today. I cried, I laughed, and I left wanting to call my mom and tell her how much I appreciate everything she has done for me. Oh, and Saoirse Ronan is absolutely stunning. –Christian Jatar
7. BLADERUNNER 2049
“Bladerunner 2049” (2017)
You’ll be surprised to know, Dear Reader, that the third article ever posted on this website (long gone after a recent revamp of the site) hailed the selection of Denis Villeneuve as the director of the then-untitled but heavily coveted “Blade Runner” sequel. While excited by the uncommonly wise studio decision, I was foolish enough to expect and demand a continuation of the saga that would carry along the dense and methodical world building as well as the smoggy and cerebral, slow-paced nature of the original incarnation. Luckily, I got exactly what I wanted.
To watch “Blade Runner 2049” is to see Villeneuve gloriously flex his directorial muscles for almost three hours. Frame after frame of brilliant imagery leads you to a point where you can almost hear the Franco-Canadian bastard leaning over and whispering to you and any other being that ever attempts to touch a beloved ‘80s product “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” But certainly, not all of the credit can go to Villeneuve, whose undoubtedly most brilliant decision was to hire the legendary British cinematographer Roger Deakins the same day he came on board. Together they conjured a perfect gallery of desktop wallpapers that will surely test the resolution of future screens and enhance the imagination of fans of clever science fiction. –Miguel Torrellas
6. THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER
“The Killing of A Sacred Deer” (2017)
Why can’t there be more films like this one? Here’s a movie written and directed by Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, who’s one of the best examples of present-day surrealism that I can name, with the collaboration of Hollywood A-listers Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman and the addition of the rising young talent of Barry Keoghan and Raffey Cassidy. While it is set in present-day suburbia, the story is an adaptation of the Euripides’ play “Iphigenia at Aulis.” It is a work sickly saturated with a misanthropic nature and an outstanding disposition to sadistically submit its characters that can only be rivaled but its maker’s uncompromisingly idiosyncratic vision.
Farrell continues to shine within the quiet desperation of Lanthimos’ films. His muted sadness perfectly plays with the offbeat script, one that displays absurdist humor almost as frequently as gut-wrenching horror. Fans of the work of Lanthimos may be surprised with an offering that feels both tightly constructed as well as playful, proving the complete control of the director’s inspiringly nihilistic form. Firstcomers to the guy’s style may find a profound malice at the heart of the movie, which to the film’s intentions is quite the compliment, but the best way to enjoy it is to simply let go of any preconception about families, Hippocratic oaths, and general wholesomeness and indulge in the delicious wickedness of this truly unique feature.
–Miguel Torrellas
5. GOOD TIME
“Good Time” (2017)
Watching “Good Time” feels like going through the colorfully, claustrophobic drug trip you never knew you needed. From the 70s inspired zoom-in introduction of Robert Pattinson’s Connie Nikas, and the first taste of Daniel Lopatin’s (of Oneohtrix Point Never fame) swelling, synth-heavy, attention-demanding score, you know you are in for a movie, unlike anything that has come out in the last few years. Directors Benny and Josh Safdie take you on a journey through the dark underbelly of New York with a breakneck pace and an obsession with intense close-ups that heighten the constant tension that fuels the story and its characters. The movie is unrelenting, completely unique, and a hell of a good time (ha-ha). Just be ready for one of the most intense, unforgiving, movie-going experiences of 2017. Also, we need more from Daniel Lopatin scores! Goddamn. So fucking good. –Christian Jatar
4. THE SHAPE OF WATER
“The Shape of Water” (2017)
I have to come clean and admit that I’m biased towards many of the elements of Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.” I love the aesthetic of mainstream America during the ‘50s and early ‘60s mixed with the representation of cold-war paranoia and the fascist, extremist hilarity of positive thinking that is Michael Shannon’s villainous G-man. Together with this, I always found the original “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” to be of the one most imaginative monsters begotten of classic Hollywood. If you are like me, there’s lots to love just on the surface of “The Shape of Water,” but I would trade them all away just for the disarmingly sweet metaphor for the ever-changing face of love at the bottom of this aquatic narrative.
The film is armed with a cast of talented players led by Doug Jones as the amphibious man, and the wonderful Sally Hawkins as one of the most charming and effective characters of the year, the mute princess Elisa. Del Toro’s unique and stubbornly detailed vision crafted a serenade to the influences present in most of his works, such as the loving campiness of movie creatures, the moral parables hidden within the constructs of fairy tales, and the creeping demons underneath human exteriors. –Miguel Torrellas
3. PHANTOM THREAD
“Phantom Thread” (2017)
The closest to Kubrick that Paul Thomas Anderson has ever gotten. This is, in my eyes, a perfect film. It’s a romantic comedy (ok maybe not a “comedy” in the strictest of terms, but goddamn did I laugh a lot) filled with enough character nuance to make Matthew Weiner cry in his sleep. This is, undoubtedly, one of the most cerebral, twisted romances to have ever been put to screen. Daniel Day-Lewis is sublime as Reynolds Woodcock, a fucking asshole who might, or might not, actually be a terrible human being. Vicky Krieps as Alma, Woodcock’s romantic interest/sparring partner, is a revelation. And Leslie Manville… Jesus, she’s just perfect from start to finish as Cyril, Reynolds sister and voice of reason. Jonny Greenwood delivers the best score of 2017 (fuck “The Shape of Water”’s, by the numbers Alexander Desplat score) which serves as the cozy, yet surprisingly unnerving backbone of one of the most unforgettable viewing experiences of the year. I love this movie so much. Like, an unruly amount. I need help. –Christian Jatar
2. THE FLORIDA PROJECT
“The Florida Project” (2017)
There’s a line that I always loved from Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” that says “It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen.” This resonates strongly when I think of Sean Baker’s “The Florida Project” and the times I’ve spent in Kissimmee, Osceola County, roaming among the tourist attractions deployed through the Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway. Despite the many experiences that I’ve attached to the area, beautified by the sensory shifting powers of memory, I never found the place as gorgeous as when I saw it depicted through Baker’s film.
Thanks to Director of Photography Alexis Zabe, the impossible tones of American Kitsch have never been so carefully illuminated. But for all of its visual magic, the essence of “The Florida Project” lies in its empathetic and realistic portrayal of a low-income family living in the Magic Castle Inn on the fringe of homelessness. The film sheds light on the underrepresented experience of a population that strives to survive in a space that most people associate with vacation time. Nonetheless, the lives of the mother-and-daughter duo lack no exuberance, as they are joyfully characterized by newcomers Brooklynn Prince and Bria Vinaite. Written and directed by Baker, “The Florida Project” is an emotionally impactful polaroid of rarely seen lives in the outskirts of the “happiest place on earth.” –Miguel Torrellas
1. CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
“Call Me By Your Name” (2017)
Luca Guadagdino’s “Call Me By Your Name” is, simply put, one of the most daringly, beautiful films ever made. Set in the Italian villa of your dreams, it effortlessly brings you into its world and its central romance between Elio (Timothy Chalamet) and Oliver (Armie Hammer) by means of a perfect merger of music, acting and stellar directing. Every single shot has a purpose and every single musical cue serves as an amplifier of what the main characters are going through. The film is not interested in drawing you in via a convoluted, dialogue-heavy, and explicit romantic story. It wants you to relate to the characters through their more implicit and almost subdued interactions. The small, careful details of a romance that blossoms carefully, but surely, in a time (circa 1980) where same-sex relationships were far from widely accepted, serve as one of the most realistic depictions of romance in cinema. Movies like this do not come often. Movies that fully transport you to a place in time that, for some reason or another, feels like a long lost memory of a summer most dearly treasured. Movies that bring hope and warmth even in the darkest of days. Movies that make the whole experience that much more enriching, that much more essential. –Christian Jatar