It's that time of the year, and once again eccentric filmmaker John Waters has published his 10 favorite films of the year.
It's become an annual tradition to get Waters’ list in early December —I’m not entirely sure why, but I’m not complaining either. Waters always comes up with one of the most interesting top 10s of the year. It’s impossible not to respect his eclectic tastes.
This year, Waters has actually mellowed down a bit. His list isn’t as out there as in previous years. Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid” tops it. Other selections include Paul Schrader’s “Master Gardener”, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” and Catherine Breillat’s “Last Summer.”
1. Beau Is Afraid (Ari Aster)
2. A Prince (Pierre Creton)
3. Master Gardener (Paul Schrader)
4. Full Time (Éric Gravel)
5. Last Summer (Catherine Breillat)
6. Sparta (Ulrich Seidl)
7. Fallen Leaves (Aki Kaurismäki)
8. Strange Way of Life (Pedro Almodóvar)
9. Opppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)
10. Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World (Radu Jude)
Throughout the year, Waters has expressed his love for “Beau is Afraid.” In late summer, he was a guest on Bill Maher’s podcast and, in one brief segment of the interview, recommended that the host watch Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid,” which he had some effusive praise for:
You go to downtown San Francisco and now it’s like the beginning of “Beau is Afraid,” have you seen that film? It has some really great shit. It has Joaquin Phoenix, but it’s three hours long and he’s going crazy in the movie. Patti Lupone is sublime
In a recent interview with a Maine newspaper, Waters was asked which current day filmmakers he found to be on the same wave length as his, Waters’ responded by namechecking Aster.
The short version: "Woman Unknown" was a compromise. The jury deadlocked over "Possible Love" and "NAZA," not able to com to terms, fell back on their #3, May el-Toukhy's film.