I still remember the feeling I had immediately after watching Beasts of the Southern Wild; my heart was beating out of my chest, a long-lasting smile was on my face, and I had that feeling that I just watched something great. Regardless of the title, it is special when a film can make you feel this way. So it should be of little surprise that Beasts of the Southern Wild is my number 1 film of 2012. But the main purpose of this preface is to highlight potentially important films that I did not get a chance to see before making the list. Some of these films include; The Sessions, Amour, The Comedy, Cloud Atlas, and The Silver Linings Playbook just to name a few.

Also to note, Paradise: Love is absent from my list (although it would have likely been in the Top 3). This is because of the rules we set up, only films with a North American release date of 2012 can count. Therefore it will have to appear on the list next year.

Dustin Jansick’s Top 10 Films of 2012

Honorable Mentions

Sound of My Voice
Goodbye First Love
Compliance
Ruby Sparks
Arbitrage

Giorgos Lanthimos’ Alps is a follow-up (some say companion piece) to his amazing 2009 film Dogtooth. The gist of the film is about how the main character loses her own identity while trying to impersonate others. The premise may not even sound all that weird because I stripped out the absurd elements that surround it. Alps may be too bizarre for some, however, you sign up for it with Lanthimos behind the camera. I found the unsettling observations in the film fascinating but not as much right at first. It is a film that sits with you awhile until you realize how purposeful the oddities were.

A woman rhythmically ribbon dances to classic orchestra music in an empty gymnasium except for one man. After her flawless routine she sits down in discouragement. She wants to do something with more pop she explains. But the man insists that she is not ready for it yet and scolds her for not trusting his judgment. He goes on to say that if she raises her voice to him again (which she did not to begin with) then he will break her arms and legs. This is the kind of “coach” that you come to expect from a Lanthimos film.

A group of people gather and explain on how they came up with the name Alps to call themselves. There were two reasons why the decided on Alps. The first is that it does not reveal anything about what they are doing. The second reason is because the Alps is a mountain range that no other mountains can substitute. The word substitute is important there because it explains what they actually do.

About a third of the way into Alps it becomes clear that they are substitutes for people that have recently passed away. When people lose their loved ones at the hospital this group of people offer to become the person that died as a way to ease the pain for the family. They completely emulate the deceased person; wear their clothes, say things in the way the person would have said things, and even live in their homes.

The scenes where the substitute is trying to act like the person that passed away were the best. It was awkward to watch them trying to fill the void of the person the family missed. Even though it is amusing to watch them impersonate someone else, the film does bring up a good question. Would people who loosely resembled someone that passed away close to you actually help ease the grieving process?

In the end Alps is less about those grieving loved ones, and more about the impersonator needing the grievers. Switching the roles between who needed who in order to function in life was by far the most interesting aspect of the film. In order to accurately portray someone, you must become that person, like an actor typically tries to do. The film shows just how dangerous it is to cling on to someone else’s identity.

Alps is not quite as disturbing but it is as equally bizarre as Dogtooth. You can definitely tell they were both directed by Giorgos Lanthimos, who already has created a unique style of his own. And a fantastic one at that. There were many similarities between both films; the color saturation, deadpan dialog and outlandish characters. Another note on characters, in both films none of the main characters have real names.

Depending on how you literal you took Dogtooth, you could consider it a pretty obvious satire on over-protective parenting. On the surface, Alps could be considered it a satire on over-acting. Dialog is delivered in an obvious mesmerized manner in scenes where the substitute presumably sounds nothing like the person they are portraying. Also characters heavily rely on objects to carryout the impersonation of the dead person they are trying to become, such as wearing a pair of shoes or perfume.

In true Lanthimos fashion, Alps allows you to interpret just how literal you want to take the themes found in it. However, Alps is more compelling the deeper you look into it. Even though it did not quite reach the level that Dogtooth got to for me, it still was a fascinating film that you simply cannot take your eyes off of. Lanthimos has certainly made his mark as director to watch out for.

My last day at the Toronto International Film Festival I see the documentary Samsara, Steve McQueen’s Shame and the film Dustin Jansick was most excited about at the festival ALPS. Here are my first impressions and mini reviews of the films.

Without a doubt one of the most beautiful films I have ever laid my eyes on. Shot in over 50 countries, this documentary has no narrative, no spoken words. Just images set to intoxicating rhythms and beats. An absolute stunner of a film. Shot on 65mm film. The filmmakers travel the world to show life and death in nature and the every sprawling metropolises of the world. Showing the ever changing landscapes of our world and our growing reliance on all things unnatural, Samsara is a must see. Probably the documentary of the year for me.

Director Steve McQueen had one of the best debuts of the last decade with Hunger in 2008. McQueen returns this year with his star of Hunger, Michael Fassbender (2011’s rising star) for his newest film about a man struggling with his addiction to sex. Fassbender gives the performance of the year as Brandon, a man living in New York who is completely at the mercy of his addiction. It all unravels when his long lost sister shows up unannounced to stay with him. Fassbender gives a mesmerizing performance that will hopefully nab him an Oscar nomination. Carey Mulligan as Brandon’s sister is equally stirring. Both give fearless performances. McQueen pulls no punches when it comes to showing the lengths Brandon will go to to get his fix. One thing is for sure, this one doesn’t end on a happy note. A brave ending Shame ends on. McQueen is one of the best right now and I for one cannot wait to see what he does next.

This movie perplexes me. One one half, you have a fantastic premise. A group of people get together to ease the pain of people who lose a loved one. They enter their lives AS that person who has died. They wear their clothes, say things the deceased would say, they live in the homes of their loved ones. Just to ease the loss. I was waiting for this one to be a big emotional movie. What it ended up being was a more drier and funnier movie about loss and boredom. The second film by the director of Dogtooth is unfortunately in the same vein as that film (which I loved by the way), where it could have had more emotional high points given the material. I felt the movie went in the wrong direction with it’s tone. I did end up liking the movie out of how well it’s made, but I rue the fact that it could’ve gone in a better direction. This is still a movie to watch out for and the director has loads of talent. The film begs for repeat viewings. There is one scene of particular brilliance that even Tarantino would be proud of.

The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival is about to begin and I will representing Way Too Indie there. We previously posted the films we are most excited for but here is the list of films I will be seeing (some of which were on that list). Expect mini-reviews to follow as well as my general experience of the atmosphere in the city of Toronto.

Synopsis: Idiosyncratic, cheeky and uncategorizable, the films of Guy Maddin are testaments to the singular vision of a great contemporary cinema artist, and Keyhole may be his boldest film yet. A surreal indoor odyssey of one man, Ulysses Pick (Jason Patric) struggling to reach his wife (Isabella Rosellini) in her bedroom upstairs, this hypnotic dreamlike journey bewilders and captivates.
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Synopsis: A look at what happens when partners from different social backgrounds engage in in physical relationships.
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Why excited: Not only is it black and white but it is a silent film.
Synopsis: Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break.

Synopsis: Intimate interviews and life stories of several inmates condemned to death in a Texas prison.
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Synopsis: Martin, a mercenary, is sent from Europe by an mysterious biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger.

Synopsis: Two sisters find their relationship challenged as a nearby planet threatens to collide into the Earth.

Synopsis: A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.

Synopsis: A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.

Synopsis: Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.

Synopsis: Everyone knows what to do if one morning the sky would be absolutely full of UFOs: run as fast as you can. However, what would happen if the invasion started while you are in the flat of the girl of your dreams, the one you have just met?
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Synopsis: A further investigation into the arrest of three teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of killing three young boys in Arkansas and spent nearly 20 years in prison before being released because DNA evidence proved their innocence.
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Synopsis: Follows veteran police officer Dave Brown, the last of the renegade cops, as he struggles to take care of his family, and fights for his own survival.
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Synopsis: The story of a young woman clinging on to her dream to become a beauty contest queen in a Mexico dominated by organized crime.

Synopsis: A suicide survivor works for a nameless corporation, where he puts other employees through series of bizarre performance tests in this dystopian, Tarkovsky-esque sci-fi and surreal dark fantasy, with flashes of dark humour and deep emotion.

Synopsis: A group of cooks at an asylum for the criminally insane get locked in with the inmates during a massive thunderstorm.
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Synopsis: The team behind “Baraka” reunites for another journey around the world, exploring themes of birth, death and rebirth through stunning visuals and music.
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Synopsis: A drama centered on 30-something Brandon, his myriad sexual escapades, and what happens when his wayward younger sister moves in with him.
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Synopsis: A mysterious underground outfit, going by the name of ALPS, offers bereaved individuals a very unusual service: they stand in for their dearly departed.