Chris here. One of the most interesting curiosities every year in Best Of kudos is the list from trashcamp grandmaster John Waters. The provcateur always delivers a list that is surprising in its inclusions both for the purely unexpected (like last year's Cinderella) and for title or two you probably haven't heard of. Rest assured no matter how many films you have seen in a given year, Waters has seen more and his taste is more expansive. Eat your heart out, critics groups.
This year his top choice goes to a film getting lots of breakthrough love this week - Trey Edward Shults's Krisha. The film is quite a fitting choice for the filmmaker - with nonactors on a microbudget, Krisha is all taught social mores, fraught observations of family structures, and psychosis. Sounds somewhat like his own fascinations, albeit with much more inhibitions. Here's what he says of the film, with the rest of his list after the jump:
This hilariously harrowing portrait of a family reunion ruined by an alcoholic relative and too many dogs is told with verve and lunacy and features a top-notch performance by Krisha Fairchild, the director’s own aunt. Other people’s hell can sometimes be so much fun.
The rest of the list (and some of his observations):
2. Tickled
3. Everybody Wants Some!! ("the best accidentally gay movie ever")
4. Roar
5. Wiener-Dog ("the funniest dog movie since Godard’s Goodbye to Language")
6. Elle
7. Julieta (a "hellodrama")
8. Like Cattle Towards Glow (an "Eric Rohmer–like porno")
9. Valley of Love ("Even dead Pasolini would love this film")
10. A Quiet Passion
Have you caught up to Krisha? (Hint: it's currently on Amazon Prime!)