Wind River

Unlikely triumphs: Our critic picks his favorite films of 2017

In movies, as in life, it was quite a year of highs and lows. These are our favorite films of 2017.

Get Out

As social commentary, as a horror movie that connected with an incredible amount of people, as a directorial debut for Jordan Peele—any way you look at it, Get Out was a huge achievement for independent film and for intelligent, layered stories with societal messages. The world already loved Peele for his comedy; with Get Out, we discovered that we need him for his insight.

Colossal

This was a year of unlikely triumphs, of which Nacho Vigalondo’s Colossal is the most unexpected. A thoughtful, funny film about very serious psychological issues—alcoholism, depression, self-loathing, projecting one’s own failures onto anyone who happens to be nearby—framed in one of the most bizarre narratives of 2017 that plays the absurdity completely straight-faced. If you let this one slip by you, definitely check it out.

A Ghost Story

A Ghost Story made mocking headlines for an extended, unbroken shot in which Rooney Mara sits on the kitchen floor and eats an entire pie. There, we said it, yuck it up, now let’s talk about what a powerful meditation on life and its meaning (or lack of it) this is, and how phenomenal it is that writer-director David Lowery feels as at ease with a noncommercial passion project as he does with a big-budget Disney remake (Pete’s Dragon).

Menashe

By all accounts, Menashe shouldn’t exist. A Yiddish-language movie filmed in New York’s ultra Orthodox Jewish community featuring a cast of first-time actors, many of whom had never set foot in a movie theater until the premiere, combined with the fact that it’s this great, makes it even more stunning. Starring Menashe Lustig in a story partially inspired by his own life, Menashe follows its lead character as he works to prove his worthiness as a father to his son, a year after the death of his wife. Simple, elegant, heartwarming, and one of the year’s must-sees.

Lucky

The last film of the legendary Harry Dean Stanton would be notable no matter what, but the sort of astonishing match between actor and material on the level of Lucky is quite rare. Stanton stars as a man in a small desert town who lives day to day on almost exactly the same routine. As we get to know Lucky better and witness the events of the doom, we see how those patterns became so important to him as they begin to break, but never in a tragic way. A lovely film with one of the year’s best performances.

Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan delivers the most powerful film of his career with Dunkirk, the story of a military defeat by the British that resulted in an astonishing evacuation and in turn inspired a generation to persevere in the fight against fascism in the early days of World War II. The film is told as a triptych, three interlocking stories spanning different lengths that are stylistically and thematically linked. Dunkirk is a technically sophisticated film without an ounce of self-indulgent spectacle, dedicated to the bravery of the soldiers on that beach and those who risked their lives to rescue them.

First They Killed My Father

Angelina Jolie’s film about the rise of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia is a fascinating, humanizing. look at totalitarianism and the human cost when squabbling superpowers use innocent nations as proxies. Told from the point of view of a young girl at the very beginning of the regime, she experiences all of the horrors of war—forced labor and being enlisted as a child soldier—while being subjected to empty propaganda day and night. Though it can be difficult to watch, the intent is to truly understand this moment in history from a philosophical and humanistic point of view, including its roots in the Cold War and America’s disastrous Southeast Asian foreign policy.

Lady Bird

In a year of strong directorial debuts, Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age tale stands out as one of the best and most sophisticated of the bunch. The title character, played by Saoirse Ronan, is in her senior year of high school and is in a hurry to let go of everything that has defined her: friends, interests, academic life, her name and especially her mother, played by Laurie Metcalf. Funny, poignant, brutally honest and boasting a career-high performance by Metcalf, Lady Bird should sit at the top of your watchlist.

Wind River

The power of Wind River comes in its clarity of mission and total understanding of every inch of its subject matter. Though narratively a procedural about the pursuit of the men who raped and murdered a young woman on the Wind River Indian Reservation, it is also an examination of the continued legacy of American colonialism on all parties affected. A tracker (Jeremy Renner) and an FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) join Tribal Police (Graham Greene) in the hunt. Refreshingly, all are great at their job; Olsen’s character is new to the region but she is an excellent agent, Greene does the best he can with the limitations his department faces, and Renner feels connected to the land despite being a perpetual outsider. A remarkable work in an already exceptional year.

John Wick: Chapter 2

Good filmmaking is good filmmaking, okay? There are some deep sociopolitical statements on this list, but in the end, movies are all about how well you can tell a story with the resources you have. In the case of John Wick: Chapter 2, those resources are some of the best technicians in the industry and the most committed and disciplined American movie star possibly in history. Much has been made of Keanu Reeves’ stiffness as an actor, but there is no question that this man belongs on the screen delivering remarkable physical performances. The stakes are ramped up from the previous installment as is the craftsmanship, turning what was a fun action flick into a franchise that could bring the best of Hong Kong genre cinema stateside.

Playing this week

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
377 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056

Ferdinand, The Greatest Showman, Pitch Perfect 3, The Shape of Water, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Violent Years

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213

All The Money In The World, Coco, Darkest Hour, Downsizing, Father Figures, Ferdinand, The Greatest Showman, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Pitch Perfect 3, Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Violet Crown Cinema
200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000

All The Money In The World, Darkest Hour, Downsizing, Father Figures, The Greatest Showman, Human Flow, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Pitch Perfect 3, The Shape of Water, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Three Billboards Ouside Ebbing, Missouri

“Wind River” is uncompromisingly tough

Not a single aspect of Wind River is easy to endure, but every shot, frame, line of dialogue, standoff and underlying theme is indispensable. The film turns every convention on its head in a plot involving a murder on a Native American reservation—the investigation is not depicted as a mystery, but implores both its characters and the audience to simply follow the tracks to their true origin, no matter how uncomfortable or unsatisfying it may be. This approach both respects the heavy subject matter by avoiding salacious twists, and provides a trenchant historical metaphor about the history of colonialism, racism and valuing the colonizers’ convenience over the lives of those uprooted.

R, 111 minutes

Violet Crown Cinema

Wind River tells the story of the investigation into the rape and murder of a young woman (Julia Jones) on the Wind River Indian Reservation after a tracker for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Jeremy Renner) discovers her body frozen in the snow. He notifies Tribal Police Chief Ben (Graham Greene), who brings in FBI agent Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen). It gets tricky as to what crime falls under the auspices of which agency, so all three attempt to use the limited resources of the local police and navigate the narrow jurisdictional parameters afforded to each.

Wilma, the victim, was running away from something at the time of her death, and was killed by sub-zero temperatures. As such, the cause of death cannot be ruled homicide, even as it is clear from her bare feet that she was fleeing for her life. This creates logistical roadblocks for the team, who must follow procedure—the FBI cannot take over if the death is not ruled a homicide, while the Tribal Police are woefully understaffed and underfunded. This leaves Cory Lambert (Renner) to navigate both the tracks and the rocky terrain of legal propriety in pursuit of justice.

Along the way, we meet the people of the reservation whose lives have been affected by the isolation, lack of attention and the long-term consequences of forced relocation.

Along the way, we meet the people of the reservation whose lives have been affected by the isolation, lack of attention and the long-term consequences of forced relocation. Wind River is tormented by drugs, poverty, despair and an increasing disconnect between the supposed political rights afforded by the United States and the reality of living within the American borders but not being afforded the same resources. The arrival of Agent Banner ought to be a blessing—an experienced and knowledgeable officer of the law with the powers of the federal government—but one bureaucratic obstacle and she is legally powerless. Ben has become accustomed to this treatment, while the tragic loss of Cory’s daughter in similar circumstances makes him feel less beholden to regulation.

The ways writer-director Taylor Sheridan (Sicario, Hell or High Water) subverts convention makes Wind River a more effective societal statement than the horrors of its narrative might have been treated in different hands.

As mentioned above, this is not a mystery. We are not meant to wonder which of the main leads actually committed the crime. Until those questions are answered, the real perpetrators are shown as society and unconfronted history; there is one confrontation between three armed groups that debate who has legal authority. The plot does indeed center primarily on two white outsiders, but while Jane is new to the terrain and legal loopholes of this specific circumstance, she is not the neophyte whose innocence becomes tarnished during the investigation. One might view Cory as the white man “gone native” in the vein of Dances with Wolves, an unfortunate white savior motif we have yet to fully part with, but his presence is counterbalanced with that of private contractors, showing that de facto colonization has persisted.

Wind River is a near flawless procedural that, while at times brutal, is never exploitative or manipulative of its subject or its audience’s sympathies.

Playing this week

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

377 Merchant Walk Sq., 326-5056

Annabelle: Creation, Atomic Blonde, The Dark Tower, Dunkirk, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Logan Lucky, The Nut Job: Nutty by Nature

Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX

The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213

Annabelle: Creation, Atomic Blonde, Brigsby Bear, The Dark Tower, Despicable Me 3, Detroit, Dunkirk, The Emoji Movie, Girls Trip, The Glass Castle, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Kidnap, Logan Lucky, The Nut Job: Nutty by Nature, Spider-man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes

Violet Crown Cinema

200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall, 529-3000

Annabelle: Creation, The B-Side, The Big Sick, Dunkirk, The Glass Castle, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Logan Lucky, The Nut Job: Nutty by Nature, Step, Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk