From the turkeys, in review 2016 the year in film. Hello, and welcome to this review of the year in film. Im mark kermode, and were here at the Cinema Museum in south london where, for the next half an hour, we will be looking back at some of the best Movies Released In Uk Cinemas in 2016. 2016 was a pretty tumultuous year, what with the brexit vote in june, and the results of the American Election in november proving that the unexpected really can happen. In the world of politics, uncertainty can be alarming. When it comes to movies, it is the unexpected which really makes it all worthwhile. While the naysayers claim that movies today are just an endless slew of sequels, remakes and superhero franchise fodder, lets spend some time celebrating the films which offered something different, which prove that cinema today really is more vibrantly diverse than ever. 2016 got off to a remarkable start with room, irish director Lenny Abrahamsons film about a mother and child inprisoned, adapted by screenwriter Emma Donoghue from her bestselling novel. Room opened in the uk injanuary to rave reviews, particularly for brie larson, who went on to win both the bafta and oscar for best actress. Youre going to help me trick 0ld nick. This is our chance. Youre gonna play dead. 0ld nick is going to come and take you outside, and im going to be there in your head talking to you the whole time. Im scared. I know. The oscar for best picture went to spotlight, a fact based drama about the boston globes coverage of a Child Abuse Scandal within the catholic church. But the oscars themselves were mired with headline grabbing controversy when the subject of racism in hollywood and the 0scarssowhite Hashtag Made Front page news. Of the 20 0scar nominees for best actor, actress, best supporting actor and best supporting actress, not one was a person of colour. Oh, and in the best director category, all the nominees were men, again. Its a depressing State Of Affairs and the academy have taken steps to ensure their membership becomes more diverse, but, despite such embarrassment, there was one area in which the oscars got it right, and that was in the Foreign Language film category. Having premiered in cannes, back in 2015, laszlo nemes Searing Holocaust Drama Son Of Saul took the 0scarfor Foreign Language film in february, 2016. With Claude La Nzmann the filmmaker behind shoah, declaring that this hungarian masterpiece presented a very real sense of what it was like to be in the sonderkommando. Son of saul was a deserving 0scar winner, but nominated alongside it were some of the best films to open in uk cinemas in 2016. From director ciro guerra came embrace of the serpent, a monochrome mix of fact and fantasy, Western Exploration And Amazonian Myth that earned colombia its first nomination for the Foreign Language film 0scar. This is madness from france, mustang, a Tale Of Turkish sisters imprisoned in their home by a controlling uncle. Beautifully directed by deniz gamze erguven, who coached vibrant performances from her ensemble cast, mustang also benefited from a terrific score by warren ellis. Ellis is one of modern cinemas most intriguing composers. Alongside the likes of Johnny Greenwood and clint mansell, who did superb work on Ben Wheatleys adaptation ofjg ballards dystopian novel, high rise, his woozy, Sensuous Score perfectly capturing the films increasingly unsettling tone. Im so sorry. Ill survive. I thought you were empty. Ijust moved in. Youre an excellent specimen. High rise opened in uk cinemas in march, where it went head to head with the Coen Brothers splendid throwback hollywood fantasy, hail, caesar , one of the most delightfully silly films of the year. Why do you say it like that, why do you say twere . Well, you said say it like i say it. Yes, but. You seem to be lingering. Its interminable, the word, im wondering when it will end, and we shouldnt be wondering, should we, we should be marching right along for so simple. Would that it were so simple. Calm down when april rolled around, nothing could touch thejungle book, disneys reboot of its classic cartoon which became the real king of the swingers at the uk box office. Billed as a live action affair, The Jungle Book was in fact almost entirely cgi with the young star, neel sethis mowgli being one of the very few live action elements in a movie which cast idris elba as a digital shere khan, bill murray as a lovable baloo the bear, and Christopher Walken as a gigantic king louie. Moving on to may, and 0nce director john carneys Sing Street Put a smile on my face and a spring in my step with its tale of a teenagers pop tastic adventures in the mysterious world of 80s dublin. Meanwhile, over in france, the 69th Cannes Film Festival offered yet more reason for rejoicing as Ken Loach Won His second palme d0r for the social realist drama i, daniel blake. Having previously claimed the top prize with the wind that shakes the barley, ken loach, who turned 80 this year, won the judges over once again with his blistering tale of a Newcastle Joiner recovering from a heart attack who finds himself on the wrong end of a bureaucratic benefit system. Superbly scripted by paul lafferty, with outstanding performances by davejohns and hayley squires, i, daniel blake is powerful and impassioned film making. No Wonder Bothjohns and squires were honoured with trophies at the recent british independent film awards. What i gather now is the decision maker, the Decision Makers gonna be sending you a letter through the post. Youre gonna have to wait for that. My kids have to start school tomorrow, ive got about 12 quid in me purse. All because you cant just calm down and listen to people when they talk, you all have to do this. You know what, ive listened to you, youve created a scene. No mate, if i was going to create a scene, youd know about it. Trust me. You need to leave the building. This is ridiculous. Who is first in this queue . Do you mind if this young lass signs on first . There you go. Now you can go back to your desk and let her sign on and do the job that the taxpayer pays you for. Thejury prize at cannes also went to a british film maker, andrea arnold, whose first us set feature, American Honey, went on to win best film at the biffas. Centring on sasha lanes texan teen who hits the road with a group of young magazine sellers, American Honey was shot by i, daniel bla kes cinematographer, robbie ryan, who worked wonders with the Square Academy ratio frame which is Andrea Arnolds preferred format. Remarkable, too, to see transformers star shia labeouf doing career best work in a film which is the very antithesis of those bloated Blockbuster Movies, which made him a star. Of course, those Blockbuster Movies continue to thrive. The Transformers Franchise was very much in evidence here in the autumn as they shot scenes for the forthcoming transformers the last night, which we can all look forward to in 2017. In the mean time, the summer of 2016 was dominated by the return of a forgetfulfish, who made a whale size splash at the Box Office Despite her diminutive portions. Disney pixars finding dory was one of a slew of animated features, which breathed Life Into Uk Cinemas in 2016. Im coming. Sorry. Thats ok. Everybody does it, nothing to be ashamed of. Injune, we got the long delayed release of the anime gem when marnie was there, studio ghiblis japanese adaptation ofjoan g robinsons norfolk set novel. Why is it . That mansion feels familiar, somehow. Its really best for you to stay away from that old marsh house. Throw me the rope, hurry. Then there was zootropolis, or zootopia as its known in the us, which is currently shaping up as a strong contender for the forthcoming animated feature 0scar. We are in a really big hurry. We need to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Francine. Happy birthday 0ther contenders include kubo and the two strings, a sublime stop Motion Animation from pa ranorman creators laika studios. He just saved our lives. Yes, hes very powerful, but he still has much to learn. What . Well, fast learner. And moana, disneys current Cinema Offering from the directors of aladdin and the little mermaid. The real treat for me, however, was makoto shinkais your name, a thrilling Body Swap Anime which topped the Japanese Box Office charts for three months before wowing audiences here in the uk. While films like finding dory and zootropolis delighted audiences and critics alike, some of the years other blockbusters proved altogether more divisive. Take, for example, zack snyders much hyped batman vs superman dawn of justice, which proved a solid Box Office Hit when it opened here in march, despite almost universally negative reviews from sniffy critics like me, who were variously accused of being corrupt, idiotic or simply out of touch. Now in fact, what the Financial Success of batman vs superman proved is that reviews have zero effect on box office. Audiences dont go to see films because critics love them or hate them, they go because they want to see them. Or, they dont. Take note, alex proyas, director of this years copper bottomed stinker gods of egypt, who took to social media to call critics a pack of diseased vultures, pecking at the bones of a dying carcass, without realising that in doing so, he was effectively calling his own movie roadkill. 0ops while batman vs superman caught its fair share of critical flak, other superheroes did better with the critics. Take Ryan Reynoldss deadpool, marvels Wisecracking Self Reflexive Antihero who took the box office by storm and earned pretty decent notices in the process. Captain America Civil War performed well too, when that opened in april. In the autumn, dr strange offered up a winning mix of Superhero Antics and ken russell style hallucinogenics. The reality you know is one of many. This doesnt make any sense. Not everything does. Not everything has to. 0n the evidence of these movies, we are not going to see an end to Big Budget Blockbuster Comic Book Film franchises any time in the near future. But it was at the other end of the financial spectrum, and indeed often on the other side of the atlantic, that the really interesting stuff was happening. Encouragingly, 2016 saw the release of a number of low budget home made features which really put their more expensive counterparts to shame. Take, for example, notes on blindness, an electrifying adaptation of the memoirs of theologian john hull, who made cassette recordings documenting his Loss Of Sight and subsequent journey from darkness into light. Getting actors to lip sync to these recordings in a manner similar to that used by clio barnard for the arbor, film makers Peter Middleton and James Spinney created something really unique, a film which is informative, empathetic and deeply spiritual one of The Very Best films of the year. The pictures in the gallery of my mind have dimmed somewhat. I could no longer remember easily what my wife looked like, or what my daughter, imogene, looked like. Everything was drifting away. How could this happen to me . Who had the right to deprive me of the sight of my children at christmas time . Notes on blindness was one of several home made indie pics that opened in the uk this year. 0ther Admirable oddities included stephen fingletons stripped down Northern Ireland thriller the survivalist, joe stevensons chicken, superbly shot by rising star dp pete evan balter, and jane gulls my feral heart, with a brilliant central performance by newcomer stephen brandon. My favourite film of 2016 was the spine chilling british production under the shadow, from iran born london based writer director ba bak anvari. The uks entry for the Foreign Language film 0scar, under the shadow, was set in tehran, Shot Injordan and filmed in farsi. There are nods to Roman Polansky and the Guilermo Del Toro but anvaris superbly Creepy Chiller conjures an atmosphere, which is uniquely its own. With very strong performances by Narges Rashidi and Avin Manshadi as the mother and daughter terrorised by falling bombs, religious zealots and marauding djinn spirits, under the shadow is a film you simply must not miss, believe me, it will take your breath away. Films like under the shadow and notes on blindness found their audiences, thanks in large part to the efforts of the uks still thriving independent cinema circuit, the real heart of the movies. If youre lucky enough to have a local arthouse cinema, then make sure you make the most of it. Multiplexes are fine, up to a point, but without the independents we will end up with an endless string of movies which all look the same and nobody wants that. The 13th Amendment to the constitution makes it unconstitutional for someone to be held as a slave. There are exceptions, including criminals. The loophole was immediately exploited. What you got after that. Of course, in the age of the internet, viewing habits are changing, with more and more people choosing to watch movies online. This, in itself, is not a problem unless the films Online Presence prevents people from seeing it in cinemas and that was kind of the case with the brilliant documentary 13th, by ava du vernay, which provocatively teased out connections between the history of slavery and modern day imprisonment in the us. Its powerful polemical fare and, for me, one of the real highlights of the year but having been funded by netflix, 13th was only allowed to play in one cinema in the uk, this, despite the fact that several independent cinemas were hammering for the chance to show it. In an ideal world, streaming services and cinemas would work hand in hand, not in competition. Beasts that needed to be controlled. It became virtually impossible for a politician to run and appear soft on crime. The kinds of kids that are called super predators. Millions of dollars will be designated forjail facilities. As the autumn rolled around, fans of Science Fiction welcomed the arrival of arrival, the beautiful First Contact movie from French Canadian director denis villeneuve, who made the great thriller, sicario. Based on a story by ted chiang, arrival starred amy adams as a linguist, recruited to help communicate with aliens, whose nature and purpose is unknown. They need to see me. Are you insane . Now thats a proper introduction. A film of ideas rather than special effects, arrival played in uk cinemas around the same time as tom fords nocturnal animals, which also starred amy adams, in a very different role, this time as an la art dealer, confronted by ghosts of the past. I never sleep. 0ther Outstanding Female Performances in films released in the uk in 2016 include Isabelle Hupperts wonderful work in mia hansen loves things to come, a drama about an academic, whose life is unexpectedly changed when her husband reveals a dark secret. Then there was Pedro Almodovars julieta, sensibly adapted from the writings of canadian author alison munro, with Awards Worthy Performances From Emma Suarez and adriana ugarte, the younger and older incarnations of the eponymous character. For me, this was almodovars best work since volver. I was also bowled over by meryl streep as the so called diva of din in Stephen Frears affectionate and funny florence fosterjenkins, a celebration of the life of the first lady of the sliding scale. Stop theres work to be done. Plaudits too to kate beckinsale, who was an acerbic delight in whit stillmans love friendship, perhaps the most perfect screen rendering ofjane austens matchlessly witty writing. Lady susan . How dare you address me, sir . Be gone, or i will have you whipped outrageous. Have you never met him . No, i know him well. I would never speak to a stranger like that. And, lets not forget, kate dickie, deeply disturbi