NUMBER ONE
Mac – Whiplash
It’s been eleven months since I first saw Damien Chappezelle’s debut film Whiplash but I can still vividly remember it’s intoxicating affect on me. I still remember my heart beating at an alarmingly fast rhythm, every single muscle in my body tensing up, my pupils dilating, my foot tapping incessantly and gasping for breath at every turn. No, I wasn’t having a heart attack. I was simply witnessing the finest and most electrifying film of 2015.
There’s no possible way to adequately convey through a mere piece of writing the sheer ferocity and wizardry of this startling masterpiece. Andrew, a gifted and extremely over ambitious young jazz drummer, is thrown into the tormented and cold-blooded world of Terence Fletcher, a dominating musical instructor. The less you know about Whiplash the better. You should go in with your optimistic and innocent sensibilities intact, only for the film to unexpectedly haul you though the ringer and tear down the very meaning of the values you hold most dear.
The story gut punches us in the widely held desire we all feel, to be remembered for mastering our well of our untapped greatness. Marking one of the strongest debuts a director has ever made, flawless editing and featuring two of the most magnetic and diverse performances all year, Whiplash quickly became 2015’s most essential viewing experience. It is not to be missed.
Note – As previously stated, this list adheres to the UK release dates, Whiplash didn’t arrive here until January 16th.
Full review here.
Callum – White God
Even before Mad Max came out, there was a great deal of buzz around the fact that a vast majority of the action had been filmed using practical effects, rather than CGI. It’s an inherently impressive notion, since you’re immediately aware of how much co-ordination, finesse and risk went into each set piece. That in mind, the first thing you see when White God starts is a message explaining that all the 274 dogs which feature in the film were rescued strays. That might not seem impressive in and of itself, but then a minute later you’re watching them stampede through the otherwise empty streets of Budapest in near-perfect formation.
White God is my film of the year not only because it’s an astounding achievement in animal performance (the twin lead dogs deserve Academy Awards more than Eddie Redmayne, but sadly that’s not allowed anymore), but because it’s a funny, tragic, striking allegory that manages to homage The Birds whilst also making a very valid point about oppression and uprising. Hagan, a cross-breed labrador owned by a girl named Lili, is cast out onto the street by her resentful father, only to be taken in by a dog fighting trainer and hammered and abused until he’s something several shades less than friendly. Gradually, what with one thing and another, the discarded and mistreated dogs of the city rally around him, and the uprising commences.
Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó has been on the edge of greatness for years and this film has managed to tip him across. The film is dedicated to Miklós Jancsó, possibly the most famous Hungarian film-maker of all time, and since so much of his work dealt with the notion of power abuse, it’s an apt dedication. This is a magnificent, gripping piece of visual storytelling, violent and disturbing, but defiantly so, it doesn’t need to beg for your attention, it demands it.
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