Cinema going returned. My love for French cinema was confirmed. My appreciation of the serious, austere and not necessarily ultimately uplifting was present and correct. Vicky Krieps continued to suggest that she is one of the most astounding actors at work at the moment ( Corsage , Hold Me Tight and Bergman Island to add to other stellar outings). Also confirmed was the urgent need to correct weaponised nostalgia and simple stories in favour of complexity, criticism and a warning that the siren voices of creeping social and political authoritarianism have to be confronted. The usual 10 - 1 ranking follows but there are several films which only just missed the cut which deserve a mention particularly Corsage ; Il Buco ; Bergman Island ; Flux Gourmet and The Quiet Girl . 10. Parallel Mothers : A tremendous performance from Penelope Cruz who is on screen for almost the entire running time anchors this film which is a stonking great melodrama of the kind that Almodovar can car
Occasional musings about time spent in museums, galleries, theatres, cinemas and other dark settings ..