Rotterdam, the last

With all of my official duties dispensed, it's time for my inevitable list of favorite films at this year's Rotterdam Film Festival. Established auteurs top the list, but that's more a matter of my short stay than a lack of quality newcomers (I had 4 days and squeezed in 17 films). I just didn't have enough time to gamble on debuts, although the few I saw paid off (El Arbol, the totally insane Looking for Cherry Blossoms). I also wish I had time to fit in the Jerzy Skolimowski retrospective and the new Ken Jacobs (Anaglyph Tom).

1. 35 Rhums, Claire Denis
2. Liverpool, Lisandro Alonso
3. Still Walking, Hirokazu Kore-eda (IFC Films)
4. El Arbol, Carlos Serrano Azcona
5. Frontier of Dawn, Phillipe Garrel (IFC Films)
6. Morphia, Aleksei Balabanov
7. Bronson, Nicolas Winding Refn
8. Birdsong, Albert Serra
9. Looking for Cherry Blossoms, Joe Odagiri [above image: note fake broken arm]
10. False Aging, Lewis Klahr

Notes:

*35 Rhums will be screening at the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema series at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center in early March. Check their calendar once it's posted.

*Birdsong has a one-week run at Anthology Film Archives beginning February 25th.

*Frontier of Dawn opens at BAM for a brief run starting March 6th.