The Boston film critics have spoken! After an all-day meeting to vote the best movies and performances of the year, I share the announcement of our awards in the middle of an onslaught of horrifying news including the Brown University shooting, the Hanukkah massacre in Australia, and the violent murders of a beloved Hollywood giant Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. I am sick at heart, and continue to make the case for movies, theater, and all art which helps us process what it is to be a human being in this world.
Below are the results of our 46th season of voting which took place this past snowy Sunday at the Coolidge Corner Theatre which graciously hosted the Boston Society of Film Critics. We held forth over six hours and arrived at the following winners in 17 categories, topped by Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS which won four awards including BEST PICTURE, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, BEST SCORE.
“Sinners” starring Michael B.Jordan in a dual role
Below is the complete list of awards in each category followed by awards for Repertory Cinema and Special Commendations:
Best Editing (awarded in honor of Karen Schmeer): Stephen Mirrione, “F1”
Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson, “Sinners”
Best Cinematography: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, “Sinners”
Best Animated Film: “Endless Cookie”
Best In Show (best animal performance): Indy, “Goodboy”
Best Documentary (awarded in honor of Lucia Small): “Afternoons of Solitude,” Albert Serra
Best New Filmmaker (awarded in honor of David Brudnoy): “Sorry, Baby,” Eva Victor
Best Original Screenplay: “Blue Moon,” Robert Kaplow
Best Adapted Screenplay: “One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson, based on the novel “Vineland” by Thomas Pynchon.
Best Non-English Language Film (awarded in honor of Jay Carr): “Sentimental Value”
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Madigan, “Weapons”
Best Supporting Actor: Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”
Best Actress: Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
Best Ensemble: “Marty Supreme”
Best Director: Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Best Film: “Sinners”
Best Film Series
“Women in the Waves” at The Brattle Theatre
“Albert Serra, or Cinematic Time Regained” at The Harvard Film Archive
“100 Years of Queer German Cinema” at The Brattle Theatre
“Columbia 101: The Rarities” at The Harvard Film Archive
“The Great Remakes” at The Somerville Theatre
“Cat Fancy: A Feline Film Feast” at The Brattle Theatre
Best Rediscoveries
Scarecrow [1973, Jerry Schatzberg] (in “Honoring Gene Hackman”) at The Somerville Theatre
Gunman’s Walk [1958, Phil Karson] (in “Columbia 101: The Rarities”) at The Harvard Film Archive
Compensation [1999, Zeinabu irene Davis] at The Brattle Theatre
Pre-War and Wartime Japanese animation (in “Planet at 50”) at The Harvard Film Archive
Viktor und Viktoria [1933, Reinhold Schünzel] (in “100 Years of Queer German Cinema”) at The Brattle Theatre
The Sealed Soil [1977, Marva Nabili] (in “Cinephile Heaven: Cinema Ritrovato on Tour”) at The Brattle Theatre
Retrospective of the Year (awarded in memory of David Pendleton)
“Floating Clouds … The Cinema of Naruse Mikio” at The Harvard Film Archive
Commendations
To the institutions that joined together to host this year’s sprawling Frederick Wiseman Retrospective, an event which enabled audiences to experience the works of the master documentarian on the big screen: The Brattle Theatre, The Coolidge Corner Theatre, Independent Film Festival Boston, MassArt, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston and The Somerville Theatre.
To the Boston Science Fiction Film Festival & Marathon, a.k.a. Boston SciFi, for reaching its astounding 50-year mark and remaining America’s oldest continuously running genre film festival. Kudos to longtime festival director Garen Daly, now stepping back from the helm, for his decades of dedication to sci-fi and independent film exhibition.
To Katherine Tallman of the Coolidge Corner Theatre upon the announcement that she will step down after 12 years as Executive Director and CEO. During her illustrious term she has overseen growth during challenging times, as the beloved non-profit moviehouse pleases, challenges and educates audiences by presenting works that span the depth and breadth of cinema.
To Capitol Theatre in Arlington, with congratulations upon its 100th birthday, the celebration for which included a robust series of classic films marking the decades this beloved neighborhood movie palace has served its community while navigating the challenging landscape of theatrical movie exhibition.
To the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, which has surpassed three decades as a champion of small films not made for the mainstream. They have brought a myriad of talented and iconoclastic guests—recently Hirokazu Kore-eda—to the Boston area to receive their “Trudi Awards” in a ceremony that includes song and dance performed by the members.
