LIST MANIA 2011

I saw about 125 films in theatres this year, most of them at the 4 film festivals I attend yearly (International Film Festival Rotterdam, Cinema Novo Film Festival in Bruges, L’Âge d’Or/Filmvondsten in Brussels and the Flanders International Film Festival Ghent). As usual, I make a TOP 20 of my favourite films of the year and list the other ones I really liked. You will found the latter films on the Batarang! website soon.

1. MISTÉRIOS DE LISBOA (TV series/6 episodes) (Raúl Ruiz)
2. THE TURIN HORSE (Béla Tarr)
3. ELENA (Andrei Zvyagintsev)
4. BLUE VALENTINE (Derek Cianfrance)
5. WINTER'S BONE (Debra Granik)
6. LE GAMIN AU VELO (Jean Piere & Luc Dardenne)
7. THE ARTIST (Michel Hazanavicius)
8. BLACK SWAN (Darren Aronovsky)
9. THE TREE OF LIFE (Terrence Malick)
10.MELANCHOLIA (Lars Von Trier)

11. TUESDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS (Radu Muntean)
12. 13 ASSASSINS (Takashi Miike)
13. AURORA (Cristi Puiu)
14. ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
15. BAL/HONEY (Samih Kapanoglu)
16. WU XIA (Peter Chan)
17. NORWEGIAN WOOD (Anh Hung Tran)
18. ESSENTIAL KILLING (Jerzy Skolimowski)
19. HORS SATAN (Bruno Dumont)
20. IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE (Florin Serban)

***
Here are my 10 favourite new albums of 2011. As opposed to movies, I feel that there are still a bunch of great albums that I haven’t heard yet or of whose existence I am ignorant. Thus, this list gives an overview of the albums I enjoyed the most in 2011.

1. COIN COIN Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres - MATANA ROBERTS
2. El Camino - THE BLACK KEYS
3. David Comes To Life - FUCKED UP
4. Let England Shake - P.J. HARVEY
5. Ease & Delight - BLACKUP
6. Castlemania - THEE OH SEES
7. Taledragger - T-MODEL FORD AND GRAVELROAD
8. Dirge - WORMROT
9. Arabia Mountain - BLACK LIPS
10.Scandalous - BLACK JOE LEWIS & THE HONEYBEARS

***
As far as I am concerned, the whole punk rock & roll scene fell apart after the sad demise of Jay Reatard in January 2010. The only live bands that matter today are still the ones that did so yesterday. I didn’t see any new & exciting punkrock bands this year, only reproductions. Fortunately, I got lucky because some friends of mine started a band that I totally dig and that I can see often around on stages over here…



1. THEE OH SEES (Charlatan, Ghent + AB, Brussels)
2. EILEN JEWELL (Manuscript, Ostend)
3. NEUROTIC DEATHFEST (O13, Tilburg)
4. STONE RIVER BOYS (Porgy & Bess, Terneuzen)
5. CHARLES BRADLEY & LEE FIELDS (Vooruit, Ghent)
6. FUCKED UP (Trix, Antwerp)
7. THE FRESH & ONLYS + TY SEGALL (Trix, Antwerp)
8. TAMIKREST (4AD, Diksmuide)
9. EDDY MITCHELL (Wex, Marche-en-Famenne)
10.RICHARD THOMPSON (AB, Brussels)

I also really liked PO'GIRL (N9), TYVEK (Pit's), JOHNNY THROTTLE (De Kreun), DWAYNE DOPSIE & THE ZYDECO HELLRAISERS (N9), ROTTEN SOUND (Trix), SLIM CESSNA'S AUTO CLUB (Trix), PERE UBU (4AD), CRYSTAL STILTS (Charlatan), THE SONICS (AB), SONNY VINCENT (DNA), CONJUNTO ANGOLA 70 (Zuiderpershuis), BLACKUP (Charlatan + Pit's) and last but not least FATOUMATA DIAWARE (N9).

***
Each year, I gotta feeling that I saw about 95% of the movies that matter to me and that I heard about 85% of the albums that I dig. Although I love to read, I am afraid I only read about 5% of the worthwile books released this year. Moreover, most of the books I did read this year were issued before 2011. If I have one wish for 2012, it’s enough time to read 30 books. That’s my goal for 2012!


1. De nazi en de kapper - EDGAR HILSENRATH
2. Waar de tijgers thuis zijn - JEAN-MARIE BLAS DE ROBLÈS
3. Big Bosoms and Square Jaws/ The Biography of Russ Meyer, King of the Sex Film - JIMMY McDONOUGH
4. Ingmar Bergman: De Lust en de Demonen - MIKAEL TIMM
5. A Rocket In My Pocket: The Hipster's Guide To Rockabilly Music - MAX DECHARNE
6. Het schijnbestaan - JOSE SARAMAGO
7. Reis naar het verleden - STEFAN ZWEIG
8. Nachttrein naar Lissabon - PASCAL MERCIER
9. Ademschommel - HERTA MÜLLER
10.Diego en Frida - J.M.G. LE CLEZIO

A next post will list my favourite reissues and compilations of 2011, as well as my favourite DVD's. Stay tuned and oh- by the way: HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!