FilmLand Empire Top 5 of 2016

I have asked my contributors to list their top 5 films of 2016, without giving them any particular rules. A few years ago I had launched the "bloggies", doing a round up of blogger top film lists but I feel that is far more interesting to publish each writer's own list, as it is a lot more personal that way, so here they are, including mine!



Joe Sommerlad

5: Queen of Earth by Alex Ross Perry

4: Things To Come by Mia Hansen-Löve

3: Evolution by Lucile Hadzihalilovic

2: Aferim! by Radu Jude

1: Fire at Sea by Gianfraco Rosi



Andy Zachariason

2016 was a year full of gems in unexpected genres. It was the best year for coming of age films since 1999. Religion was devastatingly explored in a 1950s Ohio college and in 17th Century Japan. Los Angeles was a presence in many of the year’s greatest films. Interpretations of the sun kissed city ranged from a Malickian memory to a reclusive billionaire’s theme park to a 1970s Looney Tunes noir to a 1950s musical dreamland to a dollhouse of bloodthirsty models. I’ve reached into 2016’s concoction of cinema and pulled out a list exemplifying the year’s incredible variety.
Notable films I've not yet seen: Julieta, Paterson, 20th Century Women, Toni Erdmann

5: The Neon Demon by Nicolas Winding Refn

4: Indignation by James Schamus

3: Everybody Wants Some!! by Richard Linklater

2. Silence by Martin Scorsese

1: La La Land by Damien Chazelle


Laurent de Alberti

5: Wiener-Dog by Todd Solondz

4: Nocturama by Bertrand Bonello

3: Arrival by Denis Villeneuve

2: Paterson by Jim Jarmush

1: The Handmaiden by Park Chan-wook



Linda Marric

Picking a top 5 has proved to be harder than expected. Not often do I say this, but this year there seems to have been a far superior crop of films than in the last 5 years . This is very good news and long may it continue. Here is a list of films I enjoyed this year and a bonus film for good luck as I was unable to narrow it down to just 5.

Bonus film: Certain Women by Kelly Reichardt

5: La La Land by Damien Chazelle

4: Manchester by the Sea by Kenneth Lonergan

3: Moonlight by Barry Jenkins

2: Paterson by Jim Jarmush

1: Silence by Martin Scorsese