Granted I still need to see De Palma and Hell or High Water, but the lack of American films on my list of best movies of 2016 so far is glaring. Consumed with the remakes, reboots, and sequels, American cinema this year has been boring for me. I’m praying the next few months provide films with some oomph. So far in 2016 the only English-speaking film that is of any genius is Krisha (and to think it’s made by a first-time director). International cinema this year produced masterpieces. They are films that contemplate time, existence, dreams, and love. The majority of the best movies so far can be found via numerous streaming services. That should be cause of a celebration. Below are my picks for the best films so far this year listed alphabetically, along with a few runner-ups.

Aferim!
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Radu Jude
Starring: Teodor Corban, Mihai Comanoiu, Toma Cuzin, Alexandru Dabija, and Luminita Gheorghiu
Studio: Big World Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: January 22, 2016
Blu-Ray/Streaming Release Date: June 28, 2016

The futility of attempting to do good in a world governed by inconceivable hate has been a popular topic in cinema. We have witnessed it all. Good prevails. Bad prevails. Yet the films that ponder on the futility rather than the grotesque or sublime have been all too infrequent. Apparently Romanian director Radu Jude is aware of this, and how thankful we should be because Aferim! is an assured meditation on life and the human spirit.

Midnight Special
** out of ****
Directed by Jeff Nichols
Starring: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, Jaeden Lieberher, Kirsten Dunst, and Sam Shepherd
Release Date- March 18, 2016

Midway through Midnight Special there’s a line that’s uttered from a father to his son that sticks with us, despite how generic it initially seems, and encapsulates its director’s entire film oeuvre. “I like worrying about you,” Roy (Michael Shannon) says to his son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), after a near death experience. Such a simple line depicts the compulsion men invariably encounter in each of the four films made by Arkansas director Jeff Nichols. His men are troubled, burdened, and eventually consumed by an unhealthy urge to either protect their family, friends, or legacy.

Unlike the best films of Nichols (this ranks last on his list), Midnight Special does not fully go with the reverberations that such a faithful adherence to a compulsion would lead to. Rather, we are dragged along an erratic journey that fuses a variety of genres (inevitable comparisons to E.T. Will ensue), eventually losing sight of Mr. Nichols’ sweet spot: examining man’s unerring religious devotion to protection and human emotion.

I Knew Her Well
Directed by Antonio Pierangeli
Starring Stefani Sandrelli, Enrico Maria Salerno, Ugo Tognazzi, Mario Adorf, and Jean-Claude Brialy
Criterion Collection Release Date: February 23, 2016

From the film’s erotic opening that begins with a panning camera religiously observing from toe-to-head the delicate, beautiful, porcelain skin of Adriana as she obliviously basks in the morning or afternoon sun (time hardly matters to her) and who has an unswerving intent to meet up after with one of several men she easily attracts, one would scarcely be able to decipher a dull moment in the life of Adriana. Music, cocktails, parties and affairs are just as common as breathing and sleeping.

If only the camera could burrow a few inches deeper and penetrate her soul we would be spectators to a profound emptiness. But like the men in her life the camera observes her from a distance, simply admiring her beauty and only on rare occasions wanting to know her well.

More than any other year this decade, 2015 had a sufficient amount of prestigious films that had distinct narratives about women being considerably perplexed and troubled with their particular situations. Perusing the films on my list, I started to realize that a vast number of them contained women longing to attain an ideal, a passion, or a faint semblance of hope that the future can and will be brighter. From all over the globe these individuals sought love and respect only to encounter threatening obstacles, some that could be overcome and others that could barely be comprehended, let alone endured.

The atmosphere that Harley found herself in in Heaven Knows What was beyond volatile and dangerous, but it didn’t prohibit her from dreaming of a better existence for herself and her lover. A lethal assassin is summoned back to her homeland to carry out a murder but is unable to do so due to her growing consciousness in The Assassin. Two women who fall spellbindingly in love in Carol each possess desires to create a lasting bond with each other despite society’s unbending morality. Looking to move up in the ranks of the FBI and make a name for herself, Kate unquestionably steps too far out of her comfort zone where she quickly meets the most ruthless of men in Sicario. And the women of Mad Max: Fury Road are acquainted with an impossible to comprehend evil but are willing to go through an unrelenting gauntlet to attain their ideal.

Here are my Top 30 Movies Of 2015…