Loving (English, 2016)
Any film set in the 1960s featuring a colored person fighting the judiciary would scream “civil rights movement”, but ‘Loving’ is not any ordinary film for it is a brilliantly enacted personal account of an interracial couple that shows a lot of admirable restraint and remains resolute!
Hidden Figures (English, 2016)
Hidden Figures pays a glorious tribute to its leads whose contributions mattered significantly in times when they were typically sidelined due to race & gender. It has all the ingredients that make stories of ‘odds defying’ characters succeed but the optimistic treatment prevents it from elevating to something special.
La tortue rouge (or) The Red Turtle (Others, 2016)
The Red Turtle takes you on a journey where even the desolate places and depressing circumstances are overcome by love in the most magical fashion possible. Studio Ghibli have lived up to the high standards once again with this thoroughly disarming fairy tale.
Moana (English, 2016)
Disney goes all-in with ‘Moana’ to create a whole world of imaginary characters with great depth of character traits as well. When they spring to life backed by top-notch technical wizardry and brilliant songs, the movie is nothing short of a marvel!
Barriere (or) Fences (English, 2016)
In depicting the impact a man’s past and its crushing death could have on him, his outlook towards life & how thrusting it upon his family could become detrimental despite the respect and control he commands, Fences is a lesson on fragility for every household.