MY WORLD OF TRUTH

Sunday, 30 December 2018

WHY BEING ALONE MIGHT BE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

I can be a reluctant socialiser. I’m sometimes secretly pleased when social plans are called off. I get restless a few hours into a hangout. I even once went on a free 10-day silent meditation retreat – not for the meditation, but for the silence.
So I can relate to author Anneli Rufus, who recounted in Party of One: The Loners’ Manifesto:
“When parents on TV shows punished their kids by ordering them to go to their rooms, I was confused. I loved my room. Being there behind a locked door was a treat. To me a punishment was being ordered to play Yahtzee with my cousin Louis.”
A social tendencies like these are often far from ideal. Abundant research shows the harms of social isolation, considered a serious public health problem in countries that have rapidly ageing populations (though talk of a ‘loneliness epidemic’ may be overblown). In the UK, the Royal College of General Practitioners says that loneliness has the same risk level for premature death as diabetes. Strong social connections are important for cognitive functioning, motor function and a smoothly running immune system.
Abundant research shows the harms of social isolation (Credit: Getty Images)
This is especially clear from cases of extreme social isolation. Examples of people kept in captivity, children kept isolated in abusive orphanages, and prisoners kept in solitary confinement all show how prolonged solitude can lead to hallucinations and other forms of mental instability.
But these are severe and involuntary cases of aloneness. For those of us who just prefer plenty of alone time, emerging research suggests some good news: there are upsides to being reclusive – for both our work lives and our emotional well-being.
Creative space
One key benefit is improved creativity. Gregory Feist, who focuses on the psychology of creativity at California’s San Jose State University, has defined creativity as thinking or activity with two key elements: originality and usefulness. He has found that personality traits commonly associated with creativity are openness (receptiveness to new thoughts and experiences), self-efficacy (confidence), and autonomy (independence) – which may include “a lack of concern for social norms” and “a preference for being alone”. In fact, Feist’s research on both artists and scientists shows that one of the most prominent features of creative folks is their lesser interest in socialising.
One personality trait associated with creativity is independence
One personality trait associated with creativity is independence – which can include a preference for being alone (Credit: Getty Images)
One reason for this is that such people are likely to spend sustained time alone working on their craft. Plus, Feist says, many artists “are trying to make sense of their internal world and a lot of internal personal experiences that they’re trying to give expression to and meaning to through their art.” Solitude allows for the reflection and observation necessary for that creative process.
A recent vindication of these ideas came from University at Buffalo psychologist Julie Bowker, who researches social withdrawal. Social withdrawal usually is categorised into three types: shyness caused by fear or anxiety; avoidance, from a dislike of socialising; and unsociability, from a preference for solitude.
paper by Bowker and her colleagues was the first to show that a type of social withdrawal could have a positive effect – they found that creativity was linked specifically to unsociability. They also found that unsociability had no correlation with aggression (shyness and avoidance did).
This was significant because while previous research had suggested that unsociability might be harmless, Bowker and colleagues’ paper showed that it could actually be beneficial. Unsociable people are likely to be “having just enough interaction,” Bowker says. “They have a preference for being alone, but they also don’t mind being with others.”
Research has found that unsociability is linked to higher levels of creativity (Credit: Credit: Photosbyphab at Nappy.co)
Research has found that unsociability is linked to higher levels of creativity (Credit: Photosbyphab at Nappy.co)
There is gender and cultural variation, of course. For instance, some research suggests that unsociable children in China have more interpersonal and academic problems than unsociable kids in the West. Bowker says that these differences are narrowing as the world becomes more globalised.
Still, it turns out that solitude is important for more than creativity.
Inward focus
It’s commonly believed that leaders need to be gregarious. But this depends – among other things, on the personalities of their employees. One 2011 study showed that in branches of a pizza chain where employees were more passive, extroverted bosses were associated with higher profits. But in branches where employees were more proactive, introverted leaders were more effective. One reason for this is that introverted people are less likely to feel threatened by strong personalities and suggestions. They’re also more likely to listen.
Since ancient times, meanwhile, people have been aware of a link between isolation and mental focus. After all, cultures with traditions of religious hermits believe that solitude is important for enlightenment.
Many religions consider periods of solitude to be important (Credit: Getty Images)
Many religions consider periods of solitude to be important (Credit: Getty Images)
Recent research has given us a better understanding of why. One benefit of unsociability is the brain’s state of active mental rest, which goes hand-in-hand with the stillness of being alone. When another person is present, your brain can’t help but pay some attention. This can be a positive distraction. But it’s still a distraction.
Daydreaming in the absence of such distractions activates the brain’s default-mode network. Among other functions, this network helps to consolidate memory and understand others’ emotions. Giving free rein to a wandering mind not only helps with focus in the long term but strengthens your sense of both yourself and others. Paradoxically, therefore, periods of solitude actually help when it comes time to socialise once more. And the occasional absence of focus ultimately helps concentration in the long run.
A more recent proponent of thoughtful and productive solitude is Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and founder of Quiet Revolution, a company that promotes quiet and introvert-friendly workplaces. “These days, we tend to believe that creativity emerges from a decidedly gregarious process, but in fact it requires sustained attention and deep focus,” she says. “Also, humans are such porous, social beings that when we surround ourselves with others, we automatically take in their opinions and aesthetics. To truly chart our own path or vision, we have to be willing to sequester ourselves, at least for some period of time.”
Hermit health
Still, the line between useful solitude and dangerous isolation can be blurry. “Almost anything can be adaptive and maladaptive, depending on how extreme they get,” Feist says. A disorder has to do with dysfunction. If someone stops caring about people and cuts off all contact, this could point to a pathological neglect of social relations. But creative unsociability is a far cry from this.
Being alone can activate a part of the brain that helps our ability to form social bonds
Being alone can activate a part of the brain that, paradoxically, strengthens the ability to form social bonds (Credit: Getty Images)
In fact, Feist says, “there’s a real danger with people who are never alone.” It’s hard to be introspective, self-aware, and fully relaxed unless you have occasional solitude. In addition, introverts tend to have fewer but stronger friendships – which has been linked to greater happiness.
As with many things, quality reigns over quantity. Nurturing a few solid relationships without feeling the need to constantly populate your life with chattering voices ultimately may be better for you.
Thus, if your personality tends toward unsociability, you shouldn’t feel the need to change. Of course, that comes with caveats. But as long as you have regular social contact, you are choosing solitude rather than being forced into it, you have at least a few good friends and your solitude is good for your well-being or productivity, there’s no point agonising over how to fit a square personality into a round hole.
So feel free to de-clutter your social calendar. It’s psychologist-approved.
posted by Davidblogger50 at 09:34 0 comments

10 FILMS TO WATCH IN 2019

Captain Marvel (Credit: Credit: Marvel Studios)
Captain Marvel
Aliens! Action! Mystery Parentage! Brie Larson stars as Marvel’s latest superhero, Carol Danvers, who discovers her powers as Captain Marvel. Set in the 1990s, the story has Danvers searching for her true identity while trying to save the Earth during a war between alien races. If she can’t juggle it all, who can? Danvers grew up among the Krees, noble warriors whose line includes Annette Bening. Jude Law marches through the trailer, in a role he has been forbidden to talk about, and Samuel L Jackson appears as Avengers stalwart Nick Fury. Avengers: Endgame may get more pre-release attention next year, but Captain Marvel might be the fresher film in the franchise. (Credit: Marvel Studios)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Credit: Credit: Andrew Cooper/CTMG Inc)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino’s films always make noise. This one has a double dose of movie stardom plus extra-chilling hints of violence. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the fading star of a television Western and Brad Pitt is his stunt double, in a story set in 1969, soon before the Manson murders. Margot Robbie plays soon-to-be- Manson victim, Sharon Tate. Al Pacino appears as the DiCaprio character’s agent. All those stars don’t come cheap: the film reportedly cost $95 million (£76 million). With its allusion to the epic Once Upon a Time in the West, by one of Tarantino’s directing heroes, Sergio Leone, this film clearly has big ambitions. (Credit: Andrew Cooper/CTMG Inc)
Us (Credit: Credit: Universal Pictures)
Us
Jordan Peele’s brilliant Get Out – which combined sly, comic horror with social commentary about race – became a surprise smash hit, and established him as one of today’s most exciting writer-directors. His follow-up is being promoted as “A New Nightmare”, but everyone has been so secretive about the plot, you’d think they were in a Marvel movie. Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke (M’Baku in Black Panther) star, along with Elisabeth Moss, who has said that Us continues in Peele’s style of “thought-provoking popcorn movies.” (Credit: Universal Pictures)
The Lion King (Credit: Credit: Walt Disney Pictures)
The Lion King
Disney gives one of its most beloved animated films a high-tech remake, using lifelike computer generated images. James Earl Jones, once again the voice of Mufasa, was apparently the only irreplaceable actor from the 1994 film. Here Donald Glover is the voice of the adult Simba, with Beyoncé as his love, Nala, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is the villainous Scar. Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner add comic relief as Pumbaa and Timon. With some help from Beyoncé, Elton John has reworked songs from the original, including the can’t-get-it-out-of-your-head Circle of Life. (Credit: Walt Disney Pictures)
Downton Abbey (Credit: Credit: Focus Features)
Downton Abbey
Talk about a built-in audience. The Crawley family and their servants all return, except for the characters who have been killed off. Sorry, no ghost Matthew. But Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Jim Carter and the others are here, including Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess, complete with deliciously withering aphorisms. The story picks up circa 1927, after the series ended on a happy note, with no one in prison and romance all around. Writer Julian Fellowes must have cooked up some disasters. The film’s new characters include Imelda Staunton as Lord Grantham’s cousin. (Credit: Focus Features)
Ad Astra (Credit: Credit: Twentieth Century Fox)
Ad Astra
Brad Pitt launches into space in this sci-fi adventure from director James Gray, whose spectacular Lost City of Z was one of 2016’s best films. Pitt’s character is searching for his father (Tommy Lee Jones) who disappeared two decades before on a mission to Neptune. Surely the resemblance to the Dad-lost-in-the-cosmos plot of A Wrinkle in Time is coincidental. Gray has compared Ad Astra to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, so we can expect someone in the family to go off the rails, which in Gray’s hands could be another amazing trek into an unknown land. (Credit: Twentieth Century Fox)
Rocketman (Credit: Credit: Paramount Pictures)
Rocketman
For someone who is not on screen, Elton John is having a big year at the movies. (See: The Lion King.) In this authorised musical biopic, labeled “a true fantasy”, Taron Egerton sings and acts as Elton in the years leading to his 1977 breakthrough. There will be glittery jackets, giant eyeglasses, and flashbacks to his days in rehab. The director, Dexter Fletcher, took over shooting the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, after Bryan Singer walked away. Rocketman could tap into the same taste for get-up-and-dance movies with a dark undertone. (Credit: Paramount Pictures)
The Woman in the Window (Credit: Credit: Fox 2000 Pictures)
The Woman in the Window
AJ Finn’s bestselling novel was widely praised as Hitchockian, a thriller ready-made for the screen. Here it is, burnished with Oscar nominees and winners. Amy Adams is an agoraphobic psychologist who spies on her neighbors – played by Julianne Moore and Gary Oldman – then has to convince the world that she hasn’t imagined the crime that happened across the street. Or did she? The great Brian Tyree Henry (Widows) adds to his string of supporting roles as a detective. Director Joe Wright is known for prestige period pieces like Darkest Hour and Atonement, but he also made the underrated 2011 thriller Hanna, with Saoirse Ronan as a teenaged assassin, so he knows how to ratchet up suspense. (Credit: Fox 2000 Pictures)
Star Wars: Episode IX (Credit: Credit: Lucasfilm)
Star Wars: Episode IX
They Will. Not. Stop. Coming. Yet another Star Wars installment, this one the third in the “sequel trilogy” of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. The old franchise can’t promise originality, but the trilogy has thrived on the dynamism of its younger cast. Daisy Ridley is the heroine, Rey, Adam Driver is Kylo Ren – possibly the best dark character since his granddad, Darth Vader – and John Boyega is the wholesome Finn. Leftover footage from previous films will bring back Carrie Fisher as Leia, now a General in the Resistance. JJ Abrams, of The Force Awakens, directs. (Credit: Lucasfilm)
Last Christmas (Credit: Credit: Universal Pictures)
Last Christmas
Sometimes two words are all it takes to make a film appealing: Emma Thompson. She wrote (with the playwright Bryony Kimmings) and appears in this romance, which was inspired by George Michael’s song Last Christmas, and includes more of his music. Emilia Clarke (far from her role as the Mother of Dragons in Game of Thrones) plays Kate, who works in a Christmas shop where she is dressed as an elf. In walks a dreamboat played by Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians). Director Paul Feig, whose films include the raucous Bridesmaids and more recently the comic thriller A Simple Favor, describes the film, irresistibly, as “a love letter to London”. (Credit: Universal Pictures)
posted by Davidblogger50 at 09:29 0 comments

Wednesday, 26 December 2018

HOW MUCH PROTEIN TO WE ACTUALLY NEED?

In the early 20th Century, Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson spent a collective five years eating just meat. This meant that his diet consisted of around 80% fat and 20% protein. Twenty years later, he did the same as part of a year-long experiment at the New York City’s Bellevue Hospital in 1928.
Stefansson wanted to disprove those who argued that humans cannot survive if they only eat meat. But unfortunately for him, in both settings he very quickly became ill when he was eating lean meats without any fat. He developed "protein poisoning”, nicknamed “rabbit starvation”. His symptoms disappeared after he lowered his protein intake and he raised his fat intake. In fact, after returning to New York City and to a typical US diet with more normal levels of protein, he reportedly found his health deteriorating and returned to a low-carb, high fat, and high protein diet until his death aged 83.
His early experiments are some of the few recorded cases of high protein intake having extreme adverse effects – but despite soaring sales of protein supplements, many of us are still unsure how much protein we need, how best to consume it, and if too much, or too little, is dangerous.
Despite obesity rates doubling over the past two decades, we’re becoming increasingly conscious of what we’re eating. In recent years many of us have swapped white bread for brown and wholemeal bread and full-fat milk for skimmed. Taking centre stage in our health kick is protein, with protein balls, bars and enhanced protein versions of staple products, from cereals to soup, dominating supermarket shelves. And with the global protein supplements market valued at $12.4bn (£9.2bn) in 2016, it’s clear we’re buying into the idea that we need as much protein as possible.
But some experts now argue that foods with inflated protein (and prices) are a waste of money.
Supplement brands advise drinking protein shakes after a workout
Supplement brands advise drinking protein shakes after a workout to help the growth and repair of muscle tissue (Credit: Getty Images)
Protein is essential for the body to grow and repair. Protein-rich food such as dairy, meat, eggs, fish and beans are broken down into amino acids in the stomach and absorbed in the small intestine, then the liver sorts out which amino acids the body needs. The rest is flushed out in our urine.
Adults who aren’t especially active are advised to eat roughly 0.75g of protein per day for each kilogram they weigh. On average, this is 55g for men and 45g for women – or two palm-sized portions of meat, fish, tofu, nuts or pulses.
Not getting enough protein can lead to hair loss, skin breakouts and weight loss as muscle mass decreases. But these side effects are very rare, and largely only occur in those with eating disorders.
Despite that, most of us have long associated protein with building muscle. This is accurate. Strength-based exercise causes a breakdown of protein in the muscle. For muscles to grow stronger, the proteins need to rebuild. A type of amino acid called leucine plays a particularly big part in triggering protein synthesis.
Some experts even argue that not consuming protein post-workout could cause the breakdown of muscle to be higher than the synthesis – meaning there’s no net gain in muscle mass. Supplement brands advise drinking protein shakes after a workout to help the growth and repair of muscle tissue, usually in the form of leucine-rich whey protein, a by-product of making cheese.
Many people consume sport nutrition products such as protein bars and shakes
Many people consume sport nutrition products such as protein bars and shakes (Credit: Getty Images)
Many consumers agree. Research company Mintel’s 2017 Report found that 27% of Brits use sport nutrition products such as protein bars and shakes. This figure rises to 39% for those who exercise more than once a week. But more than half of the individuals who use the products (63%) find it difficult to tell whether they’re having any effect.
Protein bars are really just candy bars with a bit of extra protein
Indeed, research on the muscle-building power of protein supplements is varied. A 2014 analysis of 36 papers found that protein supplements have no impact on lean mass and muscle strength during the first few weeks of resistance trainingin untrained individuals.
Over time and if the training becomes harder, supplements can promote muscle growth. However, the paper also concludes that these changes have not been proven over the long term. A 2012 review paper further says that protein “increases physical performance, training recovery and lean body mass”… but for the benefit to be optimal, it should be in combination with a fast-acting carbohydrate.
But even if athletes and gym goers may benefit from a post-workout protein boost, that doesn’t mean they should reach for the supplements and smoothies. Most people get more than their daily recommended allowance from food, says Kevin Tipton, a sport professor of the University of Stirling. “There’s no need for anyone to have supplements. They’re a convenient way to get protein, but there’s nothing in supplements you can’t get in food. Protein bars are really just candy bars with a bit of extra protein.”
The global protein supplements market was valued at $12.4bn (£9.2bn) in 2016
The global protein supplements market was valued at $12.4bn (£9.2bn) in 2016 (Credit: Getty Images)
Tipton adds that even among bodybuilders, products like whey protein aren’t as critical as they are hyped up to be. “There’s too much focus on which supplements to take, as opposed to getting in the gym and working harder. There are so many other variables, such as sleep, stress and diet,” he says.
We need to maintain our muscle mass as we age, because we become less active and frail
Most experts agree with Tipton that protein is best consumed in food instead of supplements. But there are some exceptions, such as athletes who find it difficult to hit their daily protein targets, points out Graeme Close, professor of human physiology at Liverpool John Moores University. “I believe most need more than the recommended daily allowance, and there’s good evidence to support this,” he says. In this case, he says, a shake can be useful.
Another demographic who can benefit from extra protein? The elderly. That’s because as we age, we need more protein to retain muscle mass. But we also tend to eat less protein as we get older because our taste-buds begin to prefer sweet over savoury.
Emma Stevenson, professor of sport and exercise science at Newcastle University, is working with food companies to get more protein into snacks that the elderly  are known to regularly buy, such as biscuits. “We need to maintain our muscle mass as we age, because we become less active and frail,” she says. 
Close says the elderly should increase protein intake to around 1.2g per kg body weight.
Most people get more than their daily recommended allowance of protein from food
Most people get more than their daily recommended allowance of protein from their diet (Credit: Getty Images)
Fortunately, it’s difficult to have too much protein. While we do have an upper limit of protein intake, it’s “virtually impossible” to reach, says Tipton. “There are concerns among some dieticians that a high protein diet can hurt the kidneys and bones, but evidence in otherwise healthy people is minimal. It is possible there could be a problem if someone with an underlying kidney [issue] eats high amounts of protein, but the odds of any adverse effects are very low.”
If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s more important to have a high-protein breakfast
But while protein itself isn’t harmful, many protein supplements are high in carbohydrates called FODMAPs that trigger digestive symptoms like bloating, gas and stomach pain. Stevenson advises reading labels carefully on supplements, bars and balls. “Often, they’re very high in calories and contain huge amounts of carbs, often in form of sugar. You shouldn’t necessarily think that because it says it’s high protein that its healthy,” she says.
Weight loss
Protein has long been linked to weight loss, with low-carb, high-protein diets such as Paleo and Atkins promising to prolong the feeling of fullness. People fail to lose weight often because they feel hungry, and MRI studies have shown that a high-protein breakfast can help stop cravings later in the day.
There is sufficient evidence that protein is satiating, says Alex Johnstone of the University of Aberdeen. If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s therefore more important to have a high-protein breakfast, such as beans on toast or a dairy smoothie, rather than to have supplements.
But she doesn’t advocate “Atkins-type” diets and has found that cutting out carbohydrates has adverse affects on gut health (and we now know that maintaining a healthy gut is crucial to many aspects of our health and well-being).
Protein balls are often  high in calories and contain huge amounts of carbs
Protein balls are often high in calories and can contain huge amounts of carbs (Credit: Getty Images)
Instead, Johnstone recommends that overweight people eat a high-protein and moderate-carb diet, consisting of 30% protein, 40% carbs and 30% fat – compared to the average diet of around 15% protein, 55% carbs and 35% fat.
But, of course, upping protein intake alone won’t help you lose weight. Choosing lean meat such as chicken or fish is key. Studies also show that eating large amounts of animal protein is linked to weight gain and red meat in particular is linked to an increased risk of cancer as well as heart disease.
Consuming more protein than need is wasteful in terms of money, and it’s paid down the toilet
There are, though, healthy proteins which are not meat like mycoprotein, a plant-based protein derived from fungi. Mycoproteins like Quorn are high in fibre as well as protein.
Researchers now are looking into how this unique composition (of both protein and fibre) can affect satiety and insulin levels, which are linked to type two diabetes. One team compared a mycoprotein diet to a chicken diet and found that the insulin levels in those who ate quorn achieved the same sugar control, but needed less insulin to be produced by the pancreas.
The risk of consuming too much protein is small, but the bigger risk might just be falling for overpriced products offering us more protein than we need. “Some products labelled as high protein aren’t, and they’re quite expensive. Anyway, consuming more protein than need is wasteful in terms of money, and it’s paid down the toilet,” says Johnstone.
posted by Davidblogger50 at 04:28 0 comments

Sunday, 23 December 2018

THE 10 BEST FILMS OF 2018

A Quiet Place (Credit: Credit: Platinum Dunes)
A Quiet Place
Co-written and directed by John Krasinski, who also stars with his wife, Emily ‘Mary Poppins’ Blunt, A Quiet Place is an absolutely nerve-racking survivalist horror movie that makes cunning use of its devilish high concept: alien monsters have wiped out most of humanity, but because they are sightless, they hunt their quarry by hearing the sounds they made. What this means is that the hero, the heroine and their children have to speak in sign language and walk with bare feet; even a dropped cup or a loud laugh may result in gruesome, almost instant death. Krasinski takes the B-movie concept – and the threat to the family – seriously. He keeps finding new ways to torture the characters and the viewers, but they all arise logically from the premise and the setting. A Quiet Place has you chuckling at its cleverness while squirming with constant tension. (Credit: Platinum Dunes)
Shoplifters (Credit: Credit: AOI Promotion)
Shoplifters
From a certain angle, the heroes of Shoplifters are not just shoplifters: they are fraudsters, child abductors, and more besides. But Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Dickensian sociopolitical drama, the winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, takes a more sympathetic view. It introduces three generations of a loving family, headed by Osamu (Lily Franky) and Nobuyo (Sakura Ando). Squeezed into a cramped Tokyo bungalow, they supplement their paltry legal earnings with small scams and thefts, and while Kore-eda doesn’t romanticise their crimes, his layered writing and wonderful cast show how gentle and well-meaning the family members are. Eventually, their actions appear necessary, even heroic, and their setbacks will have the most hard-hearted viewer sniffling. (Credit: AOI Promotion)
Cold War (Credit: Credit: Opus Film)
Cold War
The very definition of two lovers who can’t live with each other but can’t live without each other, Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and Zula (Joanna Kulig) meet in Poland in the 1950s when Wiktor is recruiting singers and musicians for a government-sponsored folk ensemble. Their passionate affair takes them back and forth across the Iron Curtain, but, as much as fun as they have in the jazz clubs and concert halls along the way, they are never quite content. Pawel Pawlikowski’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning Ida is loosely based on his parents’ memories (“They were both strong, wonderful people,” he has said, “but as a couple they were a never-ending disaster.”) But, more broadly, Cold War is both a shrewd examination of a historical period and a timely commentary on immigrant life. Besides, no other film this year has had such ravishing black-and-white photography or such a range of catchy songs. (Credit: Opus Film)
If Beale Street Could Talk (Credit: Credit: Sony Pictures)
If Beale Street Could Talk
The story of a young couple (Stephan James, KiKi Layne) torn apart by poverty, police brutality and institutionalised racism, Barry Jenkins’s adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel could well have been an angry polemic. But, actually, If Beale Street Could Talk is a tender ballad in praise of the healing love that comes from romantic partners, family members and friends. “I dig people who love each other,” says Dave Franco’s character. “Black, white, green, purple, doesn’t matter to me.” What is even more miraculous is the impression that Jenkins had only just discovered the medium of film. That is, you can almost believe that he had no preconceptions about chronology or colour or sound, so he had figured out for himself how music and moving pictures could be put together. He has made a dreamy, jazzy film unlike any other. (Credit: Sony Pictures)
The Favourite (Credit: Credit: Film4)
The Favourite
Yorgos Lanthimos specialises in warped visions of contemporary society (Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), so it was hard to picture what he would do with a historical drama about English royalty. The Favourite turns out to be as idiosyncratic as his other films, but none of them has been this funny, sumptuous, or touching. It is set in the early 1700s, when the ailing Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) relies on her best friend Sarah (Rachel Weisz), Duchess of Marlborough, to negotiate with the country’s bickering aristocrats. But when Sarah’s ambitious cousin Abigail (Emma Stone) moves into the palace, the stage is set for a production of All About Eve, except with more sex, vomiting and lobster races. The script by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara is a banquet of delicious insults; and all three of its stars deserve to be the favourite during awards season. (Credit: Film4)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Credit: Credit: Marvel Entertainment)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
It has been a sensational year for superhero films, what with The Black Panther breaking new ground in its portrayal of Africans, and The Avengers: Infinity War crowding dozens of major characters into one movie. But none of them was as special as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a psychedelic pop-art masterpiece that mixes digital and hand-painted animation. In its use of split-screens, captions and clashing illustration styles, it is closer to a comic book than most superhero films, but it is also dazzlingly cinematic. And in its use of spider-themed superheroes from multiple alternate realities, it is audaciously postmodern, but it is also, at heart, the tale of a loveable Brooklyn teenager. The creators of Spider-Man, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, both died in 2018. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the perfect monument. (Credit: Marvel Entertainment)
The Rider (Credit: Credit: Highwayman Films)
The Rider
Chloé Zhao’s second film as a writer-director is a contemporary western about a young rodeo rider, Brady Jandreau, who was kicked in the head by a horse. He knows that if he returns to the rodeo, he is risking his life – his best friend’s brain damage is even more severe – but he can’t imagine what else to do. This humane account of his slow recuperation has fascinating things to say about macho peer pressure, Wild West iconography, and people with wide open spaces all around them, but nowhere to go. But what is truly awe-inspiring is the way Zhao stitches together fact and fiction. Make no mistake, The Rider is a well-honed drama, but it derives its power from being based on Jandreau’s own experiences, and most of the people in it are playing versions of themselves. Rarely, if ever, have documentary realism and poetic grandeur been combined so deftly or to such desperately moving effect. (Credit: Highwayman Films)
Leave No Trace (Credit: Credit: Topic Studios)
Leave No Trace
Eight years on from Winter’s Bone, its director and co-writer, Debra Granik, returns in triumph with another mature, uncompromising yet accessible drama, and another insight into the marginalised lives of American outsiders. Ben Foster is utterly believable as a damaged war veteran who lives deep in a forest in a national park; Thomasin McKenzie’s alert performance as his teenage daughter, Tom, is a reminder that it was Granik who gave Jennifer Lawrence her breakthrough lead role. The film is taut and packed with incident, but it is warm and understated, too: a bittersweet coming-of-age story about a loving daughter realising that her father’s means of survival can never be her own. Her big farewell speech goes like this: “Dad. I know you would stay if you could.” There’s nothing more to be said. (Credit: Topic Studios)
First Man (Credit: Credit: Daniel McFadden/Universal Studios and Storyteller Distribution Co LLC)
First Man
The director and star of La La Land, Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling respectively, reunite for a tightly focused biopic of Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon. The film conveys with battering force just how stressful it was to be a space pioneer in the 1960s, and the bravery that was required to strap yourself into one of the most uncomfortable and dangerous forms of transport ever devised. But Chazelle and his team refuse to turn Armstrong into a gung-ho American hero. To some viewers, his stoicism made him boring, but to others (myself included) Armstrong’s modesty and reserve in the face of immense personal tragedy and professional challenges is heart-wrenching. A melancholy recreation of an ambiguous victory, the film leaves you asking whether the first man on the moon could ever be happy on Earth. (Credit: Daniel McFadden/Universal Studios and Storyteller Distribution Co LLC)
Sweet Country (Credit: Credit: Bunya Productions)
Sweet Country
Warwick Thornton’s southern Western is set in Australia in the 1920s. Its hero Sam (Hamilton Morris) is an Aboriginal farm hand who kills his wife’s rapist in self-defence, and then goes on the run through the spectacular primal desert. The chase that follows is artfully edited, with disorientating flashbacks and flashforwards dotted through the action. But every shot and every word has a purpose – in keeping with the Aboriginal characters who are inclined to stay silent while the “whitefellas” (including those played by Sam Neill and Bryan Brown) rant and rave. Taking in the themes of assimilation, slavery, religion, the military, the rule of law, and cinema itself, this scenic saga of frontier justice and injustice is one of the best and most important films ever made about Australia’s history. (Credit: Bunya Productions)
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