John Waters’ Favorite Movies of 2018 Are as Eclectic and Offbeat as He Is

John Waters has once again shared his 10 favorite movies of the year with Artforum, and his list is unsurprisingly eclectic. After praising the likes of “Baby Driver” and “Wonderstruck” last year, the filmmaker has singled out Bruno Dumont’s “Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc” as his #1 of 2018 while also giving love to “American Animals” and “Blindspotting.” Here’s his full list:

10) “Permanent Green Light” (Dennis Cooper and Zac Farley)

9) “Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992” (John Ridley)

8) “Sollers Point” (Matthew Porterfield)

7) “Custody” (Xavier Legrand)

6) “The Green Fog” (Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson)

5) “Blindspotting” (Carlos López Estrada)

4) “Mom and Dad” (Brian Taylor)

3) “Nico, 1988” (Susanna Nicchiarelli)

2) “American Animals” (Bart Layton)

1) “Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc” (Bruno Dumont)

As ever, the filmmaker’s blurbs enliven the piece greatly. Waters calls Dumont’s film “an insanely radical heavy-metal grade-school religious pageant that is sung in French from beginning to end” whose actors “seem like they might burst out laughing, but this is no joke”; after calling it the best movie of the year, Waters ends with a warning: “You’ll hate it.”

Then there’s his praise for “Blindspotting,” which premiered at Sundance: “You’ll squirm. You’ll identify. You’ll choke on your own gentrified excuses. The smartest and funniest film about race and class in a long, long time.”

And if his thoughts on “Custody” don’t make you rush to see it, nothing will: “Divorce, jealousy, misogyny, and physical abuse, topped off with psychological damage to children: This feel-bad movie of the year is so beautifully acted that it made me feel happy, happy, happy!”

Read his full piece at Artforum.