I'm gonna make a little joke here and I'm not good at doing jokes: I wonder what the Claire Denis filmography would like if it featured Vincent Gallo in (preferably) the lead role of every movie? It's an impossible thought and perhaps a vaguely jingoistic one, but the presence of the American actor in what only amounts to bit parts in two and a feature in one and a half, rank among my favorite things of her entire catalog. He brings a grounding element to films that can be very difficult (by design) to get your footing with. So this is also a lazy notion. I'm trying to accept my personal shortcomings and I hope you can too.
Because, on the whole, I really enjoyed this ride. I watched the sci-fi Robert Pattinson vehicle High Life back in 2020 before embarking on this journey and really liked it. The best compliment I can give Denis is that it feels like her pictures are ripe for rewatching. They aren't mysterious in the sense that there's something to discover in the way puzzlebox movies or Lynchian dream-logic works are. Their mystery is more abstract and political in nature. I feel like if I saw them all again, this list could/would be completely different...
RANKING 𝙲𝙻𝙰𝙸𝚁𝙴 𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙸𝚂's FILMOGRAPHY
#16 LET THE SUNSHINE IN
#15 CHOCOLAT
#14 BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE
#13 STARS AT NOON
#12 I CAN'T SLEEP
#11 NO FEAR, NO DIE
#10 WHITE MATERIAL
#9 35 SHOTS OF RUM
#8 BEAU TRAVAIL
#7 HIGH LIFE
#6 KEEP IT FOR YOURSELF/U.S. GO HOME (TIE)
#5 TROUBLE EVERY DAY
#4 FRIDAY NIGHT
#3 BASTARDS
#2 NENETTE AND BONI
#1 THE INTRUDER
In addition to tackling all of her feature films, I (rather haphazardly) reviewed her documentaries (Man No Run, Jacques Rivette, le veilleur, Towards Mathilde and The Breidjing Camp) and select short film work (The 15th of May, Facing Nancy and Contact)
#16 LET THE SUNSHINE IN
#15 CHOCOLAT
#14 BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE
#13 STARS AT NOON
#12 I CAN'T SLEEP
#11 NO FEAR, NO DIE
#10 WHITE MATERIAL
#9 35 SHOTS OF RUM
#8 BEAU TRAVAIL
#7 HIGH LIFE
#6 KEEP IT FOR YOURSELF/U.S. GO HOME (TIE)
#5 TROUBLE EVERY DAY
#4 FRIDAY NIGHT
#3 BASTARDS
#2 NENETTE AND BONI
#1 THE INTRUDER