20 Best Foreign Movies Of 2016
11. Elle
Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven returned to the big screen this
year with his controversial new movie, Elle. Starring the brilliant Isabelle
Huppert as an assertive female CEO of a video game company, the film focuses on
her atypical response after she is brutally raped. Rather short-sightedly
dubbed a ‘rape revenge comedy’, it’s actually a thought-provoking and
taboo-busting exploration of sexuality and victimhood that’s about as far a cry
from Verhoeven’s Razzie-winning Showgirls as you can get.
It may have been snubbed by the Academy Awards shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film, but at least Huppert is receiving recognition for her brilliant performance – she’s already won a tonne of Best Actress nods from the likes of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Gotham Independent Film Awards.