20 Best Movies Of 2016

Incredulously not submitted as Brazil's Best Foreign Film Oscar pick (due to director Kleber Mendonça Filho publicly protesting Brazil's government at Cannes), Aquarius makes its 140-minute run-time fly by thanks to a searing performance from the legendary Sonia Braga.

While on the face of it a film about a middle-aged woman fighting against land developers who want to evict her from her apartment doesn't sound like the most intriguing material for an epic drama, Filho uses a fairly straight-forward narrative to explore love, death, sex and nostalgia, shot through the prism of a fascinating, often wryly funny protagonist.

It'll be too slow for some tastes, sure, but for those prepared to hunker down and spend time with one of the year's best characters, Aquarius is a triumph.