Clemence Poles' Top Ten Movies of 2016

“Every December, I carefully pick my top ten favorite films and albums of the year. Over the years, I’ve posted my lists on Tumblr or whatever blog I had a the time.”

I had no readers, yet for some reason it’s become a thing I’ve looked forward to every year - I even get made fun of for taking it so seriously! My Decembers have been reserved for canceling every plan I may have so that I can binge watch the remaining movies of the year. I’m not going to lie, I’m glad I started Passerbuys because now I have a better platform to inflict my list upon (I’m sorry!) I’m not much of a writer, so I’ll let the synopses take it from here, but I do hope that you enjoy these films as much as I did. 

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1. Elle by Paul Verhoeven

After being attacked in her own home, the ruthless head of a video game company tracks down her rapist and is drawn into a thrilling game that threatens to spiral out of control at any moment.

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2. Embrace of The Serpent by Ciro Guerra

Karamakate is an Amazonian shaman and the last survivor of his people. In the early 1900s, he befriends two German scientists as they search for a rare healing plant over the course of 40 years.

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3. Wiener Dog by Todd Solondz

A dark, starkly funny story of a single dog and the many different people she touches over the course of her short lifetime that offers an honest look at the American experience.

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4. Everybody Wants Some!! by Richard Linklater

In 1980, a group of college baseball players navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood.

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5. American Honey by Andrea Arnold

A teenage girl with nothing to lose joins a traveling magazine sales crew and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending, and young love as she criss-crosses the Midwest with a band of misfits.

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6. Our Little Sister by Hirokazu Koreeda

Three sisters who live together travel to the countryside for the funeral of their estranged father and meet their shy teenage half-sister. Bonding quickly with their orphaned sibling, they invite her to live with them.

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7. Handmaiden by Park Chan-wook

In 1930s Korea, during Japanese occupation, a new girl hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress is secretly involved in a plot to defraud her.

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8. Moonlight by Barry Jenkins

A young man deals with his dysfunctional home life and comes of age in Miami during the "War on Drugs" era. The story of his struggle to find himself is told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love while grappling with his own sexuality.

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9. Things to Come by Mia Hansen-Løve

Nathalie is a philosophy teacher with a seemingly settled existence, juggling a rich life of the mind with the day-to-day demands of career and family. But beginning with the bombshell revelation that her husband of twenty-five years is leaving her, one by one the pillars of Nathalie's life start to crumble. 

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10. I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach

A middle aged carpenter recovering from a heart attack befriends a single mother and her two children as they navigate their way through the state welfare system.

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Honorable Mentions

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Words by Clémence Polès

Clemence Poles' Top 8 Books of 2016

“Between vacation and your New Years Resolution we’ve definitely caught you at the right time to catch you up on 2016’s best books.”

From memoirs to fiction, non-fiction, short stories and philosophy this list is bound to snag your interest. It was hard for us to limit the list, but we fought our Rory Gilmore instincts and refined the list to a somewhat manageable number. So end 2016 and start 2017 off right by treating yourself to the works of some of todays most brilliant minds.

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Image Courtesy of Goodreads

1. The Girls By Emma Cline

Emma Cline's first novel is a fictional telling of the late 1960's in Northern California. Our protagonist is a young teenager, called Evie, and her temptation and ultimate induction into a Manson Family inspired cult. Though Cline cites this as fiction, this is primarily due to her creation of the narrator and Evie's personal story. The details of the cult she joins directly align with the notorious stories of the formidable Manson Family. For a little pre-reading research be sure to check out the book Helter Skelter written by the head prosecutor on the Manson trial, Vincent Bugliosi. 

Image Courtesy of Amazon

2. Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey By Elena Ferrante

Okay Ferrante fans, here you go. This may not be a new installment in the Neapolitan series, but it does give us great insight into the mind of the otherwise enigmatic Italian author. Through decades of letters, and notes readers will learn about the writers process and her decision to remain anonymous.

Image Courtesy of Amazon

3. The Glorious Heresies By Lisa McInerney

The Glorious Heresies is one of the greatest novels to come out of Ireland this decade. Lisa McInerney - Ireland's contemporary pride and joy - tells a story of four dysfunctional strangers united by an unlikely event. This deep delving and darkly humorous novel is sure to become a favorite.

Image Courtesy of Pitchfork

4. Please Kill me: 20th Anniversary Edition By Legs McNeil

Okay, we know this isn't technically a new book in 2016 — okay, it isn't at all. However, we do want to add this punk bible to our list because the recently released 20th Anniversary Edition includes new interviews and sections previously unpublished. If you've read it already, this update is definitely worth it and if you haven't read it before, stop what you're doing and start right this second.

Image Courtesy of The Independent

5. Swing Time By Zadie Smith

Award-winning author Zadie Smith's new novel story will make an imprint on your heart. Swing Time tells the story of best friends Tracey and Aimee. As we read we go through their journey alongside them. We watch them create their identities, pursue their passions and face the sometimes difficult realities of growing up and growing apart. Tracey remains in London whereas Aimee heads to West Africa straining their lifelong friendship. Swing Time is a tribute to female friendships, the pursuit of dance and the bittersweetness of time.

Image Courtesy of Other Press

6. At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails By Sarah Bakewell

This biographical and philosophical work by Sarah Bakewell takes us to the Parisian cafés where De Beauvoir, Sartre, Camus and other profound existentialists gathered and inspired one another. We learn the sources and connections between these iconic thinkers works, their love affairs and the other lesser known - but no less important - people who contributed to the way of thinking.

Image Courtesy of Fantagraphics

7. Patience By Daniel Clowes

Ghost World creator Daniel Clowes is back again with his new graphic novel, Patience. This nearly 200 page work is presented in Clowes signature aesthetic. The storyline is once again told in a surreal, distant and yet somehow still welcoming tone that is reminiscent of Ghost World, but is by no means repetitive. 

 

Image Courtesy of Amazon

8. Eyes on the street: The life of jane jacobs By Robert Kanigel

Jane Jacobs is an iconic figure every woman should know about, she was an absolute force of nature, and somehow this is one of the only biographies ever to come out on her. Jacobs was an urban theorist whose activism and initiatives were imperative to the rescuing of Manhattan's Greenwich Village during which she fought against Robert Moses — who is also worth a Google search to learn more about a few of his less than convenient projects. One of the great works of urban theory was written by Jacobs entitled Death and Life of American Cities. Jacobs was one of the only woman in a field made up entirely of men, despite this she fought - and was arrested twice - and is without a doubt worth reading about.

Honorable Mentions:

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The Passerbuys 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

“If you’re starting to panic about how you’ll find something for everyone on your list in time for the holidays, take a deep breath and check out our 2016 Gift Guide. ”

We’re sharing our top picks from our own wish list so you can stop stressing about shopping and start enjoying the season, preferably with some mulled wine and a slice of pie. The best part? We’re including some exclusive discounts to help get you in the spirit. Happy Holidays, from Passerbuys.

Fur Oil

A bottle of Fur Oil is our top pick for your product-obsessed friend whose bathroom looks like her personal drugstore. She’s the queen of indulgent bathtime rituals, and she’ll love the new addition to her routine. Plus, the pretty bottle of chartreuse-colored oil will look great on one of her many fully-stocked shelves. Get 15% off your order through Jan. 2 when you sign up to receive emails from Fur.

Laura Lombardi

When we visited Laura Lombardi’s studio as part of our Meet The Makers series, we immediately knew that a piece from her elegant jewelry line would make a perfect gift for any number of women on our holiday shopping list. We’re already picturing how perfect the XL Classic Hoop Earrings will look dangling from the ears of any number of our well-dressed friends, from the polished minimalist dresser whose wardrobe is strictly neutrals, to the funky modern hippie who loves to rock a colorful headscarf. Order a pair with our exclusive code PasserBuys and get 25% off through Dec. 20.

Upstate

You can get 15% off two of our favorite styles, Earth Itajime and Kelp Arashi, through Dec. 31 with the codes PASSERBUYS-EARTH and PASSERBUYS-KELP, respectively.

Seeing Upstate founder Kalen Kaminski in action when we visited her studio made us fall in even more in love with the brand’s shibori-inspired tie-dyes. One of her sarongs, which can be used as anything from a scarf to a swaddle-ready blanket, is our top pick for that globe-trotting friend who’s always on the go. 

Floss Gloss

Some of us collect shades of lipstick. Others collect sheet masks, or won’t stop until they’ve tried every serum under the sun. We’re also told that some people collect objects that aren’t beauty products, but we’re skeptical about that one. For the friend whose favorite obsession is nail polish, a little bottle of something pretty (or fierce, or punk rock - the options are endless!) from the Floss Gloss Holidaze 2016 Collection will be a guaranteed hit. And with 15% off the whole collection through Dec. 31 with the code LOVEPASSERBUYS you can order a shade for everyone you need a little something small for. 

AYR

Anything from independent clothing label AYR is guaranteed to fit seamlessly into the thoughtfully curated of closets of your best-dressed friends. With high quality materials and designs that won’t go out of style with the changing of seasons, the splurge will be worth it if you’re shopping for someone high on your list, like a best friend or sister. Make the purchase a little easier on your budget by using the code AYR-PASS to get 15% off your order and free shipping through Dec. 31. 

RUDAS

If your roommate is Arianna Huffington (or equally obsessed with naps and general lounging around), they’re going to love some Idlewear from Rudas. We know, they already manage to always look so well-rested, and your jealousy kind of makes you want to get them a year’s supply of ground espresso in hopes of messing up their perpetual calm. But you know they’d look too chic relaxing in the Oyster-colored Dune Jacket for you to start acting petty now. Good job! As a reward, take 20% off your order with the code CHEERS20 through Dec. 31. 

Glossier

From Glossier's many holiday specials, we'd pick the Phase 1 + Black Tie combo set for our trendy younger sisters (who may need a little push to take care of their skin as they party through their college years), and take advantage of the 4 for 40 deal on Flavored Balm Dot Com to gift to the friend whose chapped lips always suffer all winter long. Either way, we'll feel extremely satisfied that our purchase will qualify for free shipping on orders over $30.

Tinker

We think a Tinker watch would look great on anyone’s wrist, but it seems like a particularly good choice for that friend who just rented a rustic cabin in Vermont for New Year’s...sans electricity. Even brave, adventurous souls need to know when the clock strikes midnight, and a watch from Tinker is an especially stylish way to know the time long after iPhone batteries die. Opt to design the watch yourself to give your gift a personal touch. For 10% off your purchase through Dec. 31, use the code Tinkerbuys.

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Illustrations by Rachel Campbell