Sometimes, all it takes to reevaluate your stance on a movie is to start writing about it months after first seeing it, and also rebuking yourself for not fully embracing its greatness when you wrote your stupid halftime list in June. So it goes.
I saw Menashe back in May during the 2017 Independent Film Festival Boston. I liked it, too. But I didn’t write a lot about it in my festival report, which isn’t to say I didn’t write about it at all; I just wrote about it in a “within the festival theme” context, and I think that sort of dulled my great appreciation for the film on its own merits.
Basically, what I’m saying is, I reviewed Menashe in full for its theatrical release and I think it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen all year, so buy a ticket to it. And read my review. And forgive me for being a clod and being terrible at categorizing best-of lists.