The Best Films of 2012: Honorable Mentions

Before we get to my top ten, here (listed in alphabetical order) are eight honorable mentions.

Footnote

The Israeli Oscar nominee “Footnote” manages to turn Talmudic philology into edge-of-your-seat stuff. It’s the clever story of father-and-son scholars whose unspoken rivalry reflects diametrically antithetical worldviews, lifestyles, and pedagogical approaches. When the wrong one is mistakenly told he’s won a cherished scholarly prize, we’re given a backstage pass to dilemmas, deal-making, and sacrifices. Though it could have been profitably cut by 15 minutes or so toward the end, “Footnote” is a movie of visual and storytelling wit and delicious humor that makes arcane textual analysis somehow thrilling.