Dogs Don't Wear Pants (2020)

I thought my best films of the year nominations were fairly conclusive until Wednesday evening when Dogs Don't Wear Pants hit me in the face like a baseball bat. Not that the film is especially violent, it's just like nothing I've seen in a long time. We follow John, who tragically loses his wife at the beginning of the film, and subsequently continues his life looking after his daughter in the most monotonous way possible. Whilst bringing his daughter to get her tongue pierced, John stumbles upon a BDSM basement, where he meets Mona, a dominatrix who he forms a connection with as he discovers a dangerous addiction to asphyxiation that gives him an emotional connection with life itself, as well as some sort of peace with the past. It's difficult to explain just how it works and how well it does so, but as I type, this is in poll position for my film of the year, and I do not say that lightly. Not for the faint hearted, but this really is a piece of work, and I say that in the absolute best possible way. 8.2/10