France finished third this year in terms of total films watch (54), but it might have finished first for batting average. The best French films I saw were just as incredible as anything from the rest of the world, there were a ton somewhere in the good to great range, and even the worst were no worse than “ok.”

I came in, granted, with more affection and familiarity for French stars than those from most other countries. Delon and Belmondo and Marceau and Moreau were already old friends to me, and following their names from one film to the next probably helped bump up the average.

That said, familiar faces only lead me to about half of my Top Ten, so maybe it’s just a fluke of sample size.