It's been hard to see everything, and frankly I haven't sought out too many new releases in the last 12 months. I only finally saw the last of the Best Picture nominees last week. With Oscars around the corner, now feels like a good time to close the door on 2020 once and for all. I saw so few films that I was barely able to scrape together a top 10 list that I actually felt was good. Here we go:
10. JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Not so surprising that my list does include a generous sprinkling of Oscar nominees - Judas stood out to me as the best of this year's "historical/period" crop, including other choices like Trial of the Chicago 7 and One Night In Miami. 'Judas' stood out as leaps beyond the competition - a story of an FBI informant who infiltrates a Chicago-based chapter of the Black Panters, led by a charismatic Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya is all but guaranteed an Oscar this year). The film is wonderfully styled and assembled, directed by Shaka King - this is a director to look out for. It carries on with an ever-present rising tension, culminating in a horrific yet sobering finale.
9. PALM SPRINGS
I was late to the "Palm Springs" party based on the film's premise - what I assumed was a lazy reworking of 'Groundhog's Day.' Hey, even with 'Happy Death Day,' this is quickly becoming a tired genre. What surprised me was the film's level of humanity - and its structure. The story begins far into Andy Samberg's repetitive cycle towards infinity, reliving the day of a wedding and reception... over and overr... and shows a new woman (Sarah) accidentally stumbling into the time loop by mere fluke. What follows is a comedy in which both leads are suffering through the realization that actions no longer have consequences, and any chance at romance is almost doomed from the start. There are still a few moments that leave me with questions (including the final post-credits scene), but in a way that helps me to wonder over it even more.
8. BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
I genuinely laughed more than I expected at this surprise follow-up to the original Borat film (which I still found genuinely funny on rewatching), which takes a more pointed political stance and uses COVID-19 as a brilliant way to reintroduce this offensive character back into the zeitgeist of pop-culture. The real star is, of course, Maria Bakalova - a surprise Oscar nominee who plays Tutar, Borat's daughter. The plot revolves around using Tutar as an 'offering' to the Trump administration in order to win Borat favor with his homeland, and the cringe-worthy humor just flows from there. Bakalova and Cohen are perfect - and scene after scene was simply gold (Borat's visit to a synagogue, and Tutar's conversation with her babysitter, Jeanise). It's crude, offensive, and certainly not for everyone, but I loved every minute.
7. THE FATHER
One of the last movies I saw in 2020 (in fact, I saw it in March 2021, ha!) and was instantly one that became one of my most admired. The story of a man (Anthony Hopkins) and his daughter (Olivia Colman) and his struggle with dementia. The premise is laughably simple - but what director Florian Zeller achieves is remarkable. The film is essentially told from Hopkin's point-of-view, and everything from the position of a piano against the wall - to the actors playing each role - changes scene to scene. It's an immediately disorienting process as we, like Hopkins, struggle to keep up. Is his daughter moving to Paris? Has he lost his watch? This is something that I think is primed perfectly for the art of cinema - and I realize this was based on a play. The editing and set design works so wonderfully to create this sense of paranoia - but specifically Anthony Hopkins - who arguably has never been better. In fact, I can't think of a male actor who has given a better performance in the last 20 years or more.
6. NOMADLAND
I was certainly thrown off by this film's semingly plotless approach to the story - but was quickly engrossed in the journey of Fern (Frances McDormand), who loses her job and husband during the Recession and becomes a nomad - living out of her van, traveling across the American west in search of work here and there. The film shows us a year in her life - as she works for Amazon.com for the holiday season, then journeys east along with a caravan of fellow travelers (many of whom are non-actors). There is a Malick-like sense of awe within the setting of nature here (I know many have said this already), and the film's success comes from its wandering shots of sunsets over endless horizons. McDormand anchors this movie with a quiet yet convincing performance - and we believe her struggles along the way (the cost of a flat tire, or the struggle of sub-zero temperatures while trying to stay warm). Director Chloe Zhao has made better films in the past ("The Rider" is certainly one of the better films I've seen in the last few years), but for some reason, it is this movie that introduces her to a more mainstream audience. I certainly can't complain about that.
5. THE INVISIBLE MAN
The first movie I saw in 2020 that makes my year-end-list and it still manages to shock me with each reviewing. The retelling of this classic "monster movie" fits so well into a 2020 setting - that of a woman escaping her abusive boyfriend and ultimately coming to be stalked by him... Or is she going crazy? Elisabeth Moss is this year's 'snubbed actress in a horror movie,' following in the footsteps of Toni Collette and Lupita N'Yongo as powerhouse actors who failed to get Oscar-nominated simply due to the genre of their work. This film is wrought with tension, and some of the most effective visual effects of the year. The icing on the cake is the film's final scene - a moment of such satisfaction that I remember audiences cheering as the film cut to black. Across the board - this film never missed.
4. SOUND OF METAL
Very close to being my favorite movie of the year. The story of a heavy metal drummer (Riz Ahmed) who suddenly begins to lose his hearing. The film follows his retreat to a rehab shelter for the deaf (Ruben, our drummer, is also a recovering drug addict). At the shelter, he is introduced to the deaf community - learns to sign, meets members of the deaf community, etc, all the while he researches cochlear implants in hopes to return to normal and begin drumming again. Paul Raci, the rehab leader, is unforgettable in a brief but tender performance, and of course Riz Ahmed is vying among the year's very best. The film's successes (they are countless) are crowned by a sound design that works to hear the world through Ruben's perspective - both after becoming deaf and after regaining his hearing. It's marvelous work. I felt so immersed in every moment. I almost never wanted this film to end.
3. MINARI
If I were voting for Best Picture this year, my choice would be solidly for "Minari." An American movie (no, Golden Globes, this isn't an international production) with largely Korean dialogue - this is the story of an immigrant family from South Korea who makes their way to the American midwest in the 1980's. The father (Steven Yeun) dreams of growing a large farm and cultivating the land. he inspires his young son to dream big. His wife (Han Ye-ri, criminally snubbed this season for her brilliant work) is more grounded - struggles to see life in their new home in the middle of nowhere. Their marriage is tested. She invites her mother to make the journey to America as well, (Youn Yuh-jung) a whipsmart grandma who brings with her a sense of life to this humble scenery - and brings a supply of minari, a native plant to Korea which ultimately begins to thrives in a nearby creek. From its soundtrack to its writing (director Lee Isaac Chung tells a story loosely based on his childhood upbringing), this is so clearly the choice for Best Picture among this year's slate - and a perfect way to end a year so full of loss and doubt.
2. QUO VADIS, AIDA?
The very last movie I saw before assembling this list, and probably the most important of my picks. This is a Bosnian film that recounts a 1995 genocide committed by opposing army forces of Bosnian men and boys numbering in the thousands. Uplifting, I know. This is a film is bleak struggle and yet surprising humanity. We follow a UN translator (Jasna Đuričić - who very much should have been nominated for and won the Best Actress Oscar this year. Her performance is manic, frazzled, always moving forward - using her leverage as translator in an attempts to protect her husband and two boys from the oncoming terror. The film is largely set in real time in a UN base which holds tens of thousands of refugees with nowhere to go. I am not familiar with the Bosnian War, per se, and I was not aware of what was coming - but through Aida - I felt the ever present sense of doom, and watched the final act through an onslaught of tears. This is a film unlike any other - and I encourage as many people as possible to watch it. Very few movies have left me as completely undone.
1. PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
Ok so it's cheating to say a 2019 movie is the best movie of 2020. In my defense - "Portrait" was not released in the United States until at least January or February 2020 and by that point I had already compiled my list. Criminally snubbed at the Oscars (not even nominated for Foreign Film), this film suffered a from a weird release schedule and the dominance of another foreign film (Parasite) taking away all this film's thunder.
The moment I saw this masterpiece, I knew that I would keep it in this position until I saw another film better. 15 months later and I have yet to see anything that tops it. A lush, romantic, stunning, raw portrait of love that is told in such striking beautiful ways. The film's ending - a series of 3 or 4 scenes, builds to one of the most powerful crescendos... It's a perfect film.
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