Boy oh boy, its been a long road to get here. I saw a lot of films for 2019, and almost everything I wanted to see was available via online rentals eventually - though wrangling multiple sources and subscriptions could be challenging. At this point, the only roadblock is a familiar one - waiting for those last few foreign films every summer, like Ladj Ly's "Les Miserables."
My criteria for eligibility require that a film must have been released in its own home country during 2019, so film festivals and other special screenings don't count. Picks are unranked and listed in no particular order, previously posted reviews are linked where available, and the "Plus One" spot is reserved for the best film of the previous year that I didn't manage to see in time for the last list. And here we go.
Little Women - I don't think this is the definitive film version of the story, but it's the right one for 2019. Greta Gerwig is able to highlight so many resonant themes, and show the classic characters in a modern light, while retaining everything that's made them so endearing to so many readers. The assembled cast is so passionate, and the 19th century New England setting so lovingly recreated, I find it impossible not to keep falling in love with this film.
Parasite - Bong Joon-ho's allegorical tale of a poor family conning their way into a rich household is full of wild twists, morbid humor, biting satire, and wonderfully imperfect characters. It's not just that the filmmaking is so fearless, and the storytelling so sharp, but that "Parasite" manages to cross multiple genres in a way that makes it totally unpredictable and consistently engrossing. Even among director Bong's other films, this one is in a class by itself.
Marriage Story - It's good to see Noah Baumbach getting more forgiving with age. The most tragic part of "Marriage Story" is that the protagonists still love each other, and neither one is wrong for wanting what they want. It's painful to watch Charlie and Nicole resort to more and more extreme hostilities, but along the way there are so many laughs, so many touching human moments, and both characters manage to come out a bit better in the end.
Us - "Us" is a film that you can take apart, almost frame by frame, finding meaning in all the little details from the character names to the sinister hip-hop song that serves as the main theme. It's not as well-conceived as "Parasite," but Jordan Peel's genre take on the American class divide is just as potent and impactful in its own way. The horror imagery is deeply resonant and disturbing, and Lupita Nyong'o's performance is the stuff of nightmares.
Bacurau - A Brazilian genre film that is all about subverting expectations and sticking it to the man - well, the man in this case being the forces of Western decadence and government corruption. It takes a while for premise to be established, but once everything is revealed and starts paying off, "Bacurau" becomes one of the most satisfying watches of the year. The filmmaking is a little rough around the edges, but that's completely thematically appropriate.
One Child Nation - Everyone knows about China's "One Child Policy" in theory, but it's another thing to see the mechanisms and the consequences of the policy up close. Nanfu Wang explores the topic through her own family's experiences, revealing the far reaching impact and damage that was wrought on both individuals and Chinese society at large. Wang's interview with an elderly midwife who helped to enforce the policy is especially illuminating.
Jojo Rabbit - Maintaining a delicate balance to avoid falling into the traps of being too cloying, too silly, or too serious, Taika Waititi tackles the eyebrow-raising story of a ten year-old Nazi with plenty of charm, humor, and intelligence. It's helpful to think of the film in terms of the audience it's trying to reach - the impressionable youngsters who, once again, mistakenly think that the Fascists were cool. And it kills me that Waititi decided to play Hitler himself.
I Lost My Body - I've never seen an animated film quite like this one, that manages to seamlessly blend the fantastical with the mundane, telling an impossible story in fairly realistic terms. The story of Naofel and his lost hand is a sad, deeply personal narrative, and yet the filmmakers manage to work in action, humor, and a beautiful, life-affirming ending. This was a great surprise, and along with "Klaus," a great example of 2019's gains in indie feature animation.
The Lighthouse - Sometimes it takes a maniac to get a certain kind of movie made. And for a movie that is so utterly, uncompromisingly an original auteurist vision, steeped in centuries-old influences, and yet has a sense of humor and yen for the ghastly that is unmistakably modern, you need a director like Robert Eggers. And Willem Dafoe at his most elemental certainly helps. "The Lighthouse" is too obscure, too niche, and too goddamn weird to exist otherwise.
Dolemite is My Name - I'm generally wary of showbiz biopics, but the return of Eddie Murphy is such a breath of fresh air, and the life of Rudy Ray Moore makes for such a perfect underdog story. The themes and messages may be a little blunt, but they're in the context of such a feel-good, celebratory paean to filmmaking that I couldn't resist. I don't enjoy the original "Dolemite," not being its intended audience, but the tale of its making looks like a classic to me.
Honorable Mentions:
A Hidden Life
1917
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
The Nightingale
Sorry We Missed You
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
The Farewell
Aniara
Doctor Sleep
Uncut Gems
Plus One
Shadow (Ying)
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