Joe Pesci in The Irishman |
These Best of 2019 lists still count as
long as they're posted before the end of January, right?
2019 was the first year in quite some
time when I actually watched more new releases than I had in the
previous year. Perhaps that explains why I thought this was an
unusually strong year, at least for feature film. I think my top four
were all sensational movies, each a serious candidate for my Top
Films of the 2010s list. I think this Scorsese kid has a future.
I didn't see a 2019 documentary quite
on par with either the great “Hale County” or “Shirkers” from
2018, but there were enough exciting and vital non-fiction films to
force me to expand my top 10 to a top 16.
The Irishman (Scorsese)
A Hidden Life (Malick)
The Lighthouse (Eggers)
Ash is Purest White (Jia)
63 Up (Apted)
Honeyland (Kotevska and Stefanov)
Long Day's Journey Into Night (Bi)
The Souvenir (Hogg)
Image Book (Godard)
For Sama (Al-Kateab and Watts)
Black Mother (K. Allah)
Los Reyes (Osnovikoff and Perut)
The Disappearance Of My Mother
(Barrese)
The Mountain (Alverson)
Tell Me Who I Am (Perkins)
Rolling Thunder Revue:A Bob Dylan Story
(Scorsese)
I'm feeling generous today, so I'll keep the comments brief.
The Irishman: “It was like...
Remember Moses? When he walked into the ocean, the sea, whatever the
fuck it was? And it opened up!”
A Hidden Life: Malick has directed not
only one of the most grueling and moving films about a martyr since
“The Passion of Joan Of Arc” but also the perfect movie to show
to your authoritarian friend who insists that no matter what you
think of the man, you have to respect the office.
Ash Is Purest White: The amazing Zhao
Tao gets stuck with a loser partner on screen; fortunately her
partner behind the camera is still one of the best directors in the
world.
Honeyland: Everything you ever imagined
a documentary about a Macedonian beekeeper could be, and so much
more.
Long Day's Journey Into Night: This
year's great film with a really long take.
Image Book: Some movies are just meant
to be watched at home and stopped every 30 seconds so you can try to
Google the references.
For Sama: No glib one-liner for a movie
this potent. Waad al-Kateab films herself surviving the ongoing siege
of Aleppo, Syria. She somehow finds a way to live and grow under
unspeakable conditions, starting as a teenage marketing student, then
falling in love, raising a baby, and helping to save the lives of her
neighbors. There are still heroes, even in a world that doesn't care
much about them.
Black Mother: Photographer and
filmmaker Khalik Allah delivers a meditation (and accusation) on the
legacy of colonialism in Jamaica that also turns out to be a
visionary tour-de-force that renders the political as intimately
personal.
Los Reyes: A fascinating observational
documentary about two stray dogs who live in a Chilean skate park,
both of whom would have been more convincing in “Jojo Rabbit”
than Scarlett Johansson.
The Disappearance Of My Mother: When
mom tells you to leave her the hell alone, you should strongly
consider her advice.
The Mountain: No, seriously, just leave
mom alone.
The two worst 2019 releases I saw are,
of course, two of the leading contenders for Best Picture, so I'm
going to say something nice about each of them.
Joker (Phillips): “Joker” is
plagued by a few minor flaws, chief among them a hackneyed story and
script that makes every obvious decision at every point. But there's
one moment that really sings. Arthur (the Joker-to-be played by
Joaquin Phoenix) shares an elevator with his neighbor (Zazie Beetz) –
to express her exasperation with her day, she mimes putting a gun to
her head. In the hallway, the desperately awkward Arthur tries to
connect with her by repeating the gesture. He overdoes it so badly,
she instantly knows he's a man best avoided, a fact to which he is
oblivious. It's a moving, human moment from one of our greatest
actors. Everything that follows is bland and forgettable.
1917 (Mendes): Sam Mendes has now
directed three films I consider to be the worst movies in their
respective years of release. “1917” is almost certainly somewhat
better than the other two.