the (global) best (and worst) of 2019
by Radu_A | created - 01 Jan 2020 | updated - 01 Jan 2020 | PublicAs before I'm trying to sum up the most memorable of the staggering 495 titles I've seen in the past year (thanks to festivals, streaming and illness-induced immobility).
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1. Parasite (2019)
R | 132 min | Drama, Thriller
Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly-formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-sik
Votes: 960,310 | Gross: $53.37M
It's boring to name this the best film of the year, and yet it unquestionably was. Bong Joon-ho has been pretty much the world's most innovative film maker since "Mother" ten years ago.
2. Clergy (2018)
133 min | Drama
Three Catholic priests meet to celebrate the anniversary of an event which could have taken their lives. Their experiences and motivations to serve as priests are extremely different, and soon each of them will have to face new challenges.
Director: Wojciech Smarzowski | Stars: Arkadiusz Jakubik, Robert Wieckiewicz, Jacek Braciak, Joanna Kulig
Votes: 6,503
Most scathing critique of the Catholic Church caused a scandal upon release in Poland, and pretty much sums up everything that's wrong with religion in general.
3. Capernaum (2018)
R | 126 min | Drama
While serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.
Director: Nadine Labaki | Stars: Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Kawsar Al Haddad
Votes: 105,476 | Gross: $1.66M
Only released in early 2019 after its festival round, this is an instant classic and affirms that Nadine Labaki is the world's most important female director.
4. Pariyerum Perumal (2018)
Not Rated | 154 min | Drama
A law student from a lower caste begins a friendship with his classmate, a girl who belongs to a higher caste, and the men in her family start giving him trouble over this.
Director: Mari Selvaraj | Stars: Kathir, Anandhi, Yogi Babu, Lijeesh
Votes: 18,403
Very rough around the edges but a real punch in the gut on caste limitations. And the action is handmade and brutal. Social issues kept Indian cinema going strong this year.
5. Marriage Story (2019)
R | 137 min | Drama, Romance
Noah Baumbach's incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.
Director: Noah Baumbach | Stars: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Julia Greer, Azhy Robertson
Votes: 346,553 | Gross: $2.00M
Of course it will bag Netflix's best picture award and almost everything else. Clearly the best US film this year, though I have issues with the man getting off as much more likable - surprising since Baumbach's partner is Greta Gerwig.
6. The Lighthouse (I) (2019)
R | 109 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Two lighthouse keepers try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s.
Director: Robert Eggers | Stars: Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, Valeriia Karaman, Logan Hawkes
Votes: 255,182 | Gross: $0.43M
The other best US film of the year (well, half Canadian). What a feast for eyes and ears, and Dafoe's new career best. He's getting stronger and stronger these past years.
7. Still Human (2018)
115 min | Drama
A paralyzed and hopeless Hong Kong man meets his new Filipino domestic worker. The two strangers live under the same roof through different seasons, and as they learn more about each other, they also learn more about themselves.
Director: Oliver Siu Kuen Chan | Stars: Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Crisel Consunji, Sam Lee, Cecilia Yip
Votes: 1,705
Another delightful thespian pairing happens in this probably best Hong Kong film in a decade. Very well handled, very good script, could have used a trim or two.
8. Yomeddine (2018)
Not Rated | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A Coptic leper and his orphaned apprentice leave the confines of the leper colony for the first time and embark on a journey across Egypt to search for what is left of their families.
Director: Abu Bakr Shawky | Stars: Rady Gamal, Ahmed Abdelhafiz, Osama Abdallah, Adel Abdulsalam
Votes: 1,889 | Gross: $0.01M
Best off-the-beaten-track film I've seen this year. Very low budget, with an appropriate focus on the main two characters and a glimpse at Arab culture otherwise completely unknown.
9. Birds of Passage (2018)
Not Rated | 125 min | Crime, Drama
During the marijuana bonanza, a violent decade that saw the origins of drug trafficking in Colombia, Rapayet and his indigenous family get involved in a war to control the business that ends up destroying their lives and their culture.
Directors: Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra | Stars: Carmiña Martínez, José Acosta, Natalia Reyes, Jhon Narváez
Votes: 13,139 | Gross: $0.51M
Another female director to watch is Cristina Gallego, who found unforgettable imagery for her indigenous gangster epic.
10. Jallikattu (2019)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A portrait of a remote village where a buffalo escapes and causes a frenzy of ecstatic violence.
Director: Lijo Jose Pellissery | Stars: Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad, Jaffer Idukki
Votes: 9,047
Another very well directed and photographed piece by a locally famous, but as of yet internationally ignored film maker who could be the next Tarantino.
11. Midsommar (2019)
R | 148 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
Director: Ari Aster | Stars: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren, William Jackson Harper
Votes: 403,710 | Gross: $27.33M
And as American directors go, nobody made as much a name for himself as Ari Aster with this predictable, yet delectable visual delicacy. Best music, best set design in my opinion.
12. The Irishman (2019)
R | 209 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An illustration of Frank Sheeran's life, from W.W.II veteran to hit-man for the Bufalino crime family and his alleged assassination of his close friend Jimmy Hoffa.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel
Votes: 431,299 | Gross: $7.00M
As for veteran directors, of course Scorcese's swan song is a masterpiece, but be my guest if you feel a bit frustrated by it. Almost four hours, almost no women, and while that fits the story, I can see no reason whatsoever why a woman would want to watch this. And with that budget, 10-20 other films could have been made.
13. Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
R | 118 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Eddie Murphy portrays real-life legend Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer who proved naysayers wrong when his hilarious, obscene, kung-fu fighting alter ego, Dolemite, became a 1970s Blaxploitation phenomenon.
Director: Craig Brewer | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson
Votes: 64,975
Much to my own surprise I loved Eddie Murphy in this. Most of us wrote him off decades ago and here is at the top of his act. What a performance. (Oversized) chapeau.
14. Vada Chennai (2018)
Not Rated | 164 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young carrom player in north Chennai becomes a reluctant participant in a war between two warring gangsters.
Director: Vetrimaaran | Stars: Dhanush, Ameer Sultan, Radha Ravi, Daniel Balaji
Votes: 19,658
Dhanush is now pretty much the hottest name in Indian film internationally speaking, and this is definitely his best work to date. The scene stealer is Andrea Jeremiah though, who will quite likely feature more prominently in the sequel.
15. Article 15 (2019)
Not Rated | 130 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the rural heartlands of India, an upright police officer sets out on a crusade against violent caste-based crimes and discrimination.
Director: Anubhav Sinha | Stars: Ayushmann Khurrana, Nassar, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra
Votes: 36,809
Another film tackling caste, Ayushmann Khurrana's performance saves an otherwise slightly too extended runtime and/or simplistic storyline.
16. Out Stealing Horses (2019)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama, Mystery
A grieving widower moves to the country where a chance encounter rekindles memories from his past.
Director: Hans Petter Moland | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Bjørn Floberg, Jon Ranes, Tobias Santelmann
Votes: 3,301
Otherwise confusing because of unannouced switches of time lines, Stellan Skarsgard does display once more his gift for simple, effective delivery. Also best European photography this year.
17. Super 30 (2019)
Not Rated | 154 min | Biography, Drama
Based on the life of Patna-based mathematician Anand Kumar who runs the famed Super 30 program for IIT aspirants in Patna.
Director: Vikas Bahl | Stars: Hrithik Roshan, Mrunal Thakur, Nandish Singh Sandhu, Veerendra Saxena
Votes: 36,992 | Gross: $2.27M
A bit surprising in the acting department was Hrithik Roshan's solid performance here, given that he's been the proverbial pretty boy, the script was at times sloppy - and rubbing his skin with Khol to make him look more Tamil took some getting used to.
18. The Favourite (2018)
R | 119 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In early 18th-century England, the status quo at the court is upset when a new servant arrives and endears herself to a frail Queen Anne.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult
Votes: 233,692 | Gross: $34.37M
Who else but Olivia Colman deserved the Award more this year? Good thing they got it right. The film itself is a bit too meandering for me.
19. Queen of Hearts (2019)
Not Rated | 127 min | Drama
A successful lawyer jeopardizes her career and threatens to tear her family apart after engaging in an affair with her teenage stepson.
Director: May el-Toukhy | Stars: Trine Dyrholm, Gustav Lindh, Magnus Krepper, Liv Esmår Dannemann
Votes: 14,517
Another very strong performance by a seasoned actress, Trine Dyrholm. Perhaps the most difficult part of the year.
20. The Farewell (I) (2019)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
A Chinese family discovers their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies.
Director: Lulu Wang | Stars: Shuzhen Zhao, Awkwafina, X Mayo, Hong Lu
Votes: 71,163 | Gross: $16.88M
Also very good dual female performances by Awkwafina and Shuzhen Zhao in a film that otherwise too strongly resembles Ang Lee.
21. Sudani from Nigeria (2018)
Not Rated | 123 min | Comedy, Sport
Story of an African football player and a local football club manager from Malappuram, Kerala.
Director: Zakariya | Stars: Soubin Shahir, Samuel Abiola Robinson, Savithri Sreedharan, Sarasa Balussery
Votes: 4,967
Another very good performance from someone you never heard of: Savithri Sreedharan
22. Monos (2019)
R | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
On a remote mountaintop, eight kids with guns watch over a hostage and a conscripted milk cow.
Director: Alejandro Landes | Stars: Sofia Buenaventura, Julián Giraldo, Karen Quintero, Laura Castrillón
Votes: 18,928
Another excellently photographed film from Colombia, which also features a brilliant score and tight audacious storytelling.
23. Sheeple (2018)
103 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The story of a gang of drug dealers in the south of Tehran who has sheltered many youngsters and orphans from the streets. Shahin and Shakoor who are brothers are leading the gang but when ... See full summary »
Director: Houman Seyyedi | Stars: Navid Mohammadzadeh, Farhad Aslani, Farid Sajjadi Hosseini, Marjan Ettefaghian
Votes: 7,452
Very courageous script considering this was made in Iran, where it's becoming more difficult than ever to push the limits of the acceptable.
24. The Reports on Sarah and Saleem (2018)
127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The affair of a married Palestinian man and a married Israeli woman in Jerusalem takes a dangerous political dimension when they are spotted in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving them to deal with more than their broken marriages.
Director: Muayad Alayan | Stars: Adeeb Safadi, Sivane Kretchner, Ishai Golan, Maisa Abd Elhadi
Votes: 1,313 | Gross: $0.12M
Again, very well and concisely written, just occasionally testing the boundaries of disbelief.
25. Where We Belong (2019)
130 min | Drama, Family, Romance
Sue, the crazy girl that feels as if she was born in the wrong place. But the craziest thing she's ever done is that she is about to leave everything behind, including Belle.
Director: Kongdej Jaturanrasamee | Stars: Jennis Oprasert, Praewa Suthamphong, Saheoiyn Aophachat, Prawit Boonprakong
Votes: 737
Very good coming-of-age drama with far more mature dialogue than any recent American film of this kind.
26. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
TV-PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, History
Against all the odds, a thirteen-year-old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
Director: Chiwetel Ejiofor | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Felix Lemburo, Robert Agengo
Votes: 44,447
Chiwetel Ejiofor not only acted and directed, but also adapted the script. One can really see and feel his affection for the subject. Am acting-to-directing debut well done.
27. The Wandering Earth (2019)
TV-MA | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
With the sun dying out, a group of brave astronauts set out to find new planet for the whole human race.
Director: Frant Gwo | Stars: Jing Wu, Chuxiao Qu, Guangjie Li, Man-Tat Ng
Votes: 36,347 | Gross: $5.88M
Best silly SciFi flick in my opinion, but I admit I dislike the new Star Wars films (too much in love with the old ones) and Marvel superhero drivels (too much noise).
28. Sicilian Ghost Story (2017)
Not Rated | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Against a heavy cloak of secrecy, a 12-year-old girl smitten with her handsome classmate ventures deeper and deeper into the enchanted Sicilian forests to find him, unaware of just how thick is the mystery behind his strange disappearance.
Directors: Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza | Stars: Julia Jedlikowska, Gaetano Fernandez, Corinne Musallari, Andrea Falzone
Votes: 2,396 | Gross: $0.02M
One of these films that get too little attention upon exhibition, and then you watch it by chance on TV or inflight a year later. Very creative use of silence and light, very poetic in spite of the grim subject matter.
29. Beanpole (2019)
Unrated | 130 min | Drama, War
1945, Leningrad. WWII has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Two young women search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins.
Director: Kantemir Balagov | Stars: Viktoria Miroshnichenko, Vasilisa Perelygina, Andrey Bykov, Igor Shirokov
Votes: 12,259
The "I don't like it but I think you should watch" film of the year. Like most Russian festival fare, it is bleak beyond belief, but its use of light, filters and positioning makes it memorable.
30. Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota (2018)
134 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
It is a story of a young boy Surya who has a rare condition of Congenital Insensitivity to pain meaning he can not feel pain, and he sets out to learn martial arts and hunt down muggers.
Director: Vasan Bala | Stars: Abhimanyu Dasani, Radhika Madan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Gulshan Devaiah
Votes: 8,977
Best action film in terms of hot leading actor. Silly story but the editing, the stunt choreography and the guy are worth the watch.
31. Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2018)
Not Rated | 154 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The origin story of Bhavesh Joshi, an Indian superhero, who sets out to fulfill his slain friend's wish to clean and reform the country, by training himself to fight and wearing a mask.
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane | Stars: Harshvardhan Kapoor, Priyanshu Painyuli, Ashish Verma, Shreiyah Sabharwal
Votes: 10,262
Best (non)superhero action film. Trying to be realistic, it ends up being surprisingly dark, which is probably why it flopped. On the road to cult.
32. The Witch: Part 1 - The Subversion (2018)
Not Rated | 125 min | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A high school student with amnesia tries to uncover what has happened to her. All leading her into deeper troubles ultimately revealing a darkness she could not have imagined.
Director: Park Hoon-jung | Stars: Kim Da-mi, Jo Min-soo, Choi Woo-sik, Go Min-si
Votes: 17,568
Best action film in terms of kicking ass. While John Wick 3 might have had more kick for the buck, it also featured a visibly aged lead with hardly convincing agility. This one has younger leads convincingly going for the kill.
33. I Lost My Body (2019)
16+ | 81 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A story of Naoufel, a young man who is in love with Gabrielle. In another part of town, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find its body again.
Director: Jérémy Clapin | Stars: Hakim Faris, Victoire Du Bois, Patrick d'Assumçao, Alfonso Arfi
Votes: 36,629
Best animated feature, given that America is out of ideas and Ghibli is on hiatus. Very personal, very fast, quite romantic and extremely French.
34. Honeyland (2019)
Unrated | 89 min | Documentary, Drama
The last female bee-hunter in Europe must save the bees and return the natural balance in Honeyland, when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood.
Directors: Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov | Stars: Hatidze Muratova, Nazife Muratova, Hussein Sam, Ljutvie Sam
Votes: 19,417 | Gross: $0.82M
Best documentary (by far). Most docs these days try too hard to be relevant or informative. This one simply observes, and the result is rigidly cut down to the essential.
35. La Flor (2018)
808 min | Drama, Fantasy, Musical
A film in six episodes, connected by the same four actresses, full of various subplots that play with narrative and different cinematic genres , everything structured in an unusual way.
Director: Mariano Llinás | Stars: Elisa Carricajo, Valeria Correa, Pilar Gamboa, Laura Paredes
Votes: 816 | Gross: $0.00M
Best experimental feature. Impossibly long at first, it draws you into its concept, and one even gets used to the stories ending in the middle of nowhere. And shooting 800 minutes with next no money is quite a feat.
36. Kanarie (2018)
Unrated | 123 min | Drama, Musical, War
Drafted into the South African army during apartheid, a young soldier joins the military's travelling choir, and romance on the battlefield causes him to deal with his long-repressed sexual identity.
Director: Christiaan Olwagen | Stars: Schalk Bezuidenhout, Hannes Otto, Germandt Geldenhuys, Gérard Rudolf
Votes: 716
Best queer-themed film. Not only achieves 80s period feel with very little means and budget, but also packs in the whole gamut of South African absurdity without feeling overloaded.
37. Chernobyl (2019)
TV-MA | 41 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In April 1986, the city of Chernobyl in the Soviet Union suffers one of the worst nuclear disasters in the history of mankind. Consequently, many heroes put their lives on the line in the following days, weeks and months.
Stars: Jessie Buckley, Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Adam Nagaitis
Votes: 866,150
Of course, this was the best TV series. What an experience! Everything was marvelous, if this had been a very long film, it would be the best one of the decade. Acting, photography, cinematography, camera, script, even scene length check all boxes. Perfect.
38. Vinland Saga (2019–2023)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Following a tragedy, Thorfinn embarks on a journey with the man responsible for it to take his life in a duel as a true and honorable warrior to pay homage.
Stars: Yûto Uemura, Mike Haimoto, Shin'ya Takahashi, Alejandro Saab
Votes: 71,887
Best anime series. You have to watch those to keep up with the zeitgeist. Obviously in response to Game of Thrones, this epic is even bloodier and darker.
39. Joker (I) (2019)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Votes: 1,490,147 | Gross: $335.45M
Most over-hyped film of the year, nay, the decade. It plays out exactly as one expects it to. Joaquin Phoenix plays the Joker exactly as one would expect him to. Apparently this is good enough for a lot of people, but there are zero surprises. I fell asleep in the middle.
40. Us (II) (2019)
R | 116 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Adelaide Wilson and her family are attacked by mysterious figures dressed in red. Upon closer inspection, the Wilsons realize that the intruders are exact lookalikes of them.
Director: Jordan Peele | Stars: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker
Votes: 341,353 | Gross: $175.08M
Most wasted opportunity. Peele is the most over-hyped director of our time, given how much he steals. "Get Out" benefited from millennials not knowing "The Shining" or "Stepford Wives". This one has a good premise - a black family in a classic 70s white family horror - but drowns it in absurdities.
41. The Unthinkable (2018)
129 min | Action, Romance, Sci-Fi
Sweden faces a mysterious attack while Alex tries to reunite with his youth love, Anna.
Director: Victor Danell | Stars: Christoffer Nordenrot, Lisa Henni, Jesper Barkselius, Pia Halvorsen
Votes: 8,967
Most messy mess. Tries to be too many things at once and fails to deliver on any single one.
42. A Dog's Journey (2019)
PG | 109 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A dog finds the meaning of his own existence through the lives of the humans he meets.
Director: Gail Mancuso | Stars: Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Kathryn Prescott, Marg Helgenberger
Votes: 28,696 | Gross: $22.78M
Most unbearably sentimental. I own 7 dogs and can therefore tell that they are not people. Good dog films deal with their animal traits (like Hachi or Red Dog). Horrible dog films pretend they're humans in disguise waiting for us in Heaven - once we have had them killed. Yuck.
43. Ray & Liz (2018)
108 min | Drama
Photographer Richard Billingham returns to the squalid council flat outside of Birmingham where he and his brother were raised, in a confrontation and reconciliation with parents Ray and Liz.
Director: Richard Billingham | Stars: Patrick Romer, Richard Ashton, Justin Salinger, Callum Slater
Votes: 1,825
Worst social-themed film. A misguided Loach knock-off, this one presents poor people at their very worst, without the Loach touch of sympathy. Probably OK for Thatcherites in favour of abolishing the NHS.
44. Synonyms (2019)
Unrated | 123 min | Comedy, Drama
A young Israeli man absconds to Paris to flee his nationality, aided by his trusty Franco-Israeli dictionary.
Director: Nadav Lapid | Stars: Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte, Uria Hayik
Votes: 6,291
Worst prize-winning film. Berlin is developing a distinction of crowning films everybody hates. This one tries to hide its absence of plot with Godard-like antics.
45. High Life (2018)
R | 113 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A father and his daughter struggle to survive in deep space where they live in isolation.
Director: Claire Denis | Stars: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André 3000, Mia Goth
Votes: 41,052 | Gross: $1.23M
Worst film of the year. With a high budget and famous leads, this one manages to fail on every conceivable level - acting, story, set design, music, photography. A complete disaster.
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