My Favorite First-Time Viewings of 2020

2020 will be remembered (and hopefully soon forgotten) for a lot of things. Being a good film year is not one of them. In lieu of a top ten list, I thought it’d be more useful to highlight the best things I saw for the first time this year, regardless of when they came out. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the number of great movies I still haven’t seen. But if this year taught me anything, it’s to be grateful that there’s still so much to discover. 

The Classics I Finally Got Around to (And Loved!)

A Day in the Country – Jean Renoir (1946)
On the Waterfront – Elia Kazan (1954)
Rear Window – Alfred Hitchcock (1954)
The 400 Blows – François Truffaut (1959)
Psycho – Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
8 1/2 – Federico Fellini (1963)
Nashville – Robert Altman (1975)
The Player – Robert Altman (1992)
Beau Travail – Claire Denis (1999)
In the Mood For Love – Wong Kar-wai (2000)
Lost in Translation – Sofia Coppola (2003)
Fish Tank – Andrea Arnold (2009)
Selma – Ava DuVernay (2014)

I don’t think I need to say much here. These are all films that I was always embarrassed to admit I hadn’t seen. Now I have! Sometimes watching classics can be a bit of a chore (or at the very least an academic exercise). These films are not that. They were as riveting, exciting, and moving as anything I watched all year. I couldn’t recommend them more.  

The Films of Céline Sciamma 

Water Lillies (2007)
Tomboy (2011)
Girlhood (2014)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

The absolute highlight of my year was attending a screening of Portrait of a Lady on Fire featuring a Q+A with Céline Sciamma. Along with Steve McQueen (see below), I think Sciamma is arguably the best working director we have. Each of her films are achievements in feeling. They are moving in ways that are hard to explain. Which is not to say any other aspect of her filmmaking is lacking. Just that it’s impossible to capture the magic of them in writing.

(Some of) The Films of Edward Yang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7PVWziS-1w

Taipei Story (1985)
The Terrorizers (1986)
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
Yi Yi (2000)

I technically watched Yi Yi at the end of 2019. I’m going to include it here because a) it’s maybe the greatest movie of the 21st Century and b) it inspired me to dive into Edward Yang’s filmography. Yang feels like someone who is overdue for a renaissance. The reason I haven’t watched more of his films is because they’re almost impossible to find. The ones that are out there though are all masterpieces. In particular, I would highlight A Brighter Summer Day, a 4-hour movie that I wish were twice as long. 

The Best Reviewed Movie on Rotten Tomatoes (And its Prequel)

Paddington – Paul King (2014)
Paddington 2 – Paul King (2017)

It’s true! All I would like to say is that this isn’t me trying to be funny or cute. These movies are actually just flat-out incredible. Just watch them. 

(Maybe) The Funniest Movie I’ve Ever Seen

Toni Erdmann – Maren Ade (2016)

I admired Maren Ade’s first two films (The Forest for the Trees, Everyone Else) but I did not enjoy them. They are exercises in pure, painful awkwardness. They’re brilliantly made, but excruciating to watch. Somehow Ade was able to take this skill, apply it to an almost 3-hour comedy, and it’s one of the funniest and best things I have ever seen. There are two scenes in this film that I think are probably the funniest two scenes in movie history. Just unbelievable.

Small Axe -Steve McQueen (2020)

Mangrove
Lovers Rock
Red, White and Blue
Alex Wheatle
Education

Has a single director ever made the best two films of one year? I’m asking because not only did Steve McQueen achieve that with Mangrove and Lovers Rock, I think he pretty easily made 5 of the top 10 films of 2020. McQueen is maybe the best director alive. I assume he can make any film he wants to. And yet he chose to make small, focused, human dramas that document the lives of Black and West Indian people living through 1970s Britain. These films are certainly historical and political, but they’re also hangout movies. They of course deal with race, but more than that, McQueen is focusing on the humanity of these characters. It’s an extraordinary achievement.

(Most of) The Films of Mike Leigh

Meantime (1983)
The Short & Curlies (Short – 1987)
High Hopes (1988)
Life is Sweet (1990)
Naked (1993)
Secrets and Lies (1996)
Career Girls (1997)
Topsy-Turvy (1999)
All or Nothing (2002)
Vera Drake (2004)
Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
Another Year (2010)

Every once in a while an artist comes along who feels perfectly tailored to you. It’s really the thing that keeps me going through all of these movies. It’s rare, but there’s no feeling quite like discovering a filmmaker who seems to be speaking directly to your soul. I was lucky enough to have that feeling this year with Mike Leigh. I had already seen (and loved) a couple of his films, Meantime and Life is Sweet, but this was the year that I just rattled off (most of) the rest. To be honest, I couldn’t help myself. Leigh’s films burst with life. He’s described them as fictional documentaries. They’re funny, moving, tragic, smart, political, prickly, and always human. It was the best substitute I had for not being able to see actual people this year. Thank god I found them.