Top Films of 2020
A list of our favorite films from this year.
This year has been a weird year for films due to the global pandemic. Despite it all, so many incredible films were released this year, and in some cases, were made more accessible to the public. In a year like this one, films were needed more than ever, not only to lose us in powerful stories, but also to allow us to appreciate the unrelenting dedication of filmmakers, who are committed to bringing our screens to life. People of Color, LGBTQ+, and women in the film industry deserve an extra shoutout for pushing underrepresented narratives into the entertainment space.
We started with a list of our top fifty films of this year and narrowed them down to twenty-five. For our purposes, we defined a film as released in 2020 if it was released to the general public/streaming services in 2020. Here is a snippet of our top ten, with our full list of twenty-five films on the website!
Top Ten Films
#1. The Forty-Year-Old Version by Radha Blank
Radha Blank’s debut film, The Forty-Year-Old Version, is astounding in its semi autobiographical story of Radha Blank, a New York playwright nearing 40 who finds herself in somewhat of a midlife crisis. Shot almost entirely in black and white, The Forty-Year-Old Version is unafraid to express Blank’s high highs and low lows, from hysterically crying alone in the corner of her apartment, to passionately spitting raps over a newly produced beat.
#2. House of Hummingbird by Bora Kim
Directed by Bora Kim, House of Hummingbird follows a 14-year old Korean girl named Eunhee as she attempts to navigate her adolescence, which is characterized by piercing feelings of loneliness, confusing boys, and a somewhat polarizing family.
Check out our interview with Bora Kim about House of Hummingbird!
#3. Never Rarely Sometimes Always by Eliza Hittman
In moments of both comfort and pain, some things are better left unsaid. Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always is largely defined by quiet moments of solidarity, as it revolves around a pregnant teenager named Autumn, who travels from rural Pennsylvania to New York with her cousin Skylar to get an abortion.
#4. Mangrove by Steve McQueen
As the first installation of Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology, Mangrove recounts the powerful story of the 1970 Mangrove Nine case, where a group of Black British activists were charged for incitement to riot during a peaceful protest against the police harassment of a Trinidadian restaurant in Notting Hill called the Mangrove.
#5. Bacarau by Kleber Mendonça Filho
Bacarau is a film pulled from the depths of someone’s dream, as it is a mix of mystical science-fiction futurism and a reflection of today’s political corruption. Set in a fictional small town in Brazil called Bacurau, the film begins with two strange events: the death of the local matriarch and the disappearance of the town from online maps.
#6. Time by Garret Bradley
Directed by Garrett Bradley, Time follows the Rich family’s fight to release Robert Rich, Fox Rich’s husband and the father of their three kids, from prison. Twenty years prior, Robert was sentenced to 60 years without parole for attempting to rob a credit union. Time captures Fox’s painfully long journey to undo an unjust sentence, although trying to reverse twenty years of lost time is another emotional unraveling in and of itself.
#7. Midnight Family by Luke Lorentzen
Midnight Family follows the Ochas, a family in Mexico City who runs a private ambulance business to compensate for the desperate need for ambulances in the city. There are only 45 for a city of 9 million. Director Luke Lorentzen compiles incredibly intimate footage of the Ochas family, not only on their fast-paced and stressful rescue calls throughout the city, but also the in-betweens, from taking naps in the ambulance to stopping by gas stations for a midnight snack.
#8. I’m No Longer Here by Fernando Frías de la Parra
Directed by Fernando Frías de la Parra, I’m No Longer Here is a simultaneously vibrant and incredibly lonely tale. I’m No Longer Here follows a 17-year-old cumbia dancer named Ulises, who must escape to the United States after landing him and his family in danger with a local criminal group in Monterrey, Mexico.
#9. I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Charlie Kaufman
Kaufman’s expertise for curating feelings of despair and emptiness from the depths of your subconscious never falters. I’m Thinking of Ending Things is no exception. The film revolves around a middle-aged white man named Jake and his girlfriend, whose name changes throughout the film. They visit Jake’s family, and the trip is just the beginning of a snowball of haunting events that collide with traditional narratives of linear space and time.
#10. The Painter and the Thief by Benjamin Ree
The Painter and the Thief is one of those true stories that you can’t believe has been captured on film. Directed by Benjamin Ree, The Painter and the Thief follows the unlikely friendship between Czech painter Barbora Kysilkova and Karl Bertil-Norland, a man who stole two of her most famous paintings.
Check out our interview with Barbora Kysilkova!
Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out the full list on our website! Oh, and also our Top Albums of 2020 dropped on Saturday, and our Top Songs of 2020 is dropping on Monday. Stay tuned!
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