The Best Films of 2020
Like last year, the Dutch broadcaster VPRO invited the followers of their film-site to choose the 10 best films of the year and then to rank them. They offered a long list of films that were issued in The Netherlands in 2020, (which means that some of them have 2019 as their origin).
Of course, I have seen far from all films issued in 2020, but from those I have seen I offer you the list that I have sent in. These films are chosen because they have given me something extraordinary and they might enrich your film experience as well!
Let me know, what are your top films of 2020?
Rinus, Dec 2020
- Atlantique by Mati Diop (France, Senegal)
- Beanpole by Kantemir Balagov (Russia)
- I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Charlie Kaufman (USA)
- House of Hummingbird by Bora Kim (South Korea)
- For Sama by Waad El-Kateab and Edward Watts (UK, Syria)
- A Son by Mehdi Barsaoui (Tunisia)
- Dick Johnson is Dead by Kirsten Johnson (USA)
- Bacurau by Kleber Mendonca Filho and Juliano Darnelles (Brazil)
- Les Misérables by Ladj Ly (France)
- Proxima by Alice Winancour (France)
(*Editor – for cross referencing, discussion and a broader list here is The Guardians top 50 films of 2020)
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
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I’m prone to hyperbole but *genuinely* found For Sama a totally overwhelming experience. Probably the most affecting piece of cinema I’ve ever seen; our group just went to the bar and sat in silence with our drinks not knowing what to say afterwards. Stunning, moving, important, devastating.
Well, if two film critic heavyweights like Rinus and Tim concur on For Sama, that film is going to have to jump to the head of the line for viewing in the upcoming days.
Thanks for the list Rinus. I have copied it and look forward to seeing the films as they become available to my screens.
‘Dick Johnson is Dead’ and ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ have both jumped out to me a few times now as I’ve come across them on this site so I hope to find them to watch soon. Thanks for the recommendations and articles Rinus.
and of course I wrote my own piece on Les Miserables so concur with its inclusion!
I watched ‘Dick Johnson is Dead’ last night. It was good but it didn’t wow me – perhaps my expectations were too high. I thought it was a solid treatment of its subject (Alzheimer’s and end of life) without being exceptional. It is funny and heart warming and sad and not a bad film by any stretch, just not stand out for me. I found “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” a more interesting film addressing end of life.