The Best Films of 2020
That was one hell of a year, was it not? 2020 was a year with a level of chaos unparalleled in recent memory mostly due to the horrific effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. You’ve heard about it, right? Massive global pandemic? Destroying the global social order? It’s a pretty big event that you might want to read about.
I feel like a stuck record talking about the coronavirus. It is a well-worn and deeply depressing topic that, perhaps, the world of cinema would provide some sort of escapism towards. But that’s the problem with disease: they leave no one untouched. One regarded as the unavailable industry due to its apparent immunity to the depression of the 1930s, the entertainment industry entered total freefall this year.
The year started off strong enough with the Sundance film festival providing a few exciting new features and with Parasite (2019) winning the highest prize at the Oscars to the delight of cinephiles everywhere. But, following these early successes, things took a turn for the worst. As the disease spread, the cinematic world began to shut down. The theatres closed and film productions halted. The lockdown was in full effect.
Studios delayed release dates, first pushing into the late summer, then into the fall, then into the winter, then moving it all to 2021. Some, like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (2020), attempted theatrical released but bombed in the process. Studios turned towards new streaming options: Disney released new films of Disney+ for a premium fee and Warners Bros has announced their plans to release their new films in both theatres and HBO Max synchronistically.
What this did mean was that the summer film season was dominated by a lot of older, classic films. I had a lot of fun watching the $5 film screenings with my family and friends and enjoyed watching old favourites on the big screen for the first time, including Jurassic Park (1995), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Empire Strikes Back (1983). However, many of the year’s most anticipated films - including Dune (2021), The French Dispatch (2021), Saint Maud (2019), and The Green Knight (2021) - were delayed from the year’s release calendar.
The benefit of lockdown was that it provided me ample time to dig into a lot of class films that I hadn’t seen before and time to revisit many favourites. For me, these were my favourite films of the year. I delved into classical filmmaking and explored films including Akira Kurosawa’s Ran (1985) and Seven Samurai (1954), Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker (1975), Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Parts I & II (1972, 1974), and Agnes Varda’s Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962). I visited contemporary and modern films like No Country for Old Men (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Zodiac (2007), and Hot Fuzz (2007).
I explored some fantastic works of horror filmmaking like Supiria (1977), House (1977), The Shining (1980), Night of the Living Dead (1968), and the Evil Dead trilogy. I also watched several classic film series including the James Bond franchise, the Dollars trilogy, and the Before trilogy, and then I proceeded to indulged myself with the disastrous Transformers series.
Some other assorted highlights from the year include Incendies (2010), City of God (2006), Airplane! (1980), Dr. Strangelove (1964), Se7en (1995), and Saving Private Ryan (1998).
I think my “favourite films that I saw for the first time in 2020 but aren’t 2020 releases in no particular order” list looks something like this:
- Seven Samurai (1954)
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
- Ran (1985)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- 8 ½ (1963)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
- The Road Warrior (1981)
- The Tree of Life (2011)
- The Godfather (1972)
- The Godfather: Part II (1974)
- Evil Dead II (1987)
In total, I saw 264 unique feature films this year. 68 of those 264 films were new releases released between January and December of 2020. While many of the year's most anticipated films were delayed until 2021 or 2022, there were still quite a few solid films that are very much worth mentioning. While perhaps lacking the absolute standouts that 2019 was host to, the year provided a chance for several smaller films to gain much more attention. Here, I present my 14 (a weird number, I know. It's just how the list came together this year.) favourite films from 2020. Before I get into the list, there are a few caveats I need to mention.
First, all of these films fall under Canadian release dates. For example, despite technically being a 2019 film, 1917 was considered for this list given that it was released theatrically in Canada in 2020 and I hadn’t had the chance to see it before then. On the other hand, despite having theatrical releases this year in Canada, some films like Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) and Uncut Gems (2019) placed on last year’s list because I either saw them at a festival or had the chance to view a screener.
Second, there are some films that I am sure would have made this list had they had VOD releases. Due to the global pandemic, I saw only a few new releases in theatres and missed many of the films I would have loved to have seen. Synchronic, Nomadland, Minari, and Money Beach are all prime examples. In the spirit of fairness, I will consider them for next year’s list once they’re out on VOD.
Third, I wasn’t able to see every movie that came out this year. Despite watching 68 new releases over the past year, I wasn’t able to see all of the notable films that came out. There are films like Wolfwalkers, Kajilllionaire, Shiva Baby, Feels Good Man, and I’m No Longer Here that I would have loved to have seen but I didn’t get around to. You can always see how my ranking of the year changes by checking out the full list over on my Letterboxd profile.
With those out of the way, I present The Best Films of 2020.
14. Tenet
Over twenty years into his career, renowned English filmmaker Christopher Nolan seems to be on some self-imposed mission to constantly one-up himself. Each film pushes the limits of the Nolan style just a little bit further. The timelines become more confusing, the central premise becomes more complex, the visual effects become more mind-bending, and the bass of the score becomes louder. Tenet, Nolan’s eleventh feature film, may just be the most ambitious film the director has crafted yet.
If you thought Inception (2010) or Interstellar (2014) was hard to follow, wait until you watch this film.
Nolan can cut a line between blockbuster action films and high-concept sci-fi that not many would dare attempt. His films are complex and layered - they actually require their audience to actively engage with the material. Yet, you never have to go long without an action sequence to keep things moving. I am not the first to note this, nor will I be the last, but I feel it cannot be said enough. Tenet commits to this style of filmmaking more than any of Nolan's films before it. With perhaps the most complex story of his career and some of the best-looking action he has directed, Tenet is a thoroughly engaging and a genuinely very entertaining film to watch.
You can read my full review here.
Directed by Christopher Nolan.
13. Possessor
Easily one of the most violent and upsetting films I've seen in a while. Cronenberg both revels and delights in the extremity of the whole affair and never shies away from the disturbed. The horrific, grotesque montages that frequent Possessor's runtime, featuring moments like the face-tearing scene featured above, are filled with images destined to leave some form of psychological scarring on the viewer. After watching the film, I felt mildly traumatized.
Here's the problem: Possessor is also really good.
Who would have thought that a Canadian would be responsible for one of the darkest most twisted films of the year? The film is the creative effort of Brandon Cronenberg, the son of famed science fiction filmmaker David Cronenberg. Cronenberg Sr. is known for his twisted body-horror and thriller films like The Fly (1986), Crash (1996), and Videodrome (1983) and it seems like Cronenberg Jr. is following in the footsteps of his father, but providing a twenty-first-century update to the genre. Possessor features some truly creative filmmaking and inventive visual imagery making it both a brilliant creative and vividly dark film.
Brandon Cronenberg has an exciting future ahead of him and I am anticipating his next release whenever it should leave its unholy markings upon my retinas.
Directed by Brandon Cronenberg.
12. Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi is a film I more or less stumbled across entirely by accident. Starved for new content early on in the year, I took a look a look at any new VOD releases to see if I might find something worthwhile. I came across Jan Komasa’s Polish drama Corpus Christi thanks to an editorial written by the letterboxd.com staff. I am glad because this film is one that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss. The film is about Daniel, played by the wonderful Bartosz Bielenia, a young man sent to work at a sawmill as part of his parole when he accidentally stumbles into becoming the town’s new priest. The film is all about redemption forgiveness, and change.
Director Jan Komasa is not concerned with testing the faith of its characters, which is more First Reformed’s (2017) speed, but rather it is a dissection of faith in action. Corpus Christi - the body of Christ. How do we become like Christ? How do we learn to forgive? How do we learn to love? Daniel himself puts it best when he says, “To forgive doesn't mean to forget. Forgive means love. To love someone despite their guilt. No matter what the guilt is.” As beautiful as it is brutal, Corpus Christi is a wonderful story about learning to love despite sin.
Original Title: Boże Ciało.
Directed by Jan Komasa.
11. Black Bear
Written and directed by Lawrence Michael Levine, the comedy-thriller-drama Black Bear is one of the most bizarre, creative, and memorable films on this list. Taking place in the secluded Adirondack Mountains in the northeast of New York, the film carries itself with deep feelings of isolation mixed with a twisted puzzle of lies, manipulation, and desire between the three lead cast members. In the end, it is hard to piece together where the lines between reality and fiction as the film descends into utter madness. Trust me, the twist at the midpoint of the film completely changes the direction of the narrative into places unknowable.
The film is led by three powerhouse performances by Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott, and Sarah Gadon. Each of the actors is on the top of their game providing bouts of anger, anxiety, and tension to the screen. Each one deserves the greatest of respect and recognition for their work as these unhinged, unstable character that - by the end - become so thorough entwined with each other it is next to impossible to tell them apart. Really, at the end of the day, Black Bear is a film that can't be done justice to through words and must be experienced to understand the full effect. Go watch Black Bear as soon as you can - it is far too unique of a film to miss.
Directed by Lawrence Michael Levine.
10. Sound of Metal
Darius Marder's deeply emotional and personal Sound of Metal follows the story of Ruben, a heavy metal drummer played by Riz Ahmed, who begins to lose his hearing from years of abuse towards his eardrums. Sound of Metal pulls you in with its abrasive and dynamic sound design which puts the viewer in the midst of the deafening cymbals to the quiet of Ruben’s new way of life. The sound, in a way, makes the film difficult to get through but makes it an all the more cohesive and immersive experience.
You can feel the time slip through Ruben’s fingers as he becomes increasingly deaf. You can feel the time pass that you cannot get back as the weight of reality comes crashing down. The story is heartbreaking and beautiful as we’re put through the complexities of disability. I appreciate Marder’s dedication to making the film feel as authentic as possible with his incessant collaboration with those within the deaf community including co-star Paul Raci. Sound of Metal neither romanticizes nor demonizes deafness instead tells a powerful story about acceptance and healing all through the lens of heavy metal music. Who would've thought?
Directed by Darius Marder.
9. Dick Johnson is Dead
A film about the living, the dead, and those who find themselves stuck somewhere between. Dick Johnson is Dead is a powerful meditation on how to say goodbye to the people we love. After her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, filmmaker Kirsten Johnson turned on her cameras and made her father her next documentary subject. Having gone through the difficult process of losing her mother to the same disease a decade ago, Johnson’s film is about her trying to find a way to say the long goodbye. Alzheimer’s will slowly take her father and that process will be beyond painful. How do we say goodbye?
German filmmaker Werner Herzog once said, speaking in response to those claiming that documentarians must be no more than observers, “We are directors, we are creators, we should be the hornets that sting.” Dick Johnson is Dead is the hornet’s sting. It is the attempt by a filmmaker to preserve the memory of her father by taking on his slow collapse. Johnson’s autobiographical documentary is incredibly unique and profoundly personal in how it takes on its topics of death, legacy, and grief.
“Dick Jonhson is dead. Long live Dick Johnson!”
Directed by Kirsten Johnson.
8. 1917
1917 is perhaps one of the most technically impressive movies in recent memory with masterful work from the entire technical and creative team, with the most notable element being the cinematography by Roger Deakins, one of the best working cinematographers. What Deakins can pull off in 1917 is unparalleled even by his own masterful filmography. The sequence at Écoust during the night is especially magnificent as the entire scene is lit by flares and fire. On a technical level, the film is nearly flawless. The achievements and advancements it has made in editing, visual effects, and cinematography make this film worthy of a spot on this list.
The film is brilliantly executed all around. Sam Mendes and his entire team are working overtime to provide the most unique moviegoing experiences you might ever have. Taking in the single-take tradition of films like Hitchcock's Rope (2014) and Iñárritu's Birdman (2014), 1917 takes those ideas of the single-take film and elevates them to a new level. What we're left with is an immediate, frantic depiction of bravery in the midst of extreme conflict. World War I has never been presented quite like this before. Often overshadowed by World War II, 1917 creates its own unique identity by presenting a misunderstood war in a completely new light.
Directed by Sam Mendes.
7. Bacurau
For me, one of the biggest surprises of the year was Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles' Bacurau. Despite winning the Jury Prize at Cannes last year, the Brazillian Weird Western had flown under my radar until its release in theatres and VOD earlier this year. Having no prior knowledge of the film before viewing, other than its strong critical reception, I had no idea what to expect from it. That lack of preparedness certainly paid off as Bacurau is a bizarre, twisted, and fantastical look at the politics, social life of the sertão albeit with a sci-fi flavour.
Set in the fictional town of Bacurau, Pernambuco, the town's folk begin to witness several mysterious happenings after the town matriarch suddenly dies. Filling with surprises at every corner and a plot that seems almost impossible to predict, Bacurau will keep you on your toes for the entire runtime. The film relies heavily on twists so I will not say much about its content here, but what I can say is that Bacurau is well worth your time. The film is led by several incredible leading performances including great work from Bárbara Colen, Sônia Braga, and Udo Kier. Bacurau is also a unique exploration of how a classic American genre, like the Western, can be reinterpreted for a new cultural context.
Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles.
6. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Starring newcomers Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is about cousins Autumn and Skylar who travel to New York City to seek an abortion after Autumn becomes unexpectedly pregnant. What we’re left with is a haunting film that is the most emotionally charged and challenging of the year. Thanks to two incredible performances by Flanigan and Ruder and some wonderfully subtle direction from Eliza Hittman, this is a film that embeds itself into the viewer's conscious and haunts it for days after its completion. I was devastated by this one.
I notice two words that keep recurring whenever Never Rarely Sometimes Always is discussed that I wish to echo here. First, I want to pick up upon the silence that the film relies upon to convey its emotional material. Never Rarely Sometimes Always tells its story through pauses, glances, and touches rather than dialogue. I don’t think I’ve seen a film where something as simple as holding a hand means so much. It is a perfect example of showing-vs.-telling in action. To use the language of others, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is “sparse” preferring to use silence to deliver its emotions.
Second, I want to reiterate the film’s focus on empathy. Not sympathy, because Hittman doesn’t want the viewer to just understand Autumn’s crisis, but empathy, because Hittman wants you to feel Autumn’s crisis. Hittman’s extreme attention to detail, the small details, make Autumn’s world feel so lived in and complex. The film never questions the decision made by its protagonist but rather wants the viewer to understand her decision.
Lastly, I want to mention that my favourite scene of the entire year is in Never Rarely Sometimes Always. The interaction between Autumn and the social worker, the scene from which the film takes its name, is simple, painful, and beautiful and is unrivalled by anything else this year. Hardly cutting from its simple shot-reverse-shot set up, the scene is perfectly simple which allows for the honestly to truly shine.
Directed Eliza Hittman.
5. Martin Eden
Based upon the 1909 novel of the same name by Jack London, the writer of the iconic story The Call of the Wild, Pietro Marcello's timeless Martin Eden is a vivid and thoughtful voyage through the life-and-times of its titular main character. Marcello’s work here is deeply inspired by Italy’s entire contemporary history. The film is set in no particular part of history which makes the film feel as historical as it is contemporary. The characters move between the contemporary age and the past with ease allowing the filmmakers to take on the deepest problems within Italian society without being tethered to a particular time in history. As a North American viewer, it is hard to pick up upon these nuances without further reading into the film’s subtext but that reading gave me a deeper appreciation of Martin Eden and all of its complexity.
The film is lead by a powerful and commanding performance by Luca Marinelli who brings exuberant energy delivering his monologues about life, society, and literature with passion and conviction. His performance left me floored and reminded me of the young years of many of the best actors. Eden’s character is the gateway into Marcello and London’s ponderings about life.
Martin Eden is one of the most philosophically challenging films of the year offering profound quandaries into the relationship between art and politics, the seduction of the working class into the bourgeoisie mindset, and the collapse of individualism. The film is a slow, deeply complex, and greatly rewarding work with perhaps the best adapted screenplay and one of the best performances of the year.
Directed by Pietro Marcello.
4. Mank
At first glance, Mank seems to be a far stray from Fincher's previous work. Fincher has a filmography dominated by intricate and dark thrillers. Known for his films like the iconic Fight Club, the crime dramas Zodiac and Se7ev, as well as the Aaron Sorkin-penned drama The Social Network, Fincher operates in a world of serial killers, obsessed men, and the dark side of humanity. There's a pessimism to it all. Mank is about classical Hollywood sans the blood, sex, and violence expected from a Fincher feature.
Mank is a fantastic portrait of a man in the centre of the Hollywood of the past - the Hollywood we owe much to set is no hero. Fincher is the right man for the job. Under the fanciful anachronistic aesthetics is the story of a sad man. Thought a brilliant storyteller, he is left unsatisfied by the world around him. Maybe it means nothing in the end. With its brilliant performances and entrancing visual style, Mank cannot be missed. It offers thought for the mind and a delight for the senses.
You can read my full review of the film here.
Directed by David Fincher.
3. Soul
Soul, the twenty-seventh feature film from Pixar, once again proves the studio’s supremacy in the field of animation. Directed by animation veteran Pete Docter, Soul is nothing if not a testament to how far Pixar has come since its humble beginnings and reaffirms its dedication to both redefining animation and telling deeply human stories. Soul is not only on par with Pixar’s best efforts but may just be one of their strongest films to date.
Directed by Pete Docter.
2. i'm thinking of ending things
i'm thinking of ending things is Charlie Kaufman’s least accessible film. It's more daring and seemingly senseless than anything else he's made before. The narrative effortlessly blends various realities in a complex puzzle of metaphysicality. Moving between time, and space, and names without much thought. The film plays like the filmic version of a Dali or an Escher. The stairs move every which direction with unique sources of gravity holding each one to their own ground. Only the outsider notices the brokenness.
The film is about the themes that Kaufman so often returns to throughout his career. It's about loneliness, isolation, and dreams and delusions. This is no different. Regardless of who we are - our names, or our ages, or where we come from, or where we go - we can feel the melancholy of the lonely road. We understand parents and the pain of losing them. We can understand the feelings of love lost and love won. We can understand the feeling of snow falling on a cold winter's day.
You can read my full review here.
Directed by Charlie Kaufman.
1. Another Round
Thomas Vinterberg, the acclaimed Danish filmmaker behind The Hunt (2012), returns to screens with his latest feature, Another Round. The film is about four high school teachers who test a theory proposed by psychiatrist Finn Skårderud who claimed that maintaining a blood alcohol level of 0.05% would make a person more relaxed, poised, and would perform better in life. Things begin to spiral out of control as the found men realize the darker side to ingesting such a vast amount of alcohol. The film stands out for how easily it takes on the complexities of alcoholism.
Another Round is amusing and enjoyable at its heights and fully embraces the fact that, yes, alcohol is fun. It becomes almost seductive in a way. Being drunk can be fun. But then, at its lows, it crashes hard into the earth reminding us how terrible its consequence is.
Vinterberg reunites with his frequent acting collaborators Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Lars Ranthe, and Magnus Millang to form his leading cast. All four deliver absolutely incredible performances with Mikkelsen’s proving to be my favourite of the entire year. The chemistry between the leads is palpable and works as a masterclass in how to deliver an incredible group performance. Each man’s story is totally unique and they all work together to fully illustrate the breadth of its subject matter. Another Round is an enjoyable, easy watch with some of the best acting and one of the best endings of the year.
Original Title: Druk.
Directed by Thomas Vinterberg.
Honourable Mentions:
Like every year, there are many films that I greatly enjoyed but which didn't quite make the cut for the list. I'd like to take a moment and speak a brief word of praise of some of my other favourites from 2020.
- Kelly Reichardt's First Cow is a tender and soft look at friendship growing in the early days of American colonization. It made me surprisingly emotional over a cow.
- Matthew Rankin's The Twentieth Century is perhaps the most unique and bizarre biopic I've ever seen! A weird telling of the life and times of William Lyon McKenzie King. Weird how Canada was responsible for two of the most unique films this year (the other being Possessor).
- Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods features some of my favourite performances of the year and is an engaging examination of the legacy of war as it reverberates through the generations.
- Clea DuVall's Happiest Season was one of the funniest and most wholesome films I've seen this year and provided a welcome distraction from all of the chaos.
- The documentary David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet is a fantastic tribute to a man who has played such a pivotal role in the preservation and understanding of our natural world.
- I also saw some other fantastic documentaries this year with the likes of Boys State, Miss Americana, and Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen standing out.
- Richard Stanley's Colour Out of Space is trippy, bizarre, and thoroughly upsetting. It is a worthy adaptation of the work of H.P. Lovecraft, one of the strangest minds in science-fiction literature.
- Steven McQueen’s Small Axe film anthology series, particularly the films Mangrove and Lovers Rock, are works of strong artistic ability and skill made by the hands of a fantastic filmmaker.
- Autumn de Wilde's Emma. is delightful and humorous bringing a much-needed contemporary reimagination of Jane Austin’s work.
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