Each year we do a Top 10 list for our awards show, and most of the time it heightens my rivalry with math as it’s really challenging to fit more than ten excellent films into ten slots. However, it wasn’t quite as cumbersome this year. Perhaps it’s a matter of the best films making themselves clear to me. It could also be a side effect of a pandemic film year where the slate was thinner than usual. It certainly wasn’t because of quality as the year seemed to be consistent in terms of giving us pretty good films from week to week. We may not have seen as many blockbusters, but the year gave us some great indie dramas, comedies, and especially documentary’s. It was a stellar year for documentarians, who took advantage of a stripped down year to take the art form to a whole new level with films like Dick Johnson Is Dead, The Painter and the Thief, The Truffle Hunters, Time and so many more. 2020 was also one of the best year’s for women filmmakers, who gave us gems like First Cow, Babyteeth, One Night in Miami, Never Rarely Sometimes Always and many others. Then there’s the great Steven McQueen, a filmmaker at the very top of his game right now. While all of Small Axe was excellent, there’s no denying the prowess of Mangrove and Lovers Rock. So, the year may be thinner compared to others, but it still had tons to offer. Yet, like I said, for me, the cream of the crop vividly rose to the top.
We do encourage you to listen to Episode 413 to hear more about our picks, but as we do every year, listed here is my Top 20 of 2020. The top films never wavered, but given the consistency of the year, it left some contenders with a fighting chance for the back half. However, math is math, so what are you going to do? That being said (after the jump), let’s get into it and go over my Top 10 Movies of 2020.
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RELATED: JD’s Top 10 Movies of 2019
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10. Minari
Lee Isaac Chung was a nominee for Best Movie Discovery of 20202 for me, and for great reason. Minari was (obviously) a personal story and it palpably comes through in his direction and writing. The tender care he put into his characters resonated with me. The cinematography is gorgeous. The score he gets from Emile Moserry is absolutely beautiful. He gets some of the year’s best performances as well, especially Yeri Han, who isn’t getting enough credit. There’s great diligence to Chung’s craft that makes the film all the more heartwarming and powerful. Its story about the American Dream and how it simultaneously brings this family together, while at times causing rifts, is striking when we see it all combust (quite literally) at the end. This is a film I cannot wait to revisit and I’m very excited to see what Chung does next. Click here to listen to our full review.
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9. Pieces of a Woman
Pieces of a Woman features one of the more arduous sequences we’ve seen in film in recent years, but its depiction of grief is somewhat of a unique one. So often in our pain, loved one’s will go out of their to help you cope so you can “move on” with your life. However, Pieces of a Woman argues that sometimes we don’t want to be removed from the grief we are experiencing. Especially when you’re a parent who only had a very brief moment of time with your newborn baby before tragedy struck. For Martha, all she wanted was to linger in her pain as to be with her daughter. That idea is profound on its own, but it’s even more striking when you realize that the film is based off of director Kornél Mundruczó and writer Kata Wéber’s own experience, which gives it a meta component that I find extremely poignant. Click here to listen to our full review.
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8. Wolfwalkers
Wolfwalkers is arguably Cartoon Saloon’s best work to date. It’s a gorgeous film about family, youth and how we see the world. And like many great animated films, it creates a mythos to explore those ideas and it’s incredibly fascinating. The world of Wolfwalkers tethers nature and spirituality together in a way that’s provocative, but also endearing and textured. Its central characters of Robin and Mebh have a relationship that oozes charm, and it’s moving to see their journey of friendship and how that evolves as the forest becomes more vulnerable. The animation is stunning. The music is exquisite. Everything about Wolfwalkers is magical and it’s easily the best animated film of 2020. Click here to listen to our full review.
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7. The Painter and the Thief
The Painter and the Thief was my pick for Best Overlooked Movie at this year’s awards. It’s a shame that no one is talking about this movie as it’s one of the year’s very best. It’s one of the best demonstrations of empathy we’ve seen in any film in recent years as it examines a painter (Barbora) confronting the thief (Karl) who stole her most valuable work to date. But because he was high on drugs at the time of the crime, he can’t remember what happened to the painting. However, instead of seeking financial restitution or revenge, Barbora uses Karl as a muse. She becomes his closes ally. Karl is given grace that he does not deserve, and when that is fully realized in a portrait of him early on in the film, his reaction renders one of the best moments we saw in any film in 2020. The Painter and the Thief is a breathtaking film that demonstrates the power of grace and friendship. Everything about it is wonderful and I cannot recommend it enough. Click here to listen to our full review.
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6. Sound of Metal
Sound of Metal has one of the best sleight of hands we saw all year. The film opens with a “metal” energy that is quickly subverted with a softer tenderness that would come to define the experience. Losing your hearing is undoubtedly a difficult transition, but it’s even more cumbersome given Ruben’s desire to fix everything and maintain control of his life. However, his dedication to his pride leads to addictive-like behavior, another great irony the film provides given Ruben’s history of drug addiction, and while technically sober his life unravels in similar ways. It’s not until he learns the power of quiet tranquility where he can find any peace. The journey of getting to that epiphany is really something to watch. Especially because of Darius Marder’s direction, sound design and use of the camera. The writing is powerful, my pick for Best Original Screenplay, but Marder’s technical merits are also worth noting. Sound of Metal also features some of the very best performances of the year in Riz Ahmed, Paul Raci and Olivia Cooke. Click here to listen to our full review.
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5. I’m Thinking of Ending Things
Charlie Kaufman’s brain is truly fascinating, and nothing demonstrates that more than I’m Thinking of Ending Things. On its face, it’s Kaufman’s most biting film comedically. The way he uses irony and awkwardness to elevate the film’s humor is really something else. It is hysterical and the great performances of this film tap into that levity in ways that’s almost unforgettable. Yet, at the same time, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a heavy film emotionally. The manifestations we witness as Jake examines his regret and loneliness is heartbreaking, and it’s done in a weird way that can only be described as “Charlie Kaufman.” The film is as bizarre as it is emotionally gripping as it is laugh out loud funny. A masterclass in tone management and thematic nuance. Click here to listen to our full review.
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4. Lovers Rock
Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology is no doubt a defining work for 2020. Mangrove is arguably the most “complete” of all the films, but it’s Lovers Rock that stands out to me as the best. It’s the most evocative and sensual party movie of all-time. Its intimacy oozes off the screen. The sweat literally drips down the walls. The music is energetic at times, it’s unifying in other sequences, and it brings our characters together in ways that are stunning given how McQueen chooses to shoot this film. Which, by the way, is *the* best cinematography of 2020 for me (again, going back to our Awards Show this year). Lovers Rock may avoid traditional conflict, and perhaps its thin narrative won’t work for everyone, but its effective because it’s a vibe movie. It’s all about its tone and mood. It’s one you’re meant to just experience. And wow, is it redolent. Sorry Nolan, this is the “just feel it” movie of the year. Click here to listen to our full review.
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3. Dick Johnson Is Dead
As much as I love The Painter and the Thief, and in any other year it would be the documentary of the year, but 2020 also gave us Dick Johnson Is Dead. Kirsten Johnson’s portrait of her father’s mental deterioration is an absolutely stunner. And not just because of its hefty emotion, but also the great production design and creativity in Kirsten’s directorial craft. To help cope with her father’s ailness, she renders varying “death” sequences, or scenes of him in heaven, as they begin to process the end of his life. At once, every scene is both hysterical and tragically moving. It also helps that Dick Johnson is the most charming man ever put to screen. So when we get to that final sequence at the end of the film, we’re as arrested as the other people in the moment. It’s an astonishing achievement that takes documentary filmmaking to a whole new level. Click here to listen to our full review.
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2. Babyteeth
Shannon Murphy’s Babyteeth is one of the most subversive films of 2020. For a film that had every opportunity to be another The Fault in our Stars (which I do like, FWIW), it goes out of its way to be anything but a version of that. Instead, Murphy’s approach is more artful, thought provoking and even rough around the edges a little bit. Milla may be dying from cancer, but she wants to live life her way, and she wants to go out her way. Her parents, Henry and Anna, may not always agree with her choices in all of that, but their time with Milla is limited, so they are willing to meet her in the middle. A dichotomy that presents some interesting moments as they grapple with how challenging it is for them at times. But it leads to a powerhouse of an ending where Milla becomes the adult, while Henry and Anna become broken children who need comfort and solace. The final scene of the film is one for the books, and as you can imagine, it’s my “Midnight Special” moment of 2020. Destroyed me. Click here to listen to our full review.
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1. First Cow
No one makes movies like Kelly Reichardt, and First Cow features all of the Reichardt qualities that I adore. Its patient, thoughtful, and poignant. Its setting and characters are lived in and nuanced. Its beautifully shot, featuring some of the year’s very best imagery and production design. The film is thematically textured as it examines the American Dream, friendship and even gender roles. And like all Reichardt films, its endearing but with a shade of cynicism to help exemplify both the beauty of humanity and also its tragedies. First Cow is no doubt making commentary on capatilism and the American Dream, in particular the idea that despite your best intentions, it’s almost impossible to avoid exploitation. Even if unaware, you may find yourself compromising principles given the ruthless that’s often associated with capitalistic success. That on its own is gripping in the hands of Reichardt, but even more so when couple it with how the film explores gender roles in the 19th Century, and how it subverts stereotypes for both Cookie and King Lu. For me, it’s their friendship within those confines that make First Cow as divine as it is. Leading to an ending that is simultaneously poetic and devastating. Reichardt’s writing and direction may be the star, but John Magaro and Orion Lee make the film all the more compelling. It’s an evocative film that I can’t get enough of, especially given its methodical and quiet approach. Give me these kinds of films all day. Click here to listen to our full review.
To round out my Top 20, here is the rest of my list:
11) Nomadland
12) Da 5 Bloods
13) Mangrove
14) Another Round
15) The 40-Year-Old Version
16) Kajillionaire
17) One Night in Miami
18) Mank
19) Driveways
20) The Trip to Greece
Let us know what you think. Do you agree or disagree? We’d like to know why. Leave a comment in the comment section below or tweet us @InSessionFilm.
To hear us discuss our InSession Film Awards and our Top 10 Best Movies of 2020, subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud or you can listen below.
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InSession Film Podcast – Episode 413 (Part 1)
InSession Film Podcast – Episode 413 (Part 2)
