Thursday, January 2, 2020

52 Films by Women - 2019

Well, I didn't really try to do this this year, and as I've seen about 100 fewer films, I've seen 2 fewer than last year (40 in total). But in the interest of clearing out my watchlist on Letterboxd:

Hail Satan? - Penny Lane - 4.5 stars. This is hilarious. It's so good.
The Farewell - Lulu Wang - 4.5 stars. So lovely. I'm rooting for Oscars.
The Souvenir - Joanna Hogg - 4.5 stars. I'm not done with the year yet, but I'm sure this will be in my top 5. Stunningly beautiful
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch - Jennifer Baichwal (co-dir) - 4.5 stars. Jaw-dropping cinematography from around the world
High Life - Claire Denis - 4 stars. I think I'm still processing this.
The Nightingale - Jennifer Kent. Ditto
Booksmart - Olivia Wilde - 4 stars. Very cute - Kaitlyn Dever and Billie Lourd are so great.
The Seer and the Unseen - Sara Dosa - 4 stars. This was lovely - and I loved the questions it raises about faith and belief.
Captain Marvel - Anna Boden (Co-dir) - 3.5 stars. Garbage needle drop! Top Gun! Ben Mendelssohn! Goose!
Late Night - Nisha Ganatra - 3.5 stars. I liked this way more than I was expecting to. Emma Thompson is a treasure.
Core of the World - Natalya Meshchaninova - 3.5 stars
Hustlers - Lorene Scafaria - 3.5 stars. Constance Wu doesn't totally work for me, but there's a lot to enjoy here.
Little Women - Greta Gerwig - 3 stars. This was disappointing to me because I LOVE Lady Bird. But Florence Pugh and Eliza Scanlen aside, the Gillian Armstrong version is so much better.
The Little Comrade - Moonika Siimets - 3 stars. I forgot this was this year! An interesting companion piece to JoJo Rabbit.
When I'm a Moth - Magdalena Zyzak - 2.5 stars. The lead actress is good, the Japanese actors are good, and there are some beautiful shots, but this is too meandering to really work.

Shorts:
Ritual in Transfigured Time - Maya Deren - 5 stars
Lost World - Kalyanee Mam - 5 stars (I quite liked this and it's online!)
Cold Pudding Settles Love - Urszula Palusińska - 5 stars (I fucking love this animated short. It's SO WEIRD)
Enforcement Hours - Paloma Martinez - 4.5 stars. Incredibly well edited film about an SF immigrant hotline. I thought this was a big step up from Crisanto Street (which I also enjoyed)
Meshes of the Afternoon - Maya Deren - 4 stars
The Very Eye of Night - Maya Deren - 4 stars
Brotherhood - Meryam Joobeur - 4 stars. On the shortlist for the Oscars
Fuck You - Anette Sidor - 4 stars
Now and There, Here and Then - Sun Park - 4 stars
Traces with Elikem - Airana Gerstein - 4 stars
Confidence Game - Kathleen Quillian - 4 stars
At Land - Maya Deren - 3.5 stars
Night and Day - Emma Matthews (co-dir) - 3.5 stars (obviously I only saw part of the 24 hours...)
Don't You Forget About Me - Lydia Ricci - 3.5 stars
Bless You! - Paulina Ziółkowska - 3.5 stars
I'm OK - Elizabeth Hobbs - 3.5 stars
Fast Horse - Alexandra Lazarowich - 3.5 stars
Life Overtakes Me - Kristine Samuelson (co-dir) - 3.5 stars. On the Oscar short doc shortlist.
Edgecombe - Crystal Kayiza - 3.5 stars
Mixed Signals - Courtney Stephens - 3.5 stars
That Woman - Sandra Davis - 3.5 stars
Mitya's Love - Svetlana Filippova - 3 stars
The Labyrinth - Laura Huertas Millán - 3 stars
The Slows - Nicole Perlman - 2.5 stars
Pelourinho, They Don’t Really Care About Us - Akosua Adoma Owusu - 2.5 stars

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