2024 in Review, 20 Films
Here is a list of the 20 best films I saw in 2024 (I don't watch enough, and don't care to do so, of new films to give a ranking of 2024 films)
But anyway I'll start with Hong Sang-soo.
1. A Traveler's Needs, 2024
2. Tale of Cinema, 2005
Almost 20 years apart and so different, although their souls are the same. With Hong, it's always a matter of truth. Not just narratively, but the honesty of a person's heart.
3. The Empire, 2024
Bruno Dumont
Dumont never ceases to amaze me. I laughed so much in this film, and in the end it became much more profound than I expected.
4. Cœur fidèle, 1923
Jean Epstein
Saw this at the Cinemateca, and realized that silent cinema must be seen in a theater. What is essential to hear is the sound of the projector, the breathing of those around you, and your own heart beating.
5. Numéro Zéro, 1971
Jean Eustache
Nothing to say. Masterpiece. Next year, I will watch more Eustache.
6. Love Letter, 1953
Kinuyo Tanaka
Such a moving film. There was a retrospective of her work in Lisbon but I saw this at home because I wanted the English subtitles. Since moving to Portugal, I have "sacrificed" many films because I wanted to see it on the big screen irregardless if I understood all the words. But it's getting better, every year I understand the subtitles more and more.
7. Guys and Dolls, 1955
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
As I said on Letterboxd: No words. Only Jean Simmons.
8. It's a Wonderful Life, 1946
Frank Capra
I'm not sure why I grew up thinking this film was corny and "just a Christmas movie". It shocks me GREATLY that people consider this a Christmas classic. It is one of the most devastating films I have ever seen in my life. I actually saw it during the summertime, at an outdoor screening. And thank God! Because it didn't devastate me as much. Anyway, truly a great film. I'm glad people recognize it, even if they don't know who Frank Capra is (one of the most religious filmmakers of all-time).
11. Contact, 1997
Robert Zemeckis
This film caught me by surprise. Shoutout to the Delta Airlines programming team, you had me crying on this flight.
"They should have sent a poet."
12. Déjà Vu, 2006
Tony Scott
Did a small retrospective of Scott's work, like Man on Fire and Unstoppable. Out of these three, Déjà Vu is the most interesting.
13. The Canyons, 2013
Paul Schrader
My Letterboxd review:
Naming the film “The Canyons” could not be more perfect. Some may see this film and reflect on the vanity of living in Los Angeles, or the superficiality of the character’s relationships. But, I would argue this film goes beyond being a film of obsession and sex appeal, as it shows not only the earnestness to love, but the inability to withstand its consequences. Which would mean the erasure of a body, the removal of its organs and blood, to uncover the chasm of the soul. The great, eternal canyon which few dare to venture.
14. Salaam Cinema, 1995
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Hilarious and honest!! The only Makhmalbaf I have seen so far. Too bad the Gulbenkian screening room is terrible.
15. Dragnet Girl, 1933
Yasujiro Ozu
I'm paraphrasing but Shiguéhiko Hasumi said it first, that Ozu is more of a classic Hollywood director than a Japanese director. The fact that people say his films are "very Japanese" is funny. Because if you see Dragnet Girl, you know this is not the case. The sets, the costumes, even the gestures of the actors, belong to another world.
16. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962
John Ford
My review on Letterboxd:
Oh John Wayne, bursting with love, to be buried in his dusty boots and worn out spurs.
The 4 films that affected and inspired me the most this year:
17. Céline, 1992
Jean-Claude Brisseau
This film is very close to something that I would want to make, or ought to make. I think about this film all the time. Its magnificence haunts me.
18. Portrait of Jennie, 1948
William Dieterle
A perfect film, honestly. I thought my TV broke during the last scene, just shows how much of a miracle it is.
19. The Man I Love, 1946
Raoul Walsh
Ida Lupino is one of the most haunting actresses of all time. What more can I say?
20. A Gentle Woman, 1969
Robert Bresson
From the source text, Gentle Spirit by Dostoevsky:
Oh, blind force! Oh, nature! Men are alone on earth — that is what is dreadful! “Is
there a living man in the country?” cried the Russian hero. I cry the same, though I am
not a hero, and no one answers my cry. They say the sun gives life to the universe. The
sun is rising and — look at it, is it not dead? Everything is dead and everywhere there are
dead. Men are alone — around them is silence — that is the earth! “Men, love one
another”— who said that? Whose commandment is that? The pendulum ticks callously,
heartlessly. Two o’clock at night. Her little shoes are standing by the little bed, as though
waiting for her. . . . No, seriously, when they take her away tomorrow, what will become of
me?
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