What films have surprised you this year and why?

Favourite re-watch / comfort film you've enjoyed coming back to this year

Portrait of a Lady On Fire - not just the best film of 2020 but perhaps THE best film: sublimely beautiful, profound and exquisite.

Rocks - only second because it cam out the same year as Portrait of a Lady On Fire! Probably the most collaborative feature film ever made with great performances form the unknown cast, feels like a doc.

The Mole Agent - heartwarming and depressing, beautifully crafted doc about an octogenarian secret agent in a care home in Chile

Coded Bias - important, well made, eye opening doc.

Little Women - I LOVE Gerwig and Florence Pugh's fresh take on Amy, especially the way it makes us challenge our own internalised (taught) misogyny which values the boyish ways of Jo over the feminine style of Amy.

PARASITE - after all the hype, I never expected it to be great, but it really is

Da 5 Bloods - great storytelling and fabulous performances. Loved it.

1917 - a full on cinematic experience

Days of the Bagnold Summer - really funny and touching. Very relatable to me as the mother of a teenager. Great performances.

Jojo Rabbit - big fan of Taika Waititi and this was very funny, but also desperately sad

Falling - another great piece of storytelling and lovely performances.

The Lighthouse
The first film to pick me up, slap me around the face and throw me back into my seat - quite brilliant performances and original filmmaking.

A Hidden Life
Terence Malick was in danger of disappearing up his own astral plane in his recent films but A Hidden Life - anchored by a real life drama - demonstrated how he is still pushing the language of filmmaking to startling and stunning effect.

Parasite
The most beautifully and precisely constructed film since Hitchcock which reveals its secrets to thrilling effect whilst also having a topical social/political message.

Vitalina Varela
a quite stunning use of light and pace - not to everyone's taste Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa is an exemplar of slow cinema with a social conscience.

Talking About Trees
This documentary of four Sudanese filmmaker friends trying to reopen their local cinema in trying circumstances reminds you of the shared delight and value of the cinema.

I was surprised by the the critical response to Jojo Rabbit - a film which I thought was a fresh way of dealing with a heavy subject matter and which had strong potetnial to engage younger audiences with those issues.

Time - Dir: Garrett Bradley; I was deeply moved by this intimate take on the impact of mass incarceration on Black communities in the US, that uses activist and mother Sibil Richardson's home footage to powerful effect.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire - Dir: Céline Sciamma; I'm not usually a big fan of period dramas but I really connected with the emotional arc of this story of love and repression, which looks and feels out of this world but also manages to be quietly radical in its gender and class politics.

Talking About Trees - Dir: Suhaib Gasmelbari; in a year which has seen cinemas close across the globe, there's nothing like getting some perspective on our current plight. This documentary about four Sudanese directors, determined to revive a cinema in a country where cinemas have been shut for decades is such an important reminder about the value, both cultural and political, of being able to see something on the big screen!

Parasite - Dir: Bong Joon Ho - Such an intricate and entertaining exploration of class divisions, that moves almost seamlessly between the tragic and laugh-out-loud funny.

Rocks - Dir: Sarah Gavron - I loved everything about this heartfelt ensemble piece, which gives its phenomenal young cast of newcomers the space to shine.

After all the hype around it, I was seriously disappointed by Uncut Gems, just did not buy it.

Parasite: Funny, thrilling, dripping in satire - totally deserving of its critical and box office success.

Hamilton: Lin-Manuel Miranda's historical musical - had seen it twice of stage, but it was wonderful to seeing cinematically with the original Broadway cast.

Da 5 Bloods - Not quite Blackkklansman-level Spike Lee but a wonderful war film/thriller about racism/living with the consequences of our actions/grief and so much more.

Bad Boys For Life - Shows up Michael Bay by being the best and most 'grown up' of an inherently ridiculous franchise.

Portrait of a Lady On Fire: Heartfelt, moving and emotionally draining. Adored this film.

It's been a great year for horror with both Saint Maud and The Invisible Man showcasing religious fervour and toxic masculinity as more terrifying then anything supernatural.

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

Everything has surprised me this year. Although I was amazed by the response to our screenings of the documentary AQUARELA which sold out and brought in a very broad audiences in January.

I recently rewatched shoplifters, which brought me a lot of joy. But the answer that is just between you'd me is rewatching the Harry Potters and every naff xmas film willing to work on by telly!

Parasite: Perfect in every way but was heartbroken to discover the house was a set! Don't know why I was disappointed, I should know by now that a lot of things in films aren't real.

Les Misérables: Liberté, egalité, fraternité only applies to some.

For Sama: Illustrated how optimism is sometimes the only tool to survive dark times. I have often thought about it in lockdown and reflected on how lucky are we that we only have to stay at home to stay safe and we don't have barrel bombs dropping on us.

1917: Should certainly get a mention in despatches.

Gagarine: Maybe not a valid choice as it's not on general release yet but I thought it was out of this world. (ICO screening days)

I thought Just Mercy was a fantastic film but it failed to bring in a big audience, there's something about American indies that doesn't seem to hit the spot with our audiences.

Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly and the French Riviera, sublime.

SWALLOW - a breathtaking debut, produced by its star Haley Bennett, that captures both body dysmorphia, male toxicity and domestic abuse. It’s not a walk in a park, but it does wonders to seat you in the lead’s entrapment and her descent into repetitive behaviours caused by the people that supposedly love her. I thought it was a wonderful foil to THE INVISIBLE MAN, looking to explore rather than crowd-please with these salient themes.

HIS HOUSE - in a year of highlighting racial injustice and the impending departure from the EU, HIS HOUSE works an immigration story through the backdrop of abject horror. I was astounded by the fresh leads - Wunmi Mosaku took my breath away in the scene where she attempts to find a clinic. It’s a British story through and through, albeit one that highlights the grubby and traumatic nature of the way the UK treats some asylum seekers. The horror elements are exceptionally worked into the screenplay and offers a new slant on a familiar story.

SAINT MAUD - Rose Glass’ debut throws everything into the heady horror-inflected mix of religion and loneliness. Perhaps that last aspect took me most by surprise when the pious lead found herself alienated for her beliefs and her past. It does an excellent job of joining the dots between the fanaticism and compassion.

POSSESSOR - forget Christopher Nolan’s over-egged wicked web of confusion, Brandon Cronenberg’s second feature is the head**** you only need to watch once to understand.
Andrea Riseborough continues to prove her range in this body horror that pulls no punches, and yet transforms into a statement on duty and memory

Small Axe: LOVERS ROCK
In a year where personal freedoms have been somewhat curtailed, Steve McQueen’s anthology series came at the right time. A moment where many acknowledge that minority stories are underrepresented, and where audiences want to understand more from creators who give these series of films an authentic lived-in tilt.
LOVERS ROCK is the house party that never happened in 2020. A sub-baseline of chilled reggae grooves, confrontation, overindulgence, cans of Red Stripe and Janet Kaye’s spine-tingling high note.

THE ASSISTANT left me nonplussed. Overly laboured office whisper and barely discernible dialogue transported me back to my days as a finance manager.

Watching someone microwave food, make a smoothie, burn DVDs and be shouted down the phone like a cartoon character was dull.

The absence of action or compulsive set pieces doesn’t always equate to subtlety - here I was bored. This was compounded by the deliberate lack of score, leaving the film as an echoing numbness of emails, photocopying and general clerical mundanity.

There’s a reason I got out of that game.

THE ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF A SPOTLESS MIND - the breakup film of a generation. Also proof that Jim Carey (as with all comedians) can effortlessly deliver the heartbreaking tears of a clown.

Bill and Ted 3.....dont judge me, it did what it said on the tin !

Portrait of a Lady On Fire......the lighting and Cinematography was just sublime, the best I have seen for decades.

Malcolm, an Australian cult comedy from the eighties.

Cold War Poland/Pawel Pawlikowski Beautiful Black and White homage to to his parents story

Green Book USA/Peter Farrelly 1960s car journey through the best
and the worst of Southern segregation

Woman at War Iceland/ Benedict Erlingsson Nordic Humour of one woman's
fight against big power companies

Shoplifters Japan/Hirokazu Kore-eda A bit of Tokyo low life family humour
that's full of surprises

Wajib Lebanon/Ziad Doueiri Sharing life of a Muslim family living under
the Israel heel

Sophia Loren at 80! "The Life Ahead" Italy/2019 Eduardo Ponti
Bellisimo! (No cosmetic surgery here - and she plays a real 80 year old really)

An Inspector Calls UK/Guy Hamilton Beauty of a film

Parasite Great production.

Summerland Lovely story building all the way through didn't see what was coming at the end.

Only seen a few films this year so top 3 only

An Affair to Remember and also #FridayFiilmClub Carol Morley

Sometimes Rarely Always never

And then we danced- beautiful, gentle and moving

Wild/ any Jane Austen adaption/ little women/ casablanca

Andrea Etherington/ Woody harding

Portrait of a Woman on Fire

Even if 2020 had been a year of typical film release numbers, JOJO RABBIT still would be on my Top 5 list. Taika Waititi satirised Hitler with a pitch-perfect cast and a terrific balance of black humour and pathos. Sam Rockwell's Captain K and young Archie Yates as Yorki are two of the reasons I've watched this film at least seven or eight times.

I found A HIDDEN LIFE so mesmerising after seeing it in preview -- I was awestruck and emotionally moved by both cinematography and soundtrack -- that I went all the way to Exeter just to see it a second time on a big screen.

THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD was just plain fun all around and a bit bonkers too. Iannucci's style brought a welcome freshness to Dickens.

A PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE gave new meaning to ravishing -- it was exquisite in every way. More industry support for female filmmakers, please.

Agnieszka Holland's MR JONES was a powerful reminder of the educational reach of cinema. I knew nothing about the Ukrainian famine of 1932-33 perpetrated by the Soviet Union under Stalin. History is always relevant.

Crip Camp. Directed by Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht. Brilliant, playful and deeply moving documentary. A genuine eye opener in every way.

Rocks. Directed by Sarah Gavron. A funny, sad, sly film that draws you in immediately and then breaks your heart. Outstanding in every way.

Saint Maud. Directed by Rose Glass. Bonkers but in the right way.

Systemcrasher. Directed by Nora Fingscheidt. For Helena Zengel's performance alone this film is a stand-out.

The Assistant. Directed by Kitty Green. Watching this was like having ice-cold water injected into your veins. So controlled, so understated and underplayed it was a masterclass in the power of restraint in filmmaking with devastating impact. I felt like I could barely breathe for the whole film.

Worst film of the year
1. Ammonite. Utter tosh and so disappointing!

Electric Picture House Cinema

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

The Bond films. All of them.

Curzon Community Cinema Ltd

The Lighthouse - stark, brutal insanity. A visual masterpiece drowning in the madness of masculinity with Lovecraftian doom.

Possessor - SciFi, the genre of ideas which is so often starved of good ideas, gets a blessing with a picture you can't tear your eyes from. Brandon Cronenburg hits his stride and Andrea Riseborough has become a gold standard signifier for Horror. If she's in it, it's good.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire - Céline Sciamma takes a small pallete; an island, a house, a handful of people and brings you a perfect portrait.

Queen & Slim - There is so much heart in this movie. As well as hitting all the thrills and dark comedy of a great crime film, this film breaks your heart for the eponymous leads in this brilliant, timely tale.

Color Out Of Space - Brilliant to see the return of Richard Stanley with this psychedelic feast. Great performances from Cage and crew which ground the feeling of a family trapped in an eldritch nightmare.

I found Mank to be riddled with problems and far less engaging than I had expected. Why shoot on digital and alter your picture to look "old timey" when you could just shoot on film? Fincher could learn a thing or two from Mark Jenkin.

It's perhaps not comforting, but I've re-watched Blade Runner 2049 about four times this year. K's journey through existential terror into personal enlightenment is always fulfilling. It looks and sounds perfect as well.

Getting Together Through Films - Trowbridge

Los Lobos (Directed by Samuel Kishi Leopo, The Wolves, Mexico, 2020) This is a story of migration from Mexico to USA, but this time from the point of view of two young brothers and their mother, who needs to leave them alone in a dirty flat to be able to provide for them. I love the way the semi autobiographical drama expose the childhood and reality of these immigrants, but also portrait a whole community with a stunning portraits of those under that land... and despite all the struggles, how empathy, solidarity and hope emerges in a poetic way!

Premiered in the UK on Amplify! (Online collaborative film festival), Nov 2020

Nomadland (Directed by Chloé Zhao, USA, 2020) A mature woman who has lost everything she loves starts a journey around USA in a modest camper van. I found profound the connection with the environment, the sky, the landscape and the realisation of her place in this world. Real "nomads" took part in this fictional story, adding a sense of realism and wisdom in a sensitive portrait of ageing, work and survival.

Preview in FilmBath, outdoor screening at Green Park, December 2020

Rocks (Directed by Sarah Gavron, UK, 2019) Poignant portrait of a secondary school girl, in a deprived area of London, who suddenly became the carer of his little brother. She is presented in relationship to a very multicultural group of female friends who will be transformed in her allies or enemies. After being exposed recently to the educational system in the UK as a supply teacher, this film was eye-opener understanding some of the factors behind challenging behaviour in our schools. I love the realism in the dialogues, the representation of a very diverse city and the multiple layers of this social drama.

Watched for the first time on a big screen on Bristol after the first lockdown, September 2020

Anbessa (Directed by Mo Scarpelli, Italy, Ethiopia) A documentary presenting the live of a 10-year-old and his mother in Ethiopia, living in precarious conditions the boy adapt in the best way to his environment and reality. The beauty of the film comes not only for the boy's natural charisma as from the magical elements added in a playful way and images full of contrasts. I was glad surprised for this film after discovered the work of Mo Scarpelli during lockdown, first through her shortfilm El Hara (2017) which was available to stream for free during those days, then when saw her feature documentary El Father Plays Himself during the Visions du Réel Festival (online this year).

UK premiere online on Mubi UK, August, 2020

I never Cry (Directed by Piotr Domalewski, Jak najdalej stad, Poland, 2020) Described as a 'comedy/drama', the film portrays a strong 17-year-old girl in Poland who embarks the adventure of travelling to Ireland to bring home the body of his father, a man who she barely knew. The story shows us a reality of those who leave their place to find a job and provide to those they left behind, working like anonymous souls in places like factories, construction sites or warehouses. I found extremely moving the universal sense of separation of families and grief which came with forced migration.

Watched on Amplify! (Online collaborative film festival), Nov 2020

The documentary Once Upon a Time in Venezuela, directed by Anabel Rodríguez Ríos (Venezuela, UK, 2020) has been my big surprise this year. It has not been released in the UK, but it was premiered in Sundance before the world entered in lockdown this year. This film is very close to my heart and present the dramatic situation in a small village built on the waters of Maracaibo lake, the main source of oil in Venezuela. The village as is the whole country population, has been divided by political ideas, but now is under a deep humanitarian crisis. This is an urgent film to understand a reality that is barely discussed in this side of the world.

In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2001) It celebrates his 20 anniversary and it is a film which always came to me to find comfort and make me feel safe when most I needed.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire - just ravishing.

An Officer and a Spy - the more interesting for not being told from Dreyfus's point of view, and indeed not setting out to make Dreyfus a particularly likeable character.

Radioactive. Should have been brilliant, was just meh.

The Personal History of David Copperfield

Host, I never thought I’d watch a film created on Zoom!

Paddington. Like a hug from a small bear.