If you were interested in films with themes of female self-determination, rueful meditations on old age and brilliant social commentary about the times we live in, then 2019 offered multiple ways to be entertained and enlightened.
And for the third year in a row the Atlanta Film Critics Circle has picked its favorites in a year of memorable films. Composed of 26 critics (including myself and AFCC co-founder Gwinnett Daily Post critic Michael Clark) AFCC members write for local, regional and global websites, magazines, blogs and newspapers.
The AFCC’s 10 best films were led by the South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s brilliant balance of dark comedy and social commentary, “Parasite” (currently playing in Atlanta) which also won for Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best International Film.
“It blew me away with its originality and emotional heft,” says Georgia Voice film critic and AFCC member Jim Farmer. “Director Bong Joon-ho has made a film that is enormously entertaining yet one that does a masterful, savage job of looking at class difference.”
The film centers on a struggling Korean husband and wife and their two college-age children who wreak havoc when they infiltrate the lives of a wealthy Korean family. Centered on the enormous divide between the haves and the have-notes and the genuine rage that gap can inspire, “even though it’s set in South Korea, I think it looks at an issue that is incredibly universal,” says AFCC member and Atlanta-based editor of ScreenRex Hannah Lodge.
"Parasite" joined a list of 2019 films centered on social striving, domestic strife and personal despair. AFCC's No. 3 film, director Noah Baumbach's heart-wrenching "Marriage Story" (currently playing on Netflix) reveals the intense sense of loss and despair when a marriage ends. And in AFCC's No. 7 slot, the excruciating, edgy "Uncut Gems" (opening Dec. 13 in Atlanta) allowed audiences to feel the addled, manic mindset of a self-destructive addict (played by Adam Sandler) experiencing a run of epic bad luck.
“Many of this year’s biggest films had moments of high anxiety that cut across genres,” says Lodge of those films as well as Sam Mendes’ World War I epic “1917” (No. 5 on the AFCC’s top 10 list), which opens on Jan. 10 and centers on two young soldiers embarking on a terrifying mission to save their comrades by crossing into enemy territory.
No. 2 and No. 9 on the AFCC Top 10 film list, Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” (currently playing on Netflix) and Pedro Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory” have much in common too, notes AFCC member and “Creative Loafing” columnist Curt Holman.
“Two films on our list are from two of the world’s greatest directors, 77-year-old Martin Scorsese and 70-year-old Pedro Almodovar, and both have aging protagonists looking back at their lives with regret,” says Holman.
But anxiety wasn’t the only distinguishing feature of 2019 films.
Part of a larger return to niceness and community-building after years of political divisiveness, the sweet, life-affirming tale of female ambition and cooperation “Little Women” — which opens Christmas Day in Atlanta — commanded the No. 6 slot on the AFCC list. Director Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel features an ensemble cast led by Saoirse Ronan as Jo March, a gifted young writer struggling to make her way in a world filled with multiple roadblocks to female self-determination.
“Little Women” joined films like “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (a film based on the relationship between “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” star Fred Rogers and Atlanta writer Tom Junod) and the documentary “Apollo 11” in capturing events and relationships founded on good will and kindness. No. 10 on the AFCC’s best film list and a Best Documentary winner as well, “Apollo 11” revisits a time in recent American history when hopefulness and a sense of communal experience prevailed.
Using archival footage of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon launch which drew crowds of almost a million to Cape Canaveral, Florida, director Todd Douglas Miller’s documentary shows the incredible sense of national pride in that astounding human achievement, as crowds from every walk of life turned out for the rocket launch. Like so many films this year, “Apollo 11” offered us a vision of people, and of America, at its best.
The year in film has been a reminder that despite Hollywood’s blockbusteritis and a painful reliance on sequels, there are still directors and writers creating original, thoughtful films that illustrate the power of film to transport, enlighten and move us.
Complete AFCC Award List
Top 10 films:
“Parasite”
“The Irishman”
“Marriage Story”
“Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood”
“1917”
“Little Women”
“Uncut Gems”
“Knives Out”
“Pain and Glory”
“Apollo 11”
Best lead actor: Adam Driver in "Marriage Story"
Best lead actress: Renée Zellweger in "Judy"
Best supporting actor: Brad Pitt in "Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood"
Best supporting actress: Laura Dern in "Marriage Story"
Best ensemble: "The Irishman"
Best director: Bong Joon-ho for "Parasite"
Best screenplay: Bong Joon-Ho and Han Jin-won for "Parasite"
Best documentary: "Apollo 11"
Best international film: "Parasite" (South Korea)
Best animated film: "Toy Story 4"
Best cinematography: Roger Deakins for "1917"
Best original score: Thomas Newman for "1917"
AFCC special award for best breakthrough performer: Kelvin Harrison Jr.
AFCC special award for best first feature film: Olivia Wilde for "Booksmart"
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