"2020 In Film: Best Picture(s)" (Part 3/3)

Opening Remarks on 2020

Having already given a consensus on 2020 in films in part 1, I should open with something different.

I want to start with a story about my high school’s “Ngày Hội Áo Dài” before writing about the top of the crop in films this year. It will come back later.

My high school had many distinct festivals, benchmarks and activities: a year-long extra-curricular streak with “Ngày Hội Anh Tài”, a senior farewell tour with “Made in 12”, a yearbook photoshoot with a red backdrop called “Ngày Hội Phông Đỏ”; then there are musicals, clubs, talent shows, etc.

All constituted 3 great years of my high school. All, however, can be replicated in other high schools as well: you can have a yearbook, a farewell tour, a school-wide festival everywhere in the world.

But there is no replicating “Ngày Hội Áo Dài”.

Only my high school had this. When I was in middle school, all I wanted to do was to feel belonged on the day of “Ngày Hội Áo Dài”. A lot of people can come and take photos there, whether you’re friends from an outside school, an alumni or lower-classmen, but only the actual seniors feel that the day is theirs. The sense of belonging and the feeling of being at the right place at the right time is intoxicating, cannot be taught nor paid for, but is earned.

It’s a day when the seniors in my high school dress up in Vietnam’s traditional áo dài and suave suits, take photographs and indulge in the beauty of youth and personal self-accomplishment for what you have achieved in hitherto three years of high school. Not that there should be a reason for wearing áo dài or suits on any given day: both are beautiful attires that conjure bygone memories of either the past or your own feverish adolescence. The day is a mishmash of social interactions and memory recollections: it would require stamina, foot-racing to find friends and teachers around a crowded half-length soccer pitch, preferably a DSLR or film camera, and your willingness to pose with the friends who are closest to you, the friends you don’t quite have a deep bond with but like nonetheless, the friends you say “Hi” to on your way to the canteen, and the friends you don’t quite like but take pictures with anyways (for posterity).

On the day of, in addition to the excitement and sense of self-accomplishment and belonging, I felt a lingering sadness.

I had known it would be one of the last memories of high school, and that afterwards I would have to move on, quickly, from the delirium of transforming from high school seniors into adulthood and collegiate students, just as “High School Musical” taught me. But standing in the black suit I donned on the day of, in the midst of áo dài-clad females and other suits, there’s a part of me, specifically the kid in middle school who saw upperclassmen’s photographs on “Ngày Hội Áo Dài”, that reminded me I had once dreamt of running around a soccer field looking for my friends under the searing sun of some April day in my youth (June in my case). That kid asked me to savor that moment for him.

In many ways, making a film is very similar to what you would do on “Ngày Hội Áo Dài”. The process has the actors wearing pre-disposed clothes; it requires stamina, a camera, and a willingness to share or present to the crew and to a larger audience; it is a cluster of social interactions with other like-minded or opposing creative forces; and the films you get out of this process are conditioned to be a part of your life, the only difference being that it will constitute adulthood and not adolescence.

“Ngày Hội Áo Dài” was just the finale to my schooling days TV series; I always knew it had to end at some point, and it was preferable to go out on a high. But there is a permanence to film, at least to me: it is a part of my mind and heart that will last much longer than just a 2-hour runtime. The two, however, has always been inextricably linked in my writing.

I had written about my high school before, specifically every time I wrapped up a year in film. Each time I did that, the recollection of high school has grown into a bigger and bigger piece of the writing. The first one in 2018 had two paragraphs about my first semester in high school; the second one in 2019 coincided with a half-page thank-you to a musical I did in my sophomore year, one that I decided to keep to myself. And the trilogy capper, this writing right here, is my page-long goodbye to high school. I won’t miss it as much as my middle school self would have thought, but the friends I made along the way and the feeling I had on that abnormally cool June day will stay with me, a cliff note of my youth.

That was my 2020.

And that was your opening to “2020 in Film: Best Picture(s)”, the third part to this year’s lengthy recap.

SURPRISE! THERE’S GONNA BE A 4TH ONE. Yay for me then, I guess.

What are “Best Picture(s)”?

2020's Best Picture(s)

They are fantastic films that I still have a great impression of, but was not nominated for Best Picture. These films belong in a tier above my last list of recommendations, which were simply films I thought were worth checking out.

And yes, my Best Picture of 2020 is on here.

They will be examined on the usual format: A Synopsis, Runtime, Consensus and Recommended For.

Note: In a year full of unexpected nominations for the “little guys”, the list will consist of the best films that could/should have been nominated in a wide-open field, hence the title “Best Picture(s)”.

Take it as my own personal list of Best Picture nominees, if you may, with none of the actual nominees.

Without further ado, these are 2020/2021’s Best Picture(s), ranked from “Most Easy To Watch” to “That was great, but I am never watching that again”

Palm Springs”: “Best Andy Samberg Picture"

Synopsis: Attending a wedding reception for her sister, Sarah (Cristin Millioti) finds herself repeating the same day, “Groundhog” style, and enlists Nyles (Andy Samberg), a similarly trapped drifter, to help escape the cycle. Chaos ensues.

Runtime: 90 minutes

Verdict: The highest ever acquisition from Sundance Film Festival at $16 million, “Palm Springs”, released on Hulu, is powered by the hilarious double biling of Cristin Millioti and Andy Samberg, whose palpable 1-2 chemistry heightens an already wickedly fresh and subversive script.

Although its concept is ultimately a rehashed “Groundhog Day”, there is a certain charming, offbeat quality to the film: its relentless positivity, frequent sight gags and a brimming personality throughout keeps Palm Springs relatively fresh and highly memorable.

There’s really not much to say about the film aside from the fact that it is the most accessible film on this list, and undoubtedly the best comedy of the year. Full stop.

Recommended for:

Couples;

Best friends;

Drinking games. Drink every time Andy Samberg does an Andy Samberg thing.

“Uncle Frank”: “Best Coming-Out-To-Your-Parents Road-Trip Comedy”

Synopsis: Beth (Sophia Lillis) leaves her Southern hometown to study at New York University, where her titular uncle Frank (Paul Bettany) works as a sociology (?) professor. When Frank’s estranged father/Beth’s grandfather dies from a heart attack, they decide to travel back to South Carolina for a funeral, with a big secret: Frank is gay, and is in a relationship with another man.

Runtime: 95 minutes

Verdict: Both of the films above are slim in runtime, but carry unending positivity streaks and a sense of personality. “Uncle Frank” is actually one of my favorite films of the year for this exact reason: despite the seemingly predictable premise, the road-trip dramedy rises above genre trappings through Sophia Lillis’s charming performance, the retro-filled illusion of 1970s America and the delicate handling of weighty themes from director Alan Ball regarding coming out, alcoholism and relationship drama

The star of the show, however, is Paul Bettany. Suave, instantly likable and full of confidence, Bettany perfectly embodies the uncle every child would love to have, the one that understands your hipness and is casually cool, and is easily the standout aspect of this rather conventional film.

And of course, New York University. Cause I’m biased as hell.

Nothing groundbreaking, but it is a highly entertaining romp with a game Paul Bettany, well-balanced drama/humor, and a quite cathartic ending for the family. Definitely give it a watch.

Recommended for:

Family viewing for families that are not homophobic or racist;

anyone who just finished watching WandaVision;

NYU students;

people wanting to come out to their parents but can’t quite find a segue to the conversation.

“Another Round”: “Best Alcoholic Mid-Life Crisis”

Synopsis: Four disillusioned high school teachers decide to test Skarderud’s 0.05 Blood Alcohol Content theory, by consuming a small amount of alcohol everyday, before work.

Runtime: 117 minutes

Verdict: While not a snub per se, as the film still won Best International Feature Film and Thomas Vinterberg was nominated for Best Director, but had “Another Round” been nominated for Best Picture, it would have fully deserved the recognition.

There is a certain simplicity to Another Round: at its core, it is “Alcoholism, Bad: The Movie”. But that is not a bad thing: by bringing audiences in with a relatively unremarkable concept, Thomas Vinterberg was allowed the freedom to create something truly remarkable, something that grabs the attention of its audience and knows exactly how to retain it ‘til the end. In integrating the theme of alcoholism with the familiar mid-life crises, Another Round plays the impartial judge on the ethics of alcohol, by portraying it as both a fun, relaxing means of escapism from your mundane life, but also fully encapsulates its destructive effects if abused.

And on a side note: Mads Mikkelsen with yet another groundbreaking performance, cementing him as one of the best and most underrated actors of our generation.

It is a fun, extremely watchable film with an extraordinary, freeing ending that leaves a lingering taste when you finish it, just like a glass of fine wine.

Recommended For:

Family viewing. Yes, not kidding;

Anyone who just saw “The Hunt”, another Thomas Vinterberg-Mads Mikkelsen offering;

An easy watch on a Saturday afternoon.

“The Devil All The Time”: “Best ‘How did they manage to get this cast’ Picture”

Synopsis: An ambitious epic about the life of Arvin Russell (Tom Holland), from a turbulent childhood in Knockemstiff, Ohio, to a nomad adult life avenging (haha!) for justice, all while intertwining, horrifying stories take place in Knockemstiff, Ohio.

Runtime: 139 minutes

Verdict: A fairly gargantuan departure from the first two relatively short and easy-to-watch comedies. A sprawling epic crime-drama about one man’s gradual fall into darkness, “The Devil All The Time” is most probably a future cult film, surrounded by a frothing-at-the-mouth ensemble cast filled with talented heartthrobs (Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgard, Jason Clarke, Eliza Scanlen and Mia Wasikowska just to name a few) and a suitably grim tone.

This was one of only two (I’ll get into that later on) films this year that had me in awe after I finished its nearly 2-and-a-half-hour runtime. There is so much talent on screen all the time (haha!) that it simply becomes mesmerizing to watch. The subplots are laid thick alongside Tom Holland’s “audience surrogate” main character, with murderers, looters, corrupted officials and one singular predatory Alabamian priest, which can all cater to your own demented taste. The characters’ descents into debauchery and malice are believable in the established setting of offbeat Knockemstiff, expanding the scale of the stories, but remaining intimate in its character study.

Plus, Robert Pattinson gives another accent and performance for the books that go perfectly alongside his French prince in “The King”.

While certainly overblown and uneven, The Devil All The Time is a simply fascinating piece of filmmaking, and one you would be remissed not to experience in its entire glory.

Recommended For:

Film Buffs;

Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson binges;

Anyone looking for a Scorsese-esque crime drama, but with slick production value and no de-aging technology.

“Never Rarely Sometimes Always”: “Best Never-Gonna-Watch-This-Again Picture”

Synopsis: Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) gets pregnant. She wants to abort the baby by all means necessary.

Runtime: 101 minutes

Verdict: Despite the synopsis, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” is as far from your knocked-up teen comedy as can be: it is a depressing, uncompromisingly raw look at unplanned teenage pregnancy, as well as the complications, emotional trauma and detailed steps of what it would take for a teenage girl to get an abortion in the U.S.: Pennsylvania doesn’t allow it without parental consent, for example, but New York City welcomes you with open arms, for a wad of cash.

There is a stylistically depressing, raw feel to the film: from the painstakingly real emotions and fright of unexpected pregnancy, the anxiety-inducing moments of “What will become of my future if I have this baby?”, to the heartbreaking truth behind how the Autumn became pregnant, all best left unspoilt. The film does not concern itself with the politics of the situation; instead, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is focused on the complexities of what had already happened, what is to come, and the reality of the sensitive situation, left open for your opinions and thoughts after the demoralizing ending.

It is far from an easy watch, and is perhaps the most gut-wrenching film on this list, but it is criminally underseen film with an important message, and I truly think it should be given your consideration.

Recommended For:

Anyone looking for the direct opposite of Juno;

If you only want one emotionally destructive movie experience per year, make it this one.

“The Empty Man”: “Best Surprise Horror Picture… yeah, that’s basically it.”

Synopsis: Detective Lasombra (James Badge Dale) investigates strange disappearances in his local town, said to be cause by the titular “Empty Man”.

Runtime: 137 minutes

Verdict: Judging by its reviews (63% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience reaction (D+ on Cinema Score, same as “Hereditary”), I fully expected a middle-of-the-road jump scare fest.

Boy, was I extremely surprised.

Films as risky as this don’t come by as often these days: they’re either made for miniscule budgets, are attached to big-name directors, or are purely popcorn movies. The Empty Man had none of the above factors, yet somehow was made, dumped into cinemas after the Disney merger, and slowly developed a cult following after its release. “The Empty Man” is, without a doubt, the best horror film of 2020. It is an ambitious genre mish-mash with a strangely offbeat, philosophical tone, made all the more weirder by the fact that it was produced for a sizable budget by a big studio in the formerly-known 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studio). The film’s genuinely frightening moments are banded together by a compelling detective story with engrossing human drama and a true sense of mystery.

It is not the most enjoyable film, however: it drags, and its overtly philosophical, Kafka-esque influence misses more than it hits. But I compel it for taking a risk, fully embracing its off-the-walls direction, and not settling for any unearned scares.

Recommended For:

“Hereditary” Fans;

A group of friends who specifically likes philosophical horror films. Don’t expect it to be terribly exciting.

“Possessor”: “Best Sci-fi, Body-Swapping Picture”

Synopsis: Through a conscience swapping contraption, an assassin (Andrea Riseborough) is able to take control of others’ bodies to carry out her murders for her.

Runtime: 104 minutes

Verdict: This is how you do sci-fi. Take that, Tenet.

Proving that the apple does not fall far from the tree when it comes to artistic vision, Brandon Cronenberg, son of legendary surrealist-horror filmmaker David Cronenberg, storms out of the gate with his sophomore effort in “Possessor”, a fascinatingly disturbing character study on identity and desire, captured within a well-realized sci-fi horror body-swapping concept.

There’s not much I can say about the film without spoiling it, but I can tell you that if you had seen a David Cronenberg film before, then you sort of know what to expect without knowing exactly what to expect: surrealistic themes of life, death and everything in-between, body-horror, eclectic imagery and Bible allegory. Anchored by a mesmerizing performance from the criminally underrated Andrea Riseborough and featuring plenty of body-horror sequences that will be burnt into your memories, Possessor is much more accessible than you might think, and it is a rewarding watch with plenty of food for thought afterwards.

If you didn’t like David Cronenberg, chances are this film would be a tad too extreme for you. But if you are looking for the best sci-fi film of the year, you’ve come to the right place.

Recommended For:

David Cronenberg fans;

Those with high tolerance for body-horror;

Anyone looking for a thought-provoking sci-fi horror film.

“i’m thinking of ending things”: “Best Mood Picture”

Synopsis: A young woman (Jessie Buckley) reluctanly decides to meet her boyfriend, Jake’s (Jesse Plemons) parents. Little does Jake know, the woman is thinking of ending things (look, I mentioned the title).

Runtime: 134 minutes

Verdict: “i'm thinking of ending things” is one of those films that prompts you to immediately hop on YouTube and search for an “Ending Explained” video. It is categorically and intentionally vague, serve only a very specific type of audience, and is an absolute puzzle from start to finish.

I watched this film in just the right mood. On that boring day, I was simply in the mood for anything: I just wanted to watch a good film, no matter the length, the filmmaker or the subject.

You would have to be in this exact mood to enjoy this film, as with most Charlie Kaufman films, and I had watched his films before to varying experiences: I finally adored Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind after countless times of turning it off halfway; I hated Syndeoche, New York and referred to it as “Kaufman’s Worst Traits Unhinged”; I thought Adaptation and Anomalisa were stylistically different, but not amazing original ideas; and I have always thought Being John Malkovich was one of the most ingeniously written movies ever.

Charlie Kaufman writes and directs films for absolutely no one but himself: his films are so carefully written to exhibit the qualities of a dream, to examine the surreal nature of human relationships, and to provide a deep dive into to the conscious Freudian mind, as in everything a human does is relayed on or starts from the subconscious or unconscious mind. It’s a fun psychological test, but does not always make for the best film, and i'm thinking of ending things might be his most out-there offering yet: unleashed by Netflix, Kaufman delivers, yet again, a film for absolutely no one, with so many questions, plot threads and out-of-nowhere plot twists, yet gives the viewers just enough information to piece the story together, however they wish.

It’s frankly ingenious, and you should definitely watch this and see if Kaufman is your taste or not.

Recommended For:

Anyone who can get through the first 20 minutes;

Do you want to break up with your loved one? This is the film;

Otherwise absolutely no one.

And now, it is time for the final, most prestigious award in this imaginary list of nominees.

2020’s Best Picture goes to… *drumroll*

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“A Sun”: “A Perfect Picture”

Synopsis: A family’s life is turned upside down after the youngest son goes to juvi.

Runtime: 155 minutes

Verdict: My top 5 best films of all time has always remained steady: Whiplash is number 1, The Farewell comes in as a distant runner-up, 12 Angry Men, Ran and Good Will Hunting jump in and out at 3, 4 and 5. On some days, Nightcrawler and Parasite will appear in the top 5 as well. All of these films, I have rewatched at least 3 times each.

“A Sun” is the film I only needed one watch to know that it will easily crack the top 5.

The only film released in 2020 that I gave a perfect 10 to, A Sun is a masterpiece and a filmmaking/storytelling achievement. There is no other way to describe it: there’s an economical, yet still excellent, quality to how the film is shot, mostly comprising of steady tripod-set angles with very few handheld scenes, even in the characters’ moments of turmoil. Director Chung Mong-hong doesn’t use sweeping camera movements, stylish production design or mesmerizing cinematography to reel the viewers in: instead, he tells a human story about a family, shot in an appropriately human way, and trusting the actors to nail his multiple long takes of conversational dialogues or emotional outbursts, backed by a searing original score.

And it’s not the type of expository, corny dialogue found in Bố Già: the script, co-written by Chung and Chang Yao-sheng, is as close as you can get to real-life conversations and familial connections. The normality of the film is so nuanced, that the few moments of violence stand out like a sore, but effective, thumb due to its visceral departure from the film.

On its surface, the film is about a family struggling to rekindle their relationships. But on a much deeper level, it is a conversation about how the parent-child relationship diminishes in the context of social expectations and enviable sibling figures. When one mid-film event happens, the parents, and by extension, the audiences are forced to reconsider their perspectives on the black-sheep son, culminating in a moving exploration of parental love and final acceptance.

A Sun is a testament to how far the Taiwanese film industry has left its regional competitors behind. Maybe in rewatches, I would pick my brain and find flaws with it, but I have never felt 155 minutes fly by so fast. If you haven’t had the chance, I urge you to watch this film as soon as possible (available on Netflix).

“The most fair thing in the world is the sun. Regardless of latitude, every place on Earth will receive equal spans of day and night.”

A Sun is undoubtedly my Best Picture of 2020.

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And that’s all for the films of 2020. I will be posting my “2020’s Best Picture” list very soon, with the actual nominees this time. It’s been my pleasure writing to you, and I hope you can find a movie here that you can enjoy.

Stay safe, watch a movie!