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| Xi30 2019 |
Admittedly, I haven't seen a lot of non-Filipino movies in 2018. To be fair, I try yearly to make an effort to change that, but it doesn't always work out. That is life. I haven't seen a lot of "buzz" films too. That said, I did see a couple of interesting films from around the world this year, and I'd like to talk about 15 of them.
In no particular order:
John Tawasil's
Films From Around The World That I Liked in 2018*
*not necessarily 2018 movies, as long as it was not initially released more than a year before 2018
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1987: When the Day Comes (Jang, 2017)
1987 is a riveting historical drama that shows how revolutions start - as the cumulative effect of many small things happening at the same time, catalyzed by one or two pivotal events. The day does eventually come at the very end of this film, but even that is the beginning of something even greater.
A Taxi Driver (Jang Hoon, 2017)
While 1987 paints revolutions in broad, at times fragmented strokes, A Taxi Driver approaches revolution in a different way: through a small-scale, personal story. That doesn't mean there aren't any stakes involved, and the film also doubles as a testament to the power of journalism and the collective actions of people in general.
Ash is Purest White (Jia Zhangke, 2018)
The next two entries will be about doomed romances amidst large scale political and social change. The first one is Ash is Purest White, yet another movie by director Jia Zhangke about people lost in a sea of change and alienated by a world that has no need for them.
Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2018)
Another film about doomed love in the midst of social upheaval, Cold War is emotionally distant, unrelentingly bleak, but utterly fascinating at the same time. The filmmaking behind it is fantastic and shows a director at full control of his craft.
Foxtrot (Samuel Maoz, 2017)
Humans have a need to rationalize and make sense of the world around them, even though they are responsible for the most irrational, senseless things. Foxtrot looks at inherent human absurdities inherited from generation to generation, darkness trickling down from father to son.
Roma (Alfonso Cuaron, 2018)
Human society can sometimes be paradoxical, thanks to humanity's penchant for absurdity. But people somehow manage to find love in this chaos. Alfonso Cuaron's Roma finds empathy and humanity in situations and structures where one does not expect it, when societal structures favor one group of people over another. As we are brought down by our pettiness and irrationality, we are elevated by our compassion.
Survival Family (Shinobu Yaguchi, 2017)
Through the literal apocalypse, Shinobu Yaguchi pulls the carpet out from under a conventional Japanese family, revealing their dysfunctions and insecurities. It's a testament to simpler living, sure, but also to family and things that we tend to forget as the world gets ever more convenient.
Last Child (Shin Dong-seok, 2018)
Family remains at the center of Shin Dong-seok's Last Child, in the sense that family is what is missing from the characters in this film. A couple has lost a child, and a child, his parents. Both find each other, but guilt and sin tears their fragile relationship apart. It's slow paced but riveting cinema.
Hereditary (Aster, 2018)
The concept of family is warped in one of the two horror films of this list. It's unfair to call this a spiritual successor to any other film, as it is unique enough to stand on its own. It's a film full of exceptional performances and a wonderfully sinister atmosphere - and its final moments will leave a mark on you.
Suspiria (Guadagnino, 2018)
The second horror film on this list expands upon Argento's 1977 film and creates something utterly wonderful. It's garnered a mixed reception, but I personally believe it's just as lush and rich in meaning as Argento's original. It even adds to the lore and talks about society, guilt and women's issues as well.
This is America (Hiro Murai, 2018)
Speaking of art that stimulates discussion, the best American movie of 2018 is actually a music video. Beyond its commentary on race and how black entertainment is used as distraction in American society, it has managed to live a second life as a meme. It's gotten so popular that it's been picked up and remade by people in different countries as well, becoming a minor cross-cultural phenomenon.
Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse (various, 2018)
My favorite superhero film of the year is Into the Spider-Verse, a film that combines an overwhelming love of the source material with a smart, snappy script and a wonderful visual style that is meaningful and crowd-pleasing. It's also a superhero film that says that everyone can be a superhero, given the right circumstances, and that heroism is not tied to monoliths.
Kaala (P.A. Ranjith, 2018)
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the same message exists in the form of Kaala, the latest collaboration between P.A. Ranjith and Superstar Rajinikanth. It cleverly uses the tropes inherent in Rajinikanth's mass entertainers, while advocating for something seemingly antithetical to the idea of the singular, larger than life hero role that Rajinikanth is known for: that we can all be heroes, and the world can change through the collective action of the masses through revolution and social change. Kaala is a tribute to the people neglected and unseen for far too long; it is a film that gives them the dignity they deserve.
Burning (Lee Chang-dong, 2018)
2018 seems to be the year of the invisible person, as its best films are all about them and their struggle. Lee Chang-dong's newest film is about two such people, but it manages to extend that into a commentary on class, internalized rage and frustration in Korean society. It's also a loving tribute to the works of Haruki Murakami, while also serving as a critique of those same works. Burning is a marvelous mystery in a box that feels unsolvable, but a mystery worth poring into nevertheless.
Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2018)
And my favorite film of 2018 is a culmination of everything I've talked about before, the combination of all the themes that made 2018 such a memorable year in film. Shoplifters is first and foremost a movie about the kind of family that finds itself through mutual hardship and trauma instead of by blood. It's a film about class divides, and how compassion and empathy can be extracted from places and societal structures where such things feel alien. It's a film about people living in the fringes of society, whose invisibility only wears off during times of tragedy or for the sake of sensationalism.
And that's my year in film for 2018. Thanks as always for reading this blog, and I will still remain in low power mode for a couple more months, I won't stop doing what I love to do. So until next time, see you all at the movies in 2019.
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