Greetings, reader!
A follower suggested this topic *checks notes* about a year ago (whoops) - I've already done a ranking of the top 10 movies by female directors (click here to read), but that was back in 2020 - many great new films made by women have been released then, and I've caught a few classics I hadn't seen back then since that time as well. So, instead of merely updating my old list, I've made a totally new one - everything that made it onto the original list has been excluded, in order to give more visibility to a bigger amount of films. So, the post from 4 years ago will give you ten great film recommendations (15 if you count the honorable mentions), and this one will give you 10/15 more. I hope you enjoy!
Here are my honorable mentions: Becoming (Nadia Hallgren), Birds of Prey (Cathy Yan), Don't Worry Darling (Olivia Wilde), The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion), The Proposal (Anne Fletcher).
10. Cocaine Bear (Elizabeth Banks)
I know, it's a bit, uh, different from many of the other films on this list or the honorable mentions. But honestly, Cocaine Bear is unironically just so very good in its own category. I've seen closer to a thousand different movies in my lifetime, and I guarantee that there is no other that lives up to the promise of its title as fully and with such perfection as Cocaine Bear.
For the target audience, people who paid for a movie ticket and went to the cinema to see a (very loosely) true-story-based account of the bear that accidentally ingested cocaine and momentarily became the world's most dangerous apex predator, this film goes out of its way to deliver the inherent chaos and gruesome entertainment that the premise called for. Elizabeth Banks, you are a legend.
9. Pet Sematary (Mary Lambert)
The original film adaptation of Stephen King's Pet Sematary is a delight - while it's not quite as scary as the 2019 remake, I do consider it an overall better film. The plot is loyal to the masterpiece of horror literature that the picture is based on, and the casting of Fred Gwynne as the book's most interesting character, Jud Crandall, is beyond perfect down to the nuances of his strong Maine accent.
Mary Lambert does a great job bringing the characters, settings and events of the book to life, making the film a thoroughly solid adaptation - it's a delight to see the pages of the novel coming to life in such an intimate manner. Of course, the cherry on top of the sundae is that excellent Ramones song composed for the film - that banger, much like a dead cat brought to life in a haunted burial ground, will never die.
8. Tove (Zaida Bergroth)
Whoo, go Finland! Zaida Bergroth paints a beautiful picture of legendary artist Tove Jansson in this hard-hitting biopic, that truly does the mastermind behind the Moomins justice. Tove is slow-paced in just the right way: we spend time with the main character and other major players in a way that lets them breathe, with an intimate sense of Jansson's motivations, fears and other inner workings. It is particularly fitting that the biopic about Jansson, a trailblazer for equality, was brought forth by a female director, something that is still woefully rare for big-scale projects in Finland as well as Hollywood. Bergroth does a great job putting it all together, making for one of the finest Finnish films in recent years.
7. Nomadland (Chloé Zhao)
There are many Best Picture winners in Oscar history that are less good than Nomadland, and there are quite a few (not that many, to be honest) that are better. But I guarantee that there is no other Best Picture winner in the history of the Academy that is as fitting for its year as Nomadland for 2020.
Mind you, the film isn't even about Covid. It takes place in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. However, the film's whole vibe of travelling in bleak milieus, meeting people with gripping stories and little to no hope, and just generally making it from day to day really makes this the ultimate 2020 movie. Chloé Zhao creates a unique and well-crafted atmosphere, making her Oscar wins thoroughly deserved (and moving, considering that she became only the second-ever woman and the first-ever woman of color to win Best Director).
6. Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution (Page Hurwitz)
A fresh release from just this year, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution is a documentary about LGBTQ+ stand-up comedians. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community and an aspiring stand-up comedian, I guess it's no wonder that the film really spoke to me - I don't remember the last time I've experienced such a combo of laughter and tears from a movie.
In terms of editing and overall style, it's a pretty standard documentary, but it's all about the substance and the story that Page Hurwitz chose to tell with her platform. The interviews and clips make for a tapestry ranging from heartbreaking to uplifting, the end product will not only make you hope for the world becoming better via laughter, but maybe even believe in it.
5. Myrskyluodon Maija (Tiina Lymi)
The second Finnish film to make it onto this list, as well as the second 2024 release, there's a damn good reason that Myrskyluodon Maija was a such a hit in Finland at the beginning of the year. Us Finns just can't get enough of this story, as it was transformed from a beloved book to a beloved TV series and to a beloved musical, after which we got what will surely go down as a beloved film adaptation as well.
It makes sense that a story so incredibly bleak and full of hardship would resonate with the gritty and pessimistic Finnish mindset, but mind you, Tiina Lymi's film handles the story's inescapable sadness with an overwhelming contrast of beauty and passion. Rauno Ronkainen's cinematography is stunning, complementing Lymi's ambitious adaptation and making for an end product that is quite simply breathtaking.
4. Boys Don't Cry (Kimberly Peirce)
Based on the heartbreaking true story of trans teenager Brandon Teena, Boys Don't Cry is one of the most gripping, hard-to-watch films I've ever come across. Sure, casting cisgender Hilary Swank in the lead role wasn't the most sensitive choice and one that wouldn't be made today, but as it was the 90's, just telling this story was a major step forward in a rampantly transphobic society.
I'm not even sure if I'd recommend this film to a trans person - I'm guessing they already have a pretty good idea about how horrible our society is and don't need a depressing movie to remind them. I think the people who would benefit the most from watching this movie are everyone and anyone who have a shed of transphobia within them - I don't know if a simple movie can change anyone's worldview, but I'd like to think that sitting through two agonizing hours of a human being, going through absolute hell simply because of who he is, might make someone at least consider why they're siding with hatred and judgement as opposed to love and acceptance.
3. Selma (Ava DuVernay)
I don't remember the source, but I once saw a graph where some of the most popular 'based on a true story' films of the last 10 years were compared on how accurate they were based on a scene-by-scene study cross-referenced with historical sources. Ava DuVernay's Martin Luther King Jr. biopic pretty much destroyed every other film, and honestly, that tracks - when compared to the likes of The Imitation Game, Spotlight or The Trial of the Chicago 7, parts of Selma feel slow-paced, mundane and almost boring. And that is absolutely a worthy price to pay for a film that is actually f**king historically accurate.
Mind you, I love over-dramatized biopics as well (of course there's a limit to everything - 300 is a bit much even for me). But especially when considering all of the cinema enthusiasts who whine about details going slightly wrong, I think that Ava DuVernay deserves myriads of respect for showing the world what an actually fact-based biopic looks like and how it's done.
I really want to clarify that when I said 'boring', it was very much not a critique against this fantastic film but rather a commentary that in the unfair playing field Hollywood has created, realistic events inescapably feel like that to a viewer who is used to the 'let's really bend the facts to make the story even more dramatic' style we see in almost every Hollywood biopic. Selma will bring you down to earth. And, let's face it - the story of MLK is so enthralling that even with this more-subdued-than-we're-used-to style, it is by no means a snoozefest, and ends up being an inspiring and hard-hitting viewing experience.
2. Barbie (Greta Gerwig)
In 2024, there has been quite a bit of discourse on the internet about last year's smash hit, and whether it was actually overhyped and not all that great at all. I've read these takes with an open mind, and come to the conclusion that yes, if the expectation set for Barbie was for it to be the greatest film of all time and also tackle every single issue relating to women's rights and also solve sexism in the world completely, then yes, it doesn't quite live up. But maybe, just maybe, we shouldn't be laying such expectations on individual movies, that inherently are individual stories that an individual filmmaker has decided to tell. When enjoyed simply as a movie, Barbie is an imaginative, entertaining, powerful and thoroughly unforgettable viewing experience, and thus better than most movies (hence its placement at my #1 favorite film of last year).
Gerwig's writing operates on levels most of us could only imagine of achieving, and her directing complements the vision with perfection. The roles are well-cast, the balance of gripping and through-provoking issues with zany and chaotic humor works, and the set design makes for just such a visually fun experience. Undoubtedly a future classic.
1. 13th (Ava DuVernay)
This Oscar-nominated documentary should be mandatory viewing for every U.S. politician, any citizen who has trouble grasping the term 'structural racism' or racism in general, and actually just pretty much every human being. It's infuriating to witness racism being as relevant as ever today, with millions of Americans wanting Trump back in the White House ('White' as in 'White supremacy') while a particularly spineless Prime Minister is letting racism dominate the political landscape of my other home country as well. It feels confusing that all of this is still happening, even though people are learning about racism and it has become more and more frowned-upon in the mainstream over the years - and this documentary sheds light on just why it is that racism is so damn prevalent in our society.
Ava DuVernay's brilliant directing takes a look at the various ways racism has infested the structures of American society, drawing lines from slavery and segregation all the way to police brutality and today's broken criminal justice system. The documentary is factual and free of unnecessary dramatization, yet it still manages to be nothing short of shocking in terms of the truths it uncovers. One of my all-time favorite documentaries, and a gripping masterpiece by one hell of a director.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for my list of the top 10 moments from the EURO2024 tournament, that ends in just a few days.
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