REEL STARS OF 2020
IF it hadn’t been for Wonder Woman 1984 and Tenet, multiplexes would have been superspy- and superhero-free zones last year. Thankfully, while the pandemic saw off most of the blockbusters, it didn’t kill off cinema. In fact, in many ways it thrived.
Without the big studios hogging all the attention, smaller productions managed to find audiences on home-streaming and in socially distanced theatres.
These are my favourite films of the year…
2. ROCKS
THIS shockingly good Brit flick shines a light on an often-overlooked figure, the casting director.
Lucy Pardee spent a year searching for youngsters to star in this drama, set in the shadow of the city of London and it looks as authentic as it sounds.
A wonderful Bukky Bakray leads a multicultural cast as 16-year-old Shola who has to look after her little brother when her mum walks out.
On paper, this sounds like a standard lottery-funded miseryfest but, thanks to its young cast, it’s surprisingly uplifting.
4. PARASITE
SOUTH Korean director Bong Joon Ho tells his Oscar-winning story with such visual flair that the subtitles often feel redundant. Like his excellent English language sci-fi Snowpiercer, it’s a battle between the haves and the have-nots.
This time, we’re in a modern-day Seoul where the impoverished Kim family take over the home of the rich Parks after becoming their servants. What makes it so compelling is the way Bong throws in neat plot twists and quick shifts in tone.
5. SOUL
AFTER a raft of sequels, Pixar returns to form with a touching animation that isn’t afraid to ask the big questions. Released directly to the Disney streaming app on Christmas Day, it follows Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a middle-aged jazz musician who, after years of disappointment, passes an audition to work with his favourite singer. Then, on the way home, he falls down a manhole and dies.
Determined to get back to his body, his rebellious soul must find a way out of the afterlife.
Merry Christmas!