With the world has turned upside down since The Irishman was released, with the vast majority of theaters around the world shuttered for nearly a year. But what got us through?
By HANNAH BROWNSACHA BARON COHEN appears in ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,’ a sequel to his 2006 comedy, ‘Borat.’(photo credit: COURTESY AMAZON STUDIOS/TNS)
Once upon a time, a movie was something you went to a theater to see. Yes, there were TV movies, but they were almost always much lower quality. A few years ago, premium cable and streaming services came along and muddied the waters, as A-list movie stars and directors started making movies for the small screen, which were also shown briefly in theaters, such as Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman last year.But the world has turned upside down since The Irishman was released, with the vast majority of theaters around the world shuttered for nearly a year. Many movie releases were postponed and then moved to television and streaming. My top 10 list this year was compiled from movies that opened in theaters in Israel in the months before the pandemic or were shown here on streaming services and online film festivals.While I enjoyed seeing many of these films at home, I do miss the big screen, badly. The question now is how many moviegoers feel like I do and how many actually have come to prefer the comfort of watching films at home. Crowded multiplexes were never much fun and look much less inviting than they ever did. No one will know the answer until we have finally put the pandemic behind us, but what is important for now is that there were still many terrific movies that came out in 2020. Some of them will be even better when you get to watch them on the big screen.1. The Specials – The French directing duo, Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, who made such films as The Intouchables, turned their gift for storytelling and working with actors to the world of autism. The Specials tells the fact-based story of a Jew (Vincent Cassel) who runs residences for people with autism in Paris. He partners with a Muslim (Reda Kateb) who trains young people from the slums to work with autistic people. I have a personal connection to this subject which makes me less than objective, but on the other hand, I am also likely to be more critical of a movie on this subject and I found The Specials to be gripping and beautifully made, with black humor and moments of grace that made it the film of the year.2. The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Aaron Sorkin brought us The West Wing and here he turns his talent for portraying fast-talking smart people who disagree with each other to American radicals in the 1960s. Some feel he fictionalized and softened elements of the story of Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and the other defendants too much, but it’s still an exciting movie, and the best moments come straight from the transcript of the real trial. Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Frank Langella and the entire cast do some of their best work ever.3. Never Rarely Sometimes Always – Eliza Hittman’s low-budget gem is a completely believable, harrowing drama about a teenage girl in Pennsylvania who has to go to New York to get an abortion. It plays like an American version of the Dardenne brothers’ realistic stories of working-class life.4. The Glorias – Julie Taymor made this offbeat biopic about pioneering feminist Gloria Steinem at different times in her life and has her played by four actresses, including Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander.
5. Mank – David Fincher took a story that might seem to appeal only to film geeks – about how Herman J. Mankiewicz wrote Citizen Kane – and turned it into a surprisingly entertaining film.6. I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Charlie Kaufman’s incredibly weird and intricate look at a couple of students visiting family on a farm was at times infuriating but its dreamlike story still worked.7. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm– Yes, it was offensive and silly at times but Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest outing as Borat was a great piece of political theater, as he managed to find ways to make fun of an increasingly out-of-whack world.8. Jojo Rabbit – Director Taika Waititi’s over-the-top performance as Hitler, seen through the eyes of a child in Hitler Youth in Germany during World War II, joined a long line of comic movie dictators.9. The Whistlers – This film by Corneliu Porumboiu about European cops and gangsters who use a whistling language to communicate didn’t really make much sense, but it was a stylish and fun caper.10. On the Rocks – Bill Murray gives one of his best performances as a charming but irresponsible father trying to make amends with his adult daughter (Rashida Jones) in Sofia Coppola’s latest movie.
