Too Soon to Tell

Parasite (2019)

Last night, the topic of best film of 2019 came up. Of course, it's all I've been able to think about since. 2019 isn't quite over yet, but what is the best film I have seen so far? And what has been my favorite. They are not the same, these two things. 

This conversation was prompted by Parasite, which I saw last weekend. Its fair to say that this, Bong Joon-Ho's 7th feature film, is his masterpiece. Or perhaps his masterpiece so far. Its also fair to say that this may just be the best film of the year. Parasite begins as one thing, and ends as another. Some might call it a very twisted comedy, others a horror film. I say its both, and also a tale of class warfare. The distance between rich and poor, a theme familiar around the world. I think that's why this film resonates with so many. Come on, you say, there are plenty of movies about that. Yes, but its Bong's clever storytelling and attention to every detail make this better than all those films. It's his ability to show the lengths to which people will go, how far and also when they realized they've gone far enough. Or endured quite enough might be more accurate.  So, right now, I will say I think Parasite is the best film of the year. 

But its not my favorite film of the year. 

My favorite film of the year (so far) will be hard to suss out. I've loved so many in 2019. Midsommar may top the list for me. Ari Aster's follow up to Hereditary blew my mind. Florence "Lady MacBeth" Pugh gave a powerful performance as Dani, a young woman who had lost her whole family to a murder-suicide and was looking for acceptance, trust, love and a place to belong finds it. Well, its finds her. Oh wow, this is an incredible film. Plus cults. Y'all know how I love cults.

Then, there's Us. Jordan Peele's second film. I loved this with every fiber of my being. Fantastic cast, creepy score, a breadcrumb trail of a story, an allegory for oppression, slavery and denial (cough, cough, talking to you America). I really loved this movie, saw it twice in the theater.  I hold Us and Midsommar right next to each other in my heart for favorite of the year. 

BUT WAIT! I also loved The Farewell. And The Last Black Man in San Francisco. These are both films that take a look at person and place. Where they  and where they came from. I loved the silly and melancholy Wild Nights with Emily. I intend to see The Lighthouse again, Robert Eggers insanely good follow up to The Witch. I also really enjoyed Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die, Olivia Wilde's Booksmart, Octavia Spencer chewing ALL the scenery in Ma, and Penny Lane's doc on the Satanic Temple's constant challenge to religious freedom, Hail Satan? 

So see, this isn't easy. And I haven't seen  Harriet or Jo Jo Rabbit yet, so stay tuned.