There's no point in beating around the bush: it's the film of the year Emilia Perez by Jacques Audiard, which however arrives in Italian cinemas on 9 January 2025 and for this reason alone it is therefore not found in the top ten in Artribute of the best films of 2024. What ends up being a complex year for our cinemas but the international product was super interesting. It paid homage to the small joys of life, warned the public against the banality of yesterday's (and today's) evil, offered great emotions through stories of love, revenge, fleeting moments and allowed great reflections through the female body, dystopian and science fiction events. Here are our Best Films of 2024.
Margherita Bordino
Perfect Days di Wim Wenders
The daily life of Hirayama, a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo, has captivated the public widely and across the board. Perfect Days by Wim Wenders is a film that reaches everyone's soul with its essential, linear and sincere structure. Everything focuses on Hirayama's routine who, while the world passes by quickly and hastily, finds satisfaction and joy in the small things of life: listening to good music like Patti Smith and Lou Reed, reading books by William Faulkner and Aya Kōda, and photographing trees during his work breaks. The film is a co-production between Japan and Germany and premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival where actor Kōji Yakusho received the award for Best Male Performance.
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The area of interest of Jonathan Glazer
Jonathan Glazer he directs the film loosely based on the novel of the same name by Martin Amis. Who sees The area of interest he never forgets it again. The film offers a disturbing representation of evil: on the screen the daily life of Rudolf Höss, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and his family who have settled in a house adjacent to the camp. The area of interest explores indifference towards the horror of the Holocaust but in an almost glacial way Avoid directly showing violence. What it does is suggest it through sounds and off-screen details, thus creating an atmosphere of great discomfort in the viewer, who cannot help but wonder about his own daily behavior. Sandra Huller as Hedwig Höss's wife she is perfect. The cowardice and banality of evil pass through his character.
Strangers by Andrew Haigh
Written and directed by Andrew Haighthe film is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Taichi Yamada. However, we are not in Japan as in the pages of the book but in London. Strangers It's a heartbreaking story: on the one hand it creates an affectionate empathy, on the other it becomes a painful stain. The story follows Adam (Andrew Scott), a lonely screenwriter living in a nearly empty skyscraper in gray, contemporary London. One night, she meets her mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), and the two develop an intimate relationship. At the same time, however, Adam returns to his childhood home, a couple of hours away by train from where he lives, and where he finds his parents, who died in a car accident when he was just twelve years old. Strangers moves in a delicate and at the same time explosive way love and loss, memory and reconciliation with the past.
Past Lives di Céline Song
Journalist Peter Bradshaw of Guardian described the film as “a story of lost loves, childhood crushes and changing identities“. Written and directed by Celine Song in his directorial debut, Past lives follows the story of Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply close childhood friends who are separated when Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they find themselves in New York for a fateful week, confronting themes such as destiny, love and the choices that define their lives. Past lives offers a profound reflection on human connections and how decisions from the past influence the present. A film that makes us dream, hope and which directly brings us back to the reality of the famous motto “carpe diem”.
Civil War on Alex Garland
Dystopian and action film, Civil War It's definitely hard to digest. It is a moral slap in the face of our present and of the Western political system folded in on itself. Written and directed by the director Alex Garlandthe film follows a group of journalists who travel from New York to Washington DC during a civil war in the United States, with the sole goal of interviewing the president before rebels take over the capital. The question immediately arises: at what cost? Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times praised the cast's performances and particularly that of Kirsten Dunst descrivendola come “powerful and nuanced“, and who can blame him: Dunst offers viewers something different, adrenaline-filled and compelling. This great thriller puts American society in the mirror, which doesn't come out well at all.
The Savage Robot by Chris Sanders
The Wild Robot it is a true pearl of its genrean incredible animated film directed by Chris Sanders. Its story is based on the highly successful novel of the same name by Peter Brown, and tells of Roz, an intelligent robot who, after a shipwreck, finds herself on a desert island. Here, to survive, he learns to adapt to the natural environment, forming bonds with the island's animals and taking care of an orphaned goose named Brightbill. The film highlights interesting (as well as important) themes such as adaptation and survival, the relationship between technology and naturethe meaning of family and love, the discovery of identity and the protection of the environment.
Inside Out 2 by Kelsey Mann
Produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the sequel to Inside Out (2015 animated film) follows the new emotional adventures of little Riley who has now become a teenager. This second chapter is already part of the great history of cinema and not only for the numbers recorded at the box office but because it was able to tell once again and more something that affects all of us and that too often we fail to communicate correctly or manage: anxiety. Inside Out 2 offers a sincere and truthful representation of the challenges linked to growth and change. Alongside Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, other emotions make their debut here, namely Anxiety, Embarrassment, Envy and Ennui (i.e. boredom).
Clint Eastwood's Juror #2
This is a The film went a bit under the radar in terms of communication and marketing but which has found the consensus of the public, or at least of that public that would never give up seeing a film directed by a great master of American cinema in the theater. Juror Number 2 has as director Clint Eastwood who, not at all tired of the seventh art, continues to be behind the camera and with extraordinary lucidity. In this story Eastwood combines elements of thriller and courtroom dramamoves classically, elegantly and creates tension step by step, scene after scene. The beginning of the story concerns Justin Kemp, played by Nicholas Hoult, a young journalist and future father with a past as an alcoholic, who is summoned as a juror in a murder trial. So far so good, and then… Feelings like guilt, moral responsibility and personal integrity.
The substance by Coralie Fargeat
The substance it is the most discussed and talked about film of the year. A title that has divided between great acclaim and furious criticism. What can I say: it's a pearl of contemporary cinema. A film directed by Coralie Fargeat That he reflects on women, the feminine and the body in an unusual way and with great intelligence. Protagonist is Demi Moore which after taking a “substance” splits into a new, younger version of himself, thus changing his life and everyday life. With this role, the actress put herself on the line in an extraordinary way, demonstrating that she is ready for various challenges and remembering that she is there. From The substance Guillermo del Toro wrote on X: “Precise, pulsating, funny, relentless and capable of moving easily from tension to terror to laughter”.
Dune – Part 2 by Denis Villeneuve
The award-winning director Denis Villeneuve he returned to direct the second chapter of the saga inspired by the famous novel Dune by Frank Herbert, classic of science fiction fiction. Dune – Part 2 is a mammoth film that explores the mythical journey of Paul Atreides as he joins Chani and the Fremen on the path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Faced with the choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, Paul embarks on a mission to prevent a terrible future that only he can predict. A perfect, fitting sequel that puts this story and saga within everyone's reach, fans and beyond. Visually evocative and narratively engaging.
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