7. LEAVE NO TRACE | DIRECTOR: DEBRA GARNIK
Debra Garnik, who likes to tell tales of survivors, investigates the lives of a father-daughter duo who has decided to live a life in complete secrecy with no hook to the real world. However, “Leave No Trace” is a brilliant drama that works in an unconventional way of dealing with coming of age troops. With her newest film, the takeaway is really about accepting and understanding that sometimes children grow faster than you expect them to. And really it’s you – The viewer who really grows up watching them deal with real-life problems with a brave face.
ALSO, READ – LEAVE NO TRACE [2018] REVIEW – A SUBTLY POWERFUL TALE OF LIFE ON THE FRINGES
6. HAPPY AS LAZZARO | DIRECTOR: ALICE ROHRWACHER
In “Happy as Lazzaro”, director Alice Rohrwacher has seamlessly stitched the elements of social realism and magical realism to devise a dubious character sketch of one innocent boy witnessing the corruption and societal discern with a wide-eyed smile. With time serving as a catalyst to compare the two opposite poles of existence, this whimsical fairytale-esque story is about Lazzaro – A simple, hardworking boy who is forced to understand the different facets of life in spite of serving life the best way he can.
ALSO, READ – HAPPY AS LAZZARO [2018] REVIEW – A WHIMSICAL AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING SOCIAL DRAMA
5. THE RIDER | DIRECTOR: CHLOÉ ZHAO
What do you do when the one thing that truly makes you who you are is suddenly snatched away from you? In Chloé Zhao’s wonderful orchestration of a rodeo’s tortured masculinity, we see Brady – A young, gifted horse trainer unable to succumb to his life post his accident in the ring of Cowboy fantasies. “The Rider” is a fantastic character sketch that dwells on the very idea of masculinity without infusing class-porn into the context of displacement.
Similar to Best Women-Directed Films of 2018 – THE RIDER [2018] REVIEW: AN INTIMATE AND HEARTBREAKING RIDE
4. YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE | DIRECTOR: LYNNE RAMSAY
A dark, unflinching and violent film about the horrors of past-traumas, self-loathing and loneliness. Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here” features a blazing Johnny Greenwood score, an incredibly sad and powerful Joaquin Pheonix performance and a subtle, understated direction by Lynne Ramsay.
ALSO, READ – YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE [2018]: MASTERCLASS IN AESTHETICAL AND ELLIPTICAL STORYTELLING
3. PRIVATE LIFE | DIRECTOR: TAMARA JENKINS
After a hiatus of 9 years, Tamara Jenkins returns with a hilariously profane comedy about a couple at the end of the rope. Featuring top work from both – Paul Giamatti & Kathryn Hahn, “Private Life” slowly breaks your heart as you watch the two people at its center try everything and anything to have a baby before its too late.
RECOMMENDED READ – THE 10 BEST NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILMS OF 2018
2. HIGH LIFE | DIRECTOR: CLAIRE DENIS
French filmmaker Claire Denis’s English language debut is one of the most elusive, hypnotic and audacious sci-fi films ever made. In High Life, Denis pits the darkest of human desires against the infinite void of space. It is a surreal, cosmic odyssey that investigates why human beings are so vulnerable to the various entrapments in the world – Both emotional and physical.
ALSO, READ – HIGH LIFE [2019] REVIEW: SCI-FI HIGH
1. MADELINE’S MADELINE | DIRECTOR: JOSEPHINE DECKER
Featuring a star-making turn from Helena Howard and an ambitious, almost experimental approach from director Josephine Decker, “Madeline’s Madeline” is an extraordinary feat in tracing the life of a person who is naturally misunderstood. Decker’s film uses fascinating sound design and exquisite narrative thrills to get into Madeline’s head churning all her emotions out. It’s a film that says that a person who experiences extreme emotions should be the only orator of their story.
