The 10 Best International Movies of 2020
By Paste Movies | December 28, 2020 | 1:27pm
The Golden Globes’ racist disqualification of filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung’s American-made
Minari from its Best Picture categories will not be the last debacle from the embarrassing awards body one that shouldn’t be given the time of day by anyone that enjoys movies nor screen time on a major network but it does at least provide a jumping-off point to highlight the best movies of the year that were
actually produced outside the United States.
Though, of course, all genres were well-represented this year in the global film industry, documentaries from around the world should be given special consideration. After all, in a year when virtual cinemas, streamers and online festivals overran traditional theatrical moviegoing, docs saw increases in audience and distribution possibilities. You might note that our larger Best Documentaries list features more non-U.S. entries than any other
Russian Film ‘Beanpole’ Awarded Top Prize by U.S. Film Critics
The film won first place for best foreign language film. Beanpole
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) has named the Russian movie “Beanpole” as the best foreign language film. “Beanpole,” which was directed by Kantemir Balagov, also won second place for best production design.
The film is set in the Soviet city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) right after WWII. The narration focuses on the tragic relationship between two young women veterans, Iya and Masha, who are trying to start their peacetime life in the ruined city after the long and devastating Nazi blockade. Iya, a tall blonde woman nicknamed “Beanpole,” is trying to adapt to a difficult new life with challenges she must overcome in order to survive in the complex post-war reality.
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For one blissful month, it seemed like the defining moment of movie culture this year might be the most joyful one, too. Bong Joon Ho’s class warfare crowd-pleaser,
Parasite, had beat the odds, shattered precedent, and overcome an American aversion to subtitles to win the Oscar for Best Picture. What a thing it was to experience live a wonderful glitch in the simulation! Sadly, that night now feels miles away, a distant glimmer in the rearview mirror, a speck of light from the before times of ancient February. Just a few weeks after
Parasite made history, James Bond made other plans: He would
The Go-Go s were a popular 80s girl group.
Showtime
Known for their songs like We Got The Beat, Our Lips Are Sealed, and Head Over Heels, the Go-Go s defined the 80s music scene. But before they were new wave darlings, the women got their start in LA s punk scene, eventually breaking into the mainstream. The Go-Go s chronicles the band s rise to fame, as well as all of the struggles that came along with it.
50. The Go-Go s traces the 80s girl band s rise to fame.
Known for their songs like We Got The Beat, Our Lips Are Sealed, and Head Over Heels, the Go-Go s defined the 80s music scene. But before they were new wave darlings, the women got their start in LA s punk scene, eventually breaking into the mainstream.
OK, so I snuck in one doc. Whether Spike Lee s thrillingly immersive record of this sui generis theatrical concert is the best film of 2020 is open to debate. What I can say with absolute certainty is that the hyper-kinetic hymn to community and connection in a politically divided, environmentally ailing world is by far the most therapeutic time I had at a movie in this trying year of isolation and anxiety. Byrne s show was already something special on Broadway, with the silver-topped, professorial art-rocker flanked by a hard-working multicultural troupe of 11 virtuosic musicians, dancers and backup singers. Lee and nimble DP Ellen Kuras achieve miracles by somehow heightening that joyous experience, putting us right in there among the performers in a concert film that stands proudly alongside Jonathan Demme s landmark in the genre, the Talking Heads jam,