we're here at the cinema museum in south london. over the next half an hour, i'll be looking back at some of the best movies released in uk cinemas in 2019. films from around the world, from big—budget blockbusters to smaller indie gems, from widescreen full—colour spectacle to more intimate black—and—white experimentation. as always, 2019 kicked off with awards season and the uk release of several films that opened in america in 2018 intend to qualify for the oscars. in a weird echo of the 1990 academy awards, when driving miss daisy won best picture, in which category spike lee's infinitely superior do the right thing wasn't even nominated, this year, the likeable but bland green book beat blackkklansman to the top prize. although spike lee did triumph in the screenplay category, earning his first competitive academy award. the child is your grandchild! what difference does it make how it gets here? in the acting categories, regina king and mahershala ali proved deserving winners for their supporting roles in if beale street could talk and green book respectively. while rami malek won best actor for his remarkable turn as freddie mercury in bohemian rhapsody. # for me... for british audiences, however, it was olivia colman's winning turn as queen anne in yorgos lanthimos' the favourite that prove the highlight of the evening, with one of the funniest and most self—deprecating acceptance speeches ever. did you just look at me! stop it! i am the queen. but you are mad. you look like a badger. i have lobsters, and we could race them and then eat them. significant was roma winning three oscars, including best foreign language film, dispelling any doubts about the cinematic legitimacy of netflix productions, about which institutions such as the cannes film festival had previously proved very sniffy. this year, netflix has a number of productions up for awards consideration, with titles as diverse as noah baumbach's marriage story and martin scorsese's the irishman shaping up as serious award attenders. both have already picked up best picture nods at the golden globes alongside other netflix releases the two popes and dolemite is my name. you're going to jail fora longtime. you're going to have to take me! cut, cut. although arguments about big and small—screeen productions continue to rage, fuelled in part by steven spielberg's comments about tv movies not deserving oscar nominations, the area in which netflix really proved their worth this year is in the realm of animation. got it to work. sit there and be all magical and awesome. along with the release of their first self—produced animation film klaus, an adventurous christmas film from spanish director sergio pablos, netflix also picked up the distribution rights of one of my favourite films of 2019, the french gem i lost my body. a tale of broken hearts and severed body parts, the feature debut freely adapted from the book happy hand, is a genuine wonder, which made history by becoming the first animated feature to take the top prize in the critics week section at cannes in may. there were a number of historic firsts at cannes this year. parasite, a biting social satire from director bong joon—ho, which doesn't open in the uk until february, became the first korean film to win the palme d'or. meanwhile, mati diop, a french—senegalese film—maker, became the first black woman to helm a palme d'or contender with atlantics, which went on to win the grand prix. netflix picked that one up, too. other cannes prize—winners include best screenplay for portrait of a lady on fire. and emily beecham, who won best actress for a little joe, both of which open here in february of 2020, just in time to qualify for the baftas. no, i have to run. meanwhile, the cannes best actor award went to antonio banderas for his brilliant portrayal of a film—maker struggling to move forward in pedro almodovar‘s semi—autobiographical pain & glory. pain & glory was just one of several foreign language films which opened which opened in the uk in 2019, reminding us that cinema is a truly international art form. this year, uk cinemagoers could feast on a wide range of treats from around the world. from colombia, we had birds of passage, an arresting tale of gangsters and spirits from the creators of embrace of the serpent, who described its birth of the drug trade narrative as addressing the great tragedy that will curse us forever, the great taboo that we are not allowed to discuss. writer—director nadine la baki received a deserved oscar nomination for capernaum, which became both the highest grossing arabic film and the highest grossing middle eastern film of all time. the story concerns a young boy growing up in lebanon who attempts to sue his parents for bringing him into a world so full of suffering and strife. from german director florian henckel von donnersmarck, who won an oscar for the lives of others, came never look away, an impressive meditation on art and morality inspired by the early life of gerhard richter. meanwhile, swedish actress halldora geirharosdottir excelled in woman at war, a jet black comedy about an eco—warrior fighting to save the planet from destruction, accompanied by an on—screen musical trio that provides surreal greek choral accompaniment with drums, accordion and sousaphone at the ready. music, of course, has always been at the heart of cinema, and this year saw a plethora of brilliant scores breathing life into a dizzying range of movies. my own favourites included clint mansell‘s moody, jazzy score for out of blue, a murder mystery about life, the universe and everything which was rather overlooked when it opened here in march, but which i predict will go on to become an enduring cult classic. makes me want to lay across all the water. april saw the uk release of eighth grade, a coming—of—age tale featuring an mesmerizing electronic accompaniment by anna meredith. what's wrong, dad? please tell me. your nana is dying. she does not know, so you can't say anything. in september, the farewell served up a bittersweet tale of chinese family loyalties played out to unexpectedly quirky music. and in november, we got monos, a fable about child soldiers from a colombian—ecudadorian writer—director from which the sounds are as strange and enthralling as the movie itself. my favourite film score of the year however was by icelandic composer hildur guonadottir, whose brooding themes lent real depth to one of the year's most successful and controversial releases, joker. will you please stop bothering my kid 7 sorry. directed by todd phillips from the hangover movies, joker was drawn in equal measure on alan moore's the killing joke and scorsese's the king of comedy. it premiered to an eight—minute standing ovation at the venice film festival in august, where it scooped the top prize, but almost immediately a backlash began with critics using words such as toxic, cynical and irresponsible to describe the film's relentlessly embittered and allegedly glorified tone. but none of that could stop it from becoming a box office hit, surpassing deadpool to become the highest grossing r—rated movie of all time, albeit unadjusted for inflation. joker also arrived on the scene at exactly the moment that some old school directors decided to get off their bikes about comic book movies. in a year in which the biggest box office hits included captain marvel, spider—man: far from home and of course avengers: endgame, martin scorsese caused uproar among fans by claiming that marvel movies aren't cinema, comparing them instead to theme park rides that said little about the human condition and had no mystery about them. francis ford coppola, who let's be honest about this hasn't made a decent film in decades, went further, calling marvel—type movies despicable. now, all of this sounds suspiciously like a bunch of grumpy old white men complaining that everything was better in their day when men were men and movies were real movies. but as black panther star chadwick boseman told my bbc colleague simon mayo, the mystery that he's talking about is in black panther, but he didn't get that there was this feeling of being unsure, of not knowing what was going to happen that black people feel because we've never had a superhero like this before, said boseman. maybe this was what he didn't get when he watched it and that's cultural. oof. there was a similar sense of cultural change afoot when pinar toprak became the first woman to score a movie from the marvel cinematic universe with captain marvel, a film that like dc‘s wonder woman started to rebalance long—standing gender stereotypes. other big hitters at the 2019 box office inevitably included family—friendly sequels such as disney's long—awaited toy story 4 or more recently frozen ii. wow, this place is amazing. wasn't buzz going to be here? buzz must be held up somewhere. up here, astro boy. if you think you can take our top prize without a fight, you're wrong. dead wrong. help me get out of here. how do you like that? to infinity and my foot! boom! the vacuum of space, they cannot hear you scream! the house of mouse also continued its mission to repackage its back catalogue through live—action remakes like guy ritchie's aladdin. you look like a prince on the outside. but i didn't change anything on the inside. showtime. no, i'm in charge, 0k? i say when it's time. really? the most baffling of these, however, wasjon favreau's reboot of the lion king, which used photorealist animation to create something that looked absolutely real while remaining absolutely unreal. and in my opinion, absolutely pointless. if you want reality, the best place to find it is in documentaries. and one of the most powerful documentaries of 2019 was for sama, an astonishing front—line account of life under siege in aleppo filmed by a syrian citizen journalist. constructed as a letter to her daughter, the film asks will you blame me for staying here or blame me for leaving? a question raised as we see her and her medic husband returning to the besieged city to tend to the wounded, dodging dodging bullets and barrel bombs with young sama in their arms. altogether less traumatic was amazing grace, a music documentary that took the best part of five decades to make it to our screens. shot over two nights in 1972, it documents aretha franklin's performance at the new temple missionary baptist church in los angeles, which became the biggest selling live gospel album of all time. oscar—winner sidney pollack directed the shoot, but with his background in drama rather than music docs, he failed to use clapperboards or markers, making it virtually impossible to synch the resulting picture to the recorded sound. now, finally new technology solved the problem, and it was worth the wait. # going to say it one more time. # i'm so glad! # so glad! # i've got religion! three years before aretha made those extraordinary baptist church recordings, neil armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon, an event which marked its fifth an event which marked its 50th anniversary in 2019. unsurprisingly, cinema joined in the celebrations with the documentary apollo 11 using remarkable footage to revisit those epochal events ,completing the viewer right there in that tin can that to the moon and back. on the fictional front, there were also several movies this year that portrayed space as the final frontier. the most high—profile of these was james gray's ad astra, which was pitched as 2001 meets apocalypse now but was actually more like event horizon with added interstellar overdrive. ad astra may have had a big star name to fall but so did french director claire denis' altogether more adventurous high life. in which robert pattison joined a misfit crew on a voyage into the heart of darkness. even though we're forwards, getting farther from what's getting nearer... but my own personal favourite was an astonishing existential adventure adapted from an epic poem by swedish nobel laureate harry martinson. i saw echoes of solaris and silent running in this tale of a transporter ship travelling from a ravaged earth to mars which gets knocked off course, leaving its passengers to unravel as deep space beckons. down—to—earth and closer to home, 2019 proved a remarkable year for british film—makers with a string of home—grown projects giving us some of the highlights of the year. ladies and gentlemen...! music. # and i lost my mind somewhere in mexico... in april, jesse buckley earned her musical spurs a tale of a single mother living in glasgow but dreaming of travelling to nashville to find fame and fortune as a country singer. # on my side... # and i think it's going to be along, longtime... in may, dexter fletcher's rocket man channelled the spirit of ken russell as it turned eltonjohn's life into a rip—roaring into a rip—roaring pop fantasia, centred on a barnstorming performance by taron egerton. big night? where is your mask? june saw the release of dirty god, a film about the survivor of an acid attack which posted a strong performance from feature first—timer vicki knight, an extremely versatile actor who on this evidence could have a long and very successful career ahead of her. she really is astonishing. then in september, we had a trio of home—grown modern classics that showcased the diversity of film—making in the uk. she's not coming to take him away. you promise? there so much we can do here now that you are home. from writer—director came the semiautobiographical second feature the last tree, a story of a boy of nigerian heritage being uprooted from an idyllic rural childhood to face life on the mean streets of london. it's a very powerful film featuring a powerful performance. i have not got that much room. you've got a foot on that side. and i literally am on the ledge. i've got nowhere to go. also in september, we had the release ofjoanna hogg's the souvenir, recently voted best film of 2019 by sight & sound magazine. another autobiographically inspired work, the souvenir stars a young film—maker who falls into a relationship with the mysterious anthony. it's a very personal film, it's really tender, funny but insidiously suffocating. i'm just playing, stop torturing yourself. i'm not torturing myself. you're inviting me to torture you. the very best film of the year was bait, the breakthrough features from cornish film—maker markjenkin. i can't speak for everyone. give it a good go then. as a resident, as a homeowner... chairman of the committee... someone who spent a lot of time investing a great deal of money in supporting local industry! a refreshingly authentic tale of tensions between locals and tourists in a once thriving fishing village, it's an evocative portrait of familiar culture classes in an era where traditional trades and lifestyles are under threat. shot with clockwork cameras on grainy 60 mm stock whichjenkin hand processed in his studio, bait is both an impassioned celebration of cornwall‘s proud past and in embracing the tragicomic portrait of its troubled present and possible future. it's a genuine modern masterpiece which establishesjenkin as one of the most arresting and intriguing british film—makers of his generation. now i hope that they get the recognition it deserves at the baftas. it is exactly the kind of film that a british award ceremony should be celebrating. so if i have to come in, you will come and visit me? they're not going to bring an end for a cyst. it felt serious. just because of all the sick people around you. you see the nonsense you talk? how do you get through life? you're still here with me. just doing it out of spite. i also want to see the nominations forordinary love in which leslie manville and liam neeson face up to a diagnosis of breast cancer. recently written by belfast playwright owen mccafferty and directed by who made the life—affirming good vibrations, ordinary love is a remarkable picture that approaches a difficult subject matter with wit, honesty and a large dose of humour. due to a delayed american release, ordinary love won't be eligible for the forthcoming 92nd academy awards. so what are the likely contenders? i'm rick dalton. it is my pleasure. mr schwartz. call me marvin. that's my stunt double cliff booth. we can probably expect recognition for once upon a time in hollywood, quentin tarantino's paean to the end of cinema's age of innocence. after all, oscar voters traditionally love movies about making movies. cut! embarrass yourself up in front of all the people! i intend to make my own way in the world. no one makes their own way, least of all women. you'll need to marry well. you're not married. that's because i'm rich. plenty of oscar buzz around greta gerwing's little women, an adaptation of the louisa may alcott novel and its drawing critical plaudits particularly for leading lady saoirse ronan. who is that guy? a private investigator of great renown. rian johnson's knives out is a possible contender to use an all—star cast to breathe new life into an old agatha christie style whodunit. i suspect foul play. where's jason? and jordan peele's us may be an outside contender with its mix of horror and social satire. enough of those movies will fare with oscar voters? i will leave you with a taste of something that has become a modern christmas tradition, a new star wars movie. still packing out cinemas a full 42 years after a new hope first landed reminding us that when it comes to the movies, some things remain the same. we spotted the fugitives. 0h, they fly now! they fly now? they fly now! hello. does not look as if snow is making a comeback this christmas will we take a break from the rate eventually. has not arrived yet but it will be with flooding and travel disruption for some today and a bit more rain in the forecast this weekend, including for areas that do not want any more. plenty of flood warnings from the environment agency in force at the moment. there are met office weather warnings for the weekend as well so be getting the details at our website. let's take you through this evening and into the night, still raining at the moment across parts of eastern england. that will eventually clear away. for the showers fall behind from the southwest into parts of england and well some will be heavy and sundry. showers two in northwest scotla nd and sundry. showers two in northwest scotland and a much wider picture in northern ireland but there will be fog around here that could be dense in places going into the morning. more than half a brit may be cold in a few spots with a touch of frost. setting up for the weekend hymn of the showers move through early saturday in the clearing and more fronts coming in with more rain but focused across southern parts of the uk whereas elsewhere, there will be some drier weather with a few showers so on saturday this batch of showers so on saturday this batch of showers continues to spread north into northern ireland and only clearing slowly and may linger in some spots and still some showers in northern scotland. places looking drierfor northern scotland. places looking drier for a northern scotland. places looking drierfor a time northern scotland. places looking drierfora time in northern scotland. places looking drierfor a time in the northern scotland. places looking drier for a time in the afternoon before the rain comes into southern england and south wales to write off a day with a fresh southerly wind, quite custody —— gusty in the channel islands. that may bring part of the midlands and east anglia as we get through saturday night and sunday morning and again some fog across the northern half of the uk could be slow to clear and maybe a touch of frost here again whereafter the south the temperatures is holding up. into sunday, the start flute —— clearing and once the fog clears away a few more showers pushing into the western side of the uk with a freshening breeze in the afternoon. throughout the week income come at temperatures just make double figures in the south whereas elsewhere barely close to average for the time of year but it does turn a bit colder into next week and we start with a few more showers around maybe another spell of rain running into parts of telling england. the christmas itself it looks drier and maybe some fog around and drier break does not last very long because it looks like by the end of next week at a low pressure comes back bringing some more rain as well. so is a suggested earlier, not much snow in the forecast but many of us will appreciate a break from the rain albeit a brief one. three and a half years after the eu referendum, mps finally back a brexit deal and it's with a big majority. the ayes to the right, 358. the noes to the left, 234. the noes to the left, 234. after four failed attempts and more than a year of bitter political wrangling, they vote in favour of borisjohnson's eu withdrawal bill. now is the time to act together as one reinvigorated nation, one united kingdom. another step closer — we'll be looking at what happens next with the uk set to leave the european union in six weeks today. also on the programme... the duke of edinburgh is admitted to hospital in london for treatment for what buckingham palace describe as a pre—existing condition.

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