“The Sparks Brothers”
“How can the eccentric and overlooked artpop band Sparks be “successful, underrated, hugely influential and overlooked, all at the same time?” Over the course of a dizzyingly fast 2 hour and 22 minutes, Edgar Wright unpacks that riddle about the musical brothers Ron and Russell Mael with blazingly entertaining efficiency. Over the course of five decades, Sparks have released 25 albums, and that’s a daunting task to overview, but Wright not only manages to tackle every album, but he also manages to create an incredibly empathetic portrait of a group of pop outsiders that are essential to the pop canon and yet, somehow have been mostly ignored by the mainstream. Not only is the doc an enthusiastic love letter and super deluxe mixtape about the band, but it’s also a moving tribute to their perseverance, their persistence of oddball vision, and the way they’ve gracefully navigated the many ups and downs of their career. It’s just outstanding – RP
“Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street”
Inspired by the book of the same name by Michael Davis, Marilyn Agrelo unpacks the development, execution, and impact of “Sesame Street,” one of the most essential television programs of all time. Initially conceived as a way to help teach inner-city children how to read, the legacy of “Sesame Street” can be measured in the millions of people who not only learned their ABCs but important lessons about equality and empathy. So many of the pioneers who fought the expectations of children’s programming to create a show that never talked down to children and elevated their experiences are interviewed here, creating a complete picture of how much the world owes to Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert & Ernie, and the rest of these iconic characters. Jason Bailey covered the film out of its Sundance premiere, noting how the show has “become such a part of the fabric of culture and influenced so much of what came after.” – BT
“Supernova”
Much more than a mere story of a tragedy, Harry Macqueen’s drama is a wonderful platform for two great actors to imbue depth into a pair of the best characters they’ve ever played. Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci star as a longtime couple who are coming to their end, not due to break-up but because one of them soon won’t be able to recognize the face, he’s looked at more than any other in his life. Tucci does arguably the best work of his career as Tusker, a man who has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia and is now taking a road trip across the English countryside with his partner Sam, played by Firth. As the pair sees friends for the last time, the finality of their dynamic builds with each scene. A toast that Tusker tries to give to Sam before having to hand it off to the man he loves is filled with such character-driven grace and empathy. It’s impossible not to be moved. Our Caitlin Quinlan saw the film at the BFI London Festival and wrote that “we feel the years shared between these veteran actors translated into their characters.” – BT
“Undine”
With its dreamy shots of flora and flotsam and its emphasis on water as a purifying force, “Undine” occasionally resembles a more chaste version of “The Shape of Water,” with traces of Douglas Sirk and Jean Cocteau in the mix as well. All points of comparison aside, “Undine” – which is also obsessed with Berlin’s architectural history to a degree that hasn’t been seen since the glory days of Wim Wenders – feels like a film that no one but Christian Petzold could have made. Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski are our leads once again after the director’s brilliant “Transit”; Beer, in particular, has a face that makes it impossible to watch anything else in the frame when she’s onscreen, and when she tells an ex-lover in an early scene that she’ll kill him if he breaks her heart, you sense it’s a literal threat. Playlist critic Jack King resisted the “Shape Of Water” comparison but nevertheless sang the praises of this unconventional fable, writing, “Petzold’s unsettling film is awash with wonderful ambiguities and strives to challenge both its audience and filmmaking conventions.” – NL
“The World To Come”
Expression meets isolation in this simple story set in the heart of America in the 19th century. A woman’s life is changed after a new couple moves to their small corner of the world, and she begins a relationship with the woman next door in this Mona Fastvold film based on the story of the same name by Jim Shepard. Abigail (Katherine Waterston) and Dyer (Casey Affleck) live a life of boring routine when Finney (Christopher Abbott) and Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) completely dismantle their normalcy. Abigail falls for Tallie’s passionate take on life, and Waterston and Kirby completely sell their relationship, never feeling forced or false. After the film’s premiere at Venice in 2020, the great Jessica Kiang called the film “a beautiful and quiet, seasons-spanning tale of poetry and pining pioneer women.” – BT
“Zola”
If you were lucky enough to read Ariza “Zola” King’s 148-tweet thread in real-time, you know that some true stories are almost too insane to be true. And if you were lucky enough to attend the world premiere of Janicza Bravo’s film adaptation, the aptly titled “Zola,” at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, you realize the rest of the world is about to realize that a pandemic-induced delay was more than worth the wait. With an assist from co-screenwriter Jeremy Harris, Bravo transforms Zola’s story into an epic road trip that’s filled with more real-life tension and whimsical style than many would have assumed from King’s own 140 character limited experiences. And at the center of it are two incredible performances from Taylour Paige (as Zola) and Riley Keough (as the not-so trustworthy Stefani) that will stick with you for months. – Gregory Ellwood
Honorable Mention:
OK, there’s a lot of other things we liked this year. Chief among them are “Riders of Justice” with Mads Mikkelsen, the Paul Thomas Anderson and Alfonso Cuaron-approved farm doc, “Gunda” which arguably has the best cinematography of the year, and Spanish filmmaker Fernanda Veladez‘s Sundance award-winning “Identifying Features,” all three of which should probably be on the main list, but time, energy, etc. Regardless, they are great. Lastly, it’s technically TV, and it’s already on our Best of Television in 2021 so far list, but Bo Burnham‘s “Inside” rules, it’s incredibly cinematic and f*ck it; we’re giving it yet another shout out here because we can.
More good stuff to note: Tim Sutton‘s lo-fi “Funny Face” starring breakout actor Cosmo Jarvis who you will likely see a lot more of; TIFF-premiering Netflix drama “Concrete Cowboy” with Idris Elba; Sony Pictures Classics‘ excellent documentary “The Truffle Hunters“; the Netflix thriller “Oxygen” starring Melanie Laurent; the S&M dom film, “PVT Chat” with “Uncut Gems” star Julia Fox; the quiet Netflix drama, “The Dig” with Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes; the Jewish orthodox horror, “The Vigil” from IFC Films; Ben Wheatley‘s polarizing eco-horror “In The Earth,” Warner Bros‘ Latinx musical “In The Heights“; Guy Ritchie‘s “Wrath Of Man” actioner (that some of us hate, some of us love), and a shout out to the polarizing and arguably morally dubious “I Care A Lot.” Whatever barbs you want to throw at it (which we get), it moves like a shark, is super well made, and Rosamund Pike is incredible in it (if a little odious, too). See you back at the movies this summer! – RP