Late last year, Talkhouse Film contributors and a select few friends of the site voted on their favorite theatrical releases of 2019; you can see the aggregated results here. Below are ballots from a selection of the filmmakers who took part in the voting process.
Rodney Ascher
1. Parasite
2. Too Old to Die Young
3. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
4. Knife+Heart / Cam (tie)
5. Masque of the Red Death (restoration)
6. Cold Case Hammarskjold
7. Joker / American Dharma (tie)
8. Come to Daddy
9. Jojo Rabbit / Knives Out (tie)
10. Desolation Center / Hail Satan? (Tie)
Patrick Brice
1. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
2. Uncut Gems
3. Parasite
4. Us
5. Our Time
6. Dolemite is My Name
7. American Factory
8. Mister America
9. Under the Silver Lake
10. Honey Boy
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
Graham Swon’s Talkhouse piece on Scream is delightful.
Zach Clark
1. Fleabag season
2. Knife + Heart
3. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
4. Tito
5. Parasite
6. Climax
7. Everything that happens in Josh and Kitty’s house in Us
8. The Mountain
9. The Souvenir
10. Relaxer
Stephen Cone
1. The Irishman
2. Peterloo
3. Us
4. Little Women
5. The Dead Don’t Die
6. A Hidden Life
7. The Souvenir
8. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
9. Uncut Gems
10. Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
Comments
Was disappointed to discover that the astounding Aretha Franklin concert film Amazing Grace was not, in fact, a 2019 release. Otherwise it would’ve been way, way up there. An incredible, soul-restoring document to be cherished.
Katherine Dieckmann
1. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
2. Honeyland
3. Little Women
4. Parasite
5. Last Black Man in San Francisco
6. Give Me Liberty
7. Birds of Passage
8. Ash is Purest White
9. Pain and Glory
10. Queen & Slim
Comments
I could and would make a new Top 10 just for docs if I could, because 2019 was a killer year for docs (just for starters: Edge of Democracy, For Sama, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, The Disappearance of My Mother, Knock Down the House, 63 Up, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am).
Jeanie Finlay
1. Ray and Liz
2. So Long, My Son
3. Little Women
4. The Favourite
5. Honeyland
6. Scheme Birds
7. Booksmart
8. Border
9. One Cut of the Dead
10. Amazing Grace
Comments
The most fun I had in the cinema was Cats, but I can’t hand on heart say it was a good film. A memorable and completely enjoyable evening. Like a ketamine-fueled fever dream.
Michael Gallagher
1. Uncut Gems
2. Parasite
3. Ford v Ferrari
4. Richard Jewell
5. The Irishman
6. The Souvenir
7. Waves
8. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
9. The Peanut Butter Falcon
10. Birds Without Feathers
Comments
Uncut Gems is an original, heart-pounding, explosive piece of cinema. Josh and Benny Safdie have taken their kinetic filmmaking style to unparalleled heights. An instant classic. Adam Sandler delivers the performance of the year. Don’t walk– run to see it.
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
How First Reformed’s Success Actually Points to a Dark Future for Independent Film by Alex Ross Perry
Nelson George
1. The Irishman
2. Pain and Glory
3. Parasite
4. Amazing Grace
5. Marriage Story
6. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood
7. Shadow
8. Birds of Passage
9. John Wick #3
10. Never Look Away
Comments
Viewed foreign language films Shadow, Never Look Away and Birds of Passage at those essential, and endangered, spaces known as art house cinemas. I treasure and worry about these theaters.
Maggie Greenwald
1. Parasite
2. Handmaid’s Tale season
3. Little Women
4. Honey Boy
5. When They See Us
6. One Child Nation
7. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 3
8. Marriage Story
9. The Good Fight
10. Transparent – the show’s musical finale.
Comments
Numbers 1-3 unquestionable for me. #8 Unfortunately, very personal and relatable this year. #10 is on my list for bold, risk taking, creativity. Yay, Jill Soloway! However, I’m qualifying my list beyond #4 since there are some likely notable films I have not seen yet. Including 1917, Queen & Slim, etc. So this is my list as of today….
Megan Griffiths
1. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
2. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
3. Honeyland
4. Dolemite is My Name
5. Parasite
6. The Farewell
7. Jojo Rabbit
8. Her Smell
9. Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins
10. Booksmart
Comments
BONUS LIST – Standout Performances in Film & TV: 1. Meryl Streep – The Laundromat 2. Asante Blackk – When They See Us 3. Micah Hauptman – Rust Creek 4. Elisabeth Moss – Her Smell 5. Beanie Feldstein – Booksmart 6. Renee Zellweger – Judy 7. Eddie Murphy – Dolemite is My Name 8. Caitlyn Dever – Unbelievable 9. Noah Jupe – Honey Boy 10. Adèle Haenel – Portrait of a Lady on Fire 11. Marc Maron – Sword of Trust 12. Jamie Foxx – Just Mercy
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
Reclaiming the Narrative is a Work in Progress
Chad Hartigan
1. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
2. The Lighthouse
3. Uncut Gems
4. Monos
5. Her Smell
6. Hustlers
7. Jojo Rabbit
8. The Report
9. Socrates
10. Knives Out
Pat Healy
1. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
2. I Heard You Paint Houses (The Irishman)
3. Parasite
4. 1917
5. Uncut Gems
6. Under the Silver Lake
7. Dragged Across Concrete
8. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
9. Toy Story 4
10. Ford V. Ferrari
Comments
If you are going to call Star Wars “A New Hope” then I am going to call The Irishman “I Heard You Paint Houses.”
Jim Hemphill
1. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
2. The Irishman
3. Black Christmas
4. Uncut Gems
5. Knives Out
6. Us
7. Marriage Story
8. Shaft
9. Midsommar
10. Joker
Jim Hosking
1. Parasite
2. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
4. Dogman
5. Birds of Passage
6. Grass
7. Bait
8. Gloria Bell
9. The Wild Pear Tree
10. John McEnroe in The Realm of Perfection
Comments
Sonic Youth soundtracking John McEnroe was a rush as was the singing scene in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood felt radical in its quietness, and Bait showed someone doing their own thing and getting rewarded for it which is always good to see.
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
The Intricate Brilliance of Low’s Secret Name
Aaron Katz
1. Parasite
2. Her Smell
3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
4. The Farewell
5. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
6. Hustlers
7. Knives Out
8. Dolemite is My Name
9. Marriage Story
10. Amazing Grace
Amanda Kramer
1. Climax
2. The Lighthouse
3. 63 Up
4. Varda by Agnes
5. Clara’s Ghost
6. Queen of Diamonds
7. Amazing Grace:
8. Greta
9. Long Day’s Journey Into Night
10. Diamantino
Bruce LaBruce
1. Uncut Gems
2. I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians
3. Ash is the Purest White
4. Pain and Glory
5. The Painted Bird
6. Climax
7. The Nightingale
8. Joker
9. The Souvenir
10. The Beach Bum/In Fabric (tie)
Comments
I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians is an overlooked political Romanian film in the spirit and worthy of Dusav Makevejev, the Serbian master filmmaker who sadly died this year
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
Peter Strickland (In Fabric) Talks Gaspar Noé’s Climax
James Marsh
1. American Factory
2. The Irishman
3. Climax
4. Monos
5. Transit
6. Midsommar
7. Long Day’s Journey Into Night
8. For Sama
9. Bait
10. Tell Me Who I Am
Kent Osborne
1. Uncut Gems
2. The Beach Bum
3. Midsommar
4. Mister America
5. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
6. The Irishman
7. Sword of Trust
8. Little Women
9. Marriage Story
10. Dolemite is My Name
Comments
I haven’t seen Parasite yet. Honorable mention to Always Be My Maybe, which made me cry.
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
Fuck Shame by Megan Griffiths
Alex Ross Perry
1. Under the Silver Lake
2. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
4. Marriage Story
5. Diamantino
6. The Souvenir
7. High Life
8. Ad Astra
9. Redoubt
10. Joker/Avengers: Endgame
James Ponsoldt
1. Little Women
2. Uncut Gems
3. Parasite
4. A Hidden Life
5. Pain and Glory
6. Knives Out
7. The Mustang
8. Give Me Liberty
9. The Last Black Man in San Francisco
10. The Climb
Comments
I don’t want to wade into the film vs. TV debate, but there are images and emotions in Chernobyl, When They See Us and Fleabag that are indelibly seared into my mind (as much as any film I saw this year).
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
The Day Steve Bannon Stabbed Me in the Back
Joel Potrykus
1. Uncut Gems
2. The Death of Dick Long
3. Dragged Across Concrete
4. Midsommar
5. The Irishman
6. Joker
7. Parasite
8. Her Smell
9. Terminator: Dark Fate
10. Relaxer
Comments
I wish I would’ve written The Death of Dick Long. Caught me by surprise, and creates a universe I believe and fully embrace. A shitty buttrock garage band covers “It’s Been Awhile” within five minutes. I believed every word of it.
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
Emo: A Personal History in Three Parts — ALL PARTS, How I Made Summer Night — Even Though the Money Fell Through a Week Into Shooting, A Not Very Funny Story About My Mother and the 1998 Movie The Godson
Jeff Reichert
1. La Flor
2. High Life
3. Peterloo
4. A Hidden Life
5. Our Time
6. Ad Astra
7. Atlantics
8. The Souvenir
9. End of the Century
10. Diamantino
Todd Rohal
1. Climax
2. Joe Pera Talks With You
3. What You Gonna Do When the World’s On Fire?
4. Uncut Gems
5. Angel Olsen – “All Mirrors” music video
6. Good Boys
7. American Factory
8. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
9. Jawline
10. Monos
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
The Day Steve Bannon Stabbed Me in the Back
Dash Shaw
1. Parasite
2. The Image Book
3. I Lost My Body
4. Atlantics
5. Hotel by the River
6. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
7. The Souvenir
8. Promare
9. Non-Fiction
10. Climax
Comments
Best cinema experience of the year was Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation, Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, ending with the remastered Suzan Pitt’s “Asparagus.” RIP.
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
Visual Pleasure for Whom? Nina Menkes and Anna Biller Talk Queen of Diamonds and Female Representation on Screen
Leah Shore
1. Parasite
2. Uncut Gems
3. The Lighthouse
4. Diamantino
5. Climax
6. For Sama
7. Wrestle
8. Tito
9. Brittany Runs a Marathon
10. Pain and Glory
Comments
I’m thrilled people are getting paid to make experimental-narratives! FINALLY. I’ve no interest in seeing The Irishman. Everyone and their moms should see For Sama NOW.
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
A Culture of Violence: On Wes Craven’s Scream
Chelsea Stardust
1. Jojo Rabbit
2. The Lighthouse
3. Crawl
4. Lords of Chaos
5. Doctor Sleep
6. Little Women
7. Knives and Skin
8. Parasite
9. Hail Satan?
10. Knife + Heart
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
Dancing Alone at the Waffle House and “The Seed Is Planted, The Terror Grows”
Travis Stevens
1. Honeyland
2. Midsommar
3. Little Women
4. Honey Boy
5. The Lighthouse
6. Hail Satan?
7. Jojo Rabbit
8. Horror Noire
9. Booksmart
10. The Peanut Butter Falcon
Comments
With Honeyland, Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska use the pocket-sized process of a bee making honey to tell a global story about the best and worst instincts in humans. This planet and everyone on it would benefit from the simple wisdom of Hatidze Muratova’s approach to harvesting honey from her wild bees: “Half for you, half for me.”
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
How Not to Talk About a Film (Not) About Disability by Aaron Schimberg
Aaron Stewart-Ahn
1. Atlantics
2. Midsommar
3. Parasite
4. The Farewell
5. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
6. Hustlers
7. Tigers Are Not Afraid
8. Our Time
9. Black Mother
10. Swing Kids
Comments
I haven’t yet seen Varda by Agnés but in this the year we lost her, I take solace that we will always have her films, all of them, to know her by.
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
Dean Colin Marcial, Colman Domingo, Lulu Wang & Ruben Östlund
Steve Taylor
1. Parasite
2. The Irishman
3. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
4. Joker
5. Us
6. Birds of Passage
7. Knives Out
8. Apollo 11
9. Jojo Rabbit
10. The Two Popes
Comments
With the possible exception of Parasite, was anything this year as good as Season Two of Fleabag?
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
I loved Morgan Enos’ piece about making an animated video for Daniel Johnston.
Alex Thompson
1. Marriage Story
2. Little Women
3. Uncut Gems
4. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
5. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
6. Pavarotti
7. The Fall
8. Pahokee
9. Ernie & Joe
10. High Life
Comments
#1 – I saw Marriage Story in an audience full of Greeks at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. Kelly and I couldn’t sit together, we got to the screening late (or did it start early?), and I was buried in the front rows in a plot of Yiayia’s and Papou’s. The laughter and tears came in grateful waves. #2 – I found myself in tears for nearly two hours of Little Women’s runtime, and – much like Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood – it made me leave the theater with a strong desire to go out and live a full life. Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh are electric. #7 – this was a cruel and gorgeous masterpiece that reminded me how badly I need Glazer’s filmmaking sensibilities in my life. I can hardly wait for his Zone of Interest. #8 Pahokee hasn’t yet been released domestically, but Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan’s masterfully observational doc would be on every list if it had. There is a permanent address in my heart for it. #10 – This placement is earned solely by Joni Brauer and Johann Bartlitz, as the newborn Willow, Robert Pattinson’s unwitting scene partner in much of the film’s extraordinary first fifteen minutes. It’s hard enough directing babies (you mostly can’t). These two were somehow brilliant. In a year of space-movies, these are the minutes I’ll remember most vividly.
Favorite Talkhouse piece of 2019
Alex Perry’s piece on First Reformed; any dynamic transparency regarding sales and distribution is as valuable as gold. That Perry is a beautiful writer is a bonus.
Ondi Timoner
1. Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
2. Maiden
3. The Peanut Butter Falcon
4. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
5. Honey Boy
6. Honeyland
7. Rocketman
8. Jojo Rabbit
9. Ford vs Ferrari
10. Uncut Gems
Comments
I’m reluctant to call a number one and so forth but this is the best order I can come up with. I still haven’t seen Atlantics, Pain and Glory, Dark Waters, and more…
Caveh Zahedi
1. The Mountain
2. Diane
3. Chained for Life
4. Everybody Knows
5. The Great Hack
6. The Image You Missed
7. Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love
8. American Factory
9. What Is Democracy?
10. Donnybrook
