Florian Kummert recommends: “Jojo Rabbit”
Now on 4K UHD / Blu-ray / DVD and VoD (Distributor: 20th Century Fox)
Why? 2020 was an exceptional year, not just for the cinema, not just because of Corona. There were also many political sources of fire: the rise of the right wing, the infiltration of nationalism and populism into our everyday lives. A film that tells of the poison of right-wing propaganda in a funny and powerful way. “Jojo Rabbit”, for me one of the films of the year.
Adolf Hitler and the horror of war and the Holocaust as comedy and war satire? Director Taika Waititi, who also plays Hitler, who appears to a 10-year-old boy as a fantasy, takes the risk and lands an Oscar-winning direct hit. To tell a story about a destroyed childhood, war and fascism in a humorous and touching way is great cinematic art.
Gregor Wossilus recommends: “The angry – Les Misérables”
Now on Blu-ray / DVD and VoD (Distribution: Alamode)
For me the best film of 2020: “The Angry – Les Misérables”, a mixture of action film and social drama from the banlieues of Paris.
Because it simmers there. The police act with arbitrariness and violence. The situation in the neighborhood escalates when a boy is seriously injured during an operation. The police want to cover it up. But they were filmed in the act. Director Ladj Ly grew up in the banlieues himself, he knows the anger of the quarter and wraps it up in a film of brute force. Highly topical cinema that constricts my throat.
Antje Harries recommends: “Enfant Terrible”
From April 2021 on Blu-ray, DVD and VoD at Weltkino
For me, one of the freest and most creative German films of the year was “Enfant Terrible” by director Oskar Roehler. The performance of Oliver Masucci as Rainer Werner Fassbinder was particularly inspiring.
With “Enfant Terrible” Oskar Roehler has succeeded in making a punk film, melodramatic and brutal. A perfect match for telling the story of the autocratic filmmaker’s life. Fassbinder, the immoderate who drills deep into the soul, ingeniously embodied by Oliver Massucci.
Daniel Ronel recommends: “1917”
Now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and VoD (Distributor: Universal)
My favorite was: 1917. And that in 2020, when so few films made it to the big screen. This anti-war film is made for the cinema. “1917” pulled me right into the action. A young British soldier has to deliver a message to the front during World War I – for life and death.
As if the entire film was shot in a single continuous take without editing, the camera follows the involuntary hero. Shows danger and feelings up close … I do not share the criticism that it looks too much like a video action game. Instead, I always asked myself: How did they do it?
Director Sam Mendes created a film that is only half effective at home. “1917” is the best reason why we will need a lively cinema and the big screen in the future too.
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