Many great directors, including Lynne Ramsay, Lars Von Trier, Alfonso Cuarón, Josephine Decker and Yorgos Lanthimos, all released movies in 2018, making it a big year in film. Alongside the established directors, the past year also introduced the film world to some brilliant up-and-coming directors with films such as Jim Cummings’ Thunder Road, Augustine Frizzell’s Never Goin’ Back, Paul Dano’s Wildlife and Jennifer Fox’s narrative debut, The Tale. Choosing my favorite films out of this group of incredibly talented filmmakers was a difficult task. Each contributed to the progression of the medium, and made 2018 such an enjoyable year for audiences around the world.
This year was full of great horror films such as Mandy and Suspiria. It also gave us the newest addition to Lars Von Trier’s long and difficult history with the Motion Picture Association of America, courtesy of his latest film, The House That Jack Built. Revenge was a powerful addition to the horror subgenre of rape and revenge films, as Fargeat brought a female voice to the male-dominated genre. Her work upheaved nearly all of the tropes of the genre, and her film’s impact will certainly shape future film criticism.
This past year was also full of gut-wrenching, emotionally impactful movies. The Miseducation of Cameron Post portrayed the nauseating account of a right-wing gay conversion therapy camp, and The Tale depicted Jennifer Fox’s personal, heartbreaking account of sexual abuse as a child. Each of these films recounted a few of the horrible aspects of our culture, but also gave hope to all of those affected by either of these atrocities.
From the deconstruction of the art of acting in Madeline’s Madeline to the slow-burn, psychological mystery in Burning, this past year had a variety of films for all tastes. Hopefully 2019 can live up to the high standard this past year set.
Full List Here: https://letterboxd.com/colefowler/list/ranked-18s/
For the Love of Cinema 