Charles Coleman’s Top 10 Films of 2024
Charles Coleman, Film Program Director of FACETS Cinema, provides us with a list of his favorite films from 2024, which are not selected in order of importance. All We Imagine As Light and Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat will be shown at Facets in January, so please check the schedule for playdates and showtimes.
La Chimera
Filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher (The Wonders, Happy as Lazzaro), creates a magical, humorous, and romantic adventure set in rural Italy, blending the ancient and modern, in her latest film, La Chimera. Josh O’Connor stars as Arthur, a grieving English archaeologist recently released from prison, joins a group of Italian tomb raiders (tombaroli) who profit from stolen Etruscan artifacts, and he is seen as a mystic for his treasure-hunting abilities. During his earlier studies in the region, he fell in love with Beniamina, the daughter of a local aristocrat Flora (Isabella Rossellini), but now she is gone. As Arthur grapples with melancholy, continues his search for his lost love and wonders if he might reunite with her in the afterlife. Blending realism and enchantment, Rohrwacher explores themes of longing and unattainable desires, with supporting performances by Isabella Rossellini and Alba Rohrwacher.
Directed by Alice Rohrwacher, Italy, 2023, 133 mins. In Italian with English subtitles.
All We Imagine as Light
All We Imagine as Light centers on the lives of three women nurses in Mumbai. Prabha (Kani Kusruti) avoids thinking about her absent husband, Anu (Divya Prabha) hides her relationship with a Muslim boyfriend from her parents, and Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), a widow, faces eviction by property developers. Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes, this sensitive drama highlights daily struggles, portraying resistance, friendship, and sisterhood with beauty and solace found in the unlikeliest of places.
Directed by Payal Kapadia, France/India/Netherlands/Luxembourg, 2024, 118 mins. In Malayalam and Hindi with English subtitles.
All We Imagine as Light screens at FACETS January 11-12 & 18-19. Get more info and buy tickets here.
Good One & Janet Planet
These are two extraordinary debut films which are being selected together as a prime example of American Independent filmmaking, clearly indicating a great future for these filmmakers.
Good One, India Donaldson’s striking debut, follows 17-year-old Sam (Lily Colias) on a Catskills backpacking trip with her divorced father (James Le Gros) and his friend (Danny McCarthy). Originally a bonding trip, tensions rise as unresolved resentments emerge between the men, and Sam’s trust is betrayed. As Sam navigates her discomfort and her father’s emotional limitations, the trip leads to a life-changing realization. This film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival, explores family, friendship, and the complexities of parental bonds.
Directed by India Donaldson, U.S.A., 2024, 90 mins.
Janet Planet follows Lacy (Zoe Ziegler) in the summer before sixth grade as she spends time with her acupuncturist mother, Janet (Julianne Nicholson), in rural Massachusetts. As Lacy observes her mother’s romantic and personal life, she begins to grasp the complexities of adulthood and heartbreak. Set in 1991, Annie Baker’s debut film captures a slow-paced, surreal world where Lacy’s self-awareness grows through quiet moments. Ziegler and Nicholson deliver tender performances, portraying a subtly complex mother-daughter relationship. With supporting roles from Elias Koteas, Sophie Okonedo, and Will Patton, the film explores time, emotion, and relationships.
Directed by Annie Baker, U.S.A., 2023, 113 mins.
Vermiglio
The second feature film by Maura Delpero (Maternal), is a powerful family drama set in a northern Italian mountain village in 1944. The film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice and the Gold Hugo at Chicago, unfolds over four seasons as World War II’s impact changes the community. The arrival of Pietro, a Sicilian soldier with a wounded comrade, disrupts the peace and sparks a love story with Lucia, the local teacher’s daughter. Their growing relationship triggers events that forever alter the village, exploring themes of love, loss, motherhood, patriarchy, and the passage of time in a post-war society.
Directed by Maura Delpero, Italy/France/Belgium, 2024, 118 mins. In Italian with English subtitles.
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Radu Jude, known for his radical political comedy Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, pushes boundaries again in Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World. This acerbic film follows Angela, a stressed film production assistant in Bucharest, who films accident victims for a safety video while maintaining a right-wing, trash-talking alter ego with 20,000 followers. Interwoven with scenes from Lucian Bratu’s 1981 feminist film Angela Moves On, Jude critiques Romania’s past and present, exploring how images distort truth. Featuring Nina Hoss (Tár), Uwe Boll, and Angela’s TikTok persona, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World is a bold satire of our 21st-century dystopia, as life goes on just as mundanely as it does any other day. Winner of the 2023 Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival.
Directed by Radu Jude, Romania/Luxemburg/France/Croatia, 2023, 163 mins, in Romanian, English, German, Hungarian, and Italian with English subtitles.
Evil Does Not Exist
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s film follows a community fighting to preserve its principles and environment against urban developers threatening their way of life. A Tokyo talent company, Playmode, plans to build a tourist “glamping” site that would harm the local ecosystem. This enigmatic drama is darker and more nuanced than a simple city-versus-country struggle, with mystical forces seeking to restore the natural order. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival.
Directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Japan, 2023, DCP, 105 mins. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Anora
Mikey Madison stars as Ani, an exotic dancer from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, whose life changes when she impulsively marries Vanya, the son of a Russian billionaire. When Vanya’s parents attempt to annul the marriage, a wild chase through New York ensues, leading to a heartbreaking twist. Shifting from screwball comedy to thriller, Sean Baker’s Anora explores love, sex, class, and personal liberty, with Madison delivering a gripping performance. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, this film offers an entertaining, touching, and tragic cinematic experience.
Directed by Sean Baker, U.S.A., 2024, 138 mins. In English and Russian with English subtitles.
Close Your Eyes
Victor Erice (El Sur, Dream of Light), Spain’s greatest living filmmaker, returns with Close Your Eyes, his first feature in 30 years. The deeply personal film explores cinema, aging, kinship, loss, and memory. Twenty years after his film fell apart when his best friend Julio (José Coronado) disappeared, Miguel (Manolo Solo) agrees to revisit the mystery for a TV show. Needing money and seeking closure, he reconnects with the film’s editor, a fado singer both he and Julio loved (Helena Miquel), and Julio’s now-adult daughter (Ana Torrent, the child star in Erice’s first film, Spirit of the Beehive).
Directed by Victor Erice, Spain, 2023, 169 mins, in Spanish with English subtitles.
Soundtrack to Coup d’État
Soundtrack to a Coup d’État is an essay film that examines the intersection of African politics and American jazz. Set in 1960, it begins with jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach protesting at the UN over the murder of Patrice Lumumba. The U.S. sends Louis Armstrong to the Congo as part of a “cool war” strategy, distracting from a CIA-backed coup. The film highlights the Cold War, the American civil rights movement, and the assassination of Lumumba, revealing the involvement of the U.S. and Belgian governments. Johan Grimonprez combines archival footage, interviews, and music to critique colonialism, reflecting on the power of music in political movements.
Directed by Johan Grimonprez, Belgium/France/Netherlands, 2024, 150 mins. In English, French, Dutch, and Russian with English subtitles.
Soundtrack to a Coup d’État screens at FACETS January 11-12 & Jan. 18-19. Get more info and buy tickets here.
Only the River Flows
Only the River Flows follows investigator Ma Zhe (Zhu Yilong) as he is assigned to solve the mysterious death of a woman, Granny Four, found by a river in southern China. What begins as a simple case unravels into a complex web of secrets within a rural community. Based on Yu Hua’s novel Mistakes by the River, this bleak neo-noir blends dark humor and surrealism. As Ma uncovers more suspects and faces mounting pressure, his personal life falls apart, and reality blurs, exploring themes of truth and corruption in modern society.
Directed by Wei Shujun, China, 2023, 101 mins. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Red Island, directed by Robin Campillo
The Taste of Things, directed by Trần Anh Hùng
Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Dahomey, directed by Mati Diop
Sing Sing, directed by Greg Gwedar
The Beast, directed by Bertrand Bonello
Love Lies Bleeding, directed by Rose Glass
Last Summer, directed by Catherine Breillat
Problemista, directed by Julio Torres
Hard Truths, directed by Mike Leigh