New Year’s Eve is around the corner and you either finally get time for yourself or you’re pretending to work while being alone in your office. Either way, you have more time than the usual on your hand. If you’re a normal person, Christmas movies are a thing that you don’t get and you wish your Netflix homepage didn’t look like a chick flick library due to these annoying Christmas movies. Yes, Netflix has gone a bit too wild on the Christmas vibe. From “Let it Snow” to “The Knight before Christmas” or “A Cinderella Story Christmas Wish”, you’re wondering if your twelve-year old cousin got your Netflix password. It’s irritating.
But on the other side, Netflix has revealed gems proving that the small screen can be powerful. Netflix production has managed to get independent directors and actors as well as Hollywood stars to create meaningful and must-seen movies. Here is my selection, have a nice cup of hot chocolate, relax and enjoy the show ! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you from Becrit 🙂
1. Marriage Story
Noah Baumbach is back on Netflix after The Meyerowitz Stories and we couldn’t be happier. Marriage Story isn’t your usual love story movie. It is a truthful film about love, showing how a relationship can fall into a nightmare and bring the worst side of yourself. It is not only about love, divorce or family. It is about destiny and the evolution of things, life, feelings. How our choices create our life path. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson are incredibly compatible and make us believe that they probably have dated in another life. Each word is acted and there is not one scene that could be described as useless. Everything is thought through. Some moments can feel a bit slow but take your time, put yourself in the character’s shoes and you’ll realise how true is everything that Baumbach shows us. A good movie to make you think about your choices for the coming year.
2. The Irishman
Talking about taking your time, The Irishman needs time to watch but doesn’t feel like it. Time flies as the actions are going by and 3 hours and a half is how much time you’ll be sat on your couch wondering how De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci still look so cool. The story, as every Scorsese film, needs attention. This guy wants to kill this one but then he stole from the other one so another guy arrives to kill someone else while a guy cheats on his wife… It’s a mafia story and you know what to expect. But the Scorsese cocktail never deceives us and this time pays tribute to 50 years of time, like a tribute to all of his fellow mafia stories-related directors such as Sofia Ford Coppola’s The Godfather or David Chase’s The Sopranos… It’s going to become a must-seen and most of people, like its predecessors mafia-films, will pretend to have seen it. But good resolutions coming up, take some time to watch it to avoid lying !
3. The King
In my opinion, you should watch it. I’m saying this because it wasn’t my favourite (since its third place), but it was interesting. Interesting first because you get to see Robert Pattinson trying desperately to sound French and it’s hilarious. But interesting also in its choice of subject. While Brexit is fast approaching, we put our finger on the beginning of this mess. French and British were already in conflict back in the time and giving some interest to our past could not hurt us. On top of that, well, Timothee Chalamet. I’m a bit biased on this one but once again, he proves that he can play any role. From a lost teenager in Call me by your name to an irritating spoiled boy in Lady Bird or a drug addict in My Beautiful Boy, he showed us that he could play any teenager character. But this time, he’s a king. An childish and party boy that has to become a king and rule a country, and we’re convinced. On his side, Lily-Rose Depp, Joel Edgerton and of course Robert Pattinson, represent the new bunch of actors from the upcoming wave of indy cinema. It’s a historic period film sitting on the edge of indy cinema and a good way to learn about Henry V and England’s past in general.
4. The Two Popes
Directed by Fernando Meirelles who gave us the incredible City of God, The Two Popes is inspired by true events and tells the story of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) and the soon-to-be elected Pope Franci as well as the aging Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins). It’s not only a movie about Church but also on how our society evolves. The two popes encounter conflicts on several subjects such as celibacy among priests and the position of women in the Church. It questions the need to change as well as what losses change will bring. A good way to prepare the annual conflicts during the family Christmas dinner (or to find an excuse to skip the Christmas mass).
5. Klaus
Because it’s still this time of the year and that the festive spirit has to live. This animation film will make you believe in Santa again. It’s a throwback to the hand-drawn masterpieces from Disney and makes us thing that old is good sometimes. It’s touching, funny and for the whole family. A movie that warmth hearts and brings you back to your inner childish spirit. A moving feeling that we all love.
