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TOP 5 Films of 2019, so far

1. FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY
DIRECTOR: Stephen Merchant
I was looking for a light comedy, so I watched Fighting With My Family, but then I realised the movie has a nuanced core and an authentic soul. You can laugh, but can also be moved by watching this one. An acting showcase for the young (and promising) Florence Pugh and a breakthrough performance for Jack Lowden (who has already proved himself last year in Calibre and Mary Queen of Scots, but not as brightly as in this one), Fighting With My Family works brilliantly because of the acting ensemble. A real-life story and a lesson about life, dreams and the meaning of being a family...! I was pleasantly surprised.


2. AVENGERS: ENDGAME
DIRECTOR: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo
The most antecipated movie of the year, Avengers: Endgame proved to be far superior than most people were expecting. An almost perfect balance between action sequences, character development and a sense of nostalgia, Endgame is a visual spectacle with a heart and a soul. With one of the most impressive ensemble casts ever, it features solid acting performances and surprising plot twists. Not only the highest-grossing movie of the year (maybe I'll say ever), but also one of the very best of 2019.
3. WOMAN AT WAR (KONA FER Í STRÍD, Iceland)
DIRECTOR: Benedikt Erlingsson
I think the movie was meant to be a light and funny study about ecologic matters, but Woman At War ends to be an incredibly ressonant movie everytime you remember it. Led by an amazing performance from Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir as an eco-terrorist who goes from petty vandalism to outright industrial sabotage, the movie never loses its balance between humor, absurdity and good intentions. Woman At War is less a "how to be an independent woman" and more of "how to be a fighter" (no matter your gender).


 4. GUAVA ISLAND
DIRECTOR: Hiro Murai
I don't know if it is a musical, a short film or a visual album, but no matter what Guava Island celebrates music and life in such a sunny and smiley way. Feels fresh and honest, it's not a masterpiece, it's not high art, but it marks for being something different from anything you've seen before this year. Donald Glover AKA Childish Gambino stars as Deni Maroon and Rihanna as Kofi Novia, under the direction of Hiro Murai: and the result is warm and sweet!
5. DIAMANTINO (DIAMANTINO, Portugal)
DIRECTOR: Gabriel Abrantes & Daniel Schmidt
A crazy ride of a movie. Diamantino might well be one of the strangest movies of the year, with the most non-conventional plot and psychiatric-level of shots... but it is a unique movie. Inspired by the figure of Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, Abrantes and Schmidt make the male lead (Carloto Cotta) channel his most delirious mode while the movie plot deals with topics like the refugees crisis, genetic modification, queerness, neo-fascim and the hunt for being a genius. And let's not forget those evil twins, the dogs and the cotton candy-like shots! I would say Diamantino is destined to be a foreign-language cult movie.

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