If you haven’t heard of the young distributor and producer A24 yet, we promise it’s worth checking out. Founded in 2012 by a group of New York moviegoers, this independent company is stirring up independent cinema in America with innovative and authentic feature films, often immersing us in moving stories with a poetic aesthetic that won’t leave us indifferent. The rise of A24 began with the premiere of spring breakerswhich was very well received by critics, and whose success was followed by numerous films, such as Enemythe terrifying thriller room and the terrifying The Witch.
Originally a film distribution company, A24 began production in 2016 with the film Moonlight, which won the Best Picture Oscar the following year. A24 is also responsible for mid90s, The Lighthouse and horror movies hereditary and midsummer. We could say that his films are characterized by a careful aesthetic, an attractive story and a moving soundtrack, which have made A24 an absolute reference barely 11 years after its foundation. Although our selection is far from complete as it has more than 120 films to its credit, today we select the eight best A24 films that you should definitely see.
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8. The Florida Project (2017) | Dir. Sean Baker
Available in: HBO Max, Google Play
We start the list with an authentic little cinematic masterpiece. Directed by Sean Baker In 2017, the feature film aims to document the life of a precarious population that lives in a motel on the outskirts of Disney World, in Florida. But what makes this film special is the point of view from which we follow the story: that of the innocent and cheerful Moonee, a 6-year-old girl with a strong character. Free in and around her motel, she plays in the fields with her gang of cheeky kids, while her young mother, Halley, has to find (more or less honest) ways to pay the rent each week. The Florida Project It also features an incredible interpretation of Willem Dafoe like the good-natured manager of the motel. Thanks to a moving realism, The Florida Project manages to find the balance to highlight the problem of poverty, while telling the story of a childhood that does not lose its joie de vivre.
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7. Pearl (2022) | Dir.Ti West
Available in: Google Play, AppleTV
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We continue our selection with Pearl, a brave film that revolves around the charisma of Mia Goth. Pearl, the lead, is a tragic anti-heroine, a woman so uptight it’s a miracle her blood vessels don’t rupture beneath her cracked smile. You can’t help but side with her, even though you know it’s only a matter of time before it all rots. But the truth is that things have been going very badly since long before the film begins. The emphasis she puts ti west in the deep blues and greens, yellows and pinks, it hides the suspicion that reality is much worse than what we see from Pearl’s skewed perspective. She also evokes a cinematic language that impressed none other than Martin Scorsesewho wrote a review of the film where he said: “Pearl It is 102 wild, mesmerizing, deeply – and I mean deeply – disturbing minutes.” And he’s right.
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6. Uncut Gems (2019) | Dir. Josh & Benny Safdie
Available in: Netflix
With a wild and frenetic electricity, Josh and Benny Safdie we are presented in Uncut Gems a New York brimming with fury and emotion in this masterpiece of 21st century thriller. Along with the hectic good time of 2017, the Safdie brothers have established themselves as icons of contemporary cinema. This time, we follow the movements of scruffy Howard Ratner (played by Adam Sandler), a jeweler with mounting debts to pay off as he risks his life and finances to stay afloat. The film pierces the retinas with a rush of adrenaline, where the Safdies perfectly capture the look and feel of the city, while sculpting characters that seem fresh from the DNA of Tarantino and Scorsese films. Sandler is an eccentric guy who lives on a razor’s edge and literally enjoys every minute to the very end.
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5. Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) | Dir. The Daniels
Available in: Prime Video, AppleTV
The most recent Oscar winner for best picture is an emotional exploration of the concept of the multiverse as the representation of the infinite possibilities that we do not take. It is unclassifiable because it encompasses all genres, and it is incredible that a low-budget independent film has been able to beat the big Hollywood productions by breaking their codes, both in content and in form. on the tape, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert They are responsible for the artistic and mind-blowing comedy-drama that tells the story of Evelyn Wang, a busy and stressed mother who struggles to connect with her caring husband and frustrated daughter. When someone from a parallel universe tells her that she’s the only one who can save the world from an apocalyptic threat, it’s the last thing Evelyn needs. But boy is it worth the crazy ride she takes us on.
4. Lady Bird (2017) | Dir. Greta Gerwig
Available in: Prime Video, Google Play, Apple TV
Although coming-of-age movies are well known, Lady Bird, of Greta Gerwig, is much more than a simple ode to the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The film centers on the story of Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (played by the incredible saoirse ronan), a middle-class young woman struggling desperately not to be like her mother, who works tirelessly as a nurse to keep her family afloat. But as Lady Bird grapples with the usual problems of adolescence, like discovering her sexuality and writing college applications, it’s her social status that she struggles to come to grips with. Thus, when the Californian high school student wants to apply to universities on the East Coast, her mother tells her that she has to stay close to home for financial reasons. Like The Florida Project, Lady Bird he takes his time to portray an American reality with a rare precision, without artifice or gloss, but in a beautiful way.
3. The Witch (2015) | Dir. Robert Eggers
Available in: Netflix, Prime Video, Google Play, Apple TV
Having directed only three feature films, after a trio of short film projects, it’s truly impressive to recognize the amount of fan following that the filmmaker Robert Eggers has won after The Witch, The Lighthouse and The Northman. Although in the latter he showed how he handles a bigger budget and a good story of epic scope, it was The Witch, from 2015, the one that had the most considerable impact on contemporary cinema, especially in the horror genre. The film is a rural fairy tale perpetuating reclusive paranoia in 1630s New England, and where once witchy folktales were shot with cheap, murky grain, Eggers embraces crisp resolution with fantastic cinematography that takes advantage of the limitations. of natural light. Frightening in the best sense of the word, and with a delicious and mystical seduction at the hands of Black Philip.
2. hereditary (2018) | Dir. Ari Aster
Available in: Netflix, HBO Max, Google Play, Apple TV
AriAster, Who for some time now has been in charge of changing the rules of the game in the contemporary horror genre, is another director with a scant filmography, but for whom there is no shortage of praise. In 2018, hereditary it brought intelligence to the classic horror tale, with a story itself not too extraordinary, but a revolutionary execution. Hideously hopeless, the film’s terror builds within an intense cauldron of guilt, envy and regret aided by fantastic performances across the board, especially from Toni Collette. That car scene is itself an example of horror at its best. Aster’s sequel midsummerwould cement its prominence in the contemporary horror genre, infusing its grim narratives with a strong emotion latent in its subtext, but its debut is definitely a modern horror classic.
1. Moon light (2017) | Dir. Barry Jenkins
Available in: HBO Max, Google Play, Apple TV
And finally we come to number one, Moonlight. The masterpiece of Barry Jenkins introduces us to Chiron, whom we accompany during three different periods of his life: childhood, adolescence and adulthood. In the tape, Chiron fights against his social status in addition to trying to affirm his homosexuality. He describes the portrait of masculinity in the modern world and explores themes such as identity, sexuality and physical abuse in youth. Critically acclaimed upon its release, the project won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and, for Mahershala Ali, for best supporting actor, a win that later made him the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar. Pioneer in every way Moon light became the first film with an all-black cast, the first LGBTQI+ related film to win Best Picture, and also made joi mcmillon became the first black woman to be nominated for an Oscar for her editing. Her storytelling ability, where a heartbreaking love story and the psychological torment of her protagonist, still lives on in our minds and hearts.
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