The 10 best films of 2018

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In this second publication of the best films, we present which are, in our opinion and that of some critics, the best of 2018

The season of prizes is approaching and we want to present you this recount of the films that we liked most of the year that has just ended so that you are updated for the prizes that come in the first months of 2019. We made this selection based on two great and respected lists of films: the New York Times and the Taste of Cinema portal and at our own discretion.

Leer en español: Las 10 mejores películas del 2018 (parte 2)

We also made a selection with movies that you probably have not seen, because you will surely know the most famous ones. Here, in addition to the obvious, you will find some that maybe you did not know and that we wish would not go unnoticed at the beginning of the year. We also try to find variety in this list, both genres and countries.

They are not in a specific order, we all liked them equally. Do not forget to read the first part of this article with the other five films that marked us in 2018. Here they go.

First Reformed , Paul Schrader (United States)

It tells the story of a reverend on the edge of the abyss that starts a newspaper. He has lost a son, is secretly an alcoholic and is faced with a crisis of faith. The character begins to interact with Michael, an environmental activist and Mary, his pregnant wife in a turn that begins to flesh out the story.

It is interpreted by Ethan Hawke in which for many it is the best interpretation of his career. Many compare this tape with Taxi Driver, also written by Paul Schrader, due to the brilliant use of the camera in the first person. It is a dark drama that takes us to the abyss of this man's soul. It can be seen in the Amazon streaming service.

Tropical virus , Santiago Caicedo (Colombia)

It is the cinematographic adaptation of the homonymous graphic novel written by the Colombian-Ecuadorian cartoonist Powerpaola, in which she tells about her childhood and adolescence. Paola is a middle class girl, daughter of a former priest. His family has to move several times during her childhood and in one of those moves they end up in Cali during the 80s.

The life of this girl, her relationships with men, with her sisters and with the rest of her family is intermingled with the political context of Colombia at the time. In the animation, the film explores the thoughts and emotions of Paola and she does it in a masterly way, nurturing it with her relationships with others and with the problems of a typical adolescent, the country in which she lives and family dysfunctions.

Capernaüm, Nadine Labaki (Lebanon)

This melodrama follows the life of Zain, a 12-year-old boy, in the streets of Beirut. According to the New York Times review, it is a naturalistic film, in the sense that the camera literally follows this child through the streets and shows us raw scenes of his reality.

However, it is also a tragicomedy, because although you will cry in some parts of this film, you will also laugh at the way in which Zain, with an admirable stoicism, confronts his reality. Many have said that this film is the equivalent of The 400 blows, for this director who, each time, is more respected in the Arab cinema and now European.

Black Panther , Ryan Coogler (United States)

Taste of Cinema names it the best movie of superheroes and the Marvel Universe that has been made. And I agree. It is the first film with a black superhero as the protagonist. But this is not very good. And it is that the film takes advantage of this. Instead of overlooking it, it is full of race claims that are not gratuitous or feel forced.

T'Challa (who will later become Black Panther) returns to his native country of Africa, Wakanda, to face a new villain and thus liberate her people and save the planet. The film also has good action scenes and several Marvel style jokes at the time it makes obvious references to the oppression and liberation of the town of T'Challa.

Rome , Alfonso Cuarón (Mexico)

Read also: The 7 Latin American films released in 2018

It is the second black and white movie on our list (the other one is Tropical Virus). Although much has been said about how the Mexican Cuarón relied on the memories of his childhood, this film is more about Cleo than about Cuarón himself. The film follows Cleo, the domestic employee of a middle-class family that lives in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City during 1970, the year in which the so-called "halconazo" occurs, a confrontation between the paramilitary group Los Halcones and students who They protested in the streets.

It is a slow tape but full of moments that the spectator will remember and embrace forever. It explores Cleo's relationship with the children of the house and with her employer and goes beyond simply criticizing her but studying and unraveling her. The picture, in addition, is beautiful. The movie is on the bill right now and you can also see it on Netlix.

LatinAmerican Post | Juliana Rodríguez Pabón

Translated from "Las 10 mejores películas del 2018"