2019 was an embarrassment of riches when it came to cinema. While it’s true that most years require at least some thoughtful contemplation when it comes to whittling down a top ten, 2019 was especially difficult in curating a “best of” list. In the final year of the 2010s, we had tender space odysseys, biting showdowns between the haves and have-nots, treatises on loves won and lost, and deeply personal stories mined from the past - just to name a few. The movies were a hell of a place to be last year. So, let’s pour one out for the decade as it sails into history by celebrating some of my favorite films of 2019.

Director Lulu Wang’s sophomore feature-length film, The Farewell, is one of the year’s best. As a second-generation Chinese American myself, the film hits particularly close to home in a way I never expected to see on the big screen - a transcendent examination of the gap between cultures and generations, The Farewell is a funny and emotionally poignant portrait of a family and the secrets it keeps. Minor spoilers ahead…