As another year comes to an end, it is time to take a look back and examine all the good, the bad and the ugly stuff we saw in those 365 days. When it comes to cinema, 2019 has offered much more of the good stuff than we might have first imagined.
Along with socially conscious American movies that have given audiences a lot to talk about — such as Todd Phillips’ grimly anarchic Joker and Jordan Peele’s brilliant allegory Us — we could also see a number of politically engaged titles from all over the globe receive universal acclaim from critics and the public worldwide, even beyond the limits of the world’s most prestigious film festivals. And I’m talking about awarded productions as diverse and exceptional as the South Korean Parasite, the Brazilian Bacurau and the Palestinian It Must Be Heaven. In other words, resistance as film.
Meanwhile, we got to see renowned filmmakers bear their souls with some extremely personal works. It was the case, for instance, of Pedro Almodóvar with his own Felliniesque Pain and Glory and Quentin Tarantino with his nostalgic cry Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. And it was also when the great Agnès Varda gave us her swan song, the wonderful look into her career Varda by Agnès in which she shares her creative process with the viewers and shows us once again why she was one of the most important names in the history of cinema. She will certainly be missed.
So, without further ado, I leave here my traditional list of best and worst films released worldwide in cinemas and streaming websites in the year of 2019 — which means I’m including movies from previous years that only left their own continents in 2019, such as the Japanese meta masterpiece One Cut of the Dead (made in 2017) and Yorgos Lanthimos’ royal intrigue The Favourite (2018). And, of course, I also leave below my complete list with all films watched this year. Enjoy.
BEST MOVIES RELEASED WORLDWIDE IN 2019 (in order of preference):
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire (France, 2019)
- One Cut of the Dead (Japan, 2017)
- Bacurau (Brazil/France, 2019)
- Parasite (South Korea, 2019)
- The Favourite (Ireland/UK/USA, 2018)
- Us (USA/Japan, 2019)
- It Must Be Heaven (Palestine/France/Qatar/Germany/Canada/Turkey, 2019)
- Varda by Agnès (France, 2019)
- Uncut Gems (USA, 2019)
- The Realm (Spain/France, 2018)
30 OTHER FILMS THAT DESERVE MENTION (in alphabetic order):
Amazing Grace (USA, 2018)
Apollo 11 (USA, 2019)
Arctic (Iceland, 2018)
Avengers: Endgame (USA, 2019)
Birds of Passage (Colombia/Denmark/Mexico/Germany/Switzerland/France, 2018)
By the Grace of God (France/Belgium, 2018)
Doctor Sleep (USA/UK, 2019)
Dragged Across Concrete (Canada/USA, 2018)
Eighth Grade (USA, 2018)
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (USA, 2019)
Fyre (USA, 2019)
Honeyland (Republic of Macedonia, 2019)
I Lost My Body (France, 2019)
If Beale Street Could Talk (USA, 2018)
Invisible Life (Brazil/Germany, 2019)
The Irishman (USA, 2019)
Joker (USA/Canada, 2019)
Knives Out (USA, 2019)
The Lighthouse (Canada/USA, 2019)
Marriage Story (UK/USA, 2019)
Mid90s (USA, 2018)
Midsommar (USA/Sweden/Hungary, 2019)
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (UK/USA/China, 2019)
Pain and Glory (Spain, 2019)
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (USA, 2019)
Sorry Angel (France, 2018)
Toy Story 4 (USA, 2019)
The Two Popes (UK/Italy/Argentina/USA, 2019)
The Wolf’s Call (France, 2019)
Yomeddine (Egypt/Austria/USA, 2018)
WORST MOVIES RELEASED WORLDWIDE IN 2019 (in order of mediocrity):
- Berlin, I Love You (Germany, 2019)
- The Curse of La Llorona (USA, 2019)
- Vox Lux (USA, 2018)
- The Dead Don’t Die (Sweden/USA, 2019)
- The Image Book (Switzerland/France, 2018)
- A Rainy Day in New York (USA, 2019)
- Alita: Battle Angel (USA, 2019)
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (USA, 2019)
- X‑Men: Dark Phoenix (USA, 2019)
- Greta (Ireland/USA, 2018)
15 OTHER FILMS THAT DESERVE DISHONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetic order):
Annabelle Comes Home (USA, 2019)
Atlantics (France/Senegal/Belgium, 2019)
Captain Marvel (USA, 2019)
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (USA, 2019)
The Golden Glove (Germany/France, 2019)
Happy Death Day 2U (USA/Japan, 2019)
In Fabric (UK, 2018)
Isn’t It Romantic (USA, 2019)
It Chapter Two (Canada/USA, 2019)
Knife+Heart (France/Mexico/Switzerland, 2018)
Mother’s Instinct (France/Belgium, 2018)
The Mule (USA, 2018)
The Perfection (USA, 2018)
Velvet Buzzsaw (USA, 2019)
Yesterday (UK/USA, 2019)
COMPLETE LIST OF FILMS SEEN IN 2019 (in alphabetic order):
- ABC of a Strike, or ABC da Greve (Brazil, 1990) — ****
- Absence, or Ausência (Brazil/Chile/France, 2014) — ***
- Ad Astra (USA/China, 2019) — **
- Aladdin (USA, 2019) — ****
- Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (USA, 1974) — ***
- Alita: Battle Angel (USA, 2019) — **
- Along the Coast, or Du côté de la côte (France, 1958) — *****
- Amazing Grace (USA, 2018) — *****
- Anima (UK, 2019) — ***
- Annabelle Comes Home (USA, 2019) — **
- Apollo 11 (USA, 2019) — ****
- Arctic (Iceland, 2018) — ****
- Asako I & II, or Netemo Sametemo (Japan/France, 2018) — **
- Ash Is Purest White, or Jiang hu er nü (China/France/Japan, 2018) — **
- At Eternity’s Gate (Switzerland/Ireland/UK/France/USA, 2018) — ***
- At War, or En Guerre (France, 2018) — ***
- Atlantics, or Atlantique (France/Senegal/Belgium, 2019) — **
- Avengers: Endgame (USA, 2019) — ****
- Avengers: Infinity War (USA, 2018) — ***
- Ayka (Russia/Germany/Poland/Kazakhstan/China/France, 2018) — ***
- Bacurau (Brazil/France, 2019) — *****
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (USA, 2018) — *****
- The Beach Bum (Switzerland/UK/France/USA, 2019) — ****
- The Beaches of Agnès, or Les Plages d’Agnès (France, 2008) — *****
- The Beales of Grey Gardens (USA, 2006) — ****
- Beau Travail (France, 1999) — ***
- Behind the Curve (USA, 2018) — ***
- Berlin, I Love You (Germany, 2019) — *
- Bianca (Italy, 1984) — ****
- Big Jet, or Big Jato (Brazil, 2016) — ****
- Birds of Passage, or Pájaros de Verano (Colombia/Denmark/Mexico/Germany/Switzerland/France, 2018) — ****
- Bliss (USA, 2019) — ***
- Body Electric, or Corpo Elétrico (Brazil, 2017) — ****
- Bone Tomahawk (USA/UK, 2015) — *****
- Booksmart (USA, 2019) — ****
- Border, or Gräns (Sweden/Denmark, 2018) — ****
- Boy Erased (Australia/USA, 2018) — ***
- Braços Cruzados, Máquinas Paradas (Brazil, 1979) — ****
- Breakaway (USA, 1966) — ****
- Breathless, or À Bout de Souffle (France, 1960) — *****
- The Bride with White Hair, or Bai fa mo nu zhuan (Hong Kong, 1993) — ***
- A Brief History of Time (UK/Japan/USA, 1991) — ***
- A Bucket of Blood (USA, 1959) — ***
- Burden (UK/Belgium/Sweden/USA, 2016) — ****
- By the Grace of God, or Grace à Dieu (France/Belgium, 2018) — ****
- Califórnia (Brazil, 2015) — ****
- Cam (USA, 2018) — ****
- Can You Ever Forgive Me? (USA, 2018) — ***
- Captain Marvel (USA, 2019) — **
- Catfight (USA, 2016) — ***
- Charlie Says (USA, 2018) — **
- Chernobyl (USA/UK, 2019) — ****
- Cidadão Boilesen (Brazil, 2009) — ****
- Cinema Novo (Brazil, 2016) — ****
- Colette (UK/USA, 2018) — ***
- Conterrâneos Velhos de Guerra (Brazil, 1990) — ****
- Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (USA, 2019) — ****
- Cosmic Ray (USA, 1962) — *****
- Couples Retreat (USA, 2009) — *
- Crawl (USA, 2019) — ***
- Crazy Rich Asians (USA, 2018) — ***
- Creed II (USA, 2018) — ***
- Crisis in Six Scenes (USA, 2016) — *
- Crossroads (USA, 2002) — *
- The Curse of La Llorona (USA, 2019) — *
- The Dance of Reality, or La Danza de la Realidad (Chile/France, 2013) — ****
- The Day After, or Geu-hu (South Korea, 2017) — ***
- The Dead Don’t Die (Sweden/USA, 2019) — *
- Deerskin, or Le Daim (France, 2019) — ***
- Desperately Seeking Susan (USA, 1985) — **
- Diary of a Pregnant Woman, or L’Ópera-Mouffe (France, 1958) — ****
- Diego Maradona (UK, 2019) — ****
- Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes (USA, 2018) — ****
- Os Doces Bárbaros (Brazil, 1977) — ****
- Doctor Sleep (USA/UK, 2019) — ****
- Dogville (Denmark/Netherlands/Sweden/Germany/UK/France/Finland/Norway/Italy, 2003) — *****
- Dolemite (USA, 1975) — **
- Dolemite Is My Name (USA, 2019) — ***
- Don’t Call Me Son, or Mãe Só Há Uma (Brazil, 2016) — **
- Dragged Across Concrete (Canada/USA, 2018) — ****
- Drifter, or Andarilho (Brazil, 2007) — ****
- Dumbo (USA, 2019) — ***
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (USA, 1982) — *****
- Easy Rider (USA, 1969) — ****
- The Edge of Democracy, or Democracia em Vertigem (Brazil, 2019) — ****
- Eighth Grade (USA, 2018) — ****
- El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (USA, 2019) — ****
- Eli (USA, 2019) — ****
- Elena (Brazil/USA, 2012) — *****
- Endless Poetry, or Poesía Sin Fin (Chile/UK/France, 2016) — ****
- Escape Room (Canada/USA, 2019) — **
- Estamira (Brazil, 2004) — *****
- Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (USA, 2019) — **
- Farewell, or A Despedida (Brazil, 2014) — ****
- The Farewell (USA/China, 2019) — ****
- Farewell to the Night, or L’Adieu à la Nuit (France/Germany, 2019) — ****
- The Favourite (Ireland/UK/USA, 2018) — *****
- The Fiancés of the Bridge Mac Donald, or Les fiancés du pont Mac Donald ou (Méfiez-vous des lunettes noires) (France, 1961) — ***
- O Fim e o Princípio (Brazil, 2006) — ****
- Fire in the Sky (USA, 1993) — ***
- The First Temptation of Christ, or Especial de Natal Porta dos Fundos: A Primeira Tentação de Cristo (Brazil, 2019) — ***
- Free Solo (USA, 2018) — ****
- The Front Page (USA, 1974) — ****
- Fyre (USA, 2019) — ****
- Game of Thrones: The Last Watch (USA, 2019) — ***
- Gerald’s Game (USA, 2017) — *****
- Ghost World (USA/UK/Germany, 2001) — ****
- Girls of the Sun, or Les Filles du Soleil (France/Belgium/Georgia/Switzerland, 2018) — ***
- Girls Trip (USA/Canada, 2017) — ****
- Glass (USA, 2018) — ***
- Gloria Bell (Chile/USA, 2018) — ***
- The Golden Glove, or Der goldene Handschuh (Germany/France, 2019) — **
- Green Book (USA, 2018) — **
- Greta (Ireland/USA, 2018) — **
- Gretchen Road Movie, or Gretchen Filme Estrada (Brazil, 2010) — ****
- Greve! (Brazil, 1979) — ****
- Hail Satan? (USA, 2019) — ****
- Hale County This Morning, This Evening (USA, 2018) — ***
- The Handmaid’s Tale (USA/Germany, 1990) — **
- Happy as Lazzaro, or Lazzaro Felice (Italy/Switzerland/France/Germany, 2018) — ***
- Happy Death Day 2U (USA/Japan, 2019) — **
- The Haunting of Julia, or Full Circle (Canada/UK, 1977) — **
- Heleno, or Heleno: O Príncipe Maldito (Brazil, 2011) — ***
- Hercules and the Amazon Women (USA/New Zealand, 1994) — ***
- Hércules 56 (Brazil, 2006) — ****
- High Life (UK/France/Germany/Poland/USA, 2018) — ***
- Homem Comum (Brazil, 2015) — **
- Honeyland (Republic of Macedonia, 2019) — *****
- Hood Movie: Is the City One Only?, or A Cidade É uma Só? (Brazil, 2011) — ***
- Hotel Mumbai (Australia/USA/India, 2018) — ***
- How Nice to See You Alive, or Que Bom Te Ver Viva (Brazil, 1989) — ****
- How to Die in Oregon (USA, 2011) — *****
- A Hungarian Passport, or Un Passeport Hongrois (Belgium/France/Brazil, 2001) — ****
- I Lost My Body, or J’ai Perdu Mon Corps (France, 2019) — ****
- Idiocracy (USA, 2006) — **
- If Beale Street Could Talk (USA, 2018) — ****
- The Image Book, or Le Livre d’Image (Switzerland/France, 2018) — *
- In Fabric (UK, 2018) — **
- Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, or Stephen Hawking’s Universe (UK, 2010) — ***
- The Invention of Lying (USA, 2009) — **
- Invisible Life, or A Vida Invisível (Brazil/Germany, 2019) — ****
- The Irishman (USA, 2019) — ****
- Isn’t It Romantic (USA, 2019) — **
- It Chapter Two (Canada/USA, 2019) — **
- It Must Be Heaven (Palestine/France/Qatar/Germany/Canada/Turkey, 2019) — *****
- The Jacket (Germany/USA, 2005) — ***
- Jesus, or The Jesus Film (USA, 1979) — ***
- La Jetée (France, 1962) — *****
- John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum (USA, 2019) — ***
- Joker (USA/Canada, 2019) — ****
- Jupiter’s Moon, or Jupiter holdja (Hungary/Germany/France, 2017) — *
- Keep Going, or Continuer (Belgium/France, 2018) — **
- Knife+Heart, or Un Couteau dans le Coeur (France/Mexico/Switzerland, 2018) — **
- Knives Out (USA, 2019) — ****
- Last Chants for a Slow Dance (USA, 1977) — ****
- The Last Metro, or Le Dernier Métro (France, 1980) — ****
- Leaving Neverland (UK, 2019) — ****
- Leto (Russia/France, 2018) — *****
- Letters to Juliet (USA, 2010) — ***
- The Lighthouse (Canada/USA, 2019) — ****
- Linha de Montagem (Brazil, 1982) — ****
- The Lion King (USA, 2019) — ***
- Liquid Truth, or Aos Teus Olhos (Brazil, 2017) — ***
- Little Tickles, or Les Chatouilles (France, 2018) — *****
- Long Shot (USA, 2019) — **
- Loucas pra Casar (Brazil, 2015) — ***
- Love After Love (USA, 2017) — ****
- Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (USA, 1955) — **
- Love Steaks (Germany, 2013) — ****
- Lula, the Son of Brazil, or Lula, o Filho do Brasil (Brazil/Argentina, 2009) — ***
- Mad Max (Australia, 1969) — ****
- Madeline’s Madeline (USA, 2018) — ***
- Malice, or Malícia (Brazil, 2016) — **
- Man with a Movie Camera, or Chelovek s kino-apparatom (Soviet Union, 1929) — *****
- Marriage Story (UK/USA, 2019) — ****
- Mary Poppins Returns (USA, 2018) — **
- Mary Queen of Scots (UK/USA, 2018) — ***
- Mid90s (USA, 2018) — ****
- Midsommar (USA/Sweden/Hungary, 2019) — ****
- The Mighty Spirit, or Santo Forte (Brazil, 1999) — ****
- Minding the Gap (USA, 2018) — ***
- Mirai, or Mirai no Mirai (Japan, 2018) — ***
- Mommy Dead and Dearest (USA, 2017) — ****
- Mother’s Instinct, or Duelles (France/Belgium, 2018) — **
- A Movie (USA, 1958) — ****
- The Mule (USA, 2018) — **
- Murder by Death (USA, 1976) — ****
- Murder Party (USA, 2007) — **
- My Mom Is a Character 2, or Minha Mãe é uma Peça 2: O Filme (Brazil, 2016) — **
- My Mom is a Character 3, or Minha Mãe é uma Peça 3: O Filme (Brazil, 2019) — ***
- Neighboring Sounds, or O Som ao Redor (Brazil, 2012) — *****
- Nelson Freire (Brazil, 2003) — ****
- Never Look Away, or Werk Ohne Autor (Germany/Italy, 2018) — ***
- No Paiz das Amazonas (Brazil, 1922) — ***
- NOVA: Black Hole Apocalypse (USA, 2018) — ****
- Of Fathers and Sons, or Kinder des Kalifats (Germany/USA/Syria/Lebanon/Netherlands/Qatar, 2017) — ***
- On the Basis of Sex (USA, 2018) — ***
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (UK/USA/China, 2019) — ****
- One Cut of the Dead, or Kamera wo tomeruna! (Japan, 2017) — *****
- The Other End, or Fala Comigo (Brazil, 2016) — ***
- Our Struggles, or Nos Batailles (Belgium/France, 2018) — ***
- Pacific (Brazil, 2009) — ****
- Pain and Glory, or Dolor y Gloria (Spain, 2019) — ****
- A Paixão de JL (Brazil, 2015) — *****
- Pan-Cinema Permanente (Brazil, 2008) — ***
- The Panama Papers (USA, 2018) — ***
- The Parade, or Parada (Serbia/Slovenia/Croatia/France/Republic of Macedonia/UK, 2011) — ***
- Parasite, or Gisaengchung (South Korea, 2019) — *****
- Paris, Texas (West Germany/France/UK/USA, 1984) — *****
- Peões (Brazil, 2004) — ****
- The Perfection (USA, 2018) — **
- Pet Sematary (USA, 2019) — ***
- Plus One (USA, 2019) — ***
- La Pointe-Courte (France, 1955) — ****
- Pokémon Detective Pikachu (USA/Japan/Canada, 2019) — **
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire, or Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu (France, 2019) — *****
- Praça Paris (Portugal/Argentina/Brazil, 2017) — ****
- Princess Mononoke, or Mononoke-hime (Japan, 1997) — *****
- Prisoner of the Iron Bars, or O Prisioneiro da Grade de Ferro (Brazil, 2003) — ****
- A Public Opinion, or A Opinião Pública (Brazil, 1967) — ****
- Pulp Fiction (USA, 1994) — *****
- Queen Mimi (USA, 2015) — ****
- Quiz Show (USA, 1994) — ****
- RBG (USA, 2018) — ****
- A Rainy Day in New York (USA, 2019) — *
- Ralph Breaks the Internet (USA, 2018) — ***
- Raw, or Grave (France/Belgium/Italy, 2016) — ****
- The Realm, or The Candidate, or El Reino (Spain/France, 2018) — *****
- Report (USA, 1967) — ****
- The Report (USA, 2019) — ***
- Requiescant, or Kill and Pray (Italy/Monaco, 1967) — ***
- Rifle (Brazil/Germany, 2016) — **
- Right Here Right Now, or So was von da (Germany, 2018) — ***
- The Ritual (UK/Canada, 2017) — ***
- Rock Brasília: Era de Ouro (Brazil, 2011) — ***
- Rocketman (UK/USA/Canada, 2019) — ***
- Rodin (France/Belgium/USA, 2017) — ***
- Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese (USA, 2019) — ****
- Saint Laurent (France/Belgium, 2014) — **
- The Search (France/Georgia, 2014) — ***
- Seen, Not Seen, or Já Visto Jamais Visto (Brazil, 2013) — ***
- Shazam! (USA, 2019) — ***
- Shelley (Denmark/Sweden, 2016) — ****
- Sibyl (France/Belgium, 2019) — ***
- Signs (USA, 2002) — ***
- The Silent Revolution, or Das schweigende Klassenzimmer (Germany, 2018) — ***
- The Sixth Sense (USA, 1999) — *****
- Skhizein (France, 2008) — ****
- Skin (USA, 2018) (short) — *****
- Skin (USA, 2018) — ***
- The Sky Above, or O Céu Sobre os Ombros (Brazil, 2010) — ****
- Sleep Tight, or Mientras Duermes (Spain, 2011) — ***
- So Normal, or Os Normais: O Filme (Brazil, 2003) — **
- Socorro Nobre (Brazil, 1996) — ****
- Sorry Angel, or Plaire, Aimer et Courir Vite (France, 2018) — ****
- The Soul of the Bone, or A Alma do Osso (Brazil, 2004) — **
- The Souvenir (UK/USA, 2019) — **
- Spider-Man: Far from Home (USA, 2019) — ****
- Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (USA, 2019) — **
- Still the Water, or Futatsume no mado (France/Japan/Spain, 2014) — **
- Summer of 84 (USA/Canada, 2018) — ***
- Sunset, or Napszállta (Hungary/France, 2018) — ***
- Suspiria (Italy/USA, 2018) — ***
- Stan & Ollie (UK/Canada/USA, 2018) — ****
- A Star Is Born (USA, 2018) — ****
- Synonyms, or Synonymes (France/Israel/Germany, 2019) — ****
- Tabloid (USA, 2010) — ****
- Tammy (USA, 2014) — ***
- Tancredo: A Travessia (Brazil, 2010) — ****
- Tarântula (Brazil, 2015) — **
- Theodorico, o Imperador do Sertão (Brazil, 1978) — ****
- They Killed My Brother, or Mataram Meu Irmão (Brazil, 2013) — ****
- The Thin Blue Line (USA, 1988) — *****
- 3 Faces, or Se rokh (Iran, 2018) — ****
- Three Identical Strangers (UK, 2018) — ***
- To Die Like a Man, or Morrer Como um Homem (Portugal/France, 2009) — ***
- Toy Story 4 (USA, 2019) — ****
- Triangle (UK/Australia, 2009) — ****
- Triste Trópico (Brazil, 1974) — *
- Troubadours: Carole King / James Taylor & The Rise of the Singer-Songwriter (USA, 2011) — **
- Turistas (USA, 2006) — *
- The Two Popes (UK/Italy/Argentina/USA, 2019) — ****
- Two Rabbits, or 2 Coelhos (Brazil, 2012) — ****
- The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story (USA/Canada, 2015) — **
- The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story (USA, 2015) — *
- Uncut Gems (USA, 2019) — *****
- Under the Tuscan Sun (USA/Italy, 2003) — ***
- Up Series: 49 Up (UK, 2005) — *****
- Up Series: 56 Up (UK, 2012) — ****
- Up Series: 63 Up (UK, 2019) — *****
- Us (USA/Japan, 2019) — *****
- Utopia e Barbárie (Brazil, 2009) — ****
- V for Vendetta (USA/UK/Germany, 2005) — *****
- Varda by Agnès, or Varda par Agnès (France, 2019) — *****
- Velvet Buzzsaw (USA, 2019) — **
- Vernon, Florida (USA/West Germany, 1981) — ***
- Vox Lux (USA, 2018) — *
- Vice (USA, 2018) — ***
- Unacknowledged (USA, 2017) — ***
- Upgrade (Australia, 2018) — ****
- War Photographer (Switzerland, 2001) — ****
- We’re the Millers (USA/UK, 2013) — ***
- West of Memphis (New Zealand/USA, 2012) — ***
- When They See Us (USA, 2019) — ***
- Whitney (UK/USA, 2018) — ****
- The Wild Pear Tree, or Ahlat Ağacı (Turkey/Republic of Macedonia/France/Germany/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Bulgaria/Sweden, 2018) — ****
- Wild Rose (UK, 2018) — ***
- Wild Wild Country (USA, 2018) — *****
- Wildlife (USA, 2018) — ***
- Wilsinho Galiléia (Brazil, 1978) — ****
- The Wolf’s Call, or Le Chant du Loup (France, 2019) — ****
- A Woman is a Woman, or Une Femme Est une Femme (France/Italy, 1961) — ****
- The Wonders, or Le Meraviglie (Italy/Switzerland/Germany, 2014) — ****
- Wonderstruck (USA, 2017) — **
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (USA, 2018) — *****
- Wreck-It Ralph (USA, 2012) — *****
- The X Files: Fight the Future (USA, 1998) — ****
- The X Files: I Want to Believe (USA/Canada, 2008) — ***
- X‑Men: Dark Phoenix (USA, 2019) — **
- Yesterday (UK/USA, 2019) — **
- Yomeddine (Egypt/Austria/USA, 2018) — ****
- Young Ahmed, or Le Jeune Ahmed (Belgium/France, 2019) — ***
- Young Hercules (USA, 1998) — **
- Zack and Miri Make a Porno (USA, 2008) — **
- Zombi Child (France, 2019) — ****
- Zuzu Angel (Brazil, 2006) — ***
Previous years: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010