Aseem
Chhabra
lists
his
favourite
2024
films
that
he
watched
at
film
festivals
in
Berlin,
Cannes,
Toronto
and
India.
It’s
that
time
for
the
year
to
track
its
very
best.
These
are
personal
choices,
although
the
lists
are
curated
from
a
life-long
experience
of
seeing
what
works,
with
the
audiences,
other
critics
and
in
my
case,
how
the
films
I
select
impacted
me.
My
one
criteria
for
selecting
the
Top
10
international
films
is
to
think
of
works
that
surprised
me.
They
offered
a
unique
cinematic
language,
ideas
and
visual
experiences
that
are
new
and
fresh.
A
look
at
my
Top
10
International
Films,
ranked.
10.
Little
Jaffna,
France
Inspired
by
Martin
Scorsese’s
The
Departed
and
Anurag
Kashyap’s
Gangs
of
Wasseypur,
Little
Jaffna
is
French-Tamil
actor/film-maker
Lawrence
Valin’s
ode
to
his
community.
Valin
plays
Michael,
a
cop,
assigned
the
job
of
infiltrating
the
Tamil
Tigers
in
Paris.
He
is
supposed
to
make
friends
with
the
group,
win
their
confidence
to
learn
how
they
raise
money
and
fund
the
LTTE
in
Sri
Lanka.
Little
Jaffna
is
a
stunning
action
thriller,
one
of
the
best
South
Asian
Diaspora
films
in
a
long
time.
It
is
packed
with
colourful
street
scenes
in
Paris’
Little
Jaffna
neighbourhood,
the
local
festivals,
parades
and
even
a
boisterous
scene
inside
a
movie
theatre
where
Michael
and
his
friends
watch
Vijay
in
Atlee’s
Tamil
film
Theri.
9.
Crossing,
Turkey/Georgia
In
Swedish
Director
Levan
Akin’s
film,
a
middle-aged
Georgian
retired
schoolteacher
searches
the
streets
of
Istanbul
for
her
trans
niece,
who
has
been
missing
for
a
long
time.
She
is
joined
in
her
efforts
by
a
young
man
who
she
met
in
Georgia
and
claims
to
know
where
the
niece
is
living.
Mzia
Arabuli,
a
70-year-old
actress
with
a
radiant
but
weathered
face,
is
Lia,
the
schoolteacher,
while
Lucas
Kankava
plays
her
goofy
accidental
companion,
Achi.
Crossing
has
heart-wrenching
moments
as
Lia
walks
up
and
down
the
steps
of
run-down
buildings
in
Istanbul,
knocking
on
doors,
asking
random
trans
sex
workers
if
they
know
her
niece.
But
it
is
also
a
story
about
a
rare
connection
between
two
random
people,
an
older
woman
and
a
young
man.
They
start
off
on
a
wrong
footing
but
become
close,
caring,
friends.
Crossing
won
the
Teddy
award,
given
to
the
top
LGBTQ
film
at
this
year’s
Berlinale.
8.
Universal
Language,
Canada
If
Wes
Anderson
and
Aki
Kaurismäki
were
to
give
birth
to
a
film
baby,
it
could
be
something
in
the
form
of
Canadian
film-maker
Matthew
Rankin’s
absurdist
film
Universal
Language.
Practically
everyone
in
snowbound
Winnipeg
speaks
Persian.
The
film
is
a
bizarre
but
a
likable
amalgamation
of
Iranian
culture
in
cold
Canadian
Winterland.
With
delightfully
interwoven
threads
of
narratives,
like
two
women
find
frozen
cash
which
they
try
to
retrieve,
a
man
travels
a
distance
to
meet
his
mother,
a
tour
guide
takes
tourists
to
odd
spots
in
Winnipeg,
Universal
Language
becomes
quirky
and
equally
charming.
But
it
remains
the
most
original
film
of
the
year.
Winner
of
the
audience
award
in
the
Director’s
Fortnight
section
at
this
year’s
Cannes
Film
Festival,
Universal
Language
is
Canada’s
official
entry
for
the
Best
International
Film
Oscar.
7.
The
Substance,
US/France
This
year,
the
Best
Screenplay
prize
at
Cannes
was
awarded
to
the
French
film-maker
Coralie
Fargeat,
writer
and
director
of
The
Substance,
definitely
the
most
audacious
and
bold
film
of
the
year.
In
The
Substance,
Fargeat
explores
show
business
and
the
world
of
television
where
women
are
supposed
to
look
young
and
perfect.
Any
sign
of
aging
and
television
executives
will
immediately
replace
the
anchor.
Or
in
this
case,
the
star
of
an
aerobics
show.
Demi
Moore
plays
Elisabeth
Sparkle,
a
famous
aerobics
instructor.
When
Elisabeth
is
fired
from
the
television
station
because
of
her
age,
she
resorts
to
extreme
measures
to
change
her
appearance.
She
takes
shots
of
a
green
substance
that
creates
a
chemical
reaction
in
her
body.
The
result
is
Sue
(played
by
Margaret
Qualley,
Andie
MacDowell’s
daughter),
a
younger
version
of
Elisabeth,
who
emerges
out
of
her
body.
The
violence
of
one
person
exiting
another
takes
on
an
extreme
form
as
Elisabeth
and
Sue
(essentially
one
person)
start
to
compete
with
each
other.
The
Substance
goes
beyond
most
horror
films
in
its
highly
imaginative
and
terrifying
moments.
The
result
is
a
rare,
not
to
be
missed
cinematic
experience.
The
Substance
is
streaming
on
MUBI.
6.
My
Favourite
Cake,
Iran
Inspired
by
conversations
over
a
gossipy
lunch
with
her
single,
widowed
friends,
a
70-year-woman
Mahin
(Lili
Farhadpour)
sets
out
to
find
an
older
male
companion
for
herself.
She
meets
up
with
a
cab
driver
Faramarz
(Esmaeel
Mehrabi)
and
brings
him
home
for
one
night.
They
drink
wine,
dance
and
she
bakes
him
a
cake.
None
of
this
would
seem
odd,
except
My
Favourite
Cake
is
set
in
contemporary
Iran
where
women
without
hijabs,
drinking
alcohol
and
mixing
with
the
opposite
sex
for
pleasure
are
considered
taboo
subjects
that
can
result
in
criminal
prosecution.
Directed
by
Maryam
Moghadam
and
Behtash
Sanaeeha,
it
is
a
joyous
celebration
of
life
with
fabulous
performances.
It
is
also
a
subversive
tale
focusing
on
loneliness
of
older
people
and
the
struggles
of
women
in
an
oppressive
theocratic
state.
When
the
film
premiered
at
the
Berlinale,
Iranian
authorities
forbade
the
two
directors
to
leave
the
country.
But
since
they
had
anticipated
this
reaction
from
the
government,
the
film-makers
managed
to
get
the
film
out
of
the
country
in
time
for
the
world
premiere.
5.
How
to
Make
Millions
Before
Gandma
Dies,
Thailand
Anyone
who
has
cared
for
an
ailing
family
member
will
connect
to
this
sensitively
made
film
about
a
teenager
who
steps
in
care
for
his
terminally
ill
grandmother.
His
intentions
are
to
inherit
the
old
lady’s
home
before
she
wills
it
to
one
of
her
adult
children.
But
over
time,
the
two
start
to
care
for
each
other.
Director
Pat
Boonntipat’s
debut
film
became
a
surprise
hit
in
Thailand
and
other
Southeast
Asian
countries.
Audiences
were
seen
tearing
up
during
the
film’s
emotional
moments.
But
the
film
has
its
heart
in
the
right
place
and
Boonnipat
creates
a
beautiful
lived-in
world
of
a
cancer-stricken
old
lady
who
despite
her
condition
wakes
up
early
in
the
morning,
and
makes
congee
to
sell
at
a
street
corner
stall.
The
star
of
the
film
is
Usha
Seamkhum,
78,
who
is
a
first-time
actress.
Her
warm,
yet
street-wise
and
shrewd
Amah
will
remind
the
viewers
of
their
own
grandmothers.
You
can
watch
this
film
on
Netflix.
4.
Souleymane’s
Story,
France
In
French
Director
Boris
Lojkine’s
film,
Souleymane
(Abou
Sangare)
is
an
undocumented
immigrant
from
Guinea,
living
in
Paris,
delivering
food
to
customers,
whenever
he
gets
the
opportunity,
while
also
preparing
for
his
asylum
application
interview.
Souleymane
lives
stressful
days
and
nights,
as
he
survives
riding
bicycles
through
the
streets
of
Paris,
fighting
the
traffic,
with
the
constant
fear
of
getting
caught
by
the
police.
Winner
of
the
Jury
Prize
in
the
Un
Certain
Regard
section
at
Cannes,
Souleymane’s
Story
is
a
heart-wrenching,
truthful
account
of
a
world
where
desperate
migrants
from
Africa,
the
Middle
East
and
even
India
manage
to
reach
North
America
and
Europe.
Their
daily
struggles
is
a
reminder
of
how
privileged
our
lives
are
in
comparison.
3.
Babygirl,
US/Netherlands
Inspired
by
the
films
of
the
Dutch
film-maker
Paul
Verhoeven
(Total
Recall),
Director
Halina
Reijn
(Bodies,
Bodies,
Bodies)
has
created
a
gripping
thriller
for
the
21st
century.
Babygirl
is
the
Basic
Instinct(also
directed
by
Verhoeven)
of
our
times.
A
high-powered
CEO
Romy
(Nicole
Kidman)
is
sexually
dissatisfied
in
her
marriage.
Quite
unexpectedly,
she
starts
an
intense
relationship
with
a
young
intern
in
her
office,
Samuel,
played
by
British
actor
Harris
Dickenson
(Beach
Rats
and
the
Cannes
Palme
d’Or
winner
Triangle
of
Sadness).
Kidman
has
not
been
this
sexy
and
vulnerable
since
she
acted
opposite
her
ex-husband
Tom
Cruise
in
Eyes
Wide
Shut.
Here,
she
walks
a
dangerous
line
—
a
caring
mother,
wife
and
business
executive,
who
loses
control
of
her
sense
of
what
is
right
and
wrong.
Towards
the
middle
of
Babygirl,
Dickenson
does
a
seductive
shirtless
dance
twirling
around
Kidman,
to
the
late
singer
George
Michael’s
song
Father
Figure.
That
dance
itself
is
worth
the
price
of
the
ticket
for
the
film.
2.
No
Other
Land,
Israel/Palestine
A
Palestinian
teenager
started
to
film
the
plight
of
the
Palestinians
living
in
a
community
of
20
villages
on
the
mountains
of
West
Bank.
This
documentation
becomes
the
basis
of
Basel
Adra’s
documentary
No
Other
Land.
He
recounts
his
community’s
daily
struggle
as
Israeli
soldiers
demolish
homes
around
him,
and
arrest
protestors
and
activists.
Adra
is
joined
by
Yuval
Abraham,
an
Israeli
journalist
who
sympathises
with
the
Palestinian
cause.
No
Other
Land
was
made
before
the
October
7,
2023
terrorist
attack
by
Hamas
and
the
subsequent
Israeli
war
on
Gaza
that
has
killed
over
40,000
Palestinians.
But
it
is
a
sharp
reminder
of
how
difficult
life
has
been
for
the
Palestinians
in
their
own
homeland
for
the
last
70
plus
years.
At
one
point
in
No
Other
Land,
a
journalist
asks
a
Palestinian
woman
whose
house
has
been
demolished
if
she
has
any
place
to
go
to.
‘I
have
no
other
place,’
she
says.
‘It’s
our
land.
That’s
why
we
suffer
for
it.’
1.
Anora,
US
Sean
Baker’s
Palme
d’Or
winner
Anora
is
a
hilarious
take
on
the
life
of
a
Brooklyn-based
young
sex
worker
Anora
(played
by
a
very
likeable
Mikey
Madison)
and
her
chance
encounter
in
a
strip
club
with
Ivan
(Mark
Eydelshteyn),
the
spoilt
son
of
a
Russian
oligarch.
The
film
is
blast
until
the
quietly
devastating
ending.
Anora‘s
intense
energy
is
propelled
by
the
acting
of
it
its
lead
characters
and
fluent
camerawork
by
Drew
Daniels.
The
audience
also
discovers
another
brilliant
Russian
actor
in
a
supporting
role,
Yura
Borisov
(Compartment
No
6),
with
a
calm
stoic
face,
playing
Igor,
who
is
charged
with
taking
care
of
Anora
as
he
slowly
falls
in
love
with
her.
Anora
tops
the
indie
films
that
Baker
has
been
making
for
many
years
including
Florida
Project
and
the
iPhone
shot
Tangerine,
a
drama
about
trans
sex
workers
in
Los
Angeles.
Anora
is
a
refreshing
American
film
and
may
just
win
the
Oscar
for
Best
Picture.
