Year-End Lists

The Ringer: The Best Movies of 2019, composed by Sean Fennessey and Adam Nayman

[see also 2020 • 2018]

1. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
   Quentin Tarantino
2. Parasite
   Bong Joon-ho
3. The Irishman
   Martin Scorsese
4. Marriage Story
   Noah Baumbach
5. The Souvenir
   Joanna Hogg
6. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
7. High Life
   Claire Denis
8. Little Women
   Greta Gerwig
9. Atlantics
   Mati Diop
10. Knives Out
    Rian Johnson

Honorable Mentions

• Transit
  Christian Petzold
• Midsommar
  Ari Aster

Alissa Wilkinson: The 21 Best Films of 2019, as published by Vox

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017]

1. Parasite
   Bong Joon-ho
1. Marriage Story
   Noah Baumbach
3. The Souvenir
   Joanna Hogg
4. The Irishman
   Martin Scorsese
5. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
   Quentin Tarantino
6. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
7. The Hottest August
   Brett Story
8. Black Mother
   Khalik Allah
9. The Farewell
   Lulu Wang
10. Peterloo
    Mike Leigh
11. A Hidden Life
    Terrence Malick
12. Little Women
    Greta Gerwig
13. Her Smell
    Alex Ross Perry
14. Wild Nights with Emily
    Madeleine Olnek
15. For Sama
    Waad Al-Khateab and Edward Watts
16. Chinese Portrait
    Wang Xiaoshuai
17. Honey Boy
    Alma Har'el
18. 3 Faces
    Jafar Panahi
19. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
    Céline Sciamma
20. Midsommar
    Ari Aster
21. The Competition
    Claire Simon

This list contributes to:

• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2019

Owen Gleiberman: The Best Films of 2019, as published by Variety

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2012]

1. Joker
   Todd Phillips
2. Marriage Story
   Noah Baumbach
3. The Irishman
   Martin Scorsese
4. Diane
   Kent Jones
5. Toy Story 4
   Josh Cooley
6. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
7. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
   Quentin Tarantino
8. Bombshell
   Jay Roach
9. A Hidden Life
   Terrence Malick
10. The Report
    Scott Z. Burns

Peter Debruge: The Best Films of 2019, as published by Variety

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017]

1. Waves
   Trey Edward Shults
2. Pain and Glory
   Pedro Almodóvar
3. Birds of Passage
   Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra
4. Diane
   Kent Jones
5. Toy Story 4
   Josh Cooley
6. The Chambermaid
   Lila Avilés
7. Woman at War
   Benedikt Erlingsson
8. The Hottest August
   Brett Story
9. I Lost My Body
   Jérémy Clapin
10. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
    Marielle Heller

Honorable mentions

• Greener Grass
  Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe
• Midsommar
  Ari Aster
• Our Time
  Carlos Reygadas
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire
  Céline Sciamma
• The Two Popes
  Fernando Meirelles

Richard Brody: The Best Movies of 2019, as published by The New Yorker

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2012 • 2011]

• The Irishman
  Martin Scorsese
• The Dead Don't Die
  Jim Jarmusch
• An Elephant Sitting Still
  Hu Bo
• Us
  Jordan Peele
• Coincoin and the Extra-Humans
  Bruno Dumont
• Uncut Gems
  Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
• My First Film [live]
  Zia Anger
• A Family Tour
  Ying Liang
• One Child Nation
  Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang
• Her Smell
  Alex Ross Perry
• The Two Faces of a Bamiléké Woman
  Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam
• A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
  Marielle Heller
• Frankie
  Ira Sachs
• Before Summer Ends
  Maryam Goormaghtigh
• August at Akiko's
  Christopher Makoto Yogi
• Birds of Passage
  Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra
• Atlantics
  Mati Diop
• Richard Jewell
  Clint Eastwood
• Hotel by the River
  Hong Sang-soo
• Chaos
  Sara Fattahi
• The Competition
  Claire Simon
• Marriage Story
  Noah Baumbach
• The Pig
  Mani Haghighi
• Burning Cane
  Phillip Youmans
• Napalm
  Claude Lanzmann
• Varda by Agnès
  Agnès Varda
• Chez jolie coiffure
  Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam
• Tux and Fanny
  Albert Birney
• Harriet
  Kasi Lemmons
• Little Women
  Greta Gerwig
• Ad Astra
  James Gray
• Sword of Trust
  Lynn Shelton
• Return to Bollene
  Saïd Hamich
• High Flying Bird
  Steven Soderbergh
• Black Mother
  Khalik Allah
• Cassandro, the Exotico!
  Marie Losier
• Chained for Life
  Aaron Schimberg
• The Laundromat
  Steven Soderbergh
• American Factory
  Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• Waiting for the Barbarians
  Eugène Green
• The Image Book
  Jean-Luc Godard
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire
  Céline Sciamma
• The Burial Of Kojo
  Blitz Bazawule
• Two Plains & a Fancy
  Lev Kalman & Whitney Horn
• Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project
  Matt Wolf
• Ghosts of Sugar Land
  Bassam Tariq

Susannah Gruder: Best Movies of the 2010s, as posted to Letterboxd

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2019]

1. Under the Skin
   Jonathan Glazer
2. Phantom Thread
   Paul Thomas Anderson
3. I Am Love
   Luca Guadagnino
4. In My Room
   Ulrich Köhler
5. In Jackson Heights
   Frederick Wiseman
6. Two Days, One Night
   Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
7. Force Majeure
   Ruben Östlund
8. Christine
   Antonio Campos
9. We Need to Talk About Kevin
   Lynne Ramsay
10. Weiner
    Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg
11. Take This Waltz
    Sarah Polley
12. The Love Witch
    Anna Biller
13. The Master
    Paul Thomas Anderson
14. Greenberg
    Noah Baumbach
15. The Wonders
    Alice Rohrwacher
16. Private Life
    Tamara Jenkins
17. Stranger by the Lake
    Alain Guiraudie
18. Melancholia
    Lars von Trier
19. Let the Sunshine In
    Claire Denis
20. Good Time
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
21. Toni Erdmann
    Maren Ade
22. Happy as Lazzaro
    Alice Rohrwacher
23. Frances Ha
    Noah Baumbach
24. Dogtooth
    Yorgos Lanthimos
25. American Honey
    Andrea Arnold
26. First Reformed
    Paul Schrader
27. Another Earth
    Mike Cahill
28. Moonlight
    Barry Jenkins
29. The Skin I Live In
    Pedro Almodóvar
30. The Great Beauty
    Paolo Sorrentino
31. Certified Copy
    Abbas Kiarostami
32. The Favourite
    Yorgos Lanthimos
33. Barbara
    Christian Petzold
34. Burning
    Lee Chang-dong
35. Us
    Jordan Peele
36. Weekend
    Andrew Haigh
37. The Lobster
    Yorgos Lanthimos
38. Carol
    Todd Haynes
39. Black Swan
    Darren Aronofsky
40. Boyhood
    Richard Linklater
41. Amour
    Michael Haneke
42. The Witch
    Robert Eggers
43. Holy Motors
    Leos Carax
44. Roma
    Alfonso Cuaron
45. Hereditary
    Ari Aster
46. Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
    David Zellner
47. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
48. Get Out
    Jordan Peele
49. Spring Breakers
    Harmony Korine
50. Clouds of Sils Maria
    Olivier Assayas

K. Austin Collins: The 15 Best Movies of 2019, as published by Vanity Fair

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Ash is Purest White
   Jia Zhang-ke
1. The Irishman
   Martin Scorsese
2. The Souvenir
   Joanna Hogg
3. An Elephant Sitting Still
   Hu Bo
4. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
5. Atlantics
   Mati Diop
6. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
   Quentin Tarantino
7. Asako I & II
   Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
8. Black Mother
   Khalik Allah
9. A Hidden Life
   Terrence Malick
10. Peterloo
    Mike Leigh
11. Ghosts of Sugar Land
    Bassam Tariq
12. Birds of Passage
    Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra
13. One Child Nation
    Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang
14. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
    Marielle Heller

Honorable Mentions

• Ad Astra
  James Gray
• Aniara
  Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja
• Avengement
  Jesse V. Johnson
• Chained for Life
  Aaron Schimberg
• The Dead Don't Die
  Jim Jarmusch
• The Farewell
  Lulu Wang
• Her Smell
  Alex Ross Perry
• High Flying Bird
  Steven Soderbergh
• Light from Light
  Paul Harrill
• Little Women
  Greta Gerwig
• Pain and Glory
  Pedro Almodóvar
• Parasite
  Bong Joon-ho
• The Sun Is Also a Star
  Ry Russo-Young
• Transit
  Christian Petzold
• Us
  Jordan Peele
• Varda by Agnès
  Agnès Varda

Richard Lawson: The 10 Best Movies of 2019, as published by Vanity Fair

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013]

1. Parasite
   Bong Joon-ho
2. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
   Céline Sciamma
3. The Souvenir
   Joanna Hogg
4. The Farewell
   Lulu Wang
5. Honeyland
   Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov
6. Hustlers
   Lorene Scafaria
7. Atlantics
   Mati Diop
8. The Ground Beneath My Feet
   Marie Kreutzer
9. Her Smell
   Alex Ross Perry
10. Uncut Gems
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie

Nellie Killian: Top Films of the Decade, as posted to Twitter with the caveat that it may still change

[see also 2017]

• Abuse of Weakness
  Catherine Breillat
• Another Year
  Mike Leigh
• Arabian Nights
  Miguel Gomes
• Barbara
  Christian Petzold
• Bernie
  Richard Linklater
• BPM (Beats Per Minute)
  Robin Campillo
• A Bread Factory
  Patrick Wang
• By the Time It Gets Dark
  Anocha Suwichakornpong
• Cemetery of Splendor
  Apichatpong Weerasethakul
• The Commuter
  Jaume Collet-Serra
• Diamantino
  Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt
• Downsizing
  Alexander Payne
• Elle
  Paul Verhoeven
• First Reformed
  Paul Schrader
• Happy as Lazzaro
  Alice Rohrwacher
• Heart of a Dog
  Laurie Anderson
• Holy Motors
  Leos Carax
• Hissein Habre, a Chadian Tragedy
  Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
• In Jackson Heights
  Frederick Wiseman
• INAATE/SE
  Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil
• Jackass 3D
  Jeff Tremaine
• The Intern
  Nancy Meyers
• Leave No Trace
  Debra Granik
• Let the Sunshine In
  Claire Denis
• Like Someone in Love
  Abbas Kiarostami
• Madeline’s Madeline
  Josephine Decker
• Maps to the Stars
  David Cronenberg
• Margaret
  Kenneth Lonergan
• Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
  Brad Bird
• The Mule
  Clint Eastwood
• Mysteries of Lisbon
  Raoul Ruiz
• No Home Movie
  Chantal Akerman
• Office
  Johnnie To
• Oki’s Movie
  Hong Sang-soo
• The Other Side of Hope
  Aki Kaurismäki
• Our Time
  Carlos Reygadas
• Poetry
  Lee Chang-dong
• Over the Years
  Nikolaus Geyrhalter
• Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
  Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone
• The Rehearsal
  Alison Maclean
• The Social Network
  David Fincher
• Step Up 3D
  Jon M. Chu
• Things to Come
  Mia Hansen-Løve
• Timbuktu
  Abderrahmane Sissako
• Twin Peaks: The Return
  David Lynch
• Unfriended
  Levan Gabriadze
• The Week Of
  Robert Smigel
• The Wolf of Wall Street
  Martin Scorsese
• The Work
  Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous
• You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
  Alain Resnais

Eric Kohn: The 19 Best Movies of 2019, as published by IndieWire

[see also 2023 • 2020 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012]

1. Pain and Glory
   Pedro Almodóvar
2. The Irishman
   Martin Scorsese
3. Monos
   Alejandro Landes
4. Long Day's Journey Into Night
   Bi Gan
5. Uncut Gems
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
6. Parasite
   Bong Joon-ho
7. Marriage Story
   Noah Baumbach
8. Us
   Jordan Peele
9. The Farewell
   Lulu Wang
10. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
    Céline Sciamma
11. Atlantics
    Mati Diop
12. Apollo 11
    Todd Douglas Miller
13. The Nightingale
    Jennifer Kent
14. The Lighthouse
    Robert Eggers
15. Clemency
    Chinonye Chukwu
16. The Souvenir
    Joanna Hogg
17. One Child Nation
    Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang
18. Her Smell
    Alex Ross Perry
19. High Life
    Claire Denis