We chose the 15 Best Films from Distributor A24!

If you like cinema and especially if you are a cinephile, you have certainly heard of the production and distribution company A24, the new darling of independent cinema in Hollywood. The studio is the antithesis of majors from the largest film industry in the world, that is, it tends to work with low budgets, prioritizing the ideas of its artists (the more outside the box the better), and letting them work without major interference. In other words, it’s every director’s dream, if cinema were just art and not a business.

Created by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel It is John Hodgesall from and already inserted in North American independent cinema, the A24 has quickly become a favorite company among the public who have, let’s say, more refined taste and like to escape from the same old things. Regardless of whether the result of the film pleases, or whether it is considered good or bad, what everyone expects when watching a film from the studio is that unique quality, the difference that separates it from the others. And yes, the A24 bets on all genres, from dramas that reach the Oscars, to suspense, comedy, action and horror.

In honor of the house’s latest success, ‘Civil war‘ (reported to be the studio’s most expensive film), which is currently showing in cinemas and has been drawing praise from critics and the public with its vision of a dystopian and not-too-distant future, we decided to choose our 15 best films from A24 on this road of just over 10 years of activities. Check it out below.

Drama coming of age, the film shows “the other side of the Disney parks”, with the residents of a housing complex that is close to the famous place. In this context, little Moonee (Brooklyn Prince) dreams of one day being able to visit this “magical land”. She develops a friendship with Bobby (Willem Dafoe – nominated for an Oscar for the film), the caretaker of his condominium. Where to watch: Max.

Directed by Andrea Arnold, the film presents a forgotten and misfit part of the USA. Young people running away from home, trying to make a living as best they can, between jobs and fleeting loves. An extremely sensitive film, which is guaranteed based on the charisma and talent of the actress Sasha Lane. Where to watch: Max.

The director Ti West struck gold with his trilogy of horror films – each set in a different era (the 1970s, 1918 and now the 1980s). Who knows, maybe very soon we will need to edit the list and add the next one ‘Maxxxine‘, which premieres this year and has everything to be the high point of the trilogy. But what everyone seems to agree on is that ‘Pearl‘ managed to surpass the already highly praised ‘X – The Mark of Fear‘. What the three have in common is the crucial performance of Mia Goth as the star of the franchise. Where to watch: Telecine.

As said, the A24 She is no stranger to films that are so highly praised that they even reach the Oscars. And here we have an example with this romantic drama written and directed by Celine Song, about an unfulfilled teenage love, which permeated the lives of two young people separated by the distance of lives on different continents. Nominated for an Oscar for best film and original screenplay.

Definitely one of the best horror films not only in A24but also from the last 20 years (at least), ‘The witch‘ is one of the people largely responsible for terms like ‘high terror’ or ‘post-terror’ that are on everyone’s lips. In other words, a genre film with the craftsmanship of “art” cinema, without conclusions or easy narrative. Other than that, he recorded the names of Robert Eggers It is Anya Taylor-Joy with force in Hollywood. Where to watch: Globoplay.

10) Everything Everywhere at the Same Time (2021)

If we were to look only at the Academy Awards, we could say that this “mind-blowing journey” in the form of a film is one of the best works of the year. A24, as it was one of his only two features to win the most coveted award in cinema: the Oscar for best film. Mix of ‘matrix‘, with superhero film and drama about Asian immigrants living in the USA, ‘Everything Everywhere…‘ became a true sensation, one of the studio’s most popular films and won 7 Oscars, including three for acting.

And if ‘Everything Everywhere…‘ took the top honor of the seventh art, another film from A24 had already accomplished this feat a few years earlier. We’re talking about the LGBTQIA+ drama from Barry Jenkins, which also became a much talked about success. For a very small fraction of time at that Oscar,’La La Land‘ had won (thanks to a mix-up of envelopes), however, the real winner was the coming of age ‘Moonlight‘, a sensitive foray into the life of a young black and gay man in the USA. Where to watch: Amazon It is Max.

Speaking of films “outside the box”, we now begin to have works on the list that really challenge the public’s perception, greatly restricting the type of spectator. Here we have the most enigmatic film of the star’s career Scarlett Johansson (which was sold a lot on the fact that “she appears as she came into the world”). Echoing Stanley Kubrick, here we have the story of an alien on Earth, whose objective is to seduce and abduct men – at least that’s what we understand. An extremely sensorial film (a hypnotic soundtrack and hallucinogenic images) and a unique experience. Where to watch: Max.

Of course, the most easily digestible films are great, and they are the ones that usually become the most famous, as they tend to please Greeks and Trojans. However, a more enigmatic type of film, one that challenges us to understand it and draw our own conclusions from what we see on screen, also has its value. It is clear that being a work of A24, here we will talk about the second item. ‘Shadows of Life‘ talks about a great love interrupted by death, and portrays in a dreamlike and poetic way the closest experience beyond life must be.

One of the great mafia films and also one of the most underrated in recent years, which almost no one has seen. In this hidden gem we have the duo’s first on-screen union Jessica Chastain It is Oscar Isaac. He is a guy who marries the daughter of a mobster (Chastain), but decides to do business legitimately, even if he has to go to extreme lengths to do so, against the wishes of his wife, who tries all the time. pull him back” into a life of crime.

Now we reach the top 5 of A24 with a film that is pure tension from start to finish, resulting in the best work of his career Adam Sandler. Artists rarely comment on the quality of their works in relation to others, but when he made this film, Sandler he swore he would be nominated for an Oscar, he and the rest of the world. But the Academy didn’t want it that way. Directed by the very talented brothers Safdie, Sandler plays a guy who constantly puts his foot in his hands and will need to pay for his excesses. Where to watch: Netflix.

And if ‘Uncut Gems‘ is the best thriller ever A24‘Hereditary‘ still remains the best horror film ever released by the producer. ‘Hereditary‘ demonstrated to the world the talent of Ari Aster, who debuted with a bang and continued making films with great hype (although none of them matched the popularity of his debut film). The plot seems to have been taken from a nightmare and put on film – it terrified and continues to terrify viewers around the world. Worthy heir to cinema’s greatest work of horror, ‘The Exorcist‘, the long Aster talks about the downfall of a family cursed by the past that causes countless tragedies in the present. Where to watch: Netflix It is Max.

Now we continue with the best science fiction in A24, and one of the best in recent years. From the same director as ‘Civil war‘, Alex Garland, the filmmaker is also one of the distributor’s silver linings. In his first directorial effort, Garland foresees the issue of Artificial Intelligence as a major problem if not managed correctly. In the plot, an eccentric genius plays Frankenstein and creates life, in an artificial way. His creature, like the monster in Mary Shelley’s classic, tries to understand his place in the world, even if in a violent way. Where to watch: Netflix.

At least for us here CinePOP2015 was the best year for A24, as it was the year in which the production company debuted our three favorite films from the studio. Coming in second position we have the dystopian, dramatic and romantic tale of the Greek Yorgos Lanthimosin ‘Poor Creatures‘. The film is still considered the director’s best work. In this surreal and fantasy reality, society forces us to find our soulmate (this is what human beings have been looking for since the world was the world). The unlucky ones who don’t find a partner on their own are taken to a resort and if they still can’t find a partner by the end of their stay, they will be taken to the forest and transformed into an animal of their choice. Where to watch: Netflix.

Occupying the first position in the ranking we have another film with Oscar pomp. ‘Jack’s Room‘ was chosen among the eight nominees of his respective year to try his luck at taking home the statuette for best film. The film was among the eight nominees. A terrifying story that is more common than we would like to know, the film tells about a teenager kidnapped by a maniac and held captive in the basement. Raped, she becomes pregnant and gives life to a boy while still in captivity. The boy Jack grows up there and that room is all he knows of life. Until the unique opportunity he finds to give freedom to his mother and himself. Gave the Oscar for best actress to Brie Larsson. Where to watch: Amazon It is Telecine.