The director of «Dune» Denis Villeneuve named the 5 best films of 2024

Director of “Dune” Denis Villeneuve in an interview with Games Radar shared a list of movies released in 2024 that he particularly enjoyed.

“I liked ‘Emilia Perez’ by Jacques Audiard. I thought this film was very original and inspiring. Jacques Audiard’s movies always energize me, he’s one of our best directors. Also in my top are ‘The Brutalist’ by Brady Corbet, ‘The Nickel Boys’, and ‘Conclave’. Oh, I also liked ‘Queer’ by Luca Guadagnino, Daniel Craig showed an incredible performance,” said Villeneuve.

Villeneuve also noted that 2024 was a “wonderful year” for the world of cinema.

“Emilia Perez”

Still from the movie ‘Emilia Perez’ / paristheaternyc

The French director Jacques Audiard’s crime musical tells the story of successful lawyer Rita Moro Castro (Zoe Saldana), who agrees to help the leader of a Mexican drug cartel, Juan Del Monte (portrayed by Emilia Perez, played by Karla Sofia Gascon), achieve his lifelong dream of becoming a woman. Selena Gomez plays Juan’s wife, Jessie, who is informed that her husband has died.

IMDb Rating: 6.9 out of 10

“The Brutalist”

Still from the movie ‘The Brutalist’ / Courtesy of Venice Film Festival

It took about seven years to produce Brady Corbet’s historical film, and the final run time is 3.5 hours.

“The Brutalist” unfolds in the late 1940s. Architect Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian Jew who survived Auschwitz, emigrates to the USA, Philadelphia, with his wife Erzsebet. Struggling with poverty, Laszlo agrees to reconstruct the house of the mysterious businessman Harrison Lee Van Buren. After the work is completed, Van Buren and his son offer Toth the chance to take part in a monumental architectural project, leading to irreversible consequences.

The main roles in the movie are played by Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce. The film will be released in Ukrainian cinemas at the beginning of 2025.

IMDb Rating – 8.1 out of 10

“The Nickel Boys”

American historical drama by Ramell Ross, based on the novel by Colson Whitehead. The film tells the story of two African American boys, Elwood and Turner, who are sent to a brutal reform school called ‘The Nickel Academy’ in Florida in the 1960s.

The main roles are played by Ethan Geriss, Brandon Wilson, Hamish Linklater, Fred Hechinger, Daveed Diggs, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. “The Nickel Boys” is nominated for a “Golden Globe” in the category “Best Motion Picture – Drama”.

IMDb Rating — 7.6 out of 10

“Conclave”

Anglo-American detective thriller by director Edward Berger, which adapts the novel by Robert Harris.

The action of the film takes place over 72 hours in the Vatican, where the sudden death of the Pope forces cardinals from around the world to begin an urgent conclave process and a behind-the-scenes treacherous battle for the throne.

In “Conclave,” Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Ralph Fiennes star, with critics noting the latter’s performance as a “role of a lifetime.”

IMDb Rating — 7.4 out of 10

“Queer”

Italian-American drama by Luca Guadagnino, which adapts the semi-autobiographical novel by William Burroughs.

The action of the film takes place in the 1940s in Mexico. William Lee, a war veteran and American expatriate, becomes infatuated with a much younger, drug-addicted former sailor, Eugene Allerton. Together, they embark on a journey to the Amazon in search of a psychoactive drink that supposedly has telepathic effects — ayahuasca.

Even before its release, the film sparked much controversy due to the presence of explicit homosexual sex scenes.

IMDb Rating — 6.1 out of 10