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now on bbc news, take a front row seat as mark kermode looks back at the big cinema releases of the year — in ‘review 2019: the year in film'. and a warning this film contains some flash photography. hi, i'm mark kermode. we're here at the cinema museum in south london. over the next half an hour, i'll be looking back at some of the best movies released in uk cinemas in 2019. films from around the world, from big—budget blockbusters to smaller indie gems, from widescreen full—colour spectacle to more intimate black—and—white experimentation. as always, 2019 kicked off with awards season and the uk release of several films that opened in america in 2018 in time to qualify for the oscars. in a weird echo of the 1990 academy awards, when driving miss daisy won best picture — for which category spike lee's infinitely superior do the right thing wasn't even nominated — this year, the likeable but bland green book beat blackkklansman to the top prize. although spike lee did triumph in the screenplay category, earning his first competitive academy award. that child is your grandchild! what difference does it make how it gets here? in the acting categories, regina king and mahershala ali proved deserving winners for their supporting roles in if beale street could talk and green book respectively, while rami malek won best actor for his remarkable turn as freddie mercury in bohemian rhapsody. # for me... for british audiences, however, it was 0livia colman‘s winning turn as queen anne in greek director yorgos lanthimos‘ the favourite that proved the highlight of the evening, with one of the funniest and most self—deprecating acceptance speeches ever. did you just look at me? stop it! i am the queen. but you are mad. you look like a badger. i have sent for some lobsters. i thought we could race them and then eat them. particularly significant was the fact that roma won three 0scars, including best foreign language film, dispelling any doubts about the cinematic legitimacy of netflix productions, about which institutions such as the cannes film festival had previously proved very sniffy. this year, netflix has a number of productions up for awards consideration, with titles as diverse as noah baumbach‘s marriage story and martin scorsese's the irishman shaping up as serious 0scar contenders. both have already picked up best picture nods at the golden globes alongside other netflix releases the two popes and dolemite is my name. you're going to jail for a long time. you going to have to take me! cut, cut! although arguments about big and small—screen productions continue to rage, fuelled in part by steven spielberg's comments about tv movies not deserving 0scar nominations, the area in which netflix really proved their worth this year is in the realm of animation. what happened? you just sit there and be all magical and awesome. along with the release of their first self—produced animated feature klaus, an adventurous christmas tale from spanish director sergio pablos, netflix also picked up the distribution rights of one of my favourite films of 2019, the french gem i lost my body. a tale of broken hearts and severed body parts, jeremy clapin‘s feature debut, freely adapted from the book happy hand by guillaume laurant, is a genuine wonder, which made history by becoming the first animated feature to take the top prize in the critics week section at cannes in may. there were a number of historic firsts at cannes this year. parasite, a biting social satire from director bong joon—ho, which doesn't open in the uk until february, became the first korean film to win the palme d'0r. meanwhile, mati diop, a french—senegalese film—maker, became the first black woman to helm a palme d'0r contender with atlantics, which went on to win the grand prix. oh, and netflix picked that one up, too. other cannes prize—winners included celine sciamma, who won best screenplay for portrait of a lady on fire, and emily beecham, who won best actress for little joe, both of which open here in february 2020, just in time to qualify for the baftas. no, i have to run. meanwhile, the cannes best actor award went to antonio banderas for his brilliant portrayal of a film—maker struggling to move forward in pedro almodovar‘s semi—autobiographical pain and glory. pain and glory was just one of several foreign language films which opened in the uk in 2019, reminding us that cinema is a truly international art form. this year, uk cinemagoers could feast on a wide range of treats from around the world. from colombia, we had birds of passage, an arresting tale of gangsters and spirits from the creators of embrace of the serpent, who described its birth of the drug trade narrative as addressing the great tragedy that will curse us forever, the great taboo that we're not allowed to discuss. writer—director nadine la baki, the deserved 0scar nomination for capernaum, which became both the highest grossing arabic film and the highest grossing middle eastern film of all time. the story concerns a young boy growing up in lebanon who attempts to sue his parents for bringing him into a world so full of suffering and strife. from german director florian henckel von donnersmarck, who won an oscar for the lives of others, came never look away, an impressive meditation on art and morality, inspired by the early life of gerhard richter. meanwhile, swedish actress halldora geirharosdottir excelled in woman at war, a jet—black comedy about an eco—warrior fighting to save the planet from destruction, accompanied by an on—screen musical trio that provides surreal greek choral accompaniment — with drums, accordion and sousaphone at the ready. music, of course, has always been at the heart of cinema, and this year saw a plethora of brilliant scores breathing life into a dizzying range of movies. my own favourites included clint mansell‘s moody, jazzy score for out of blue, a murder mystery about life, the universe and everything which was rather overlooked when it opened here in march, but which i predict will go on to become an enduring cult classic. makes me want to lay across all the water. april saw the uk release of eighth grade, a coming—of—age tale boasting an mesmerizing electronica accompaniment by anna meredith. what's wrong, dad? please tell me. your nana's dying. she does not know, so you can't say anything. in september, the farewell served up a bittersweet tale of chinese family loyalties played out to alex weston‘s unexpectedly quirky music. and in november, we got monos, a fable about child soldiers from colombian—ecudadorian writer—director alejandro landes, from which mica levi conjured sounds that are as strange and enthralling as the movie itself. my favourite film score of the year, however, was by icelandic composer hildur guonadottir, whose brooding themes lent real depth to one of the year's most successful and controversial releases, joker. would you please stop bothering my kid ? sorry. directed by todd phillips — best known for the hangover movies — joker, which drew in equal measure on alan moore's the killing joke and scorsese's king of comedy, premiered to an eight—minute standing ovation at the venice film festival in august, where it scooped the top prize. but almost immediately, a backlash began, with critics using words such as toxic, cynical and irresponsible to describe the film's relentlessly embittered and allegedly glorified tone. but none of that could stop it from becoming a box office hit, surpassing deadpool to become the highest grossing r—rated movie of all time, albeit unadjusted for inflation. joker also arrived on the scene at exactly the moment that some old—school directors decided to get off their bikes about comic book movies. in a year in which the biggest box office hits included captain marvel, spider—man: far from home and, of course, avengers: endgame, martin scorsese caused uproar among fans by claiming that marvel movies aren't cinema, comparing them instead to theme park rides that said little about the human condition and had no mystery about them. francis ford coppola, who — let's be honest about this — hasn't made a decent film in decades, went further, calling marvel—type movies despicable. now, all of this sounds suspiciously like a bunch of grumpy old white men complaining that everything was better in their day, when men were men and movies were real movies. but as black panther star chadwick boseman told my bbc colleague simon mayo, the mystery that scorsese is talking about, it's is in black panther, but he didn't get that there was this feeling of being unsure, of not knowing what was going to happen that black people feel cos we never had a superhero like this before, said boseman. maybe scorsese didn't get that when he watched it — that's cultural. 0of! there was a similar sense of cultural change afoot when pinar toprak became the first woman to score a movie from the marvel cinematic universe with captain marvel, a film that, like dc‘s wonder woman, has started to rebalance long—standing gender stereotypes. other big hitters at the 2019 box office inevitably included family—friendly sequels, such as disney's long—awaited toy story 4 and more recently frozen ii. wow! this place is amazing. wasn't buzz going to meet us here? he must be held up somewhere. up here, astro boy. if you think you can take our top prize spot, you're wrong. dead wrong. help me get out of here. 0h, i'll help you — with my foot! how do you like that? to infinity and my foot! boom! in the vacuum of space, they cannot hear you scream! the house of mouse also continued its mission to repackage its back catalogue through live—action remakes, like guy ritchie's aladdin. you look like a prince on the outside. but i didn't change anything on the inside. showtime. no, i'm in charge, 0k? i say when it's time. really? the most baffling of these, however, wasjon favreau's reboot of the lion king, which used photorealist animation to create something that looked absolutely real while remaining absolutely unreal. and in my opinion, absolutely pointless. if you want reality, the best place to find it is in documentaries. and one of the most powerful documentaries of 2019 was for sama, an astonishing front—line account of life under siege in aleppo filmed by a syrian citizen journalist. constructed as a letter to her daughter, the film asks will you blame me for staying here or blame me for leaving? a question raised as we see her and her medic husband returning to the besieged city to tend to the wounded, dodging bullets and barrel bombs with young sama in their arms. altogether less traumatic was amazing grace, a music documentary that took the best part of five decades to make it to our screens. shot over two nights in 1972, it documents aretha franklin's performance at the new temple missionary baptist church in los angeles, which became the biggest selling live gospel album of all time. 0scar—winner sydney pollack directed the shoot, but with his background in drama rather than music docs, he failed to use clapperboards or markers, making it virtually impossible to synch the resulting picture to the recorded sound. now, finally new technology solved the problem, and it was worth the wait. # going to say it one more time # i'm so glad! # so glad! # i've got religion! three years before aretha made those extraordinary baptist church recordings, neil armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon, an event which marked its 50th anniversary in 2019. unsurprisingly, cinema joined in the celebrations with the documentary apollo 11 using remarkable footage to revisit those epochal events, putting the viewer right there in that tin can that miraculously made it to the moon and back. 0n the fictional front, there were also several movies this year that portrayed space as the final frontier. the most high—profile of these was james gray's ad astra, which was pitched as 2001 meets apocalypse now but was actually more like event horizon with added interstellar 0verdrive. ad astra may have had a big star name in brad pitt, but so did french director claire denis' altogether more adventurous high life, in which robert pattison joined a misfit crew on a voyage into the heart of darkness. even though we're moving forwards, we're getting further from what's getting nearer... but my own personal favourite was aniara, an astonishing existential adventure adapted from an epic poem by swedish nobel laureate harry martinson. i saw echoes of solaris and silent running in this tale of a transporter ship travelling from a ravaged earth to mars which gets knocked off course, leaving its passengers to unravel as deep space beckons. down to earth and closer to home, 2019 proved a remarkable year for british film—makers, with a string of home—grown projects giving us some of the highlights of the year. ladies and gentlemen, rose—lynn harlan! music plays # and i lost my mind somewhere in mexico... in april, jessie buckley earned her musical spurs in wild rose, a tale of a single mother living in glasgow but dreaming of travelling to nashville to find fame and fortune as a country singer. # ..on my side... # and i think it's going to be a long, long time... in may, dexter fletcher's rocketman channelled the spirit of ken russell as it turned eltonjohn‘s life into a rip—roaring pop fantasia, centred on a barnstorming central performance by taron egerton. big night? where's your mask? june saw the release of dirty god, sacha polak's film about the survivor of an acid attack which boasted a starmaking performance from feature first—timer vicky knight, an extremely versatile actor who, on this evidence, could have a long and varied screen career ahead of her. she really is astonishing. then in september, we had a trio of home—grown modern classics that showcased the diversity of film—making in the uk. she's not coming to take you away. you promise? there's so much we can do here now that you're home. from writer—director shola amoo came the semiautobiographical second feature the last tree, the story of a young man of nigerian heritage being uprooted from an idyllic rural childhood to face life on the mean streets of london. it's a very powerful film featuring a breakthrough performance by sam adewunmi. i have not got that much room. you've got a foot on that side. and i literally am on a ledge. i've got nowhere to go. also in september, we had the release ofjoanna hogg's the souvenir, recently voted best film of 2019 by sight & sound magazine. another autobiographically inspired work, the souvenir starred honor swinton byrne as a young film—maker who falls into a relationship with tom burke's sinisterly mysterious anthony. it's a very personal film, wryly tender, frequently funny but insidiously suffocating. i'm just playing, julie. stop torturing yourself. i'm not torturing myself. you're inviting me to torture you. for me, however, the very best film of the year was bait, the breakthrough feature from cornish film—maker markjenkin. i can't speak for everyone. give it a bloody good go, then. as a resident, as a homeowner... a tourist... chairman of the committee... someone who spent a lot of time investing a great deal of money in supporting local industry! a refreshingly authentic tale of tensions between locals and tourists in a once—thriving fishing village, it's an evocative portrait of familiar culture classes in an area where traditional trades and lifestyles are under threat. shot with clockwork cameras on grainy 60 mm stock, whichjenkin hand—processed in his studio, bait is both an impassioned celebration of cornwall‘s proud past and a bracingly tragicomic portrait of its troubled present and possible future. it's a genuine modern masterpiece which establishesjenkin as one of the most arresting and intriguing british film—makers of his generation. now, i hope that bait gets the recognition it deserves at the baftas. it's exactly the kind of film that a british award ceremony should be celebrating. so, if i have to come in, you won't come and visit me? they're not going to bring you injust for a cyst. all i know is it felt serious. that'sjust because of all the other sick people around you. you see the nonsense you talk? how do you get through life? you're still here with me. i'm just doing that out of spite. i'd also like to see bafta nominations for 0rdinary love, in which lesley manville and liam neeson face up to a diagnosis of breast cancer. brilliantly written by belfast playwright 0wen mccafferty and directed by glenn leyburn and lisa barros d'sa, who made the life—affirming good vibrations, 0rdinary love is a remarkable picture that approaches a difficult subject matter with wit, honesty and a large dose of humour. due to a delayed american release, 0rdinary love won't be eligible for the forthcoming 92nd academy awards. so what are the likely contenders? i'm rick dalton. it's my pleasure, mr schwartz. call me marvin. put it there. is that your son? no, that's my stunt double, cliff booth. well, alongside the films we've already mentioned, we can probably expect to see some recognition for once upon a time in hollywood, quentin tarantino's paean to the end of cinema's age of innocence. after all, 0scar voters traditionally love movies about making movies. line! cut! you embarrassed yourself in front of all those people! i intend to make my own way in the world. no—one makes their own way, least of all a woman. you'll need to marry well. but you are not married. that's because i'm rich. there's plenty of oscar buzz, too, around greta gerwig's little women. it's the latest adaptation of louisa may alcott‘s timeless novel and it's drawing critical plaudits. particularly for leading lady saoirse ronan. who is that guy? mr blanc is a private investigator of great renown. rian johnson's knives 0ut is a possible contender, too, using an all—star cast to breathe new life into an old agatha christie style whodunit. i suspect foul play. where's jason? and jordan peele‘s us is an outside contender with its mix of horror and social satire. who knows how these movies will fare with 0scar voters? as always with awards, the only thing that you can be certain of is that the results will probably make you want to scream as much as cheer. i'll leave you with a taste of something that's become a modern christmas tradition — a new star wars movie, still packing out cinemas 42 years after a new hope first landed, reminding us that, when it comes to the movies, some things remain the same. we spotted the fugitives. 0h, they fly now! they fly now? they fly now! hello. a bit of a mismatch to start the new year. happy new year to you. liverpool, not bad at all earlier today. come down the coast little bit, did not stop the depots. you think it up in the same mass, because there are no by difference close by. the cloud is thicker across the south—west, miserable there. drizzle on the police. there are some gaps in the cloud as described. eastern side of the pennines quite nice, the north of england has not done too bad so far. the cloud is coming in of of the irish sea. not too much in the way of breeze to getting start—up, to get things moving, apart from the north—west of scotland. it's closer toa north—west of scotland. it's closer to a weather front there. the temperatures are assertive on the mild side for the time of year, they could be a lot lower. no beast of the east for the foreseeable. 0vernight things do not change very rapidly at all. they gaps persist across the eastern side in places and that is why we drizzle away into one 01’ and that is why we drizzle away into one or 2 degrees. essentially, it is mild because we still have this envelope of relatively mild air across us. envelope of relatively mild air across us. but this blue is coming ever closer, because those fronts, the demarcations between the relatively mild air and the cooler stuff, they are coming closer to us and will be a real player across scotland, northern ireland, they know to finland and wales, by way of rain, as we go through thursday. generally speaking the further south and east you are the drier your date will be. a blustery old do. quiet day today the place by much dusty wind. i suspect we will all get into double—figure temperatures tomorrow. that'll be the last of that malarkey, because through thursday night on into friday the transition to the slightly cooler air is completed as that's where the front gradually takes its cloud and simmering away from the south—east. friday is a sparkling day, we are back into that of regime. some of the will have had that sort of thing on christmas day. the temperature is about disallowing slightly, despite the presence of the sunshine and there will be showers across and with scotland. those will be killed off as with scotland. those will be killed offasa with scotland. those will be killed off as a ridge of high pressure comes into settle down that weekend for the most part, which are be quite blustery and on the mound site and it will be mainly dry. enjoy the rest of the afternoon, especially with the sunshine. this is bbc news. the headlines at 3pm... at least eight people are killed by bushfires in australia, in the deadliest day since the wildfire crisis began. hundreds of homes are destroyed and some communities cut off. a couple of isolated communities, where we got reports of injuries and burn injuries to members of the public. we haven't been able to get access via roads or via aircraft. two men and a woman are killed after a lorry collides with a car in stanwell in surrey on new year's eve. the mother of the british teenager found guilty of lying about being raped in cyprus backs calls for tourists to boycott the country. in their new year messages, the prime minister says brexit will mark a new chapter for the uk, while the archbishop of canterbury
AustraliaGlasgowGlasgow-cityUnited-kingdomUnited-statesAyia-napaFamagustaCyprusRomaLazioItalyLebanon now on bbc news, take a front row seat as mark kermode looks back at the big cinema releases of the year, in review 2019: the year in film. and a warning this film contains some flash photography. hi, i'm mark kermode. we're here at the cinema museum in south london. over the next half an hour, i'll be looking back at some of the best movies released in uk cinemas in 2019. films from around the world, from big—budget blockbusters to smaller indie gems, from widescreen full—colour spectacle to more intimate black—and—white experimentation. as always, 2019 kicked off with awards season and the uk release of several films that opened in america in 2018 in time to qualify for the oscars. in a weird echo of the 1990 academy awards, when driving miss daisy won best picture — for which category spike lee's infinitely superior do the right thing wasn't even nominated — this year, the likeable but bland green book beat blackkklansman to the top prize. although spike lee did triumph in the screenplay category, earning his first competitive academy award. that child is your grandchild! what difference does it make how he gets here? in the acting categories, regina king and mahershala ali proved deserving winners for their supporting roles in if beale street could talk and green book respectively, while rami malek won best actor for his remarkable turn as freddie mercury in bohemian rhapsody. # for me...# for british audiences, however, it was 0livia colman's winning turn as queen anne in greek director yorgos lanthimos' the favourite that proved the highlight of the evening, with one of the funniest and most self—deprecating acceptance speeches ever. did you just look at me? stop it! i am the queen. but you are mad. you look like a badger. i have sent for some lobsters. i thought we could race them and then eat them. particularly significant was the fact that roma won three 0scars, including best foreign language film, dispelling any doubts about the cinematic legitimacy of netflix productions, about which institutions such as the cannes film festival had previously proved very sniffy. this year, netflix has a number of productions up for awards consideration, with titles as diverse as noah baumbach's marriage story and martin scorsese's the irishman shaping up as serious 0scar contenders. both have already picked up best picture nods at the golden globes alongside other netflix releases the two popes and dolemite is my name. you're going to jail for a long time. you going to have to take me! cut, cut! although arguments about big and small—screen productions continue to rage, fuelled in part by steven spielberg's comments about tv movies not deserving 0scar nominations, the area in which netflix really proved their worth this year is in the realm of animation. not a word. what happened? you just sit there and be all magical and awesome. along with the release of their first self—produced animated feature klaus, an adventurous christmas tale from spanish director sergio pablos, netflix also picked up the distribution rights of one of my favourite films of 2019, the french gem i lost my body. a tale of broken hearts and severed body parts, jeremy clapin's feature debut, freely adapted from the book happy hand by guillaume laurant, is a genuine wonder, which made history by becoming the first animated feature to take the top prize in the critics week section at cannes in may. there were a number of historic firsts at cannes this year. parasite, a biting social satire from director bong joon—ho, which doesn't open in the uk until february, became the first korean film to win the palme d'0r. meanwhile, mati diop, a french—senegalese film—maker, became the first black woman to helm a palme d'0r contender with atlantics, which went on to win the grand prix. oh, and netflix picked that one up, too. other cannes prize—winners included celine sciamma, who won best screenplay for portrait of a lady on fire, and emily beecham, who won best actress for little joe, both of which open here in february 2020, just in time to qualify for the baftas. no, i have to run. meanwhile, the cannes best actor award went to antonio banderas for his brilliant portrayal of a film—maker struggling to move forward in pedro almodovar‘s semi—autobiographical pain and glory. pain and glory was just one of several foreign language films which opened in the uk in 2019, reminding us that cinema is a truly international art form. this year, uk cinemagoers could feast on a wide range of treats from around the world. from colombia, we had birds of passage, an arresting tale of gangsters and spirits from the creators of embrace of the serpent, who described its birth of the drug trade narrative as addressing the great tragedy will curse us forever, the great taboo that we're not allowed to discuss. writer—director nadine la baki, the deserved 0scar nomination for capernaum, which became both the highest grossing arabic film and the highest grossing middle eastern film of all time. the story concerns a young boy growing up in lebanon who attempts to sue his parents for bringing him into a world so full of suffering and strife. from german director florian henckel von donnersmarck, who won an oscar for the lives of others, came never look away, an impressive meditation on art and morality, inspired by the early life of gerhard richter. meanwhile, swedish actress halldora geirharosdottir excelled in woman at war, a jet—black comedy about an eco—warrior fighting to save the planet from destruction, accompanied by an on—screen musical trio that provides surreal greek choral accompaniment — with drums, accordion and sousaphone at the ready. music, of course, has always been at the heart of cinema, and this year saw a plethora of brilliant scores breathing life into a dizzying range of movies. my own favourites included clint mansell‘s moody, jazzy score for out of blue, a murder mystery about life, the universe and everything which was rather overlooked when it opened here in march, but which i predict will go on to become an enduring cult classic. makes me want to lay across all the water. april saw the uk release of eighth grade, a coming—of—age tale boasting an mesmerizing electronica accompaniment by anna meredith. what's wrong, dad? please tell me. your nana's dying. she does not know, so you can't say anything. in september, the farewell served up a bittersweet tale of chinese family loyalties played out to alex weston's unexpectedly quirky music. and in november, we got monos, a fable about child soldiers from colombian—ecudadorian writer—director alejandro landes, from which mica levi conjured sounds that are as strange and enthralling as the movie itself. my favourite film score of the year, however, was by icelandic composer hildur guonadottir, whose brooding themes lent real depth to one of the year's most successful and controversial releases, joker. would you please stop bothering my kid ? sorry. directed by todd phillips — best known for the hangover movies — joker, which drew in equal measure on alan moore's the killing joke and scorsese's king of comedy, premiered to an eight—minute standing ovation at the venice film festival in august, where it scooped the top prize. but almost immediately, a backlash began, with critics using words such as toxic, cynical and irresponsible to describe the film's relentlessly embittered and allegedly glorified tone. but none of that could stop it from becoming a box office hit, surpassing deadpool to become the highest grossing r—rated movie of all time, albeit unadjusted for inflation. joker also arrived on the scene at exactly the moment that some old—school directors decided to get off their bikes about comic book movies. in a year in which the biggest box office hits included captain marvel, spider—man: far from home and, of course, avengers: endgame, martin scorsese caused uproar among fans by claiming that marvel movies aren't cinema, comparing them instead to theme park rides that said little about the human condition and had no mystery about them. francis ford coppola, who — let's be honest about this — hasn't made a decent film in decades, went further, calling marvel—type movies despicable. now, all of this sounds suspiciously like a bunch of grumpy old white men complaining that everything was better in their day, when men were men and movies were real movies. but as black panther star chadwick boseman told my bbc colleague simon mayo, the mystery that scorsese is talking about, it's in black panther, but he didn't get that there was this feeling of being unsure, of not knowing what was going to happen that black people feel, cos we never had a superhero like this before, said boseman. maybe scorsese didn't get that when he watched it — that's cultural. 0of! there was a similar sense of cultural change afoot when pinar toprak became the first woman to score a movie from the marvel cinematic universe with captain marvel, a film that, like dc‘s wonder woman, has started to rebalance long—standing gender stereotypes. other big hitters at the 2019 box office inevitably included family—friendly sequels, such as disney's long—awaited toy story 4 and more recently frozen ii. wow! this place is amazing. wasn't buzz going to meet us here? he must be held up somewhere. up here, astro boy. if you think you can take our top prize spot, you're wrong. dead wrong. help me get out of here. 0h, i'll help you — with my foot! how do you like that? to infinity and my foot! boom! in the vacuum of space, they cannot hear you scream! the house of mouse also continued its mission to repackage its back catalogue through live—action remakes, like guy ritchie's aladdin. you look like a prince on the outside. but i didn't change anything on the inside. showtime. no, i'm in charge, 0k? i say when it's time. really? the most baffling of these, however, wasjon favreau's reboot of the lion king, which used photorealist animation to create something that looked absolutely real while remaining absolutely unreal. and in my opinion, absolutely pointless. if you want reality, the best place to find it is in documentaries. and one of the most powerful documentaries of 2019 was for sama, an astonishing front—line account of life under siege in aleppo filmed by a syrian citizen journalist. constructed as a letter to her daughter, the film asks will you blame me for staying here or blame me for leaving? a question raised as we see her and her medic husband returning to the besieged city to tend to the wounded, dodging bullets and barrel bombs with young sama in their arms. altogether less traumatic was amazing grace, a music documentary that took the best part of five decades to make it to our screens. shot over two nights in 1972, it documents aretha franklin's performance at the new temple missionary baptist church in los angeles, which became the biggest selling live gospel album of all time. 0scar—winner sydney pollack directed the shoot, but with his background in drama rather than music docs, he failed to use clapperboards or markers, making it virtually impossible to synch the resulting picture to the recorded sound. now, finally, new technology has solved the problem, and it was worth the wait. # going to say it one more time # i'm so glad! # so glad! # i've got religion! three years before aretha made those extraordinary baptist church recordings, neil armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon, an event which marked its 50th anniversary in 2019. unsurprisingly, cinema joined in the celebrations with the documentary apollo 11 using remarkable footage to revisit those epochal events, putting the viewer right there in that tin can that miraculously made it to the moon and back. 0n the fictional front, there were also several movies this year that portrayed space as the final frontier. the most high—profile of these was james gray's ad astra, which was pitched as 2001 meets apocalypse now but was actually more like event horizon with added interstellar 0verdrive. ad astra may have had a big star name to fall on in brad pitt, but so did french director claire denis' altogether more adventurous high life, in which robert pattison joined a misfit crew on a voyage into the heart of darkness. even though we're moving forwards, getting farther from what's getting nearer... but my own personal favourite was aniara, an astonishing existential adventure adapted from an epic poem by swedish nobel laureate harry martinson. i saw echoes of solaris and silent running in this tale of a transporter ship travelling from a ravaged earth to mars which gets knocked off course, leaving its passengers to unravel as deep space beckons. down to earth and closer to home, 2019 proved a remarkable year for british film—makers, with a string of home—grown projects giving us some of the highlights of the year. ladies and gentlemen, rose—lynn harlan! music # and i lost my mind somewhere in mexico... in april, jessie buckley earned her musical spurs in wild rose, a tale of a single mother living in glasgow but dreaming of travelling to nashville to find fame and fortune as a country singer. # ..on my side... # and i think it's going to be a long, long time... in may, dexter fletcher's rocketman channelled the spirit of ken russell as it turned eltonjohn's life into a rip—roaring pop fantasia, centred on a barnstorming central performance by taron egerton. big night? where's your mask? june saw the release of dirty god, sacha polak‘s film about the survivor of an acid attack which boasted a starmaking performance from feature first—timer vicky knight, an extremely versatile actor who, on this evidence, could have a long and varied successful career ahead of her. she really is astonishing. then in september, we had a trio of home—grown modern classics that showcased the diversity of film—making in the uk. she's not coming to take him away. you promise? there's so much we can do here now that you're home. from writer—director shola amoo came the semiautobiographical second feature the last tree, the story of a young man of nigerian heritage being uprooted from an idyllic rural childhood to face life on the mean streets of london. it's a very powerful film featuring a breakthrough performance by sam adewunmi. i have not got that much room. you've got a foot on that side. and i literally am on a ledge. i've got nowhere to go. also in september, we had the release ofjoanna hogg's the souvenir, recently voted best film of 2019 by sight & sound magazine. another autobiographically inspired work, the souvenir starred honor swinton byrne as a young film—maker who falls into a relationship with tom burke's mysterious anthony. it's a very personal film, wryly tender, frequently funny but insidiously suffocating. i'm just playing, julie. stop torturing yourself. i'm not torturing myself. you're inviting me to torture you. for me, however, the very best film of the year was bait, the breakthrough feature from cornish film—maker markjenkin. i can't speak for everyone. you give it a bloody good go. as a resident, as a homeowner... a tourist... chairman of the committee... as someone who spent a lot of time investing a great deal of money in supporting local industry! a refreshingly authentic tale of tensions between locals and tourists in a once—thriving fishing village, it's an evocative portrait of familiar culture clashes in an area where traditional trades and lifestyles are under threat. shot with clockwork cameras on grainy 60mm stock, whichjenkin hand—processed in his studio in newlyn, bait is both an impassioned celebration of cornwall‘s proud past and a bracingly tragicomic portrait of its troubled present and possible future. it's a genuine modern masterpiece which establishesjenkin as one of the most arresting and intriguing british film—makers of his generation. now, i hope that bait get the recognition it deserves at the baftas. it's exactly the kind of film that a british award ceremony should be celebrating. so, if i have to come in, you won't come and visit me? they're not going to bring you injust for a cyst. all i know is it felt serious. that'sjust because of all the sick people around you. you see the nonsense you talk? how do you get through life? you're still here with me. i'm just doing that out of spite. i'd also like to see bafta nominations for 0rdinary love, in which lesley manville and liam neeson face up to a diagnosis of breast cancer. brilliantly written by belfast playwright 0wen mccafferty and directed by glenn leyburn and lisa barros d'sa, who made the life—affirming good vibrations, 0rdinary love is a remarkable picture that approaches a difficult subject matter with wit, honesty and a large dose of humour. feels weird. due to a delayed american release, 0rdinary love won't be eligible for the forthcoming 92nd academy awards. so, what are the likely contenders? i'm rick dalton. it's my pleasure, mr schwartz. call me marvin. put it there. is that your son? no, that's my stunt double, cliff booth. well, alongside the films we've already mentioned, we can probably expect to see some recognition for once upon a time in hollywood, quentin tarantino's paean to the end of cinema's age of innocence. after all, 0scar voters traditionally love movies about making movies. line! cut! you embarrassed yourself in front of all those people! i intend to make my own way in the world. no one makes their own way, least of all a woman. you'll need to marry well. but you are not married... that's because i'm rich. there's plenty of oscar buzz, too, around greta gerwig's little women. it's the latest adaptation of louisa may alcott‘s timeless novel and it's drawing critical plaudits, particularly for leading lady saoirse ronan. who is that guy? mr blanc is a private investigator of great renown. rian johnson's knives 0ut is a possible contender, too, using an all—star cast to breathe sharp new life into an old agatha christie style whodunit. i suspect foul play. where's jason? and jordan peele's us is an outside contender with its mix of horror and social satire. who knows how these movies will fare with 0scar voters? as always with awards, the one that you can be certain of is that the results will probably make you want to scream as much as cheer. i'll leave you with a taste of something that's become a modern christmas tradition — a new star wars movie, still packing out cinemas a full 42 years after a new hope first landed, reminding us that, when it comes to the movies, some things remain the same. we spotted the fugitives. 0h, they fly now! they fly now? they fly now! hello. we've ended 2019 on a fairly quiet note. the best of the sunshine through new year's eve was across northern and eastern england, parts of scotland we saw some spectacular sunsets to end the year and the decade. and this quieter theme continues through new year's eve underneath this area of high pressure. but notice that the isobars are closer together across northern ireland and scotland, so, a windier day here. and also, a cloudier day across the uk to start 2020. that cloud could be thick enough for the odd patch of drizzle. for most it's mainly dry through daylight hours with some brightness or sunshine across eastern counties of scotland, north—east england, perhaps north wales for a time and maybe into east anglia, too. light or gentle winds for most away from the western and northern isles of scotland, where the winds will be strengthening through the day, perhaps gusts of 40—50 miles an hour. still, quite a cool feel to the day across the uk, 5—9 celsius, the top temperature, perhaps 10—11 for northern scotland and south—west england. cloud cover stays with us through the evening and overnight. again we could see some patchy drizzle. for most it's dry, although rain will start to approach the far north—west of scotland and the west of northern ireland as we head towards thursday morning. but underneath the cloud cover, temperatures are going to stay above freezing. and actually, as we go through thursday, it is a milder day. these yellow, and in places orange, colours just indicating the milder air flooding across the uk. but with it comes a set of fronts, and that's going to bring some wetter, windier weather initially across scotland and northern ireland, and slowly it slides its way south and eastwards through the day, but weakening as it does. but potentially some very heavy rain across the highlands of scotland, maybe 40—50 millimetres here, gusty winds as well. this front then slides its way south and eastwards, getting into northern england, parts of wales, south—west england, driest the further south and east you are, but some gusty winds, perhaps 50—60 miles an hour for northern and western scotland and 30—110 miles an hour quite widely. so it's a wet, blustery day across northern and western parts of the uk, but mild for most, it will be in double figures. doesn't last long as those fronts push their way south and eastwards, behind it we start to see the blue colours returning. so, we're back in the colder air as we go into friday. but what that also means is clearer conditions, much more in the way of sunshine. cloud and rain clearing away from south—east england, some showers peppering the north of scotland, perhaps wintry in nature, but for much of the uk, on friday we'll end the week dry with much more sunshine. but it will be feeling a little bit colder again. as for the weekend, it's looking mainly dry. there'll be some spells of sunshine, little bit milder but potentially turning wetter and windier into next week. this is bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: big ben strikes the hour london welcomes in the new decade to the chimes of big ben as thousands watch a spectacular fireworks display along the river thames. the us is sending reinforcements to help defend its embassy in baghdad, having repelled an attack by protesters angry about american air strikes. lebanon says it had no warning that the fugitive ex—nissan boss carlos ghosn was fleeing japan for beirut. australia calls in the army as bushfires push thousands of people to seek refuge on the coast. we'll be live with the latest from new south wales.
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