Whether you saw them in cinemas or on your laptops, this has been a standout year for film. These are our picks for the 10 best movies of 2024.

(Note: The following picks were released in Singapore in theaters, streaming, VOD or on physical media within this calendar year.)

Honourable mentions:

15) Hit Man, 14) Flow, 13) The Substance, 12) Dune: Part Two, 11) The Wild Robot

10. How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies

A devastating tear-jerker that made legions of Southeast Asian movie-goers sob uncontrollably in cinemas. How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies follows M (Putthipong “Billkin” Assaratanakul) a selfish young man who begins caring for his terminally ill grandmother (Usha Seamkhum) in the hopes of a multimillion-dollar inheritance. What begins as a scheming comedy about greed transforms into a moving exploration of mortality, family and empathy.

9. Challengers

While the film was sold on its attractive love triangle, Challengers is actually one of the most gripping sports movies in recent memory. Luca Guadagnino’s twisty, sexy, adult tennis saga entwines three players who understand each other (and themselves) on the court, but have a harder time functioning outside their shared passion. An irresistible, break point psychodrama that pits Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist in a sweat-locked battle of desire.

8. Black Box Diaries

Journalist Shiori Ito embarks on a courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an unlikely attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Her quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country’s outdated judicial and societal systems. The subject matter of this stressful autobiographical documentary isn’t the easiest to stomach, but it is a stunning illustration of how victims struggle to cope, and a survivor’s resilient search for justice.

7. I Saw The TV Glow

Beguiling, surreal and existentially terrifying - I Saw The TV Glow is an entrancing trans masterpiece by filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun. The story follows two teenage kids in the thrall of a fantasy TV show called The Pink Opaque (nostalgically reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Rich in subtext and allusion, this eerily sumptuous coming-of-age horror deals with fandom, identity and our yearning to project ourselves onto the media that speaks to us.

6. His Three Daughters

A deeply authentic chamber drama about three estranged sisters (Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne) who move back into their old New York apartment to care for their ailing father, and try to mend their own broken relationship with one another. Directed and written by Azazel Jacobs, this quiet, un-showy and subtle character study is carried by a trio of tour de force performances and its vividly drawn, finely-tuned emotional landscape. 

5. La Chimera

Set in 1980s Tuscany, Alice Rohrwacher’s uncannily captivating film follows a dishevelled and disgraced English archeologist (Josh O’Connor’s second entry on this list) with a mystical ability to precisely locate where invaluable Etruscan antiquities are buried. Although what he most wants to find, his deceased love Beniamina, is sadly beyond reach. Begrudgingly, he links up with a tombaroli gang to plunder historical artefacts in this ethereal, magic realist folk tale.

4. Look Back

Mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto may be most famous for Chainsaw Man, but his heartbreaking one-shot Look Back is his pièce de résistance. This anime adaptation of his tragic story is a visual and emotional triumph about the powerful, transformative power of art. This 57-minute wonder revolves around two young aspiring artists - one a socially anxious shut-in, the other arrogant of her talent - and their messy bond built around mutual obsession for creating manga.

3. All We Imagine as Light

Payal Kapadia’s sophomore feature finds passages of exquisite poetry within the daily lives of three women working within a Mumbai hospital. This lyrical portrait of urban connection (and disconnection) is filled with political undercurrents - touching upon everything from religion, gentrification and a woman’s place in Indian society. But All We Imagine as Light treats those issues matter of factly, using them as catalysts to drive a hypnotic tale of loneliness juxtaposed against the sights and sounds of a bustling city.

2. Anora

Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch in this hilariously madcap film by the 21st century’s most humanist filmmaker Sean Baker (The Florida Project). Better Things standout Mikey Madison delivers a star-making, Oscar-worthy performance as the titular character in a Safdie-esque screwball comedy with plenty to say about money and class. Playing like a vodka-fueled version of Pretty Woman, Anora’s tumultuous journey is a joy to watch.

1. Perfect Days

Who could have predicted that a movie about the day-to-day life of an unassuming toilet cleaner in Tokyo would be the best film of the year? Featuring a marvelously muted performance by Koji Yakusho as Hirayama, a solitary man at uncommon peace with his chosen existence as a janitor. Auteur Wim Wenders finds soul and wisdom in the overlooked mundanities of his modest routine, uncovering profound depths within a man who cherishes the small moments that others overlook. A beautifully observed and immeasurably graceful slice-of-life wonder.