BFF definition: Informal. plural bffs, BFFs
“All the literati keep an imaginary friend.” — W. H. Auden
“I still think most writers are just kids who refuse to grow up. We’re still playing imaginary games, with our imaginary friends.” — Ian Rankin
“Certain things leave you in your life and certain things stay with you. And that’s why we’re all interested in movies — those ones that make you feel, you still think about. Because it gave you such an emotional response, it’s actually part of your emotional make-up, in a way.” — Tim Burton
“A good movie can take you out of your dull funk and the hopelessness that so often goes with slipping into a theatre; a good movie can make you feel alive again, in contact, not just lost in another city. Good movies make you care, make you believe in possibilities again.” — Pauline Kael
As in other years, first, before I share A Filmgoer’s Guide to the Best Films of 2019, this is a reminder that I’m a cinephile and not a critic. I offer my thoughts and impressions on the films I saw this past year and comment on what worked for me, what didn’t, and what transported me. Movie-going is, for the most part, a solitary experience. Like other forms of art immersion, we respond intimately with the medium, emotionally, viscerally, and intellectually. Continue reading