John Farr's List of the World's Best Movies for the 2020s

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Here’s the list of John Farr’s recommended movies for the 2020s in a more readable form. Documentaries are in italics. Movies I’ve seen are in bold or struck through. 157 total movies listed as of… 12/6/2024 (last update)

Alphabetical listing, sort of:

  1. 7 Prisoners (Portuguese) 2021

  2. 32 Sounds 2022

  3. 20 Days in Mariupol 2023

  4. A Chiara (Italian) 2022

  5. A Hero (Persian) 2021

  6. A House Made of Splinters (Ukrainian) 2022

  7. A Still Small Voice 2023

  8. A Thousand and One 2023

  9. About Dry Grasses 2023

  10. Acasa, My Home (Romanian) 2020

  11. Afire 2023

  12. After Love 2020

  13. Aftersun 2022

  14. All Quiet On The Western Front (German) 2022

  15. All of Us Strangers 2023

  16. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed 2022

  17. American Symphony 2023

  18. American Utopia 2020

  19. Ammonite 2020

  20. Anais in Love (French) 2021

  21. Anatomy of a Fall (French) 2023

  22. Anselm 2023

  23. Ascension (Mandarin Chinese) 2021

  24. Azor (Spanish) 2021

  25. Bad Faith 2024

  26. Beba 2022

  27. Blue Jean 2022

  28. Bring Your Own Brigade 2021

  29. Chile ‘76 (Spanish) 2022

  30. City So Real 2020

  31. Civil War (2024)

  32. Compartment Number 6 (Russian) 2021

  33. Corsage (German) 2022

  34. Da 5 Bloods 2020

  35. Decision to Leave (Korean) 2022

  36. Derek Del Gaudio's In and Of Itself 2020

  37. Dick Johnson Is Dead 2020

  38. Didi 2024

  39. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World 2023

  40. Drive My Car (Japanese) 2021

  41. EO (Polish) 2022

  42. Earth Mama 2023

  43. Ennio 2021

  44. Everything Everywhere All At Once 2022

  45. Fallen Leaves 2023

  46. Fire of Love (French) 2022

  47. Four Hours at the Capitol 2021

  48. George Carlin's American Dream 2022

  49. Great Freedom (German) 2021

  50. Green Border 2023

  51. Gunda 2020

  52. Happening (French) 2021

  53. Hit Man (2024)

  54. Hit the Road (Persian) 2021

  55. Housekeeping for Beginners (2024) (Macedonian)

  56. In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50 (2022)

  57. In the Same Breath 2021

  58. Incredible But True (French) 2022

  59. Inshallah a Boy 2023

  60. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Vietnamese) (2023)

  61. Io Capitano 2023

  62. It Ain't Over 2022

  63. Jim Henson: Idea Man (2024)

  64. Judas and the Black Messiah 2021

  65. Julia 2021

  66. Kajillionaire 2020

  67. Kimi 2022

  68. Lingui: The Sacred Bonds (French) 2021

  69. Linoleum 2023

  70. Little Girl (French) 2020

  71. Living 2022

  72. Lost Illusions (French) 2022

  73. Louis Armstrong's Black and Blues 2022

  74. Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power 2022

  75. Maestro 2023

  76. Mars One (Portuguese) 2022

  77. Marx Can Wait (Italian) 2021

  78. May December 2023

  79. Minari 2020

  80. Miracle Fishing: Kidnapped Abroad 2020

  81. MLK/FBI 2020

  82. Monster (Japanese) (2023)

  83. Mr. Bachmann and His Class (German) 2021

  84. Musica (2024)

  85. My Little Sister (German) 2020

  86. My Octopus Teacher 2020

  87. Navalny (Russian) 2022

  88. Never Rarely Sometimes Always 2020

  89. Nitram 2021

  90. No Bears (Persian) 2022

  91. Nocturna: Side A — The Great Old Man's Night (Spanish) 2021

  92. Nomadland 2020

  93. Occupied City (2023)

  94. On the Record 2020

  95. One Fine Morning (French) 2022

  96. Oppenheimer 2023

  97. Parallel Mothers (Spanish) 2021

  98. Paris, 13th District (French) 2021

  99. Past Lives 2023

  100. Perfect Days (Japanese) (2023)

  101. Petite Maman 2021

  102. Playground (French) 2021

  103. Pleasure 2021

  104. Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (Hungarian) 2021

  105. Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnian) 2020

  106. R.M.N. (Romanian) 2022

  107. Reality 2023

  108. Return to Seoul (Korean) 2022

  109. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain 2021

  110. Robot Dreams 2023

  111. Rosa's Wedding (Spanish) 2020

  112. Rye Lane (2023)

  113. Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me 2022

  114. She Said 2022

  115. Silver Dollar Road 2023

  116. Smile 2022

  117. STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie 2023

  118. Summer of Soul 2021

  119. Tár 2022

  120. The Automat 2021

  121. The Beasts (Spanish / French) 2023

  122. The Beatles: Get Back 2021

  123. The Card Counter 2021

  124. The Cathedral 2022

  125. The Dig 2021

  126. The Eternal Memory (Spanish) 2023

  127. The Father 2020

  128. The Hand of God (Italian) 2021

  129. The Holdovers 2023

  130. The Innocents (Norwegian) 2021

  131. The Janes 2022

  132. The Lady Bird Diaries 2023

  133. The Mole Agent (Spanish) 2020

  134. The Novice 2021

  135. The Pigeon Tunnel 2023

  136. The Power of the Dog 2021

  137. The Princess 2022

  138. The Quiet Girl (Irish Gaelic) 2022

  139. The Rescue 2021

  140. The Taste of Things (French) (2023)

  141. The Teachers’ Lounge (German) (2023)

  142. The Truffle Hunters (Italian) 2020

  143. The Truth vs. Alex Jones (2024)

  144. The Velvet Underground 2021

  145. The Worst Person in the World (Norwegian) 2021

  146. Three Minutes: A Lengthening 2022

  147. Time 2020

  148. TINA 2021

  149. To Kill a Tiger (2022)

  150. Tori and Lokita (French) 2022

  151. Totem 2023

  152. True Things 2021

  153. Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation 2020

  154. Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb 2022

  155. West Side Story 2021

  156. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Japanese) 2021

  157. X 2022


2020:

  • After Love

  • American Utopia

  • Ammonite

  • Da 5 Bloods

  • Kajillionaire

  • Minari

  • Never Rarely Sometimes Always

  • Nomadland

  • The Father

  • My Little Sister (German)

  • Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnian)

  • Rosa's Wedding (Spanish)

  • City So Real

  • Derek Del Gaudio's In and Of Itself

  • Dick Johnson Is Dead

  • Gunda

  • MLK/FBI

  • Miracle Fishing: Kidnapped Abroad

  • My Octopus Teacher

  • On the Record

  • Time

  • Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation

  • Acasa, My Home (Romanian)

  • Little Girl (French)

  • The Mole Agent (Spanish)

  • The Truffle Hunters (Italian)

2021:

  • Judas and the Black Messiah

  • Nitram

  • Pleasure

  • The Card Counter

  • The Dig

  • The Novice

  • The Power of the Dog

  • True Things

  • West Side Story

  • 7 Prisoners (Portuguese)

  • A Hero (Persian)

  • Anais in Love (French)

  • Azor (Spanish)

  • Compartment Number 6 (Russian)

  • Drive My Car (Japanese)

  • Great Freedom (German)

  • Happening (French)

  • Hit the Road (Persian)

  • Lingui: The Sacred Bonds (French)

  • Nocturna: Side A — The Great Old Man's Night (Spanish)

  • Parallel Mothers (Spanish)

  • Paris, 13th District (French)

  • Playground (French)

  • Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (Hungarian)

  • The Hand of God (Italian)

  • The Innocents (Norwegian)

  • The Worst Person in the World (Norwegian)

  • Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Japanese)

  • Bring Your Own Brigade

  • Four Hours at the Capitol

  • In the Same Breath

  • Julia

  • Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

  • Summer of Soul

  • TINA

  • The Automat

  • The Beatles: Get Back

  • The Rescue

  • The Velvet Underground

  • Ascension (Mandarin Chinese)

  • Marx Can Wait (Italian)

  • Mr. Bachmann and His Class (German)

2022:

  • Aftersun

  • Blue Jean

  • Everything Everywhere All At Once

  • Kimi

  • Living

  • She Said

  • Smile

  • Tár

  • The Cathedral

  • X

  • A Chiara (Italian)

  • All Quiet On The Western Front (German)

  • Chile ‘76 (Spanish)

  • Corsage (German)

  • Decision to Leave (Korean)

  • EO (Polish)

  • Incredible But True (French)

  • Lost Illusions (French)

  • Mars One (Portuguese)

  • No Bears (Persian)

  • One Fine Morning (French)

  • Perfect Days (Japanese) (2023)

  • R.M.N. (Romanian)

  • Return to Seoul (Korean)

  • The Quiet Girl (Irish Gaelic)

  • Tori and Lokita (French)

  • All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

  • Beba

  • George Carlin's American Dream

  • In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50 (2022)

  • It Ain't Over

  • Louis Armstrong's Black and Blues

  • Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power

  • Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me

  • The Janes

  • The Princess

  • Three Minutes: A Lengthening

  • To Kill a Tiger (2022)

  • Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb

  • A House Made of Splinters (Ukrainian)

  • Fire of Love (French)

  • Navalny (Russian)

    2023:

  • A Thousand and One

  • All of Us Strangers (2023)

  • Earth Mama

  • Linoleum

  • Maestro

  • May December

  • Oppenheimer

  • Past Lives

  • Reality

  • Rye Lane

  • The Holdovers

  • Afire (German)

  • Anatomy of a Fall (French)

  • Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Vietnamese) (2023)

  • Monster (Japanese) (2023)

  • The Beasts (Spanish / French)

  • The Taste of Things (French) (2023)

  • The Teachers’ Lounge (German) (2023)

  • 20 Days in Mariupol

  • Occupied City

  • Silver Dollar Road

  • STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie

  • The Lady Bird Diaries

  • The Pigeon Tunnel

  • The Eternal Memory (Spanish)

2024:

  • Bad Faith (2024)

  • Civil War (2024)

  • Hit Man (2024)

  • Housekeeping for Beginners (2024) (Macedonian)

  • Jim Henson: Idea Man (2024)

  • Musica (2024)

  • The Truth vs. Alex Jones (2024)

Stock du Jour -- THTX (special issue)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

If you are not in the Discord room, please email me (maoxian at gmail) for an invite.

The Set-up

In the Discord room, there is a Thread titled “First Red Day Set-up,” where we have tried to hash out exactly what this means and how to play it. One thing everyone agrees on is that “First Red Day” is a dumb name.

The basic idea is that after a multi-day run (minimum three consecutive up days, minimum move of XXX%, generally rising volume), one should anticipate a reversal day and significant down move. This is a new set-up to me and I’ve been trying to learn how to execute it. We can all learn something new together, I like to think.

The Trigger

The “trigger” for the trade is that today’s open must be below the previous day’s close. If today’s open is below the previous close, then one can simply short the opening print. Mall Cop suggests shorting the break of the first one minute or five minute low, but it doesn’t really matter.

The Stop

The stop is the tricky part. I believe Du Xiuxian suggests placing a stop above the “value area,” or “volume block” of the previous day. One could also use the previous day’s high as one’s stop, but I hate using “obvious” spots like that. One could also use some arbitrary fixed percentage above one’s entry. Always remember the old joke that the answer to the question of where to put your stop is: How much money do you want to lose?

The Target

Expect price to return to the 10-day simple moving average in short order (yes, a pun). It could take one to three days, or even longer, to get there. Be patient. That 10-day SMA target is courtesy of Mall Cop.

Keeping an Eye on THTX

I will be watching THTX on Monday since it has “set up” and I will take the trade if it happens (gaps down at the open). Since I’m unfamiliar with these plays, I will take a $10,000 or $20,000 position as a trial and use a very wide stop. I will post the results in the Discord room and may publish a follow-up post here, assuming the trade is profitable. If it is unprofitable, I will never mention it again. Just kidding. Losing money on it will also be instructive.

Click on the chart to enlarge it

Again, if you are not in the Discord room, please email me (maoxian at gmail) for an invite.

EOD 9/11/2023 UPDATE

THTX did not gap down on the open so there was no play today. Volume dropped off considerably so I’m not sure if a gap down open tomorrow would qualify it, but I’ll certainly will keep an eye on it and report the executions I make in it, if any.

Movies Watched -- China Seas (1935)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

87 minute running time … Clark Gable as ship’s captain, Jean Harlow as his lover… I liked the footage of Hong Kong … wasn’t aware of the Malay Boot or Chinese Boot torture device… it wasn’t terrible, all the stereotypes were great. I sort of enjoyed it, but don’t think I’d recommend it.

Watch it, Toots

Movies Watched -- Omagh (2004)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

106 minute running time… bouncy camera and quick zoom in and out to give it that faux documentary feel that I hate… about a terrorist bombing in Northern Ireland in 1998 that killed 29 people … couldn’t watch it because of the bouncy cam and because I have children. One of the fathers of the victims turns out to be the world’s most articulate grease monkey, an amazing organizer and seeker of justice. Police incompetence, political corruption, the little people getting a raw deal, all the usual things. This was a John Farr reco, and of course Farr has no children.

Movies Watched -- All Night Long (1962)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

91 minute running time … hopheads and interracial couples and jazz, man! It’s cool! No, it wasn’t so cool, it wasn’t terrible terrible, but I’d never recommend it. Dave Brubeck makes an appearance as does Charlie Mingus (who mysteriously disappears). Patrick “I am not a number! I am a free man!” McGoohan sowing relationship chaos for his own nefarious ends. Not sure how this got into my queue, Farr maybe? Nope, not Farr.

Me?! Oh, I belong to that new minority group...white American jazz musicians. They're gonna hold a mass-meeting in a phone booth.

Movies Watched -- The Aura (2006)

Added on by C. Maoxian.

In Spanish. 134 minute running time so at least 30 to 40 minutes too long. This movie was promising, the story idea was OK, but it was just way way too long … I could drop it into Adobe Premiere Pro and take my cutting knife to work and make this into a really good movie. It’s amazing that film makers don’t understand how important it is to make a LEAN movie. Cut and keep cutting.