by Drew Deitch
| Updated
2024 is coming to a close and it's time for everyone to start putting their 'best of' lists together. After the overwhelming success it achieved evilmany critics and moviegoers expect it to be a legitimate contender for the Academy Award for Best Picture. The $150 million production is the usual mainstream hit that is talked about as the best movie people have seen in a year. This is credited with being one of the few multiplex blockbuster monopolists pushing more original and independent films. If audiences had more awareness and openness about the best movies of 2024, they would discover that the actual best movie of the year costs 1/1000 of evilA massive budget now by industry standards.
Best film of 2024
Hundreds of beavers It is an independent comedy film that cost $150,000 to produce. Inspired by silent comedies, black and white animation, and even video games, Hundreds of beavers The film tells the deceptively simple story of a down-on-his-luck fellow named Jan Kayak, who ends up needing to survive in the winter wilderness by becoming a fur trapper. This leads to an elaborate madness as Jan finds himself at war with nature and its inhabitants (most of whom are beavers, but the title spoils that). Trying to dictate all the gags and jokes here would do them a disservice. Hundreds of beavers Really needs to be seen to be believed.
What I can relate to you here is Hundreds of beavers Not only is this the year's best film because it's a fun and expert display of art on multiple levels, but because it stands in stark contrast to the studio system and demonstrates that true creativity is often the realm of independent creators.
Originality from inspiration
Although this is not a measure of the quality of any individual film, the overwhelming dominance of unoriginal films has become a serious problem that hinders my enjoyment of popular cinema. I have to define the word “unoriginal” in this context. Let's take a look at the current top 20 box office grossers of 2024 and see if we can put a definition together:
Of these, sixteen are sequels. Of these sixteen, ten are not direct sequels, meaning they are the third or furthest entry in their franchise. When it comes to non-consecutive fours, one of them is evilpart one, with a sequel on the way. Only one of these four non-consecutive parts is an original text that has not been modified from an earlier work. Yes, when it comes to a completely original film that does well at the box office, if He is number one.
So, what does this have to do with it? Hundreds of beavers? One of the reasons it's the best film of 2024 is its ability to take inspiration from popular media and present it in a truly new way. Instead of “going back” to create her art, she mixes all the things she loves into a new dish. You won't see the Triforce symbol anywhere in the movie as an sponsored link (well, Entire movies are just video game ads At this point), but you'll benefit from the film's use of video game visual language like menu choices and overworld maps. Felix the Cat doesn't show up so someone can get some royalties and no modern viewer recognizes him, but the silent era of cartoons' chaotic possibility tells us a lot about what makes Hundreds of beavers A riot of laughter.
But why put up the comparison to evilBudget? Because not only Hundreds of beavers Being original makes it the best movie of 2024. There are so many excellent original movies this year! That's what Hundreds of beavers It makes this relatively small amount of money that propels it to first place.
Creativity despite the cost
I have not seen evil So I'm not going to criticize anything about this movie other than what I've seen in the trailers and other promotional material. especially, evilThe cinematography approach looks like most of the high-end commercial and advertising cinema we see around the biggest ad campaigns. That's not to say it “looks bad” at all, but it just seems uninspiring in the larger landscape of cinema. Part of that is because it has the backing of a huge studio, and studios have become increasingly risk-averse when it comes to making the most glamorous and stylistic films.
Compare that with Hundreds of beavers Being independently financed and what they are able to use the medium of film to do at a relatively lower cost. I'm not trying to belittle the work of VFX artists and other craftsmen (I'm sure I am). evilbut watch Hundreds of beavers To achieve such creativity with 1/1000th of this film's budget is more stimulating for the future of cinema than any other successful film.
Don't take this piece as “evil Yuck!” Screed. I haven't seen it so I don't know if it's bad or not! But when we start with all this annoying awards whining, remember that the actual best picture of 2024 is a little piece of art made for one thousandth of a millionth of a million. evil.
