This list is coming late this year because it took me so long to watch a few of the Japanese titles. 2023 was a great year for films, though pretty rough for the industry due to the strikes and some trouble at the box office. We continue to be in an era of great transition, but good movies are still getting made.
My criteria for eligibility require that a film must have been released in its own home country during 2023, so film festivals and other special screenings don't count. Picks are unranked and listed in no particular order, and previously posted reviews are linked where available. The "Plus One" spot is reserved for the best film of the previous year that I didn't manage to see in time for the last list.
The Holdovers - It feels reductive to call this a Christmas film, but at its heart, that's exactly what "The Holdovers" is. A mismatched trio, stuck at a boarding school over the holidays, briefly become a makeshift family and help each other to be better. It's designed to be a throwback, using slower pacing, longer shots, and simpler editing. However, crucially, it is not nostalgic, with the excellent performances of Paul Giamatti, DaVine Joy Randolph, and Dominic Sessa keeping us in the uncomfortable moment.
The Zone of Interest - There's never been a film about the Holocaust like this, where the horrors are kept on the margins of the screen and the most banal episodes of domestic life are put front and center. The use of sound, fourth wall breaking, and negative photography to provide the contrasting elements to the Nazi experience are striking, and "The Zone of Interest" often feels more like an experimental piece than a commercial feature film. However, the central themes and message come across crystal clear.
Anatomy of a Fall - A criminal trial becomes the examination of a difficult marriage, and a showcase for the performance of Sandra Huller as the accused wife. This is one of the most riveting courtroom dramas in years, and resolves in a way that doesn't provide any answers, but absolutely comes to the right conclusion. The drama is so empathetically, intelligently written, and the filmmaking is fantastic. The explosive argument scene is one of the year's best, and positioned in the narrative just right.
Saltburn - I absolutely respect anyone who thinks that this is a terrible movie. On several levels, "Saltburn" does not work at all. However, this is by far the most enjoyable experience I had with any film from 2023. I love the excess, the campiness, the skewering of the ugly upper classes, and the fact that our protagonist, played fearlessly by Barry Keoghan, is a scummy little freak who in no way has the moral high ground. Emerald Fennell bit off more than she could chew, and I love her for it.
Afire - Christian Petzold's metaphysically dubious romances can sometimes be a little gimmicky. However, "Afire" works great because the romance is largely one sided, and the story is more interested in prodding its deeply flawed hero toward maturity and redemption. It's also the story of a creative person struggling through the creative process, which I can't resist. I also admit that as someone often too obtuse to see what is going on in front of my nose, I identify with the protagonist significantly.
All of Us Strangers - There are many parts of this film that should not work, from the fantasy premise to the twist ending. However, Andrew Haigh gets the tone just right, sending us on a dreamlike nocturnal journey with Andrew Scott into the deepest recesses of the hero's psyche. The fantasy isn't really about finding your lost loved ones, but about resolving all the emotional baggage you have with them, on your own terms. Nostalgic, elegeic, and heartbreaking, it's the most emotional film of the year.
Femme - An erotic thriller primarily featuring LGBT characters, but more importantly one that incorporates some of the less savory parts of the LGBT experience. As Nathan Stewart-Jarrett's Jules embarks on a campaign of revenge against George MacKay's Preston, he also explores aspects of his own identity, sexuality, and more dangerous impulses. I also appreciate that "Femme" acknowledges how difficult it can be to navigate the intersections between LGBT culture and traditional masculinity.
The Boy and the Heron - I can already tell this is a film that's going to be a touchstone, even if I haven't quite been able to get my head around all of it yet. Right now it's the quieter, more autobiographical parts of the film that I respond to most, and the way that they capture the young hero's emotional turmoil and uneasy ghosts. I get the sense that Hayao Miyazaki put more of himself into this film than any of his others, and "The Boy and the Heron" may be the Rosetta Stone for all of his other projects.
Poor Things - This feels like Yorgos Lanthimos's most upbeat and positive film, a cheerfully weird, feminist "Frankenstein" about a woman's journey of self-discovery in a male-dominated world. It shares a lot in common with "Barbie," but is aimed at adult audiences, with more sexuality onscreen than I've seen in a long time. Emma Stone as Bella Baxter may be the performance of the year, a relentlessly curious spirit who outgrows all of her would-be teachers, and makes her own place in the world.
Origin - This was my hardest inclusion, but in a year with so many good films about the African American experience, "Origin" strikes me as the most daring by far. It's an adaptation of a nonfiction book that is simultaneously a loose biopic of its author, and set in relatively recent times. It feels like an incredibly personal work, and yet its subject matter crosses centuries, continents, and disparate cultures. There's really nothing else like it, and I can only hope it'll find its audience with time.
Honorable Mentions:
20 Days in Mariupol
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