These last few years I’ve been turning to the profound, quiet, challenging films more than the delirious, visually stunning ones. In 2023 I was happily surprised that I got more gratification from GODLAND and AFIRE than almost every other film I viewed.
But as lists go, I usually have somewhere between a dozen and 20 films to choose from, and the inevitable culling doesn’t remove too many. This year, I had 9 films I was seriously enamored of, and there is a pretty clear distinction where the Serious Cinema turns to Remarkable Thrills. It’s a pretty jarring step from KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON’s waves of unbearable sadness and straight-faced insidious behavior to the spastic digital-rainbow glories of SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. Or from any of the top five or six films to, say, SISU (which I maintain is deserving of its notable final spot, Jalmari Helander’s pristine vistas and delirious approach to Nazi-killing a unique treat).
These days I am trying to break old habits and not use words like best or favorite; "satisfying" seems more appropriate. And the films below are the ones I found most satisfying in 2023.
(EDIT: 12/30, finally saw GODZILLA MINUS ONE, which now belongs on the list.)
The Hat Tip: Yorgos Lanthimos’ POOR THINGS.
1 (tie) - Mark Jenkin’s BAIT (above) was technically not available in the U.S. until this year, and about a week later, his follow-up ENYS MEN arrived. It was a thrilling experience, getting to see these two disparate films in close proximity rather than waiting years. Jenkin immediately joined the likes of Robert Eggers as a filmmaker for whom I can’t wait to see What’s Next.
2 - Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER.
3 - Hlynur Palmason’s GODLAND tells the story of a Danish priest sent to Iceland to oversee the creation of a new church, and how the environment, language, and his own faith provide challenges as great as the countryside’s (sometimes harsh) beauty.
4 - AFIRE (ROTER HIMMEL), Christian Petzold’s latest is sly, serene, and droll…until it becomes something else. Two friends take a work vacation near the Baltic and approach their respective tasks with vastly different frames of mind. Petzold is, like Jenkin and Eggers, a filmmaker whose name makes me straighten up when I see something new is on the horizon.
5 - Alexander Payne’s THE HOLDOVERS has so many elements you’ve seen a thousand times, yet it feels fresh. You know it had a profound impact on me when I tell you I am not always fond of Payne’s films. The cast, cinematography, writing, and music are all on point. But most of all, it just feels so right.
LATE ADDITION: GODZILLA MINUS ONE, which is just amazing. And horrifying. And deeply emotional. And amazing.
6 - Frant Gwo’s THE WANDERING EARTH II is so expansive it makes the epic 2019 original seem downright small. As original science-fiction goes, there’s no beating these films for vast, audacious entertainment.
7 - I’m not sure how many times I will want to revisit KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, its emotions and injustices swirling so thick and for so long that it’s hard to consider it with the fleet thrill of a GOODFELLAS or CASINO. Martin Scorsese has another Great Film on his hands, and Lily Gladstone a performance deserving of every accolade.
8 - If there’s a drawback to SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, it’s that they decided to split the story into two parts, and we now have to wait a year or more to see its conclusion (also see DEAD RECKONING, below). Lacking that completion aspect, it still charms and amuses with whiplash action, a gorgeous, shifting palette of colors and styles, and some great voice work. Oh, and heart. The film’s got heart.
9 - Similarly, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING PART 1 has all the great strengths of the best action thrillers…but ended with a cliffhanger, and now we wait. It almost seems cruel.
NOTABLE - Demian Rugna’s WHEN EVIL LURKS was my favorite horror film of the year. Gruesome, moody, unsettling; it packs a hell of a punch and doesn’t play fair at all.
GLORIOUS NOT-AT-ALL-GUILTY PLEASURE - If you say Christian Petzold, well that’s great. If you say Christian Petzold and Franz Rogowski, I’m even more ready. Similarly, I love Jalmari Helander, who tells nutso tales while showing off exquisite landscapes; team him up with Finnish compatriot Jorma Tommila, and we’re going to have an incredible time. SISU is 2023’s finest Nazi-destroying, gold-digging (literally), race-to-the-bank, wackadoo actioner. I love this film.