If I had to sum up 2023 in words other than “Barb-enheimer” or “writers strike”, how might I describe it?
There seemed to be much about the uncertainty of our present moment.
There also seemed to be much about the relationship of our present moment to the past.
I’m thinking about films like Asteroid City, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Oppenheimer, which confront the nature of fear in relationship to the human capacity for both progress and destruction. I’m thinking about the way Beau is Afraid took these fears and attached them to the heroes journey, simply one that is flipped on its head and rooted in the growing anxieties of a world gone mad. How this intersects with our own madness is a question that gets equal attention in films like The Eight Mountains and Artifice Girl.
There are moments of optimism though that break through the noise, be it the magic and wonder of Scarlet, the redemptive notes of Flora and Sons, or the strength of relationship and community in The Holdovers, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and Broker. There’s room to ask the important questions as well, such as the poignant wrestling in Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, the philosophical challenges of Past Lives, the challenge to sit in the unknowns in Anatomy of a Fall, or the moral crisis of A Good person. And finally there is the power of art to speak to the darkness of our lives, such as the powerful treatment of the artist in Showing Up, or the love letter to film in The Last Film Show.
Every year reflects a journey and captures a unique cultural moment. If 2023 as a say, its that even as the questions linger and the shadows of our histories loom large, there is still reason to hope. And if ever there were a case to be made for the power and importance of film, this would be it.
Elsewhere in this space I have discussed my favorite outliers, my favorite Canadian films, my favorite debuts, and my favorites in the categories of animated, horror and documentary. I now come to my Top 20 favorite films of the year, not including titles in those categories:
My Top 20 Favorite Films of 2023 (In Descending Order)
20. A Good Person
A film about the complex moral crisis that shape much of the way we see this world in terms of good and evil. So much of this is about learning how to be patient with life’s necessary processes, especially when the pain seems too great to bear and the weight too impossible to persist against. Life is rarely, if ever, as neat and tidy as we imagine it should be, and yet within this truth we find certain graces that have the power to push and pull us forward while growing uhe way.
The films title has a double purpose. On one hand it wonders about why God (or life itself) allows horrible things to happen to good people. At the same time it wonders about how it is that we are able to reconcile the parts of our lives and the lives of others we would rather forget and ignore or choose not to forgive. Perhaps it is the first observation that has the power to speak to the latter. Doing the necessary work when it comes to the latter, especially when it feels impossible, can open us up to the former, giving us a sense that engaging the messiness of life can actually lead us somewhere real and true. A powerful sentiment to be sure.
19. Ferrari
Ferrari is a film about the things we can’t control. It’s a film about death and grief and the cruelty of nature. It’s a film about racing, which of course caters to Michael Mann’s sensibilities.
It’s a film that uses all of these things to examine the subtleties of a man and his family silently being torn apart from the inside out. And when life itself is out of your control, what else can you do but decide to build beautiful cars instead. Part of the brilliance of Micheal Mann’s direction here is that he allows this to become the driving allegory underneath the surface, both for the exusting tension and the gradual unravelling. This happens often out of sight, but always making its presence felt and known nonetheless.
18. Artifice Girl
A stunning and sure handed debut that marries the intelligence of its questions with a simple but effective story structure. Best to go in as blind as possible, as I think the way plot unfolds is part of the beauty of the intellectual process at play here. It is an intricate dance between big ideas and broader realities regarding this world and the essential problem of the human condition, and the intimacy of the characters experiences of an uncertain, often feared and always changing world when it comes to technology and AI. The premise itself is intriguing, but it’s the developing relationships between the small cast of character that proves most compelling.
If one of its most pertinent questions is, what does it mean to feel, the Director uses this thematic interest as a way to explore what it means to be human, blurring the lines in all directions and unsettling our point of reference. The film leaves plenty of ambiguity in terms of its humanistic convictions and it’s decentering of such assumptions of uniqueness and exceptionalism, but does so without letting go of the larger questions that bind the human will to either a creator or a process.
17. Last Film Show
An unexpected joy and delight from the previous year stacked with such autobiographical films about filmmakers in their younger years discovering and falling in love with film. It’s a motif that will never get old for me, and the cultural setting here, unfamiliar as it is to me, gives it a fresh perspective and some interesting historical touchpoints.
Loved how it moves through a hands on approach to the way film once was made and produced and discovered. Reminds me of the Fablemans where it subtly explores the craft through the ingenuinity of a young mind simply exploring ideas and possibilities by way of observation.
And the quiet family moments, often framed around cooking and the meal. Beautiful.
16. Broker
Thematic throughlines and touchpoints defined by necessary moral complexity, along with storied scores and rich casts of characters defined in some way shape or form by the idea of family, found family on the margins being a favorite, seem to be the true mark of Koreeda’s cinematic presence, and true to form Broker delves deep into these different aspects by utilizing a fresh concept to explore familiar themes. It’s not his strongest work, but it is every bit his honest voice, designed to confront us with the important questions concerning what it means to be human and to know that we are loved and accepted as such across the dividing lines of our societal constructs.
15. Scarlet
I was swept off my feet by the wonderful Martin Eden, an Italian set film that marries a sense of magic and wonder to an underlying realism. Here he delves even further into a fairy tale approached, soaked as it is in the historical backdrop of the great war. It’s a narrative movement that brings us from darkness to light, material to magic, cynicism to wonder. In Scarlet, the wonder is in the romanticism, daring to give reasoned and rational weight to the seeming irrational.
14. The Eight Mountains
The Eight Mountains wants us to consider how the center remains even as one traverses the circle that makes up the broader world and experiences around it. Can we return to where we were once we’ve left to explore the circle? Certainly the temptation is there to want to do just that. And there is a sense in which the journey to the circle is meant to bring us back to where we started, only as different and transformed persons. To return to where we started is not only to return as someone new, but to return to a place that must look and feel different as well. Further yet, it is to look forward with a different frame of reference, just as we do within the story of the person and work of Jesus. But we do so with that foundation firmly in place. The thing that reminds us that there is a dream and that the promise is being carried through the belief and action of another, a belief and action that claims the power to shape who we are and what this world is.
I remember when Broken Circle Breakdown released I was championing it everywhere I went to as many people as possible. I found the films writing and it’s thematic focus, along with the central performances, to be a profound revelation, especially considering it was the Directors debut. The most striking feature of The Eight Mountains is the way it reframed a similar dedication to the performances and the thematic weight within a much broader cinematic presence and scope. The story is here is sweeping, tracking its main character, a young boy named Pietro from Turin, not only through time, but through the grand backdrop of the mountains employing a contrast of weighty, existential questions and intimate concern.
13. Asteroid City
Reminiscent of Anderson’s earlier work, Asteroid City plays with his familiar style of humor and eclectic framing while sticking to embedded themes rather than reaching for anything overly subversive. What makes his latest effort that much more intriguing however is that, on paper at least, it feels very much like a spiritual sequel to French Dispatch. If French Dispatch reflected on the nature and importance of art and the ensuing relationship between art and artist as a shared relationship, Asteroid City pushes that question further by wondering how it is that the world that produces such art holds meaning, if it does at all.
Two deeply existential stories, one calling back to the earlier days of Anderson’s career, the other the culmination of his present evolution. Taken together it forms an exciting endeavor from one of the world’s most visionary Directors.
12. Flora and Sons
To say this is a charmer would be an understatement. It’s also one of Carny’s most mature films to date, which of course looks backwards to his break out hit Once. He’s a long ways from the very modest budget of that two person indie romance, with Flora and Son exhibiting a bigger story, more expansive camera work and a more polished edit. But the intimacy of its characters and their journey remains fully intact, this time delving into the subject of motherhood and womanhood with the grace of some broad and colorful brushstrokes.
11. Beau is Afriad
The film is structured around the hero’s journey, simply flipped upside down, which positions it as an epic. It’s also, aesthetically and tonally, very much in the vein of a dark fairy tale. This isn’t outright horror, so be prepared for that. But it could be said to be the stuff of nightmares. This is the kind of film that asks a lot of viewers, but if you are willing to give yourself over to it, this proves to have a lot on its mind, exploring pertinent questions about how we see ourselves and how we see the world.
10. Jules
I challenge you to find a more charming, big hearted film than Jules from the current slate of 2023 films. This lovely gem is as effective as it is because of its dedication to the delicate art of simplicity.
9. Linoleum
Destined to be swallowed up by higher profile fare before the year is done, this small, indie, arthouse drama exists as a reminder of what makes the movies so special. It’s quirky presence is bolstered by a unique story, serving the unassuming nature of the Directors vision. Free to carve its own path, it finds a way towards an extremely satisfying emotional premise.
This isn’t the kind of arthouse fare that remains disinterested in accessibility. This is as human as it comes, exploring the nature of failed dreams and their existential challenge. It cuts to the heart of the question of who we are, wondering about how we reconcile this with who we become. A brilliant use of story structure as a plot device slowly sneaks up on the story arc, setting the whole thing up for a true and real gut punch. That it can marry it’s observations of science and reason with something so grounded and mysterious is a testament to the smarts and the thoughtfulness of its script. The awe of space and it’s expanse represents the journey inward, with the imagery of the rocket moving us in both directions at once.
8. The Holdovers
Plays like a warm blanket with a hot drink. Cosy, pared back, simple, heartfelt. It’s also smart, or Aasmartly written character study that gives its two central characters, a cynical aging professor and a castoff delinquent student, plenty of room to develop.
7. Killers of the Flower Moon
If The Irishman turned the camera inward in an examination of Scorsese’s career, Killers turns the lense outwards again, this time towards the Osage people and the harrowing murder mystery that frames its source material. There is a kind of collaborative spirit evidenced in this project that strives to shed light on one of the most pertinent issues of our day- the attrocoities experienced by the indigenous peoples by way of colonization. It reminded me a bit of Silence in its approach, marrying a quiet, reflective undercurrent to the intensity of its unfolding drama. In truth, I didn’t feel or notice the 3 and a half run time at all, it’s that absorbing.
There is so much care given to the craft and attention given to the cultural representation, and it’s the sort of emotional punch that is less interested in evoking easy sentiment and tears and instead approaches that in a more cerebral fashion. If the film is a reminder of how privileged we all are to have this guy still making films, it’s concern and impact is far more powerful in its ability to bring the darkness of its characters experiences to light without losing the beauty and humanity of its subjects in the process.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy 3
A franchise about unlikely friendship grows into a story about found family, taking the time to really explore the weight of their individual stories and struggles and how they fit together. This is a genuine feeler that stands as a reminder of why the MCU has had such a lasting presence in the cinematic landscape.
5. Showing Up
The tagline for this film is “art imitates life”. Perhaps at least part of what this film is wrestling with is the flipside of this notion, “does life imitate art”. Certainly we can see this expressed in our main characters struggle to escape the confines of her own particular prisons.
Reichardt draws out this story of a young woman, a sculptor preparing for a potentially life changing new show, with an attentive eye to that often invisible space between who we see ourselves to be and who we fear others see us to be. We see her art slowly take on the form of her experiences, even as her life begins to look for inspiration in the art, forming a fascinating juxtaposition of ideas. The commentary isn’t reaching into the same places of social concern as First Cow, making this a different sort of film. It clears the intellectual landscape in favor of quiet observation. And it’s from this vantage point that we gain insight on the beauty of the films questions and its subjects.
4.. Past Lives
Celine Song’s Directorial debut exhibits a quiet presence and a confident spirit in its studied look at the “stories” of our lives. Song’s sure handed approach to drawing out these characters is mesmerizing to watch, and given her own background (Korean-Canadian decent who moves to New York to pursue a career in writing), her own story lends it an inspired touch. The camera feels that closely tied to the ebb and flow of the journey.
A beautiful and big hearted film from start to finish. It’s a reminder that The stories we are given, the stories we tell. This is how we make sense of our lives in the now. The now opens up our lives to all that brings us to where we are. I can’t wait to see what Song does next.
3. Opppenheimer
Every so often a film comes around that feels impossible to describe in its details but also feels subsequently monumental in its presence. Oppenheimer occupies this space, with the only true certainty I could glean from it being that I was in the presence of something profound and excpetional. Certainly as a technical achievement. But also in the way it asks big questions about humanities potential for both progress and destruction. How we think about humanities future relates a good deal to how we think about our past, and if nothing else such histories can help challenge our notions that the enlightenment has proved to be the answer to our problems.
2. Anatomy of a Fall
A film about wrestling with the unknowns of life. A film about being okay with the unknowns of life. A film about making choices and carving out convictions in the midst of the unknowns of life.
1. Are You There God, Its Me Margaret
One of the best coming of age stories to release in a while. Honest and authentic to its core. Perfectly captures what it is to go through puberty with all its uncertainty and struggles, and does so with grace and sensitivity without sacrificing the raw reality of the process. Even where the particularities of this story about a young girl becoming a woman sits outside of my own realm of experience, I think the story itself can translate universally.
Religion becomes the divisive backdrop that echos Blooms own experience growing up. Religion becomes for Margaret a source of hurt and pain, not hope. And yet, whereas the doc would suggest that Bloom found an answer to her struggles by replacing God with a renewed commitment to the “I”, as though stripping God from the equation could solve her personal crisis and get rid of the division, the film never loses sight of the fact that the crisis is born not of religion but of the human experience. To sacrifice God on the alter of our experiences might be the most honest reaction we can find, but I think this film shows that it doesn’t take long for an allegiance to the self to find itself mired in a need to be anchored in something bigger than the “I”.
If there is a message that flows from Margarets own wrestling it is that the graces we need to navigate this thing we call existence often arrive against expectations. Which might just be the most hopeful portrait of God we can find.
The Stories of my Life 