As Cannes 2024 is wrapping up, I still have to catch up with a few worthy Cannes 2023 films (Lisandro Alonso, Victor Erice) but I have seen enough 2023 films now to put together a list. I have previously mentioned the challenges of legally seeing newer 2023 films so won’t reiterate that here.
Without further ado, here are my best films of 2023:
1. Past Lives (USA/South Korea, Celine Song)
A tender emotionally beautiful film. Like a soothing piece of music.
2. La Chimera (Italy/France/Switzerland/Turkey, Alice Rohrwacher)
A warm shape shifting film that tugs at both the mind and heart.
3. Laapataa Ladies (India, Kiran Rao)
Kiran Rao and writers Biplab Goswami, Divyanidhi Sharma, Sneha Desai have done an outstanding job by seamlessly stitching socially relevant topics within the fabric of a humorous comedic film.
4. The Delinquents (Argentina/Luxembourg/Brazil/Chile, Rodrigo Moreno)
Takes the bank fraud at core of the 1949 Argentine film Apenas un delincuente and transforms it into a languid stroll through the countryside.
5. How to have Sex (UK/Greece/France/Belgium, Molly Manning Walker)
At first, this appears to be cut from the same cloth as Spring Breakers but the film digs deeper into how men can still circumvent consent in a post #MeToo world.
6. 12th Fail (India, Vidhu Vinod Chopra)
It is hard to believe that Vidhu Vinod Chopra, a major name in Indian Cinema, has made one of the best films of his career at the age of 70 (he is 71 now). 12th Fail is a film stripped of any fat and with a singular focus. The struggles of exams and getting a job in India have been documented in cinema before but Chopra has infused the film with plenty of hope. Part of the reason for that could be that the film is based on the real life story of Manoj Kumar Sharma and Shraddha Joshi and highlights how that there was always a ray of hope around the corner for the main character despite many pitfalls.
7. Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (India, Arjun Varain Singh)
A highly relevant contemporary film that depicts impact of social media on current generation. The film is set in Mumbai but the scenarios and characters can be found in most internet-connected nations around the world.
8. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (Vietnam/Singapore/France/Spain, Thien An Pham)
An earthy interpretation of Apichatpong’s spiritual cinema.
9. La Cancha (Canada, Mustafa Uzuner)
Mustafa Uzuner lovingly depicts how a community basketball court in Montreal can be a meditation on life and social connections. Pure cinema.
10. Io Capitano (Italy/Belgium/France, Matteo Garrone)
A film that goes beyond the headlines and depicts the perilous journey of its two characters from Senegal to Italy. Garrone also shows how communities spring up and sustain characters in cities/nations that find themselves at centre of migration.
11. Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World (Romania co-production, /Luxembourg/France/Croatia/Switzerland/UK, Radu Jude)
One of the funniest films of the year that manages to take a dig at lengths corporations go to manufacture/sustain their social image. The constant social media attention of main character means she wouldn’t be out of place with the characters in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan.
Honourable Mentions (in order of preference):
Mast Mein Rehne Ka (India, Vijay Maurya)
Samsara (Spain, Lois Patiño)
Blackberry (Canada, Matt Johnson)
The Settlers (Chile/Argentina/UK/Taiwan/Germany/Sweden/France/Denmark, Felipe Gálvez Haberle)
About Dry Grasses (Turkey/France/Germany/Sweden, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Worthy 2022 films seen in 2024:
Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (India, Lijo Jose Pellissery)
Trenque Lauquen (Argentina/Germany, Laura Citarella)
The Beasts (Spain/France, Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
Showing Up (USA, Kelly Reichardt)
