{"id":23534,"date":"2023-12-30T07:53:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T13:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deepfocusreview.com\/?p=23534"},"modified":"2024-12-22T10:18:14","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T16:18:14","slug":"top-10-films-of-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deepfocusreview.com\/top-10-films-of-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Films of 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Listmaking is a fun, somewhat obligatory, and ultimately meaningless exercise. Not a year goes by that I don\u2019t look back at a list and think this or that title should be swapped. Why did I rank <\/span>that one<\/span><\/i> so high? I put <\/span>what <\/span><\/i>on the list? Sometimes, after publishing my list, I see a movie from that year and regret not having it in my Top 10. If I remade my lists from previous years, they wouldn\u2019t look like they do today. If I remade the list below again tomorrow, it would probably look different as well. But it\u2019s today, and it\u2019s time to rank my favorite films of 2023. So here it is, such as it is\u2014my ranking of the top films from the last year. At this moment, I stand by the list. Tomorrow, I make no promises.<\/span><\/p>\n

To see my list of the Top 25 Films of 2023 and read additional commentary on the year, join DFR on Patreon<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

HONORABLE MENTION:<\/strong> Perfect Days<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nWim Wenders recaptures the arthouse magic of his earlier work in the New German Cinema movement with his latest feature, which he co-wrote alongside Takuma Takasaki. In an almost silent performance, Koji Yakusho stars as a custodian for the real-life company The Tokyo Toilet, a luxury lavatory business in Japan\u2019s capital. The film juxtaposes the character\u2019s menial job and seemingly empty daily routine with hints of his inner life, a rich world of great music, photography, and restrained love. The lead performance is among the year\u2019s very best, while the story recalls elements of Wenders\u2019 <\/span>Paris, Texas<\/i><\/b><\/a> (1984), about a man who finds a way of processing his pain in a manner that makes sense to him, leading to an eventual outpouring. While it\u2019s a deceptively simple portrait of an overlooked blue-collar worker, it\u2019s also a moving examination of how to accept life as a series of ups and downs, and receive all things with a measure of grace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RUNNER-UP:<\/strong> Are You There God? It\u2019s Me, Margaret<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nKelly Fremon Craig captures the spirit of Judy Blume\u2019s writing in her adaptation of the oft-banned book, giving those without access to the text another method of interacting with Blume\u2019s characters and life lessons. Although its 1970s-era takes on femininity, puberty, religion, and identity have been called dated by some, its themes still resonate in a story that is both specific and universal. The characters live and breathe here, particularly the expanded-upon mother (Rachel McAdams, who deserves some awards consideration for her heartfelt supporting role) and Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson, excellent). After the underseen <\/span>The Edge of Seventeen<\/i><\/strong><\/a> <\/i>(2016), Craig delivers another coming-of-age story that performed poorly at the box office but will surely be discovered and celebrated in the years to come. Plus, for those unfamiliar with the impact of Blume\u2019s book, this year\u2019s documentary <\/span>Judy Blume Forever<\/i><\/strong><\/a> <\/i>offered an encapsulation of her career to put this material in context.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

10.<\/strong> Killers of the Flower Moon<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nAdapted from David Grann’s nonfiction book, Martin Scorsese’s massive production, backed by Apple Original Films, is the kind of film studios <\/span>should be<\/span><\/i> spending $200 million on. Headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio, with superb supporting performances from Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro, this accounting of the Osage Nation murders in the 1920s uncovers a disturbing chapter in American history. The film led to all manner of debates in public discourse this year\u2014what constitutes <\/span>enough <\/span><\/i>representation, who should be telling stories like this one, and why such stories get buried in history. Beyond all the extratextual conversation, Scorsese delivered a fast-paced three-and-a-half-hour film that explores a familiar theme for the director: Cognitive dissonance and the way people compartmentalize the horrible things they do out of selfish ambition. Not only does that theme materialize in Scorsese\u2019s portraits of gangsterism and criminality, but it\u2019s also a recurring theme in 2023\u2019s best films, including <\/span>May December,<\/span><\/i> The Zone of Interest<\/span><\/i>, and others. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

9.<\/strong> You Hurt My Feelings<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nThe latest from Nicole Holofcener may not appear on many Top 10 lists this year, but there\u2019s something to be said for the pitch-perfect execution of her observant relationship comedy, featuring a career-best performance by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It\u2019s an unassuming film, without a flashy production or conspicuous aesthetic, but it\u2019s executed exactly as it should be. The narrative is a classic walk-and-talk affair about New Yorkers who wear cozy clothes, live in comfortable apartments, and have problems that prove ever-so relatable. Louis-Dreyfus\u2019 novelist character learns that her husband (Tobias Menzies) doesn\u2019t actually like her latest manuscript, though to her face, he has claimed to enjoy it. Holofcener explores what constitutes a \u201cgood lie\u201d and what honesty might get you, all while also grappling with the insecurity of creatives and the impact that can have on a marriage. Holofcener\u2019s characters feel rich and alive, and the film made me laugh, cry, and feel a sense of recognition for the behaviors onscreen.<\/p>\n

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8.<\/strong> Priscilla<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nRefusing to romanticize or place the public\u2019s beloved \u201cKing of Rock and Roll\u201d on a pedestal as Baz Luhrmann did in last year\u2019s <\/span>Elvis<\/i><\/strong><\/a>, Sofia Coppola adapts Priscilla Presley\u2019s autobiography for a disturbing and critical look at Elvis through Priscilla\u2019s eyes. Played by Cailee Spaeny in a performance of necessary internalization, which will probably go unfairly overlooked come awards season, her character\u2019s dominated and oppressed identity throughout gradually leads to a cathartic finale. Priscilla is a quiet, shy, and captivated early teen when she first meets The King (Jacob Elordi). His behavior is that of a groomer and possessive control freak who tries to keep the passive Priscilla like a child keeps a doll. However, Coppola, who refuses to accent the film with Elvis hits, builds to a final scene that feels like an emotional breakthrough, aching though it is, after so much manipulation. The film\u2019s overwhelming effect, from the performances to the immersive production and costume design work, ranks it as Coppola\u2019s best feature to date.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

7. <\/strong>R.M.N.<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nBest known for <\/span>4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days<\/i><\/strong><\/a> (2007) and <\/span>Graduation<\/span><\/i> (2016), Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu\u2019s film centers on a small Transylvanian village with layers of culture and a history of intolerance. Mungiu drew inspiration from a real-life town hall meeting video, where all manner of prejudicial behavior could be witnessed. In his film, people of German, Romanian, and Hungarian descent argue over whether so-called outsiders from Sri Lanka should work in their local bakery. Mungiu explores how humanity has a short memory about land and how it\u2019s been inhabited by various human cultures over time, and the animals long before us. And yet, exceptionalism and self-importance leads to a restrictive, hateful sense of othering, all based on a false, culturally imposed sense of entitlement. The film is about what Jean Renoir might deem the grand illusion that we\u2019re all different in some way, and how those arbitrary divisions and borders we create don\u2019t mean anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

6.<\/strong> The Zone of Interest<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nHardly a prolific director, Jonathan Glazer returns with his first feature since 2013\u2019s brilliant <\/span>Under the Skin<\/i><\/strong><\/a>,<\/span> bowing a film that\u2019s both a disturbing look at the Holocaust and a reflector of our times. Situated firmly in the arthouse mode of filmmaking, to the extent that some passages feel like they could double as a modern art installation, Glazer adapts Martin Amis\u2019 2014 novel into a conceptual film that considers an SS officer\u2019s family, whose property shares a wall with Auschwitz. Although their home and gardens appear beautiful and orderly, they live within earshot of genocide, creating a nightmarish and haunting contrast of visual and aural information. While depicting a horrific scene from recorded history, the film is not merely a look back; it\u2019s a warning sign that apathy and compartmentalization allow inhuman behavior to continue, unquestioned. Few 2023 films were as thoughtfully and rigidly composed with a form-follows-function approach as Glazer\u2019s passionate, accomplished fourth feature.<\/span><\/p>\n

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5.<\/strong> Past Lives<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nPlaywright Celine Song made an extraordinary and incredibly ambitious debut with <\/span>Past Lives<\/span><\/i>, a drama about how each new path we choose redefines us. Greta Lee gives a subtle and resounding performance as Nora, a Korean-born writer Song based on herself, wrestling with her identity. In fact, the whole story is drawn from Song\u2019s experiences with a childhood boyfriend who reentered her life, though she was married. Filled with what-if yearning and moving dialogue that openly discusses the complex feelings at the center, the film offers an aching look at how we can never return to an older version of ourselves\u2014each of us is rebuilt when we make choices. Teo Yoo and especially John Magaro give fleshed-out turns as Nora\u2019s old boyfriend and current husband, respectively, in a film that seems like a quiet romance, except there\u2019s an intricate intertextuality and formal agenda working toward building Nora’s identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> May December<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nInspired by the tabloid fodder of Mary Kay Letourneau, <\/span>May December <\/span><\/i>takes a sharp look at complex characters who present themselves one way but have a mass of confusion and emotions swirling underneath. Natalie Portman introduced director Todd Haynes to Samy Burch\u2019s screenplay, no doubt spotting how the material contained familiar themes for the filmmaker. Haynes\u2019 choices throughout are as nuanced as the performances from Portman, an actress shadowing her next role; Julianne Moore, a woman who went to prison for sleeping with a minor; and Charles Melton, the man-child who was victimized and brainwashed by Moore. Accented with surprising humor and a delightfully ironic score by Marcelo Zarvos, the film never sacrifices its characters for its style, which has all the layers you would expect from Haynes. Given all the surfaces and artifice at work, it\u2019s impossible to fully understand any of these characters. But when they look in the mirror, you might see a glimpse of who they really are, or perhaps not. Either way, the film invites you to keep looking, even if all you see is a false front. <\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> The Taste of Things<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nTr\u1ea7n Anh H\u00f9ng\u2019s beautiful and nuanced filmmaking entrances the viewer in cooking, using long takes that follow the elaborate processes of high French cuisine from a century-and-a-half ago. Beno\u00eet Magimel plays chef Dodin Bouffant, whose relationship with his head cook and lover Eug\u00e9nie (Juliette Binoche) improves his recipes and his quality of life. Binoche, as ever, is a transfixing screen presence who lends an incredible dimension to her role, the power of which isn\u2019t realized until it\u2019s too late. Together, Dodin and Eug\u00e9nie\u2019s commitment to their art comes first, and all else is secondary, even their eventual marriage. For the 134-minute runtime, <\/span>The Taste of Things <\/span><\/i>transports us into a sensuous world of phantom tastes and smells, propelled by the atmospheric and ever-moving camerawork by Jonathan Ricquebourg. It\u2019s a sumptuous and warm setting, inhabited by characters who use meals, and the effort that goes into making them, to communicate their feelings. Its effect is profound and all-consuming.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Showing Up<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nSimilar to <\/span>The Taste of Things<\/span><\/i>, Kelly Reichardt\u2019s new film is about an artist whose single-minded commitment to her art makes all personal relationships secondary. Michelle Williams, who has starred in several of Reichardt\u2019s best films, once again disappears into her role as Lizzy, a beleaguered Portland sculptor who\u2019s preparing for her next show. While dealing with her out-of-sorts brother (John Magaro), inattentive landlord (Hong Chau), and professional rivalries, the protagonist can be prickly, obsessive, and demanding, often to funny and uncomfortable extremes. What resonated with me, beyond the all-around excellent performances or even Reichardt\u2019s assured if restrained formal approach, was the theme of Lizzy\u2019s tireless passion for her creative work. I identified with Lizzy\u2019s sometimes misanthropic devotion to her art, and recognized aspects of myself in her moody behavior. It\u2019s a quiet and deceptively light film for Reichardt, but it resonates with an intense quality of self-recognition.<\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/b>.<\/span> Poor Things<\/i><\/b><\/a>
\nTransgressive, taboo-breaking, and subject to heated debate in some circles, Yorgos Lanthimos\u2019 surreal and feminist <\/span>Frankenstein<\/span><\/i>-style narrative features the year\u2019s best performance, by Emma Stone. She stars as Bella, an out-there embodiment of comic delights, irrepressible desire, and impulsive behavior created in a lab. The film involves an infant\u2019s brain going into an adult woman\u2019s body, creating a new kind of monster that matures at an exponential rate and doesn\u2019t fit into any kind of conventional definition of a human being. Lanthimos\u2019 film critiques the men who would victimize and control women, delivering a story about a person developing outside of and emerging from a patriarchal world with a sense of her selfhood, desire, and power intact. Lanthimos, ever commenting on human behaviors and disturbing social norms in exaggerated ways, tests his audience\u2019s grasp of the story and its themes with its confronting subject matter. Some have failed that test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every aspect of Lanthimos\u2019 film has been heightened: the suggestive costumes and production design; the wildly mannerist performances from Stone and Mark Ruffalo; the pseudo-Victorian fantasy world in which it takes place; the absurdist humor; the highly stylized camerawork, ranging from silent-era influence to modern CGI extravaganza; the narrative of debauched self-discovery and eventual empowerment. Lanthimos\u2019 production exists in a similar mode of filmmaking extremes as the cinema of Ken Russell or Terry Gilliam, who enjoy pushing limits and boundaries. <\/span>Poor Things <\/span><\/i>is endlessly funny, thought-provoking, and visually inspired, and the result is a sensory overload, which requires repeated viewings to spot every gag and appreciate every detail. These are rare qualities I love in a film, and they will keep me coming back for years to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Listmaking is a fun, somewhat obligatory, and ultimately meaningless exercise. Not a year goes by that I don\u2019t look back at a list and think this or that title should be swapped. Why did I rank that one so high? I put what on the list? Sometimes, after publishing my list, I see a movie from that year and regret not having it in my Top 10. If I remade my lists from previous years, they wouldn\u2019t look like they do today. If I remade the list below again tomorrow, it would probably look different as well. But it\u2019s today, and it\u2019s time to rank my favorite films of 2023. So here it is, such as it is\u2014my ranking of the top films from the last year. At this moment, I stand by the list. Tomorrow, I make no promises. To see my list of the Top 25 Films of 2023 and read additional commentary on the year, join DFR on Patreon. HONORABLE MENTION: Perfect Days Wim Wenders recaptures the arthouse magic of his earlier work in the New German Cinema movement with his latest feature, which he co-wrote alongside Takuma Takasaki. In an almost silent performance, Koji Yakusho stars […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lists","topic-lists"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTop 10 Films of 2023 | Deep Focus Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.deepfocusreview.com\/top-10-films-of-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top 10 Films of 2023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Listmaking is a fun, somewhat obligatory, and ultimately meaningless exercise. Not a year goes by that I don\u2019t look back at a list and think this or that title should be swapped. Why did I rank that one so high? I put what on the list? Sometimes, after publishing my list, I see a movie from that year and regret not having it in my Top 10. If I remade my lists from previous years, they wouldn\u2019t look like they do today. If I remade the list below again tomorrow, it would probably look different as well. But it\u2019s today, and it\u2019s time to rank my favorite films of 2023. So here it is, such as it is\u2014my ranking of the top films from the last year. At this moment, I stand by the list. Tomorrow, I make no promises. To see my list of the Top 25 Films of 2023 and read additional commentary on the year, join DFR on Patreon. HONORABLE MENTION: Perfect Days Wim Wenders recaptures the arthouse magic of his earlier work in the New German Cinema movement with his latest feature, which he co-wrote alongside Takuma Takasaki. 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Not a year goes by that I don\u2019t look back at a list and think this or that title should be swapped. Why did I rank that one so high? I put what on the list? Sometimes, after publishing my list, I see a movie from that year and regret not having it in my Top 10. If I remade my lists from previous years, they wouldn\u2019t look like they do today. If I remade the list below again tomorrow, it would probably look different as well. But it\u2019s today, and it\u2019s time to rank my favorite films of 2023. So here it is, such as it is\u2014my ranking of the top films from the last year. At this moment, I stand by the list. Tomorrow, I make no promises. To see my list of the Top 25 Films of 2023 and read additional commentary on the year, join DFR on Patreon. HONORABLE MENTION: Perfect Days Wim Wenders recaptures the arthouse magic of his earlier work in the New German Cinema movement with his latest feature, which he co-wrote alongside Takuma Takasaki. 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