The Associated Press鈥� Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and picks for the best movies of 2023:
LINDSEY BAHR
1. 鈥淥ppenheimer"
Christopher Nolan has had so many major films in a relatively short time, that 鈥� 鈥� might seem like a given, rather than the triumphant fusion of everything he鈥檚 passionate about: ; the tension between humanity and science; the ; and the wonder of to make an impossible thing (in this case a nuclear weapon) but also on a meta level, the film.
2. 鈥淭he Zone of Interest"
Like 鈥淥ppenheimer,鈥� the horror in Jonathan Glazer鈥檚 鈥� 鈥� is what is unseen. Depiction bubbled up as a hot topic this year, as though audiences aren鈥檛 intelligent enough to imagine the worst. In 鈥淭he Zone of Interest,鈥� it鈥檚 only a wall that separates one Nazi family from the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Glazer鈥檚 film is a masterclass in atmosphere: A chilling, artful representation of the not so grey areas of complicity.
3. 鈥淧riscilla"
Sofia Coppola鈥檚 鈥� 鈥� is so beautiful to look at, it鈥檚 easy not to notice its rigorous restraint and minimalism in storytelling. It provides a singular showcase for her very capable actors, , that鈥檚 about all the small things 鈥� the moments that might be imperceptible were it not for her quiet gaze. That just means she did her job as an independent artist.
4. 鈥淎steroid City"
The play within a play conceit of 鈥� 鈥� is perhaps his most self-conscious film, made in his signature style but also about his style and the artifice of it. It is immensely rewatchable, funny and quotable, with a career best performance from Scarlett Johansson and a brilliant Margot Robbie cameo.
5. 鈥淢ay December"
It takes a master like to authentically blend high camp and melodrama with grounded emotion, but that鈥檚 what he鈥檚 managed to do with the sickly entertaining 鈥� 鈥� It鈥檚 a satire about actors and the Lifetime-ing of human tragedies and a soulful portrait of a victim who doesn鈥檛 realize it.
6. 鈥淔allen Leaves"
Aki Kaurism盲ki was, embarrassingly, a blind spot for me. But the Finnish filmmaker鈥檚 about the missed connections of two lonely souls in a cold, unglamorous, alcohol-soaked setting is a wonderful place to start. Like Holappa and Ansa come to learn, it鈥檚 never too late to grow.
7. 鈥淭he Holdovers"
There were a few movies this year that were just so good and so watchable that it feels too easy to select them. Alexander Payne鈥檚 鈥� 鈥� is the best of them: A well written, acted and composed film that makes you feel like you too are stuck in a New England boarding school over a holiday break and learning things about yourself and those in the trenches with you.
8. 鈥淧oor Things鈥�
Yorgos Lanthimos crafts a deranged, provocative, fairy tale that feels completely fresh. The themes aren鈥檛 exactly subtle, what with Emma Stone鈥檚 insatiable Bella Baxter calling her creator (Willem Dafoe) God, but it is one of those huge, ambitious swings that works.
9. 鈥淎 Thousand and One"
made the year鈥檚 best debut feature in this vibrant portrait of a mother and son in New York City in the 1990s. The city as character may be a tired trope, but here you feel their home changing and gentrifying as their own relationship takes unexpected turns. This grand opening statement is both intimate and epic, with a pulsating soundtrack.
10. 鈥淏ottoms"
It鈥檚 kind of hard to believe that 鈥� 鈥� was a real movie that was really released by a major studio, MGM. Director Emma Seligman and her co-writer/muse/star Rachel Sennott created one of the that Gen Z still needs to discover and claim. It鈥檚 ok, there鈥檚 time.
Also: 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥淎ll of Us Strangers,鈥� 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥� .鈥�
JAKE COYLE
1. 鈥淔allen Leaves鈥�
Loneliness and lousy bosses are everywhere in the cold world of Finnish filmmaker . But there are stirring signs of life beneath the deadpan surface of 鈥淔allen Leaves,鈥� a minimalist fable about a maybe-romance between two working-class loners (Alma P枚ysti, Jussi Vatanen). Kaurism盲ki doesn鈥檛 need much 鈥� a trip to the movies, a few good songs, a dog named Chaplin 鈥� to say a lot. An 82-minute balm for a bleak world.
2. 鈥淭he Holdovers鈥�
, with its cozy, Christmas New England environs, has sometimes been compared to a warm blanket. But there鈥檚 a strong anti-authoritarian streak running through 鈥淭he Holdovers,鈥� much like the 鈥�70s films it models itself on. The cast, including , Da鈥橵ine Joy Randolph and newcomer Dominic Sessa, is flawless. There's plenty of warmth here, but there's rage, too 鈥� including a lament for a lost spirit of American filmmaking.
3. 鈥淭he Eight Mountains鈥�
Seasons sweep through of friendship set in the Italian Alps. The film, vast and intimate at once, tracks two childhood friends (Luca Marinelli, Alessandro Borghi) over the course of years, enveloping them in a breathtaking high-mountain backdrop and the radiant folk songs of Daniel Norgren.
4. 鈥淪pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse鈥�
The year鈥檚 giddiest and most spectacular film. As good as 鈥淚nto the Spider-Verse鈥� was, pushes dazzlingly against both superhero convention and the limits of animation.
5. 鈥淧erfect Days鈥�
The great Japanese actor Koji Yakusho stars as a solitary, soft-spoken public toilet cleaner in Tokyo in Wim Wenders' profoundly lovely ode to the everyday. Though plot and backstory make hesitant inroads, is mostly about the day-to-day rhythms of Hirayam, who reads Faulkner at night, takes pictures of trees on his lunch break and listens to cassette tapes (yes, including Lou Reed) while he drives.
6. 鈥淥rigin鈥�
of Isabel Wilkerson鈥檚 鈥淐aste鈥� isn鈥檛 exactly an adaptation. DuVernay dramatizes Wilkerson鈥檚 writing of the celebrated nonfiction book, mixing in historical accounts of caste systems with the intimate dramas of Wilkerson鈥檚 own life. The combination movingly fuses social with personal.
7. 鈥淏arbie鈥�
Here鈥檚 one thing that鈥檚 not been said enough about : It's the funniest movie of the year. With apologies to and nothing was as clever as Gerwig鈥檚 I鈥檒l-have-my-cake-and-eat-it-too balancing act of brand marketing and gender satire.
8. 鈥淟a Chimera鈥�
The past in everywhere in , underfoot and in the melancholy eyes of its Englishman protagonist (Josh O鈥機onnor), the gifted but haunted leader of a ramshackle band of tombaroli who raid ancient Etruscan burial sites in Tuscany. This is a magical but earthy movie.
9. 鈥淎ll of Us Strangers鈥�
, the British filmmaker of 鈥淲eekend鈥� and 鈥�45 Years,鈥� is an aching, unshakeable ghost story. In a dreamy metaphysical daze, the film toggles between the unfolding relationship of two gay men, Adam (Andrew Scott) and Harry (Paul Mescal), and Harry鈥檚 visitations to his frozen-in-time childhood home where he finds his long-dead parents (Claire Foy, Jamie Bell). It鈥檚 about family, loss, fiction, romance, coming out, growing older, and it will absolutely level you.
10. 鈥淭贸tem鈥�
is likewise about family and grief, and it, too, has the power to devastate. Aviles鈥� follow-up to her 2018 debut 鈥淭he Chambermaid鈥� is largely seen through the perspective of young Sol (Naima Senties) on a day when her multigenerational family is preparing a birthday party for her dying father (Mateo Garc铆a Elizondo). The teeming, distracted lives of her relatives nearly obscure the hard truth at hand for Sol.
Also: 鈥淩.M.N.,鈥� 鈥淎natomy of a Fall,鈥� 鈥淥ppenheimer,鈥� 鈥淵ou Hurt My Feelings,鈥� 鈥淎 Thousand and One,鈥� 鈥淭ori and Lokita,鈥� 鈥淵outh (Spring),鈥� 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon,鈥� 鈥淭he Delinquents,鈥� 鈥淥rlando: My Political Documentary,鈥� 鈥淧ast Lives,鈥� 鈥淎merican Fiction,鈥� 鈥淔errari,鈥� 鈥淭he Boy and the Heron,鈥� 鈥淎steroid City"
Lindsey Bahr And Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
