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A Comprehensive Look at 2023
in Film at the Midway |
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 (071323)
The first half of 2023 has only been so-so in terms of cinematic variety and quality.
That said, it has had its share of overlooked cinematic treasures, some of which of
course will be completely forgotten by the winter/spring awards season at years
end. Very few
of these films were released by major US film
makers, however a hand full of high-profile directors such as James Gunn (Guardians of
the Galaxy 3), Ben Affleck (Air), Stephen Frears (The Lost King), M. Night Shyamalan (Knock on the Door), Michael B. Jordan (Creed 3) put out commercially
successful works that did well and were by and large liked by critics including
me. There were also a few very promising newer film makers such as Sara Gunnarsdottir (My
Year of Dicks) and Brandon Cronenberg (Infinity
Pool) that put out fine features. Chilean film maker, Francisca
Alegria, delivered an astonishingly good first film, The Cow Who Sang a Song
Into the Future.
Most of last year’s art films (which contained a high number of that year’s best) tanked
or had disappointing returns at the box office in the US. Among these include
but are not limited to:
Tar,
Women Talking,
She Says, and
Triangle of Sadness). So, it’s not a big shock that
there have been far fewer foreign films, Indy flicks and intelligent films in
general made for adults that played in the south side and/or suburban theatres
(except for a few leftovers from last year like To Leslie and
Living) than usual.
Some film makers Cristian Mingiu (R.M.N.) Kelly Reichardt (Showing Up), and Avi
Arster (Beau is Afraid) all created respected
films that were big critical successes that were distributed in the Chicago Area.
I was disgusted to find recently that even the Landmark Century that used to
have almost all Indy and international films currently has mostly franchise
movies. Recently I was at the Landmark and Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse, The Little
Mermaid and
the Flash took
up the majority of the screens there. Not to say they are all bad, but they
certainly have muscled out the the smaller, independent films at this time..
Many of the smaller films released to date will be left in the dust because it
seems almost every great film
maker in memory will have films come out in the second half of this year.
Upcoming films include: Martin Scorsese (Killer of the Flower Moon and two other films),
Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Wes Anderson (two films), Paul Schrader (Master
Gardener), Yorgos Lanithimos (Poor Things), Michael Mann (Ferrari), Denis
Villaneuve (Dune Part II), , Kenneth Branagh (A Haunting in Venice), Zach Snider (Rebel Moon), Marlow (Neil Jordan),
Napoleon (Ridley Scott), Ethan Coen (Drive
Away Dolls) and even the formerly retired master animator Hayao Miyazaki (How do
You Live?)
That's to come but this is the present which brings me to my top films of 2023
at the midway point. This list includes all of the films that earned 4 stars
from me and most of the ones that I gave three and a half stars. The cut off
date was the middle of June so I left out such critics’ favorites and potential
list movies such as Asteroid City and Past Lives and a few others, some of which
will be reviewed here in the near future but are currently in release. Other
wrinkles to this list include the wonderfully acted, To Leslie had premiered this year
instead of last October it would have made my top 5 (and yes it did deserve its
best actress Oscar nom.) Also I have two films tied for the number one
spot this time.
At some point a much longer version of this list may appear on my
www.artinterviews.org
website.
Now without further ado here are my best films of the year list.
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 1)
R.M.N (Romania)
A whole town unites to harass and humiliate some
immigrants who had the misfortune of getting jobs that no one
else wants, working for bread maker. Terrific Romanian film
perfectly captures the essence of racial hatred and makes great
use of the Transylvanian landscapes shot with painterly
cinematography. This is relevant to the current situation in
modern Europe as well as the USA. In Romanian with English
subtitles. Streaming on YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, and Amazon
Prime.
 Living
A buttoned down aging Brit encounters bureaucratic
resistance when he tries to do one last good thing before he
dies in this moving Kafka inspired melodrama. This was nominated
for a best actor Oscar and it played in some states in 2022, but
I am including it here because unlike To Leslie, as far as I
know it did not play Chicago until this year. This moving and
thoroughly British remake of Kurosawa’s Ikiru film was based on
Tolstoy’s classic novella. The Life and Death of Ivan Ilych,
which I used to teach in my novel class. This is the most life
affirming film I have seen in years. On Netflix, Youtube, Google
Play, Redbox, Vudu and Amazon Prime.
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 2)
My
Year of Dicks
A teen age girl encounters many different kinds of jerks when she
attempts to lose her virginity. This marvelously creative almost
30-minute short beat Marvel to the punch because every sequence and
story has a different animation style. Streaming on Vimeo and Mashable.
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 3)
Suzame (Japan)
Deeply satisfying follow up to Weathering with You is about
a young woman with nature powers that tries to save the world
from disasters by using nature magic. The animation is a thing
of beauty that puts most Disney and Pixar films to shame. This
gorgeous and phenomenally successful film (320 million so far)
is sure to get nominated at next year’s Oscars for best animated
feature unless Hayao Miyazaki’s upcoming, How do You Live?
dethrones it (I don’t know if they would pick two Japanese
animated films in the same year.) This would make my list of
best Japanese animated films ever. Streaming at this time
exclusively on Crunchyroll.
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 4)
Showing Up
Hardly anything happens but almost everything is important in
this film, so it’s like Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love. It
tells the story of the struggles of a not too well-known and
mediocre artist who suffers from obstacles and minor setbacks
when she has to take care of her friend’s pigeon. The third
winning collaboration between director, Kelly Reichardt and
actress, Michelle Williams (the ex of the late Heath Ledger) is
a great example of “slow cinema.” Streaming on YouTube, Google
Play, Vudu, and Amazon Prime
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 5)
The Cow Who Sang a Song into the Future (Chile)
The dead walk (and save people from drowning ). Also,
cows sing (without moving their mouths ) and they
predict their own destinies in this weird and wacky pro
pagan cinematic exercise in Magical Realism from first
time director, Francesca Alegria which is oddly
uplifting in the end. Hard to find but this is worth
seeking out. I guarantee that you have never seen
anything like it. In Spanish with English subtitles.
Streaming on HBO Max and Mubi.
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 6)
Are You There God?
It’s me Margaret-Very effective and realistic portrait of a young Jewish girl
who tries to fit in with her peers when her parents move to a new town so her
dad can get a better job. The family dinner scene is a classic and this is like
the best Saturday Afternoon Special you’ve never seen. Streaming on YouTube,
Google Play, Vudu, and Amazon Prime.
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 7)
St.Omer (France)
Gripping film totally gets into the head of a young African
woman who is accused one of the worse crimes, infanticide. In
French with English subtitles. Slow moving but deeply
engrossing. Streaming on Hulu. |
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 8)
Rye Lane
Charming Indy love story with an all-African American cast
has some of the most beautiful sets and colorful visuals of the
year. Somewhat reminiscent of Before Midnight. Streaming on
Netflix. |
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 9)
DiChevalier
Joseph Bologne De Chevalier Saint George, is a brilliant African
American composer/conductor who is illegitimate son of a white
plantation owner and a black slave. He faces hurdles and racism
when he tries to make it in the music world in pre–French
Revolution Paris, and his genius can only get him so far because
of his race. In one of the wonderful scenes, he encounters and
gains the respect of a very arrogant Mozart. This inspiring
biopic was based on a true story and features a fine lead
performance from Kelvin Harrison. Streaming on Prime.
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 10)
Missing
Fascinating film in which a young woman with superior tech skills spends the
whole film online trying to track down her kidnapped mom. A semi sequel to
Searching (2018). Streaming on Netflix.
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 11)
Guardians of the Galaxy
James Gunn’s last hurrah for Marvel is a wonderfully written
comedic adventure drama that is a little darker than the
other films in the series but still has moments of pure joy.
It does a great job of wrapping up all your favorite
character’s stories and Rocket’s origin is tragic and
riveting. James Gunn left Marvel on a high, with one of his
best scripts. Streaming at Disney Plus.
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 12)
Kill Boksoon (South Korea)
Decent Asian action film is a partial homage to Kill Bill with a female
assassin trying to stay alive when multiple thugs and ninjas try to
assassinate her. In South Korean with American subtitles. Streaming on
Netflix.
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Honorable mentions
Air, Creed 3,
Dungeons and Dragons, Knock at the Door,
The Lost King,
Megan
(the unrated DVD version only), Personality Crisis: One Night Only
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Review © 2023 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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