It's impossible to see enough films in a calendar year. And there's definitely no harm in doing a list in the doldrums of 2024's driest and most sober month.
Anyway, if you need to while away the hours, here is a look back - and a tiny look forward - to a selection of favourites that cinema had to offer.
It was an excellent year, with some clear standouts. And here they are:
10. Close, dir. Lukas Dhont (Belgium)
Heart shattering. A despondent then uplifting look at childhood friendship, trauma and renewal. Some of the best acting of 2023 - and from actors under the age of 14.
9. Oppenheimer, dir Christopher Nolan / Barbie, dir Greta Gerwig (USA)
The whole thing was excellent. From the iron grill of Oppenheimer to the sugar high of Barbie, it was every bit as indulgent as an ever more expensive trip to the cinema should cook up. I saw them within 48 hours of each other and I absolutely recommend doing Barbie first, Oppenheimer second. There's no way an all singing dancing film with a ballad about blonde male fragility should come after a three-hour bomb about male fragility.
8. Rye Lane, dir. Raine Allen-Miller (UK)
A colourful pivot around the slump of the late 20s. There's much merriment and heart to be had reading through the swooning love letter to Peckham. Spontaneous ups and spontaneous downs as two soon-to-be lovers get to know each other over 24 hours - before sunrise and after sunset. Rye Lane brought the rom-com genre back to where it should be: taking the middle road in-between authentic and euphoric.
7. Femme, dir. Sam H Freeman and Ng Choong Ping (UK)
An original thriller that went barely noticed. For those that did get to see it, they were blown away by it. Original in plot, style, substance and tone this should be a classic first-step for two talented directors. A story about a brutal assault on a drag-queen who meets their assailant again - and decides to get close to danger again. It's funny, awkward, terrifying and relentless. Its Uncut Gems meets Ru Paul.
6. Talk to Me, dir. Danny and Michael Phillipou (Australia)
Every year there is one truly standout horror film. It's a genre revived by A24 and it's continued to thrive. The horror that resonates much more than the jumps and scares - one that really hits a nerve. This year, Talk to Me was that film. Made by two horror-enthused YouTuber brothers, it's a horror for the social media age that perfectly captures the moments where adrenaline turns to terror. It's a film that gleefully revels in how well it understands itself.
5. Past Lives, dir. Celine Song (USA/South Korea)
Not all films this year had people on the edge of their seats. Some were just for sitting back and taking stock. Past Lives was a delicate, layered and reflective look back in time. A New Yorker, raised in Seoul, is brought back with her childhood crush. In his rigid cultural upbringing, he reminds her not just of the life she used to have but the life she could have had. It combines a unique and personal narrative look at an Asian American life, while encouraging everyone to find a place in that story. A film that makes time feel like it's being slowly stretched out.
4. Anatomy of a Fall, dir Justine Triet (France/Germany)
First, a murder mystery. Second a court-room drama. Third, a bruising look at a marriage in crisis. Three films in one, but without being split into thirds. Sandra Hüller gives the best performance of the year to the tune of one of the most compelling scripts of the year. Each line of dialogue, delivered with such authenticity and precision, is accompanied by observant and witty camerawork. It's honesty, humour and tension - matched to each other perfectly. It's truly a film to be seen, talked about and then rewatched. It also features an amazing dog.
3. The Eight Mountains, dir. Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch (Italy)
The Eight Mountains is a story about connections. Those developed, nurtured, broken and rediscovered. Connections between friends, between family and between where we from and where we live. We follow these features of life as two young Italian boys grow up together in the foothills of the Italian Alps, fall by the wayside and find their way back. It's a film of epic horizons and tender conclusions.
2. Grenfell, dir Steve McQueen (UK)
At 24 minutes, it is one of the shortest films of 2023. Yet it feels like one of the most patient. The film has no words or music. Yet it rings out as one of the year's loudest messages. Steve McQueen took on an unenviable challenge of trying to keep Grenfell in people's working memory. Using his star power to pull you and startling talent to hold you there, McQueen shot Grenfell in 2017 to be released in 2023.
1. Tár, dir. Todd Field (USA)
The best film of 2023 was one of the first of 2023. I have so much to say about Tár, but it's best not to say much at all. It's a film about perfection - and all the power, acclaim, abuse and disturbance that comes with it. And rather predictably, it displays it perfectly.
Honourable mentions:
The Deepest Breath (USA)
One Fine Morning (France)
Monster (Japan)
How to Blow Up a Pipeline (USA)
Alcarràs (Spain)
Stinkers:
Saltburn, dir. Emerald Fennell (UK) - a film with absolutely nothing to say about anything. Pretty people and pretty pictures without substance or direction. Overall, pointless.
Enys Men, dir. Mark Jenkin (UK) - This guy made the excellent 2019 Bait about awful London tourists in lovely Cornwall. But now he's made this shockingly bad Cornish horror film. Take me back to London.
Foe, dir Gary Davis (Australia) - the most interesting part of watching this film was a guy a few rows down fainted and got helped out by first aiders. Maybe he was just having a shit time. Maybe I should have done the same.
As promised, one film to catch in 2024:
The Zone of Interest, dir. Jonathan Glazer (UK) - formidably good. Banal and stunning.
