The 25 Best Movies of 2023

Documentary - directed by Nicole Newnham

With her latest documentary, Nicole Newnham (co-director of the award-winning Crip Cramp) resurrects the sex researcher and writer Shere Hite, who in 1976 published The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality, which highlighted the role of the clitoris in sexual satisfaction. If that didn't threaten the patriarchy enough, her follow-up, The Hite Report on Male Sexuality, only made her more of a target, ultimately leading to a self-imposed exile from the United States. Newnham and editor Eileen Meyer thoughtfully combine vast archival footage (an appearance on Oprah is quite revealing) with readings of Hite's writing by Dakota Johnson, and Lisbeth Scott's score to reveal the incredibly rich life lived by a trailblazing feminist.

"As regrettable as Hite's fate was, The Disappearance of Shere Hite goes a long way toward rectifying the wrongs done to her, whether in the name of erasure, ridicule, or willful misunderstanding." —Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

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Comedy/Drama - directed by Rodrigo Moreno

Argentinian writer-director Rodrigo Moreno begins his film with what critics are calling the most "banal," "low-key," and "laid-back" bank robbery ever put to screen. Morán (Daniel Elias) is the guilty party, but he has a plan: spend three years in jail so he never has to work again, as long as he can convince his coworker Román (Esteban Bigliardi) to hide the money for him. The film moves repeatedly in unexpected directions from there, and critics seem happy to be along for the often warm and funny ride.

"While The Delinquents was pointedly made to provoke active viewing and push back against the algorithmic storytelling that has choked the life out of modern cinema, its airiness and emergent sense of romance make it a delightful place to get lost for a while." —David Ehrlich, IndieWire

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Documentary/Drama - directed by Paul B. Preciado

Spanish philosopher and filmmaker Paul B. Preciado's colorful, unconventional and often humorous film uses Virginia Woolf's gender-fluid 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography as a jumping-off point to explore personal and political issues related to transgender identity. He does so by bringing together a diverse cast of 26 trans/nonbinary actors (ranging in age from 8 to 70)—including himself—to play Woolf's title character in isolated scenes from the book while also discussing their own personal gender journeys.

"With Orlando, My Political Biography, Preciado has crafted a towering manifesto that's as nimble in presenting abstracted gender theorizations as it is in capturing moving emotional truths." —Manuel Betancourt, Variety

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Animation/Action-adventure/Sci-fi - directed by Joaquim Dos Santos and Justin K. Thompson and Kemp Powers

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a popular choice when it won Best Animated Feature Film at the 2019 Academy Awards. In this first sequel to that beloved hit, Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) returns in a new multiverse adventure with Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and a slew of new Spider-People. Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson from a script by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham, this epic adventure finds Brooklyn's own friendly neighborhood Spider-Man facing off against The Spot (Jason Schwartzman) and a few of his Spider-Pals, including Oscar Isaac's Miguel O'Hara.

A sequel, Beyond the Spider-Verse, has been postponed beyond its original spring 2024 date and may not arrive until next year.

"Visually astonishing, emotionally daring, this spectacular sequel has enough wit, imagination and thrills to fill several worlds." —Jordan Farley, Total Film

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Comedy - directed by Aki Kaurismäki

After taking home the Grand Prize (second place) in 2002 for The Man Without a Past and competing in 2011 with Le Havre, Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki returned to the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 and won the third-place Jury Prize for this Helsinki-set story of first love between two lonely people, Ansa (Alma Poysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen). After meeting at karaoke bar, they must battle through lost numbers, unknown names, mistaken addresses, and alcoholism to find each other again. With deadpan charm, Kaurismäki serves up a small but wholly satisfying rom-com.

"Fallen Leaves is consistently funny, but its laughs arrive without fanfare. They slide in calmly, at times obliquely in eccentric details, offbeat juxtapositions, taciturn exchanges, long pauses and amiably barbed insults." —Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

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Drama - directed by Justine Triet

French writer-director Justine Triet (Sibyl) won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival for this courtroom drama co-written with her spouse, actor Arthur Harrari, the director of Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle. Sandra Hüller (Toni Erdmann) stars as Sandra, a writer living with her husband and visually impaired son in a remote house in the French Alps. When her husband falls to his death, Sandra is put on trial for murder, and her son proves to be a key witness. Despite excellent reviews, the film, as much an investigation of a marriage as is it of a death, will not compete for Best International Feature Film at this year's Academy Awards: France chose The Taste of Things as its official submission instead.

"Part true crime legal thriller and part family drama, Triet's Palme d'Or winner is a thrilling story about perception, truth, and ambition." —Therese Lacson, Collider

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Drama - directed by Georgia Oakley

Released in 2022 in the UK—where it was nominated for 13 British independent Film Awards—this debut feature from writer-director Georgia Oakley stars Rosy McEwen as Jean, a PE teacher forced to live a double life in 1988 Newcastle under the threat of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. Hayes plays Jean's girlfriend Viv, and Lucy Halliday plays Lois, a new student who complicates Jean's life.

"The framing, editing, and overall rhythm of the story brim with intelligence. When coupled with a star-making performance from McEwen, we have what should be a new LGBTQIA+ classic drama." —Sumner Forbes, Film Threat

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Drama - directed by Raven Jackson

Raven Jackson's debut feature is a decades-spanning portrait of Mack, a Black woman in Mississippi, and her connection to the traditions, people, and spirit of her home. It's an intimate film, focused not on story or dialogue but the other aspects of filmmaking—especially sound—resulting in a layered work that evokes the tactile nature of memory. Jackson's singular vision was recognized by the Gotham Awards with a nomination for Breakthrough Director.

"Jackson is the epitome of a filmmaker whose gaze truly makes everything seem previously unseen. By walking alongside her characters, indeed the salt of the earth, we experience what was always there with brand new wisdom." —Carlos Aguilar, TheWrap

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Drama - directed by Hong Sang-soo

Hong Sang-soo's 28th feature (which actually reached American theaters after his 29th, In Water) first premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. The incredibly prolific filmmaker has once again found a clever way to explore familiar themes as each vignette of the story plays out on different floor of a Seoul apartment building. The characters include Byungsoo (Kwon Haehyo), a film director, his estranged daughter Jeongsu (Park Miso), and the building's owner (Lee Hyeyoung), an old friend of Byungsoo. Wine is the lubricator of truth in this Hong outing, as every flight of stairs leads to a new life.

"Walk Up flows as absorbingly as a dream and is no less pleasurable to puzzle over afterward." —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times

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Drama/Fantasy/Thriller - directed by C.J. Obasi

Nigeria's official Oscar entry (and a recent Independent Spirit Award nominee in the International Feature category), black-and-white thriller Mami Wata is inspired by West African folklore—specifically, the tale of the mermaid goddess of the same name. Director C.J. "Fiery" Obasi's third feature is set in a remote village dedicated to the goddess where residents begin to lose their faith after a local child is killed by a disease despite the promises of a priestess who claims he will be healed. Tensions between believers and skeptics are further inflamed with the arrival of a fugitive, leading to violence. Critics have been captivated by Obasi's imagery.

"The sleek, stark images of this film are hypnotic; the faces are compelling and the hallucinatory finale is rather inspired. An arresting piece of work." —Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

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Thriller - directed by Ellie Foumbi

Finally arriving in theaters in August after first debuting on the festival circuit in 2022, the French-language psychological thriller follows Marie (Babetida Sadjo), a Guinean refugee working at a chef at a retirement home in a small mountain town in France. When a new Catholic priest arrives at the facility, she recognizes him for who he really is—the African warlord who slaughtered her family—and plots her revenge. But is it really him? First-time writer-director Ellie Foumbi imbues her film with plenty of moral ambiguity as she also explores issues related to immigration and trauma, and that complexity, coupled with tremendous performances, impressed reviewers.

"While the film is rich in meticulous details from its crushing central performance to the delicate way it is all captured, any writing about it requires withholding to preserve the experience." —Chase Hutchinson, Collider

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Comedy/Drama/Sci-fi - directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Winner of the Golden Lion for best film at this year's Venice Film Festival, Yorgos Lanthimos' adaptation of Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel tells the fantastical tale of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young woman brought back to life by Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Eager to learn about the world, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) on a liberating adventure. Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, and Margaret Qualley also star in this absurd, comedic, and sex-filled riff on the Frankenstein story that should earn plenty of notice as year-end awards are announced.

"Stuffed with rude delights, spry wit, radical fantasy and breathtaking design elements, the movie is a feast. And Emma Stone gorges on it in a fearless performance that traces an expansive arc most actors could only dream about." —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

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Drama - directed by debbie tucker green

Getting its first U.S. release this year via the Criterion Channel, 2021's Ear for Eye finds Olivier Award-winning British playwright debbie tucker green (who loves capital letters about as much as e. e. cummings did) adapts her own stage production into an intentionally challenging three-part film that explores the history of racial injustice with a cast led by Lashana Lynch. Green also has an ear for music: The soundtrack includes music by FKA twigs, Run the Jewels, and Kano.

"It is, through every composition, every serrated cut, and every lived-in performance, a rebellious and revolutionary masterpiece that swims so deep into the historical and public consciousness of race, you can't help but be equally consumed by its unwavering depths." —Robert Daniels, IndieWire

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Drama - directed by Martin Scorsese

Running at nearly three and a half hours, Martin Scorsese's return to narrative filmmaking after a rare four-year break depicts the true story of the FBI investigation into a series of murders within Oklahoma's Osage Nation during an oil boom in the 1920s. Scorsese regulars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro head a cast that also includes Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone, Brendan Fraser, and John Lithgow. The eighth Scorsese feature selected for the Cannes Film Festival, Flower Moon immediately won raves from critics at the festival who ranked it among the best films of the director's storied career. Expect plenty of Oscar nominations to follow.

"Killers of the Flower Moon is monumentally long (206 minutes) and moves at an unhurried pace, but it knows where it's going and barely a second is wasted. It's sinuous and old-school, an instant American classic; almost Steinbeckian in its attention to detail and its banked, righteous rage." —Xan Brooks, The Observer

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Drama - directed by Christopher Nolan

While most Christopher Nolan films are filled with action, the summer sensation Oppenheimer is a character study focusing on Manhattan Project physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) as he works to develop the world's first nuclear weapons. But Nolan structures the first-person (and partially black-and-white) biopic as a thriller (or even, at times, like a horror film), which makes the three-hour epic fly by, according to critics. And it's designed for the big screen, not home viewing—all the better to showcase Nolan's love for practical effects including a simulated atom bomb explosion filmed without CGI. The result is one of the finest works of Nolan's storied career—even if it was outgrossed at the box office by its "Barbenheimer" partner Barbie.

"Not just the definitive account of the man behind the atom bomb, Oppenheimer is a monumental achievement in grown-up filmmaking. For years, Nolan has been perfecting the art of the serious blockbuster – crafting smart, finely-tuned multiplex epics that demand attention; that can't be watched anywhere other than in a cinema, uninterrupted, without distractions. But this, somehow, feels bigger." —Paul Bradshaw, NME

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Drama/Fantasy - directed by Andrew Haigh

The latest stunner from writer-director Andrew Haigh (45 Years, Weekend) is an adaptation of Taichi Yamada's Japanese novel Strangers. Haigh moves the story to London, where Adam (Andrew Scott), a screenwriter, is listlessly struggling on a script about his parents, who died when he was 12. A chance encounter with Harry (Paul Mescal), a drunk neighbor, pulls Adam out of his stupor. As their relationship develops, he decides to visit the suburban town where he grew up, where he discovers his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) still living in his childhood home, having not aged a day in the 30 years since they passed. Haigh delicately balances this fantastical element and Adam's need to communicate with his parents with his budding romance with Harry.

"More than any great movie I can remember, Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers captures the eerie, disorienting and utterly sacred experience of encountering a lost loved one in your dreams." —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times

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Documentary - directed by Sam Green

When this documentary from Sam Green (The Weather Underground) premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, the score was performed live by composer JD Samson (of Le Tigre) while Green provided narration for the film and the audience wore noise-canceling headphones (and, at one point, was invited to dance). Unless you happen to know Samson and they owe you a favor, you'll be unlikely to duplicate that experience in your living room, but there is an immersive version without the live component for home viewing. As the title suggests, the one-of-a-kind film is organized around 32 different sounds and how they evoke different emotions, thoughts, and memories in each person listening and experiencing what Green has designed.

"The sounds are finite, yet the benefits of tuning in to the film's wavelengths are endless. It's the greatest documentary you've ever heard." —David Fear, Rolling Stone

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Animation/Family/Fantasy/Adventure - directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Following a decade-long retirement, Hayao Miyazaki re-emerged in 2023 with his latest masterpiece, which impressed reviewers at its North American premiere at TIFF ahead of a U.S. theatrical release in December. Though it shares a title with a 1937 novel (which is the director's favorite book), Heron tells a mostly original Miyazaki story set during WWII when a boy moves to the countryside following a family tragedy. There, he stumbles across a fantastical world. It may not reach the impossible heights of the director's very best work, but Heron is yet another visually stunning and deeply emotional release from an animation superstar. And he may not be done yet: There are already rumors that Miyazaki is in the planning stages for one or more films to come.

"This may be Miyazaki's most expansive and magisterial film. If it is not the most instantly stunning, that might be because he takes the time to deliver worlds within worlds, layers under layers, to create an overwhelming experience by the end." —Caryn James, BBC

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Drama - directed by Alice Diop

After collecting awards on the international festival circuit for her 2021 documentary We, Alice Diop took home the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize (second place) as well as the Luigi De Laurentiis Award for best debut at the 2022 Venice Film Festival. Based on true events from 2016 and using actual trial transcripts (similar to the aforementioned Reality), Diop and co-writers Amrita David (who also edited), and Marie N'Diaye take a shocking event and show the complex humanity of those involved. The film follows Rama (Kayije Kagame), a novelist attending the trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanga), a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her to the rising tide on a beach in northern France.

"The severity and poise of this calmly paced movie, its emotional reserve and moral seriousness – and the elusive, implied confessional dimension concerning Diop herself – make it an extraordinary experience." —Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

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Drama - directed by Jonathan Glazer

It's just Jonathan Glazer's fourth feature film in 23 years, following Sexy Beast, Birth, and Under the Skin, but it's his best yet—and one of the best-reviewed Holocaust films to date. Cannes Grand Prix (second place) winner The Zone of Interest follows commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller), and their children as they go about their lives in their pristine villa just outside the walls of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp in the early 1940s. To observe the family's actions, Glazer embedded remote control cameras around a reconstructed version of the house, allowing cuts to happen as actors moved from room to room. Unlike the Martin Amis novel that inspired it (the film borrows the book's title and setting but not much else), Glazer's film never actually enters the camp, but the combination of what Lukasz Zal's cinematography captures and the film's intricate sound design (including Mica Levi's score) powerfully conveys the horrors taking place.

"It's a shocking piece of audio-visual art that only further cements Glazer as one of the 21st century's most original and influential filmmakers." —Rory O'Connor, The Film Stage

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Documentary - directed by Frederick Wiseman

It's like The Menu minus the satire (and the murder). After veering into narrative filmmaking with the barely feature-length A Couple, 93-year-old director Frederick Wiseman returns to his wheelhouse—lengthy documentary filmmaking—with this more than four-hour immersion in the life of a three Michelin star restaurant in central France. Troisgros, founded 93 years ago, has held its Michelin distinction for 55 years over four generations. Now, Michel Troisgros is preparing to turn the restaurant over to his son, César, as his wife, Marie-Pierre oversees the hotel. It's another fascinatingly detailed look at an institution with the added pleasures of exquisite farm-to-table transformations.

"The vast majority of 'Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros' finds Wiseman and his cinematographer James Bishop finding a good spot to observe two or three or many more people doing a thing and just leaving it there and watching what happens. Each of these moments is rich enough to feel like a short film unto itself: sometimes explanatory, other times subtly funny or empathetic." —Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

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Documentary - directed by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel

The latest documentary from Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor (Leviathan, Manakamana) is fittingly titled after the groundbreaking anatomy books written by Andreas Vesalius five centuries ago. Castaing-Taylor and Paravel reveal the human body in extraordinary detail thanks to French surgeons, doctors and nurses, and the range of instruments they use to perform surgeries—x-rays, scalpels, clamps, and microscopic cameras that can go almost anywhere. The directors cover the cycle of life, from a birth via C-section to a sheet pulled over a lifeless body, but they also give voice to the medical community and the challenges they face, not through interviews, but through captured moments of humor, anger, and vulnerability.

"With its uncompromising and full-frontal depiction of the elements that give us life, "De Humani Corporis Fabrica" tests our levels of comfort in accepting we are essentially all decaying entities made of organic material. It also makes us reconsider our relationship with medicine." —Carlos Aguilar, The Playlist

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Documentary - directed by Claire Simon

Metacritic's Best Documentary of 2023.
Metacritic's Overall Movie of the Year for 2023.

The second of two medical-themed documentaries to crack our top five, Our Body finds veteran filmmaker Claire Simon (The Competition) chronicling the everyday operations of a gynecological ward in a public hospital in Paris. Running just under three hours, Our Body could earn comparison to the films of her contemporary, the aforementioned Frederick Wiseman, with one major difference: Two hours in, Simon herself becomes a patient in the film when she receives a cancer diagnosis. Body's unhurried approach allows Simon to cover a broad scope of challenges faced by a diverse group of women, resulting in a film Screen Daily's Tara Judah claims is filled with "too many tender moments to mention."

"Simon's nonjudgmental, empathetic curiosity is the film's great strength. But it's also shocking that still now, in 2023, it can be such a revelation, as women, to see 'Our Body' portrayed without sexualization and without stigmatization — without, in a word, shame." —Jessica Kiang, Variety

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Drama/Thriller - directed by Laura Citarella

It's actually on the short side when you compare it to the previous standout film from the El Pampero Cine collective: the 13-plus-hour La Flor. Technically released as two separate two-hour films (Parte I and Parte II, though they were reviewed by critics as a single film and thus have identical Metascores), Trenque Lauquen is named after the city of the same name in Argentina. It is there where a botanist (Laura Paredes) goes missing while cataloging plant species, and the search for her leads to mystery upon mystery in an episodic, ever-changing film that ultimately serves as a celebration of storytelling.

"The pleasure lies in the telling — the invention of fictions, the performance of emotions — rather than in the details of plot. Once you lose yourself in the thickets of 'Trenque Lauquen,' you won't want to be found." —Devika Girish, The New York Times

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Drama - directed by Celine Song

Metacritic's Best Narrative Film of 2023.

The debut feature from playwright turned filmmaker Celine Song has been wowing critics since first debuting at Sundance in January. Taking place across multiple time periods, this soulful exploration of love and fate follows the evolving relationship of Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) as the childhood friends are separated when Nora's family emigrates from South Korea to Canada, and then decades later as the pair find each other again in New York as adults. Song based the film on events from her own life, resulting in an honest and touching film that outscored all other narrative films in 2023.

"It's difficult to convey the multilayered beauty of Past Lives beyond just urging people to see it and lose themselves in its transfixing spell." —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

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