Top 15 Films of 2023 – Allen’s Picks

December 29th, 2023 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

10) Monster

Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Monster begins with a mystery involving a mother’s concern over her child’s increasingly erratic behavior, and gradually transforms into something else entirely. Utilizing a narrative that folds in on itself – replaying events from different perspectives ala Rashomon (1950) – Kore-eda allows the characters to see themselves with complete honesty. He weaves his way beneath the lies and misunderstandings to find something heartfelt, beautiful, and human. The film is about looking beyond the surface, beyond judgment, fear, or shame. It finds compassion for those who may feel like outcasts. Movies are at their best when they inspire empathy – they allow us to walk in the shoes of others and to see the world from their eyes. Monster is a perfect example of that.

9) The Boy and The Heron

A decade after his last feature-length work, Hayao Miyazaki – one of the great storytellers of our time – returned with yet another lush, imaginative, and masterful animated tale. The Boy and the Heron is about grief, memory, and acceptance. It’s about finding hope in a world corrupted by tragedy and loss. Through his protagonist, Miyazaki guides us into a world of strange characters and magical happenings, yet never forgets to tie the narrative with deep human emotion. It all culminates in of the best and soul shattering climactic sequences of any movie this year. Whether this is his final film or not, Miyazaki has solidified his place in the pantheon of cinematic giants.

8) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Here now is a superhero film that doesn’t feel like it was churned out of a factory. Across the Spider-Verse bursts with creative energy – both in its visual design and (more importantly) in its storytelling. The bright colors, flashing lights, and hyperactive editing borders on sensory overload. It is a living breathing comic book. Scratch that – it is an amalgamation of every comic book that ever was or ever will be. By stuffing the narrative with every iteration of the “Spider-Man” character across all forms of media, it becomes a celebration of the countless artists that have contributed to its mythos. There is not “One True Version” of Spider-Man, because what the character represents is different for everyone. What is or isn’t “Cannon” is irrelevant because it all matters. That is the brilliance of the writing – it considers all we know about the web head: good, bad, and in between. Like every great sequel, the film builds upon what was established in the first entry and takes off in new and interesting ways. I wait in eager anticipation with what the third installment will bring.

7) Perfect Days

Much like Paris, Texas (1984), director Wim Wenders (who also cowrites with Takuma Takasaki) takes an enigmatic character and slowly reveals their soul hiding underneath. So much is conveyed with seemingly so little all throughout Perfect Days. Through routine, repetition, and disruption, the narrative paints the character Hirayama (played expertly by Kôji Yakusho) as a fully dimensional person. Yes, he spends his days cleaning public toilets, listening to music on cassette tapes, reading books, and taking pictures of trees, but through his daily tasks he has found his own peace and contentment. Despite the film’s methodical pace and repetitive scenes, we are always learning more about Hirayama – about his past, his present, and his outlook on life. The film demonstrates how joy and fulfillment can be found in the little things. Happiness can come in all forms, big or small. All that matters is that each person finds their way to that place.

6) Poor Things

There aren’t many filmmakers like Yorgos Lanthimos. From Dogtooth (2009), The Lobster (2015), The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), and The Favourite (2018), he has taken outlandish scenarios and instilled real life themes into them. Poor Things is no different. This is a wildly imaginative undertaking – a fantastical journey of self-discovery, of independence, and of sexual and spiritual liberation. At the center is Emma Stone, delivering a stunning performance as a woman with an adult body but child-like mind. Through her adventures, she learns about the good and evil that inhabit the world, while developing her own agency to survive in it. Things get pretty wild, but the narrative never dives into lurid exploitation. The story is told through breathtaking set design and art direction. This universe looks like a renaissance painting of steampunk environments, with a heavy dose of horniness. It is funny, grotesque, beautiful, thought-provoking, and never boring. I was enveloped by its nightmarish splendor from beginning to end.

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Abby Ryder Fortson, Alexander Payne, Anatomy of a Fall, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, Arthur Harari, Celine Song, Charles Melton, Charlotte Vandermeersch, Christian Friedel, Cillian Murphy, Da'vine Joy Randolph, Dogtooth, Dominic Sessa, Emma Stone, Featured, Felix van Groeningen, Godzilla Minus One, Hayao Miyazaki, Jonathan Glazer, Julianne Moore, Justine Triet, Kelly Fremon Craig, Killers of the Flower Moon, Kôji Yakusho, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Martin Scorsese, May December, Monster, Natalie Portman, Oppenheimer, Paris Texas, Past Lives, Paul Giamatti, Perfect Days, Poor Things, Rachel McAdams, Rashomon, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Ruen Impens, Sandra Hüller, Sideways, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Takuma Takasaki, The Boy and The Heron, The Edge of Seventeen, The Eight Mountains, The Favourite, The Holdovers, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Lobster, The Zone of Interest, Todd Haynes, Top 15 Films of 2023, Wim Wenders, Yorgos Lanthimos