DECEMBER 30 ― Despite not managing to perform my usual annual ritual of attending the Singapore International Film Festival, which means I’ll probably need to wait till next year to catch such highly anticipated films (for me, at least) like Lisandro Alonso’s Eureka, Aki Kaurismaki’s Fallen Leaves or even Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, there were still so many films I saw and loved in 2023.
From mainstream hits to arthouse and genre offerings, even after fitting in another 10 films as honourable mentions at the bottom of this piece, I still couldn’t find room to fit in quite a few more films that I loved this year. So, in the spirit of sharing, here are my favourite films of 2023.
Godzilla Minus One
After the sombre greatness of the very first Godzilla film from 1954, I don’t think even the most die-hard fans of the Godzilla franchise ever expected any of the subsequent films to be that serious again.
Along comes Godzilla Minus One, to remind everyone why that original still stood the test of time, even in 2023.
A rousing crowd pleaser armed with some seriously strong human stories in between the Godzilla mayhem, this is probably in the top three greatest Godzilla films ever, and that really is saying something.
Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell
Debut films don’t come any more accomplished and hypnotic than this, Vietnamese director Thien An Pham’s Cannes Camera d’Or winner this year.
Evoking modern day greats like Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Bi Gan and even old masters like Theo Angelopoulos, this three-hour film which centres on the main character Thien, who journeys to the hometown of his recently deceased sister-in-law and later on in search of his brother, is a visual tone poem that will beguile and transfix anyone willing to open themselves to its particular rhythms.
Not for everyone, but I loved every second of this.
Barbie
Hollywood might be scratching its head trying to deal with the superhero movie fatigue that’s been causing some really lukewarm box-office figures for lots of tentpole releases this year, but the creative freedom given to director Greta Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach to craft this “live” action Barbie movie has resulted in a wonderfully entertaining mainstream hit that’s also filled to the brim with subtext and allegories.
One to watch again and again to decode its many hidden meanings.
Talk To Me
A24 horror films are usually of the more cerebral kind and not particularly that scary when it comes to jolts and jumps.
Not this one though, for this debut film from the Philippou brothers is a rock ‘em and shock ‘em delight from start to finish, with extra points given for such a plausible set-up, as it involves a group of teenagers trying out a new online challenge which involves inviting a spirit into them for not more than 90 seconds using a ceramic encased severed hand.
A great rollercoaster ride.
Pacifiction
Outside of the abovementioned Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, some of the most wondrous sights you’ll see in a film this year can be found in Pacifiction, Catalan rebel Albert Serra’s latest piece of cinematic provocation.
It is set in French Polynesia and focuses on the French High Commissioner over there, navigating local politics and the looming threat of nuclear testing in the islands, which turns the film into a paranoid political thriller later on, but filtered through Serra’s languorous slow cinema lens.
Again, not for everyone, but I was bewitched throughout its 3-hour runtime.
Past Lives
Movies about forbidden or unfulfilled love have always been a particular weakness of mine. From old classics like Brief Encounter and Love Affair to more modern iterations like the Before Trilogy and many others, there’s something in these stories that can easily summon all sorts of painful and even beautiful memories within the viewer.
Korean-Canadian director Celine Song navigates the tricky questions and emotions that come up when one suddenly gets to meet with a long-lost childhood love after being happily married with remarkable ease and sensitivity, resulting in one of the wisest and most bittersweet film of the last few years.
Wonka
The only expectation I had when walking into the cinema to see this Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory prequel was that it might just be good thanks to the fact that it was made by Paul King, who was responsible for the two absolutely magical Paddington movies.
I still worried because this time he’s got a major Hollywood studio to deliver this film to. Thankfully, his magic touch remains, because Wonka is every bit as memorable, melodious and irresistible as those Paddington movies.
Even the new songs, written by Neil Hannon from the band The Divine Comedy, will stick in your head immediately, and King gets the movie’s tone just right, never once losing control, making this a Hollywood family musical of a very high order indeed.
Tori And Lokita
A new Dardenne brothers film will always be of interest to me, no matter the accusation that they’ve been making the same type of social-realist dramas over and over again throughout these years.
Tori And Lokita is more of the same, this time concentrating on a pair of immigrant kids who call each other brother and sister, even if that’s not biologically true.
Using their experiences to hold up a mirror to the way Belgian authorities deal with African immigrants, this plays as if their earlier classic Rosetta was a crime thriller, but with the same heartbreaking results.
BlackBerry
Canadian wunderkind Matt Johnson has finally arrived in the mainstream big leagues with his latest film, one of those finance bro films like Wall Street, Boiler Room and of course, The Wolf of Wall Street, but this time centered around the bros behind the now forgotten smartphone sensation, BlackBerry.
It is fast, furious, very funny, and is exactly the kind of entertaining cautionary tale that this kind of film needs to be, with Johnson still managing to slip in his trademark indie quirks through the way he frames and edits the shots and especially through the behaviour of the character that he plays in the film, Doug Fregin.
The Holdovers
Outside of The Descendants, could this be the warmest, most lovable Alexander Payne film yet?
Making his name with scathing comedies like Citizen Ruth and Election, even his later Oscar-bait films like About Schmidt, Sideways and Nebraska had characters that invite mocking from both the audience and maybe even the filmmaker himself, but The Holdovers, about a grumpy teacher (played by a glorious Paul Giamatti) who’s stuck with the task of minding a few students who couldn’t go home for Christmas, loves each and every one of the characters presented here, which makes it a perfect, if unexpected, Christmas movie.
Honourable Mentions: Showing Up, The Innocent, Viduthalai Part 1, Abang Adik, Imaginur, Small Slow But Steady, Are You There God It’s Me Margaret, Jigarthanda Double X, Passages, May December
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
