Music & Films for
Common People
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100
PACIFICTION - TOURMENT SUR LES ILES (Pacifiction)
Dir. Albert Serra (France)
99
VANSKABTE LAND (Godland)
Dir. Hlynur Palmason (Iceland)
98
HUESERA (The Bone Woman)
Dir. Michelle Garza (Mexico)
97
UN BEAU MATIN (One Fine Morning)
Dir. Mia Hansen-Løve (France)
96
IL SIGNORE DELLE FORMICHE (Lord of the Ants)
Dir. Gianni Amelio (Italy)
95
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE
Dir. Joachim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers & Justin Thompson (United States)
94
LOS DELINCUENTES (The Delinquents)
Dir. Rodrigo Moreno (Argentina)
93
THE KILLER
Dir. David Fincher (United States)
92
LA MEMORIA INFINITA (The Eternal Memory)
Dir. Maite Alberdi (Chile)
91
LIMBO
Dir. Ivan Sen (Australia)
90
A THOUSAND AND ONE
Dir. A.V. Rockwell (United States)
89
HAMAA ALBAHR ALMUTAWASIT (Mediterranean Fever)
Dir. Maha Haj (Palestine)
88
DRII WINTER (A Piece of Sky)
Dir. Michael Koch (Switzerland)
87
L'IMMENSITÀ
Dir. Emanuele Crialese (Italy)
86
REBEL
Dir. Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah (Belgium)
85
EL CONDE
Dir. Pablo Larraín (Chile)
84
THE OLD OAK
Dir. Ken Loach (United Kingdom)
83
IO CAPITANO (Me Captain)
Dir. Matteo Garrone (Italy)
82
PRISCILLA
Dir. Sofia Coppola (United States)
81
LES CHAMBRES ROUGES (Red Rooms)
Dir. Pascal Plante (Canada)
80
RAPITO (Kidnapped)
Dir. Marco Bellocchio (Italy)
79
BARBIE
Dir. Greta Gerwig (United States)
78
SHOWING UP
Dir. Kelly Reichardt (United States)
77
SHAYDA
Dir. Noora Niasari (Australia)
76
MANTÍCORA (Manticore)
Dir. Carlos Vermut (Spain)
75
BUDYNOK IZ TRISOK (A House Made of Splinters)
Dir. Simon Lereng Wilmont (Denmark)
74
KIMITACHI WA DO IKIRU KA (The Boy and the Heron)
Dir. Hayao Miyazaki (Japan)
73
MAMI WATA
Dir. C.J. Obasi (Nigeria)
72
LA MATERNAL (Motherhood)
Dir. Pilar Palomero (Spain)
71
HOW TO HAVE SEX
Dir. Molly Manning Walker (United Kingdom)
70
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Dir. Martin Scorsese (United States)
69
PALM TREES AND POWER LINES
Dir. Jamie Dack (United States)
68
L'INNOCENT (The Innocent)
Dir. Louis Garrel (France)
67
OPPENHEIMER
Dir. Christopher Nolan (United States)
66
SYK PIKE (Sick of Myself)
Dir. Kristoffer Borgli (Norway)
65
ASTEROID CITY
Dir. Wes Anderson (United States)
64
NAYOLA
Dir. José Miguel Ribeiro (Portugal)
63
DALVA (Love According to Dalva)
Dir. Emmanuelle Nicot (Belgium)
62
À VENDREDI, ROBINSON (See you Friday, Robinson)
Dir. Mitra Farahani (France)
61
LE PARADIS (The Lost Boys)
Dir. Zeno Graton (Belgium)
60
LES PASSAGERS DE LA NUIT (The Passengers of the Night)
Dir. Mikhaël Hers (France)
59
KUOLLEET LEHDET (Fallen Leaves)
Dir. Aki Kaurismäki (Finland)
58
WAR PONY
Dir. Riley Keough & Gina Gammell (United States)
57
LES ENFANTS DES AUTRES (Other People's Children)
Dir. Rebecca Zlotowski (France)
56
SUZUME NO TOJIMARI (Suzume)
Dir. Makoto Shinkai (Japan)
55
20.000 ESPECIES DE ABEJAS (20,000 Species of Bees)
Dir. Estibaliz Urresola (Spain)
54
KHERS NIST (No Bears)
Dir. Jafar Panahi (Iran)
53
BLUE JEAN
Dir. Georgia Oakley (United Kingdom)
52
MUTT
Dir. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz (United States)
51
RETOUR À SÉOUL (Return to Seoul)
Dir. Davy Chou (Cambodia)
Shot in a single long take, El Castigo follows a couple who lost their son while trying to teach him a lesson. Antonia Zegers makes a powerful acting work and is fundamental in it being a heavy exploration of motherhood, so it has both the film technique and the emotional power.
50
EL CASTIGO
(The Punishment) Dir. Matías Bize
(Chile)
Although this three-hour long contemplative road movie in the naturalist magical realism vein of Apichatpong Weerasethakul is certainly not an easy viewing, for those open to the experience will be a hypnotic and existential study of faith, both as a collective and personal experience.
49
BÊN TRONG VỎ KÉN VÀNG
(Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell)
Dir. Pham Thien An (Vietnam)
Set in a remote indigenous community in the Bolivian desert, it frames how migration and climate change are challenging those groups existence, and the dilemmas that come with resistance. It's beautifully shot, with a contemplative tone full of visual metaphors.
48
UTAMA
Dir. Alejandro Loayza Grisi
(Bolivia)
Taking Virginia Woolf's Orlando as an early example of queer literature, Preciado, one of the most important thinkers in queer theory, assembles a cast of transgender people to make a reinterpretation of the text including their own stories and experiences of transitioning.
47
ORLANDO, MA BIOGRAPHIE POLITIQUE
(Orlando, My Political Biography)
Dir. Paul B. Preciado (France)
The directors explore male friendship through time in this "city mouse and country mouse" story, to set how social norms and upbringing can separate two humans and how they can defy the odds to reconnect. It has a beautiful lyrical tone that makes the most of the landscapes.
46
LE OTTO MONTAGNE
(The Eight Mountains)
Dir. Felix Van Groeningen & Charlotte Vandeermersch (Italy)
The best decision that Seidl took was to separate his Rimini/Sparta diptych, as where the former is pure exploitation of fallen celebrities, the latter is a terrifying approach to paedophilia. Seidl lives to provoke and here he nails a non-judgamental portrait of a social monster.
45
SPARTA
Dir. Ulrich Seidl
(Austria)
Teresa Sánchez is the beating heart of this modest film with her naturalist portrayal of a tequila factory owner who might lose it all when rampant capitalism threatens her lifestyle. It is a subtle character exploration of dignity when you're losing your sense of self.
44
DOS ESTACIONES
Dir. Juan Pablo González
(Mexico)
Les Pires is a metanarrative that questions the ethics behind some filmmaking exploitative techniques to achieve realism. But at the same time it also pitches filmmaking as a way to sublimate the hardness of life and a space for those who have been silenced by power structures.
43
LES PIRES
(The Worst Ones)
Dir. Lise Akoka & Romane Gueret (France)
Although in terms of narration and construction of fantastic worlds it takes a lot from the Miyazaki book with a child meeting magical uncanny creatures, in terms of animation we're facing something completely different: a explosion of digital technicolor fireworks.
42
SHEN HAI
(Deep Sea) Dir. Tian Xiao Peng
(China)
A portrait on how it was to be young under the oppressive Soviet regime in Romania, Belc takes a realistic approach of long shots to question defiance and group solidarity under extreme circumstances. Even at its most intense, he keeps a tight hold of his ascetic style.
41
METRONOM
Dir. Alexandru Belc
(Romania)
The main ensamble casting creates magic in this "a day in their life and in that day, all their life" portrait of a family, and Avilés gets existential in the absurd in the face of an impending death. It loses itself in the final act, but when the child's gaze is the focus, it's a forceful work of art.
40
TOTEM
Dir. Lila Avilés
(Mexico)
Saint Omer keeps adding to the discussion that many recent films have sparked about a more honest take on maternity, one that is not only tenderness and softness. A modern take on the Medea myth, but with an African immigrant woman at the center, is a social and political must.
39
SAINT OMER
Dir. Alice Diop
(France)
When you have three of the most gifted young performers in the world on a queer love triangle, you know that sparks will fly. Passages is about contradiction and absurd in love and desire, and it achieves great moments of both awkward humour and electrifying eroticism.
38
PASSAGES
Dir. Ira Sachs
(France)
Although at heart it's a melodrama, the heavy stylized visual approach that recalls the best work of Wong-Kar-Wai, and the historic and feminist undertones that surround this story give elegance and depth to the film and reveal a promising new voice in South East Asian cinema.
37
NANA
(Before, Now & Then) Dir. Kamila Andini
(Indonesia)
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Trace Lysette shines in this intimate drama about a trans woman reconnecting with her dying mother and her family after her gender transition. It's a warm view that doesn't condescend and take sentimental shortcuts to deliver full complex emotions.
36
MONICA
Dir. Andrea Pallaoro
(United States)
Based on an acclaimed Mexican novel, this naturalist thriller is less about finding who is the killer and more about exposing a society where that murder was bound to happen. Although it does over-indulge in the sordid, avoid the exploitative tone of making porn out of misery.
35
TEMPORADA DE HURACANES
(Hurricane Season) Dir. Elisa Miller
(Mexico)
Told in a Rashomon-style from the perspective of three different characters, Kaibutsu examines how we can reach flawed interpretations if we only know part of the whole story. Two thirds school thriller and one third coming-of-age, it has good moments of tension and sweetness.
34
KAIBUTSU
(Monster) Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda
(Japan)
Set in a dystopian apartheid society where a woman is left to die in the desert, this film that lacks any recognisable language is a journey to find courage and human connections when it all seems lost. The camera absorbes the landscape and finds beauty in desolation.
33
THE SURVIVAL OF KINDNESS
Dir. Rold de Heer
(Australia)
In Estonia, the tradition of sauna is a ritual of cleansing, and this documentary focus on a group of women who gather on a sauna cottage not only to clean themselves, but also to heal together from generational trauma and violence that has been inflicted to them.
32
SAVVUSANNA SÕSARAD
(Smoke Sauna Sisterhood) Dir. Anna Hints
(Estonia)
On the visual side, we have a collection of unique images that use color, movement and violence to portray Congolese culture in a unique way. On the narrative side, it challenges suffocating traditions, taboos and superstitions while engaging with tribal magical realism.
31
AUGURE
(Omen) Dir. Baloji
(Belgium)
Taking us to the world of bodybuilding and the limits that a woman goes to in order to achieve an impossible body, Szelíd is also a great example of how to approach "unusual" characters from kindness and understanding, rather than from an exploitative gaze.
30
SZELÍD
(Gentle) Dir. László Csuja & Anna Nemes
(Hungary)
Toulaye-Sy explores her Senegalese roots on a story of passionate doomed love with a complex character that takes her love to the limits. The cinematography knows how to frame and bring the best of the landscape and people, achieving many memorable sequences.
29
BANEL & ADAMA
Dir. Ramata Toulaye-Sy
(Senegal)
Although it's very faithful to its promise of women talking (and talking and talking), and that comes at the expense of the cinematic narrative, this is an important film for current times. It adds so much to the approach to abuse, and the cast and cinematography are top level.
28
WOMEN TALKING
Dir. Sarah Polley
(United States)
The tension keeps increasing in this thriller that follows a city prosecutor trying to make a small town follow the laws while there'a crime where he might or might not have been involved into. A heavy exploration of how hard is to change conservative ways and how they can destroy you.
27
KURAK GÜNLER
(Burning Days) Dir. Emin Alper
(Turkiye)
Todd Haynes goes full melodrama in his psychological explorations on taboo relationships and exploitative media. It helps to have a dream cast like Portman, Moore and the surprising newcomer Melton, but his decision of getting a camp retro TV style is a touch of genius.
26
MAY DECEMBER
Dir. Todd Haynes
(United States)
A small and simple film, but through the eyes of Wenders, the life of this ordinary man keeps opening its charm and finding the beauty on the everyday endeavours. Of course, we need to give credit to Koji Yakusho, whose performance bring nuance and complexity to the film and he certainly makes us fell in love with the main character. We gotta admit that this might be the filmmaker's best movie in a few decades.
25
PERFECT DAYS
Dir. Wim Wenders (Japan)
The most accurate way to describe Trenque Lauquen is that it's the film equivalent of a Matryoska doll: a story that contains a story that contains another one. It is also a 4 hours long film that plays with cinema genres and mixes dead-pan naturalism with magical realism. It is certainly a film that will test the patience of many viewers, but for those who are up to this challenging game, it will be a rewarding experience that expands narrative possibilities.
24
TRENQUE LAUQUEN
Dir. Laura Citarella (Argentina)
Mix a bit of the homoerotic gaze to the military in Claire Denis' Beau Travail with the neon jungle descent to hell in Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, set it on the exploitation of illegal immigrants to join the army, and score it to the frenetic techno beats of Vitalic, and you have Disco Boy. A heavily stylized film that takes many visual risks to give a strong discourse on identity, war trauma and colonialism.
23
DISCO BOY
Dir. Giacomo Abbruzzese (France)
It's rare that a documentary wins the top prize at any of the big film festivals, but Poitras' win in Venice feels a triumph for the genre and for the links between art and activism. Focused on the campaign of visual artist Nan Golding to take down a family largely responsible of the opioid epidemic, this is a film that showcases how art can be a force for social justice, and an admirable example on an unyielding fight for what is right.
22
ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED
Dir. Laura Poitras (United States)
Although it's set during the Donbass war in 2014, we cannot think of a more pertinent film for a year that was heavily marked by the Russian invasion to Ukraine. Although it is made for a hard viewing of the consequences of war in a small town, Gorbach contrasts the horror with some dark humour to expose the absurd of war. Her use of camera is fascinating as the way she frames and travels around the space helps to conceal and reveal details.
21
KLONDIKE
Dir. Maryna Gorbach (Ukraine)
Past Lives keeps reverberating on your head long after you've left the movie theatre. A story about a Korean immigrant who after many years reconnect with her childhood sweetheart is a full exploration of roads not taken and "what ifs". Song makes a beautiful romance film that keeps sentimentality at bay, with a slow poetic rhythm and gorgeous cinematography. What you'll think most about will be your own other possible lives that didn't occur.
20
PAST LIVES
Dir. Celine Song (United States)
After one of the best debuts in the last years with Promising Young Woman, Fennell strikes back with a perverse black comedy about a lower class guy who befriends a rich kid and gets invited to his mansion for the summer. Not only she lands several satyrical punches towards out of touch upper class, but she creates a delicious erotic thriller, with echoes to Talented Mr. Ripley, packed with many bold, controversial and delicious aesthetic choices.
19
SALTBURN
Dir. Emerald Fennell (United States)
A good film about ethics is not the one that is preachy about what's right and what's wrong, but the one that makes us ask ourselves what do this concepts of right and wrong even mean. In Das Lehrerzimmer a school microcosms shows how our moral decisions have repercussions and perhaps, being the opposite of what we intended them to be. A strong social and psychological film that keeps tightening the tension with every turn of the events.
18
DAS LEHRERZIMMER (The Teachers' Lounge)
Dir. Ilker Çatak (Germany)
It's tricky to make a film that centers around an unlikeable character as it might put a barrier between the audience and the story. Yet, Petzold's perspective finds the way to engage us with this annoying guy who believes is so above everyone else, and to break him when he is forced to share a house with a woman who is very carefree. He is wise at using the forest fires as a narrative device, a metaphor and a striking visual element.
17
ROTER HIMMEL (Afire)
Dir. Christian Petzold (Germany)
Film has the power to change the way people think and to put important topics on the social agenda. Sometimes idiotic politicians try to ban a film, only making it more of a hot topic. So it's the case of Joyland, which brought refreshing discussions about sexuality in Pakistan. But beyond its confrontation of repressive patriarchy, this is a sad and beautiful film about finding your true self and not conforming to what society expects of you.
16
JOYLAND
Dir. Saim Sadiq (Pakistan)
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One of the perks of these lists is that you can have a wide view on what were the common themes in a certain year of films, so you can get an insight of what's pressing in current times. Xenophobia might be one of the most recurrent ones in 2023, and Sorogoyen perhaps gets one of the most brutal portrayals of the topic. A naturalist thriller of small rural town vs foreigners, As Bestas has a poignant screenplay and top level performances of its main cast.
15
AS BESTAS (The Beasts)
Dir. Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spain)
Yes, it is long and very talkative, as it is Ceylan's personal imprint, but unlike some of his recent films, the weight in Kuru Otlar Üstüne is in everything that's not said, and in how the ego of a man who thinks too much of himself is crushed and makes him act in the most irrational ways. It is a very intelectual film, but it is that self-conscious criticism to intellectualism what makes this film the best that the director has made in years.
14
KURU OTLAR ÜSTÜNE (About Dry Grasses)
Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkiye)
We've seen the recipe several times: a young inexperienced guy gets involved in a spy game with dangerous consequences. But what we've probably never seen before is taking the storyline to explore the corruption in Islamic states, which adds a regional twist that Saleh know how to maximize with fantastic camera work that beautifuly frames the mosques and the Islamic Middle Eastern environments and culture.
13
WALAD MIN AL JANNA (Boy From Heaven)
Dir. Tarik Saleh (Sweden)
In the Blue Caftan, we are presented with a character who is experiencing two simultaneous ravaging love stories: one with his wife who's health is worsening, and the other one with his apprentice who is awakening queer feelings that he was hardly trying to suppress. Touzani is elegant and subtle at finding moments of tenderness and sadness without letting the feelings drown the boat. It is also a love letter to her Moroccan traditions.
12
AZRAQ ALQUFTAN (The Blue Caftan)
Dir. Maryam Touzani (Morocco)
R.M.N. is an acronym in Romanian for a magnetic resonance, but it also could stand for the consonants in Romania, the director's country. So pretty much the film is a scan on the psyche of small towns where capitalist exploitation discontent is being channeled through xenophobia. This unsettling thriller gets tension in many ways, from hiding what the characters see to a long steady shot of a community assembly that brings the worst of people.
11
R.M.N.
Dir. Cristian Mungiu (Romania)
There's so much visual and tonal poetry in Li's film that it's quite a surprise to find out that it was a box office hit in China (which just provoked the censorship from the Chinese government). A story of two outcasts forced into an arranged marriage and how they team to find a place they could call their own is a gem in the subtle development of the characters relationship and the way it finds beauty in the landscapes of rural China. It is a sad tale, but one that definitely leaves an imprint in your heart.
10
YIN RU CHEN YAN (Return to Dust)
Dir. Li Ruijun (China)
There's no way that a film like Holy Spider could have been filmed in Iran, where the real case in which the story is based took place, and where censor laws are too strict, so it had to be shot in Jordan. But this thriller about a serial killer that targets prostitutes is less about finding who the murderer is (it's revealed very early on) and more on dissecting the society that created such monster. In the wake of the Iranian Jihad Protests, this film is a necessary wake up call to denounce a society that's brutal to women.
9
ANKABUT-E MOQADDAS (Holy Spider)
Dir. Ali Abbasi (Denmark)
Immigration is a harsh topic to tackle. How to make a film that narrates the crude life of migrants without being exploitative or condescending? Lucky for us, we have social warrior filmaker duo of the Dardenne Brothers to show us that there's a way. The bond between two young kids that try to pass as siblings so they can both get papers and the pains and exploitation they go through so they can send money back home is a touching story that doesn't fail for the clichés of melodrama or misery-porn.
8
TORI ET LOKITA (Tori and Lokita)
Dir. Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne (Belgium)
Although Seyyedi's film has every element to be considered a greek tragedy of revenge, the director adds touches of dark absurdist comedy to give it an even sour taste. A poor manual worker gets the chance of a lifetime to improve his life when he gets a role in a film about Hitler's concentration camps, but this work of metafiction is a cruel telling of how things that shine on the outside come with a toll to be paid.
A film that will mutate often and that will have you glued till the very end, leaving you feeling that your blood went cold.
7
JANG-E JAHANI SEVOM (World War III)
Dir. Houman Seyyedi (Iran)
What a year for Iranian filmmakers! Political and social turmoil are fertile ground for artists to create sharp stories that challenge traditional structures. In Leila's Brothers, Roustayi is merciless at challenging patriarchy with a woman trying to take her useless family out of choking impoverishing traditions with heavy comments on the existential absurd of social status. Of course, being this brave in an oppressive regime comes with consequences as the director was jailed for making this film.
6
BARADARAN-E LEILA (Leila's Brothers)
Dir. Saeed Roustayi (Iran)
Rohrwacher is proving herself to be one of the worthiest heirs of classic Italian cinema. A new magical realism story, heavy with class intonations just like her own Lazzaro Felice, but also very Fellini, La Chimera centers on a group of thieves that make a living finding and selling ancient Roman statues. The director is confident on her creative use of a cinematic language and camera use, being able to achieve lots of symbols and usage of mythic figures to make comments on social and cultural issues.
5
LA CHIMERA
Dir. Alice Rohrwacher (Italy)
Part fantastic magical realism, part a horror film and part an intimate queer drama, Les Cinq Diables mixes genre and style conventions to show a family disrupted by the return of a sister in law with a dark past. It is a truly original piece of work, with nods to The Perfume, The Butterfly Effect and La Vie d'Adéle (also, can anyone proclaim Adele Exarchopoulos a supreme queer icon, please?). Mysius is a thrilling new voice in cinema, and we cannot wait to see where she will be heading for here.
4
LES CINQ DIABLES (The Five Devils)
Dir. Léa Mysius (France)
With the crazy inventiveness of The Lobster and the radical incorrection of The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos charges again with a delirious new telling of the Frankenstein story.
It has the whole package: a daring screenplay, a full display of directorial style, terrific performances all around, a magnificent production design that deserves every award in the world, a beautiful cinematography both in colour and black and white, and superb character designs in costumes, makeup and hair.
3
POOR THINGS
Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos (Ireland)
With only two films, Dhont has proved that he is amazing at understanding and portraying the internal turmoil of young people (in any case he is on his early 30's). We get so in touch with this two friends relationship and how teenage cruelty and toxic masculinity get to ruin the purest forms of love. The fluid camerawork and the directorial tone work hand in hand to achieve full intimacy, and the two young actors find a beautiful connection, that the tears won't hold once the film reaches its saddest moment.
2
CLOSE
Dir. Lukas Dhont (Belgium)
There are films that are three hours long that, even if they are good, you can totally feel their length. And there are rare films like Anatomy of a Fall where you are so engrossed in what's happening on the screen, that you never think of how long you've been seated in the movie theatre watching a court drama of a woman being accused of killing her husband. One of Trier's biggest strengths was her ability to dose the information, always refusing to show us what actually happened, and making sure that we understand that these reconstructions couldn't be totally reliable. But it is through this reconstructions that we dissect not only the death of the man, but also the death of love between a couple. Trier constructs incredibly complex characters, and throughout the film we find ourselves siding with and against them, and questioning if maybe we might be wrong on our personal assessment of the trial. The screenplay and the performances are the core of the film, but it is the precise editing and the cold icy atmospheres what elevate it to a true cinematic masterpiece.
1
ANATOMIE D'UNE CHUTE (Anatomy of a Fall)
Dir. Justine Triet (France)