Once again I offer you my list of the best films of the past year. This time I felt it was unusually easy to collect ten films that I particularly cared about. Even to the degree that I needed a shared 9th and 10th place! Of course this list is limited to the ones I managed to see through the year. I am very aware that I have missed important films, but I trust that this list, if needed, will be supplemented through the comments offered by the readers.  

Some of the films I’ve written about during 2023. You’ll find a reference to the articles in the film section. If not, you’ll find a few lines here to introduce the film.

Here is my list:

10. (tie)

Pacifiction by Albert Serra (France)

I was captivated (unlike many around me in the cinema!) by this slow, haunting, meditative film about the French high commissioner on the Pacific island of Tahiti, who psychologically disintegrates while investigating rumors based on the sighting of a submarine.  

 Tár by Todd Field (USA)

Cate Blanchett excels in this tale of Lydia Tár, the renowned conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, who faces accusations of misconduct. It is a powerful meditation on where power, superior creativity, obsession,  ambition and lust might bring you.

9. (tie)

The Blue Caftan By Maryam Touzani (Marocco)

see the article of February 2023, ”Highlights from the Gothenburg Film Festival 2023 – del I”

Saint Omer by Alice Diop (France)

This fascinating courtroom drama is an uncomfortable film about a young French-Senegalian mother who stands on trial for the murder of her own child. It asks questions about motherhood, culture, race, colonialism and evil.

8. Fallen Leaves by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland)

The hostess in my local cinema asked if I really liked Kaurismäki, because as she warned me ”this is as much Kaurismäki as it can be.” And indeed, words are few and far between them. Melancholy reigns in this modern-day Helsinki story, where two lonely, unhappy souls meet and cautiously seek connection. Despair is near with the war in Ukraine on the radio, unemployment, alcoholics, mistreatment by bosses at work, but hope may find a crack to shine through.  

7. Showing Up by Kathy Reichardt (USA)

This minimalistic, modest film of Kathy Reichardt invites us to behold reality. It is a portrayal of a sculptor, who prepares for an, at least for her, important exhibition, while at the same time getting involved in relational dilemmas with family, arts colleagues and friends. There are many reasons for her to be disconcerted. The film explores how life and art intersect, and flow into each other.  

6. Women Talking by Sarah Polley (Canada)

See the article of Feb 16 ”Highlights from the Gothenburg Film Festival 2023 – part 1”

5. Aftersun by Charlotte Wells (UK)

See the article of February 2023 ”Highlights from the Gothenburg Film Festival 2023 – part 2”

4. Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan (USA)

See the article of August 2023, ”A Nexus Take on Oppenheimer”

3. Godland by Hlynur Palmason (Iceland)

Godland is a fascinating document about bad religion’s hypocrisy and provides an explanation as to why secularization has taken hold, not least in the Scandinavian countries. Every Icelandic film has the advantage that its awesome nature makes it so special. But while nature should fill the priest with reverence and awe for the land and its inhabitants, he stumbles around like a blind man in his own arrogant religious paradigm. Hlynur Palmason’s films just keep getting better with each one he makes.

2. Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet (France)

See the article of December 2023, ”Anatomy of a Fall – directed by Justine Triet”

1. Past Lives by Celine Song (USA)

See the article of October 2023, ”Past Lives by Celine Song”

Rinus Baljeu, January 2024  

Recent Posts