by Sam Juliano
Including the Tribeca Film Festival, where Lucille and I watched 38 films in 10 days, and several revival venues at the Film Forum and elsewhere, we watched just under 300 films in theaters for 2013. This represented a modest increase over the previous year, though there was a comparable decrease in the number of operas, plays and musical events that were negotiated in 2012. Still we were sufficiently busy on all fronts, and experienced the most extensive year of travel in our lives. How good a year in film was 2013? All things considered, I’d say it was definitely above average and pretty much on par with the previous year. If I had to impart some specific observations, I’d conclude that 2013 was weaker than most years in the overall quality and incidence of foreign-language cinema. Moreover, multiplex fare was especially trite, and there was a marked dearth of memorable animated features. On the other hand the Tribeca Film Festival was the strongest on record, with more features than ever before getting theatrical release just weeks or months later. My rules for inclusion are consistent with the manner I have presented year-end lists dating back for decades: if the film opened theatrically on USA screens during the year in consideration it is eligible. I have added to this qualification pool the Tribeca Film festival in its entirety, especially since most of the best films shown there have been gaining US release just a short time afterward. The only film on either of my two lists (the main and honorable mention) to make it without an official opening is the Tribeca documentary Kiss the Water. This exceptional work ran four times during the festival and the publicity for the film includes a most flattering quote from yours truly and WitD:
http://kiss-the-water.tumblr.com/page/3
In keeping with long held tradition my ten-best list includes a tenth-place two-way tie. Hence there are eleven films for the ten spots. Methinks that’s a modest alteration, especially when one considers the difficulty in finalizing a short list from such a plethora of choices. While in the past my honorable mention list has more than tripled the total in my “Top Ten” this year I have limited it to twenty-six (26) choices, which basically are the films that challenged for the premium list. Sure I had generally positive feelings for other films like Renoir, Saving Mr. Banks, Frozen, Dallas Buyers Club among others but I felt they fell behind the titles that were invariably more memorable for me during this calender year. I have dispensed with the inclusions of best performances, directors and the various crafts, as I felt such discussions would be more appropriate for the usual Oscar report (s) of later this month. I never had any use for “worst of” lists as I found them snooty in spirit and counter-productive, but have included what I see as a much more polite of expressing disparity: “A Dozen Films Others Like But I Never Did.” (more…)