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.”
The Ten Best Films of 2013 in order of preference:
1.) 12 Years A Slave (U.K./USA) Steve McQueen
Based on a real-life memoir about a free black from the north who is kidnapped and sold into slavery, and the unconscionable brutality committed on him and some fellow slaves, Steve McQueen’s harrowing film is unquestionably the most exceptional on the subject – America’s most shameful institution. The lead performance by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is electrifying and the entire cast is superlative. A searing film of indescribable emotional power.
2.) Short Term 12 (USA) Destin Daniel Cretton
This moving and intimate film features two powerful and naked performances by Bree Larson (Grace) and John Gallagher Jr. (Mason) as counselors in a halfway facility for troubled children. Treading cliched and mawkish territory, the emotionally expansive and intellectually intricate film is about ricks and challenges and the sharing of pain. The prime focus is on two teens: Marcus, formally abused and with an explosive temper, and Jayden, a bright but bored girl, whose life parallels some issues in Grace’s past. The final unforgettable scene bears the same kind of emotional resonance as the final coda in Truffaut’s The 400 Blows.
3.) Wadjda (Saudi Arabia) Haifaa-Al Mansour
Wadjda features a 10-year-old Saudi girl (Waad Mohammad in a remarkable and brave performance) who badly desires a bicycle and can’t understand why boys can have and ride them, but girls cannot. Wadjda enters a Koran-memorization contest hoping to use the prize money to buy a bicycle to race against a neighbor boy. The film such issues as child marriage, polygamy and intimidation by it’s perhaps most importantly about the first concessions by one of the world’s most conservative and repressive societies. It is the first feature-length film directed by a Saudi woman, Haifaa al-Mansour, and the first produced entirely in Saudi Arabia. It has been reported that al-Mansour wore a black hijab -the traditional Arabic head-dress, and directed from inside a van issuing instructions to the actors and craftsman from within. The film is beautifully framed, pictorially elegant and packs an emotional wallop that is both inspirational and hopeful. Even as women continue to be denied voting privileges, and all decisions surrounding travel, work, admission to a hospital and marriage and divorce must receive male approval, there are signs that changes are forthcoming. This isn’t the first film in the history of cinema where a bicycle is the central symbol, but it may be the first time the world’s most popular mode of transportation is a catalyst for change. Wadjda is a work of art.
4.) Her (USA) Spike Jonze
This alternately melancholic and humorous examination of oneself is wistful and poetic, and American cinema at its most profound and engaging. The central deceit unexpectedly turns into something as profound as life itself, and Phoenix gives an extraordinarily applied and moving performance. Playing it straight with deadpan humor seems to be a vital artistic decision. Without question this is Spike Jonze’s masterpiece and it features another magnificent turn from Joaquin Phoenix, and the unforgettable voice contribution from Scarlet Johansson.
5.) My Brother the Devil (UK) Sally El Hosaini
The British drama My Brother the Devil resonates almost ten months after it was initially seen. Ihave since acquired the blu-ray of this remarkable, almost operatic gangland re-invention by the talented British-Arabic director Sally El Hosaini. Culture collision, sexual awakening and tough life on the streets on an infamous London neighborhood showcases the country’s ethnic diversity serviced by a sharply-written screenplay with a British language derivative that almost needs subtitling, but is superb in it’s authenticity. The film is brilliantly acted and photographed and offers up an unforgettable finale.
6.) La Grande Bellezza (Italy) Paolo Sorrentino
A poetic, dream-like and impressionistic film with a frenetic vibe and a pulsating and operatic score, LA GRANDE BELLEZZA captures the melancholic and subversive images of Italian culture, history and night-life that echos Fellini and “La Dolce Vita” with more than a generous sprinkling of decadence and satire. It’s a kind of travelogue, but in the very best sense. Paulo Sorrentino is a major talent, and THE GREAT BEAUTY (American title) is one of the best Italian films in years.
7.) Blue is the Warmest Color (France) Abdellatif Kechiche
The deeply affecting Cannes Festival Palme d’Or winner BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR brings consummation and heartbreak into an engrossing three hour drama that examines the love between two women and the almost inevitable interference that ultimately impacts the affair. The film is erotic, intense, and features two superlative performances by Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux, and is based on a graphic novel by Julie Morah. No film in memory has been more highly charged by graphic lesbian sex scenes. The relationship between the two women is marked by the stronger emotional and intellectual investment of one, and the unbridled passion of the other, hence ‘class’ is just as important as ‘sex’ in this doomed equation. The film’s controversy centers around the kinky sex scenes, but such shallow appappraisalsses the mark by some distance. In any case the film (directed by French-Algerian Abdellatif Kechiche) is impossible to shake, and rightfully takes its place among the year’s best films.
8.) The Past (Iran) Ashgar Farhadi
For the second time in three years with THE PAST gifted Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has served up a transformative and universally profound study of marital discord, crafted through intricate character development and the shattering force of strife-ridden drama. The film is essentially about the near-impossible task of maintaining stability in the face of rapid change. Again the director pulls stupendous performances from his lead players in a film that surely deserves mention on every ten-best list.
9.) Nebraska (USA) Alexander Payne
An aging patriarch from Montana has an oft-comical fling with dementia, insisting that an obvious mail scam is the real thing, and that he needs to travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to pick up the million dollars he thinks he’s one. In the only film that director Alexander Payne did not also write the screenplay for (Bob Nelson provided that) it all still has very much a Payne feel to it, and the performances are extraordinary. Bruce Dern as the old man gives a career capping performance; his wife played by June Squibb has many of the films best lines, and as the son Will Forte is modulated perfection. Phedon Papamichael’s wistful black-and-white cinematography sports bittersweet textures. One of Payne’s best films.
10) To the Wonder (USA) Terrence Malick
Many critics missed the boat with the director’s latest abstract tone poem about love and marriage, spirituality and landscape, all examined with an allegorical underpinning. The searing, elegiac and hypnotic score that brings together Wagner’s Tristan, with Arvo Part, Gorecki, Berlioz and Tchaivovsky. The music weaves a spellbinding hold while the arresting images in the film render the spare dialogue inconsequential. Malick’s film invites, even demands that viewers submit to an indescribable sensory experience that slowly envelopes the viewer until the conclusions, and leaves one grateful that this reclusive genius has opted for a prolific late career spurt that promises a few films more the next year or too. TO THE WONDER almost defies description, but any attempt to dismiss it will earn that viewer a long period in the cinematic doghouse.
and
The Hunt (Denmark) Thomas Vinterberg (tie)
In The Hunt the devastation wrought on an innocent man and his rural Danish community reaches tragic proportions after an innocuous comment leads authorities on a witch hunt. Family relationships are severely strained, loyalty succumbs to mistrust and banishment, and simmering resentment morphs into guilt by association and finally, violence. Acclaimed Danish director Thomas Vinterberg returns to the central focus of his exceptional 1998 film Festen, though it examines a different aspect of sex abuse issue that was broached almost immediately in the earlier work. In the appropriately-titled new film, the thrust is less concerned with denial, than it is with how easily a community is willing to believe an unsubstantiated allegation without any semblance of fair play. The film is certainly a cautionary tale aimed at those who embrace rumors and baseless charges, but even more resonantly it’s a harrowing drama that is powerfully engrossing, all the time boiling your blood over the shocking injustice it showcases. he film is elevated greatly by the electrifying turn of Mads Mikkelsen, an accomplished and versatile thespian who won the Best Actor prize at Cannes for this performance. A caring and compassionate man, his Lucas is mainly introverted until he so seriously damaged by the emotional disaster that he turns to uncharacteristic rage. His role recalls Dustin Hoffman’s in Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs, as a quietly intense and mild mannered academic, who is victimized by a raging out-of-control lynch mob. Like Hoffman, Mikkelson sports a raw intensity driven by the heights of injustice and savagery to uncharacteristic retaliation.
Honorable Mention (listed in no particular order):
Mud (USA)
Kiss the Water (USA/UK)
Frances Ha (USA)
Beyond the Hills (Romania)
Hannah Arendt (Germany)
Bridegroom (USA)
The Wolf of Wall Street (USA)
Fruitvale Station (USA)
Philomena (UK)
Inside Llewyn Davis (USA)
American Hustle (USA)
Laurence Always (France)
Before Snowfall (Norway/Turkey)
A Highjacking (Denmark)
All is Lost (USA)
Stand Clear of Closing Doors (USA)
Gravity (USA)
The Spectacular Now (USA)
The Act of Killing (Indonesia)
A Touch of Sin (China)
Lootera (India)
Star Trek: Into Darkness (USA)
Enough Said (USA)
Blue Jasmine (USA)
The Hobbit: Desolation of the Smaug (NZ/USA/UK)
Prisoners (USA)
A Dozen Films Others Liked but I Did Not:
Computer Chess
Upstream Color
Berberian Sound Studio
Stoker
Stories We Tell
Before Midnight
The Rocket
Kill Your Darlings
The Invisible Woman
Leviathan
Pieta
Pacific Rim
Tony, thank you so much again for forming and setting the triptych at the head of the post!!! You are the best!
Good list, and some things I still need to see.
My fiancee and I watched Upstream Color but were mostly unimpressed. It left too much, I thought, to the imagination. I did actually enjoy Stoker though, quite a bit.
Thanks so much for stopping by Diana! Yeah we are in full agreement on UPSTREAM COLOR, and I have some very good friends who completely concur with you on STOKER. Thanks again!
Of course!
I wanted Upstream Color to succeed. It just-fell flat. It really is a cool concept though, I think.
Indeed Diana, the concept did trump the execution, agreed.
A great list, Sam. I see I have far too much catching up to do!
Thanks so much for the kind words John! Yes, this time of the year is a hectic grind, but mainly in the best sense.
The list is finally out. Timed to match the GG awarding 12 YEARS A SLAVE as best drama.
Sam, you can rest now. No more changes allowed 🙂 I see some movement in the #3 and #4 spots from before. Overall, an excellent list that does justice to this past year’s cinematic output. There are still many in your runners-up spot that I have not seen. And nice to see you quoted for a film. Congrats…
Your dislike list has 3 films that are on my best year list and 3 that I didn’t enjoy either.Also, your honorable list has 3 that I didn’t take to. I think that is a draw 🙂
Aye my friend. Fabulous timing to coincide with last night final win for SLAVE. Yes, I did play some musical chairs with some of my choices before making the final decision. No more changes indeed. Ha! Yes, all things told a draw on the swaps. Thanks so much for the very kind words and your incredible support all year my friend. Your own year-end list at SCRIBBLES AND RAMBLINGS remains a model.
PS: Your #1 pick has just won a Golden Globe — validation, eh?
Indeed John! The posting coincided perfectly! Thank you my friend.
I keep meaning to ask you (wrong thread, I know) whether or not you enjoyed the Dylan Thomas movie.
John, Lucille and I both loved it! Richly textured, projecting a warmth and innocence, and in the best possible sense faithful to its source. Delholm Elliot’s voice over was magnificent. I can see why most consider this timeless, and make sure to include it on their schedule every year. Lovely.
The list is finally out. Sam, you can relax now. No more changes allowed. Although I did some movement in spot #3, 4 from last week. But I was sure your #1 would not change. And your top 10 is timed perfectly to match 12 YEARS A SLAVE getting the Golden Globe.
Congrats on getting quoted for your review. That is really nice. Overall, an excellent list that manages to include a good chunk of last year’s global cinematic output. Incredibly, there are some still a good deal of films that I have yet to see from this list.
Your dislike list has 3 films that on my year end list while the honourable mention list has 3-4 films that I didn’t enjoy. We can call that a draw 🙂 Also, there are 4 films on your dislike list which I didn’t take to. There is some overlap there.
Despite the busy year you guys had, I am amazed at the high number of cinema trips that you managed. I imagine you can take a break for a few weeks before the Hitchcock/Truffaut retrospective at the Film Forum might tempt you 🙂
Sachin—-
Thanks so much for not one comment, but for two!!! You are a remarkable man my friend! True, there won’t and cannot be any changes on the list from this point on. You had predicted cheerfully last week that the list would show some changes, and you were dead on. Ha! Yes, this is always the time of the year to take a break, but that upcoming Film Forum venue is very tempting. Can’t thank you enough.
It was not my intention to leave 2 comments but I thought the first one was lost. For some reason, it didn’t show up so I figured I would try a different email address 🙂
I hear ya Sachin. But I don’t mind one bit and always greatly appreciate talking with you on these threads my friend.
I had been prepared to see 12 Years a Slave lose the Golden Globe but then, at the last minute, it took the final award of the evening and tears came to my eyes. Perhaps you, too, Sam?
Aye Pierre, aye. I was so thrilled that I couldn’t help being moved. It won only that single award (I could not believe McC won Best Actor, though he will never win the Oscar) but the most important award of the evening. I remain convinced SLAVE will capture Best Picture, but I know it is no sure thing. Thank you my friend.
Sam,
With the fact that Hustle and 12 Years were split into the two categories so they could each take home a top prize leaves quite a bit of mystery still as to which film is the lead for the Oscars methinks. My concern is that 12 years a Slave didn’t pick up any other awards. Cuaron is nearly a surefire lock for Best Director (as he probably should be). But with Lawrence, and Adams taking home acting honors and McC beating out Ejiofor, I am wondering how 12 Years a Slave will manage to take home Best Picture by basically only winning one award. It doesn’t appear likely to even take home a screenplay award. Is it possible it would have the fewest wins of any best picture winner if it managed to pull it off??
I am not the biggest fan of the Oscars by a long shot, but every year I have hopes that they will get it right.
Great list Sam! Classy. There are many films I still need to see.
Thanks Frank! I’m sure you’ll do your annual cramming before the end of February.
Good list Sam- no arguments here concerning your number 1 choice, which will place highly on my own list (actually I think your own number 10 will be my number 1, or at least that’s how it’s looking now with a few major gaps to fill).
I still have to see many of these.
Mike—Very happy to hear we are in full agreement on 12 YEARS A SLAVE, irregardless of which top wrung placement it ultimately secures. Yes TO THE WONDER is a very great film as well, and my Top 10 placement was a certainty. Great news to hear you love it as much as you do. Thanks as always my friend.
Yeah I think To the Wonder has a small but loyal contingent. It will be in my top 10 even though I do recognize it’s probably not as definably great as Tree of Life. Still, it was Malick’s darkest film to date and a really nuanced addition to his oeuvre.
Jon- Richard Brody named it the best film of the year, and his own glowing assessment of it drove me to watch it in the first place. It’s a unique film, even for Malick, and I think you’re right in calling it his darkest film, but it’s also his brightest in terms of literal color and light usage. I place it over THE TREE OF LIFE at this point but I badly need to re-watch that one.
Tasteful list. Glad to see some love for ‘My Brother the Devil’ and ‘Short Term 12’ in particular, as both are brilliant works. Your honorable mention list also contains about 7 or 8 I’d consider for my own list.
Steve—-Thanks very much for stopping by! And I am thrilled you mentioned those two films, as I feel they probably haven’t gotten the attention they deserved. Glad to hear we are in agreement on some of the runners-up too!
Sam, Have only seen a few on the films on your top 10 list, most have not opened here. HER opened this weekend but we went to see INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS which I loved and will probably catch the Spike Jonze film over the next week or so. 12 YEARS A SLAVE and NEBRASKA on your list would make my own if I decide to do one. Still need to catch a few.
John—-I’d wager even money that both you and Dorothy will adore HER. Can’t blame you for finding INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS excellent – it was a strong runner up on my own list as well. I also well remember you are a big fan of NEBRASKA. Hope you put together a list if you can my friend! Thank you my friend.
As always you have come up with a banner top ten Sam. Like others who have checked in I am still playing catch up. You have been a huge proponent of the Saudi Arabian film ‘Wadjda’ since the Tribeca Film Festival, and you have stayed with it all the way to the end. I can’t wait to see it. I remember the great review you wrote for ‘The Hunt’ and was expecting it to show up. I watched Mr. McQueen walk up to the stage to accept the best picture award at the Globes. I am thinking it may repeat that at the Oscars. The film has been winning all over. Beautiful write-ups.
Peter—-
Thank you so much for the terrific comment, and for the very kind words! So you remembered that I have been singing WADJDA’S praises for many months dating back to the Tribeca Film Festival. Nice! And yes, THE HUNT was one of the few newer films I managed to review this past year, what with all the other writing projects at the site. I am pulling for McQueen in a big way, obviously. Thank again my friend!
Sam,
You and I will just about be sharing the same top choice as 12 Years a Slave is really high up there for me as well. I just read Northup’s memoir and came away even more impressed with the way McQueen brought the story and the tone to the screen. I also at this point would probably have To the Wonder in my top 10, however I have a few more viewings to go. I also like Blue is the Warmest Color which is a splendid film (although won’t make my top 10). I still need to see Her, Wadjda, Nebraska, The Great Beauty, The Past, The Hunt, My Brother the Devil, and Short Term 12. I have a long way to go.
My only dissapointment is that you didn’t have much regard for the Linklater film, however I know that’s nothing new so we won’t get into that. I also thought that Computer Chess, Upstream Color, Stories We Tell, and Stoker were not up to snuff.
I am willing to stand by my opinion, though, that 2013 was a truly remarkable year. I am literally up to a list of about 15 films that I almost can’t imagine cutting down to 10 at this point and I still have several to go to complete my list. Great films came from everywhere last year and they were top notch, including many from “Hollywood”.
Jon—
Thrilled to hear we may be sharing the same #1, though I have known for weeks now that you regard this masterful work highly. I understand you need to play catch-up a bit more, even if you have seen the majority of the most vital films. The fact that you haven’t seen some of my own Top Ten films is just an oddity. MY BROTHER THE DEVIL can be had on netflix I believe; WADJDA is coming on DVD in a matter of a week or two; HER is in theaters and can be sen another way (check your e mail on this ASAP Jon) SHORT TERM 12 is on DVD this week (tomorrow I believe) and THE GREAT BEAUTY is months away on a Criterion blu ray and DVD. THE HUNT is now out on DVD and blu-ray. I am reason to believe you will like all or most of these films quite a bit. Yes, 2013 was a remarkable year for sure. Very very tough eliminating titles for the Top Ten. We seem to agree on a number of films being overrated too. Thanks so very much for the terrific comment Jon! I look forward to your list, when it is ready.
Yes many of these films are available or coming out shortly. I will be playing catch up rather quickly I believe.
A seemingly great list Sam. Still need to see 7 out of your top 11, but it sure looks good lol. Funny enough, a bunch of your dislikes I am in perfect accord with. Leviathan (should be 10 minutes long), Computer Chess (hipster drivel), Stoker (if it wasn’t directed by Park no one would care), Stories We Tell (conceit at it’s vainest), and Upstream Color (have no idea what people see in this film) are all overrated. I will be using this post as a checklist for the next month or two.
Thanks so much for that Maurizio! Yes, I must say this year more than any other year since I’ve known you we are in remarkable agreement on both ends of the critical spectrum. I am confident you will like most of the 7 films you still need to see off my main list. If I had to guess I would say LA GRANDE BELLEZZA, MY BROTHER THE DEVIL, WADJDA, THE PAST and maybe even BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR will largely work for you. But we’ll see. I love that put down of COMPUTER CHESS as “hipster drivel” (LOL!!! Good one) and the comment that STOKER would amount to nothing without Park. How true! I did find STORIES WE TELL as self-absorbed in the worst sense and like you am perplexed at the high regard for UPSTREAM COLOR by most. But some of the revered WitD faithful like Sachin and Jaimie have had great things to say about some of these, so I understand the differences. Thanks again my friend!
Nice list Sam! With “Her” at number 4 we might be as close as we’ll ever be! Haha. Nebraska is also making a spot in my list, I loved it, it might actually be the first Payne I actually like. I remember seeing and loathing “My Brother The Devil” because of three reasons: 1. I couldn’t understand a word they said 2. it was too bleak for too little effect 3. I was bored when I saw it. “The Hunt” is marvelous and gripping, one of the best performances of the year for sure.
Now, some things I didn’t know: You saw Leviathan and Pieta and liked neither??? Wow, why?
Also, why is The Rocket on the same list but it also makes your list of the best of Tribeca?
Wonderful list Sam!
Jaimie—-
As I was shifting around my choices, I actually had HER at Number 2, and then at Number 3. Numbers on such lists as you know are changeable from one day to the next and are done for dramatic effect. Either way HER is an absolute masterpiece of the cinema, and you and I are indeed in full and glowing agreement! Thrilled too to hear that you love NEBRASKA, much as Maurizio also just conveyed. I was in stitches at times watching it. Yes I do well remember we were on complete opposite ends of the spectrum with MY BROTHER THE DEVIL, which for me was one of the most powerful and emotional films of the year. The street English spoken was not easy to negotiate, I’ll grant you that. Glad to hear we completely agree on THE HUNT and Mikkelson’s great performance.
THE ROCKET won the audience award at Tribeca, yet when I compiled my Top Ten of the 38 films I saw at the Festival I had it near the bottom of the list. I was underwhelmed at that time, but I liked aspects of it, and thought it was still decent enough to acknowledge. But the film has completely escaped from my memory, and I now see it as extremely overrated. No real character development, and emotionally distancing. I really don’t understand the great appeal.
I saw LEVIATHAN on a very good bootie from Broadway Bob, and found it incoherant and somewhat of a chore to sit through, the music notwithstanding. PIETA I finally saw on netflix, and thought it a nasty film. But I can see the cinematic appeal.
Thanks as always my friend!
Great list!
Certainly I’m lacking in having not seen some that have made the grade here. However, as always, your thoroughness in seeing EVERYTHING helps point me in the direction of films I’d otherwise never rush to see.
Some of yours are definitely making my own top ten and at least one of them, Spike Jonze’s miraculously tilted and creative HER, has already won my affections as one of the very best of the year.
Sorry to see we disagree on a few that rounded out your honorable mention section ( I particularly despised the GOODFELLAS “light” misfire that is Scorsese’s most uninspired and precocious film to date: THE WOLF OF WALL STREET), but that’s small potatoes when you consider how many films you have brought to the front for consideration and with glowing praise.
Great job, AS ALWAYS, Sam..
BTW-I’m in the process of buying a new computer now that the holiday rush at work has subsided and should be up and running within the next week or so…
PS. I bought the WIZARD OF OZ on Blu Ray in 3D and can back you up in your praise of the technical presentation. Just when you thought a great movie couldn’t offer up anything new… Well, all I can say is: SPECTACULAR!!!!!!
Wow, nice to see you surface Dennis, after months of MIA. I could never myself go without a working PC for five months, but that’s just me. Great to hear you are finally sorting things out. I can certainly help you in seeing some of these films, but that would require we speak on the phone. Yes HER is absolutely one of the most beautifully wrought and creative films of the year – you size it up perfectly. This is the first time I have ever fallen head over heels over a Spike Jonze film. The site has many WOLF fans, so I’ll leave it to them to rally behind. I have no intention of going to the mat for it, as it missed my Top 10. Still there are Honorable Mention films on my list that I would go to the mat for – films like KISS THE WATER, MUD, FRANCIS HA, THE ACT OF KILLING, BRIDEGROOM, AMERICAN HUSTLE and BEYOND THE HILLS among others.
I have a sneaking suspicion that you will REALLY love Alexander Payne’s NEBRASKA, and have no doubt 12 YEARS A SLAVE will move you deeply.
Yes, the 3D of THE WIZARD OF OZ is indeed a real stunner!!!
Thanks for the very kind words my friend.
Nice list Sam, and good to see that you haven’t missed your traditional Yearly Top 10 post.
There are quite a few good and/or acclaimed movies from 2013 that I’m yet to see – from the ones that made your Top 10, 12 Years of Slave, Her, Nebraska & Wadjda I’m particularly interested in watching sooner or later. By the way, as I guess I’d mentioned to you once, I prefer ranking movies based on its year of release, rather than the criterion you follow, viz. year of release in the US (what about those films that didn’t release in the US but you managed to watch nonetheless?)
Anyway, at this point of time, my Top 10 is as follows:
1. A Touch of Sin (Jia Zhang-ke)
2. Le Passe (Asghar Farhadi)
3. Before Midnight (Richard Linklater)
4. Blue is the Warmest Colour (Abdellatif Kechiche)
5. The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino)
6. The Grandmaster (Wong Kar-Wai)
7. Inside Llewyn Davis
8. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese)
9. Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass)
10. Blue Jasmine (Woody Allen)
Just Missed: Bastards (Claire Denis), Closed Curtain (Jafar Panahi), Stoker (Park Chan-Wook)
Thanks very much for that Shubhajit. Yes, I could never get by a January without a ten-best list, especially after all the films seen in the previous year. I know you prefer to go by year of release as Allan and Maurizio do, but I have done it my way for decades, and it works better in assessing the previous 12 month output. A few year down the road I can re-adjust, but what I am saying now when I put out my list is I am evaluating the films that opened here for matters of timing. 99% of the US critics opt to do it that was as well, even the more eclectic institution like SLANT and THE VILLAGE VOICE.
Your list is excellent of course. We agree on three in the Top 10 mutually and I have high regard for both WOLF OF WALL STREET and INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS. I also liked your #1 and had it on my Honorable Mention list. I’m a bit surprised you have CAPTAIN PHILLIPS over A HIGHJACKING, but I am thinking you may have the Scandinavian film on the previous year. A great list and super comment my friend!
Yes, you’re correct, I didn’t consider A Hijacking for my list as its a 2012 film.
Your list is, as all good lists are, alternately wonderful and infuriating. I’m right there with you on The Great Beauty, 12 Years a Slave, and Inside Llewyn Davis, but, as you know, I have no idea how someone with the great taste and insight that you have could have also liked Nebraska. I found it demeaning to its subjects and its resolution is way too easy (not to mention implausible).
Nebraska and Blue Is the Warmest Color definitely would make my own list of movies people liked but I didn’t.
That said, you have put together some wonderful choices, many of which I haven’t had the chance to see yet. The Hunt, The Act of Killing, and To the Wonder are streaming on Netflix. And My Brother the Devil and Short Term 12 are already out on DVD (also available through Netflix). So those are on my list to see.
I’m sorry I can’t put together my own list for you to tear apart, but I can say it would definitely have The Great Beauty, Inside Llewyn Davis, 12 Years a Slave (though not in the top spot). Strong contenders would be Inside Llewyn Davis, Blue Jasmine, Frances Ha, All Is Lost, and Her.
Nebraska demeaning, Jason? I didn’t get that at all. I’d say the Coens – and I love their stuff – are more vulnerable to that criticism. To me, Nebraska is an epic.
I guess I got tired of the stereotypes. I would have liked to have seen something more thoughtful about decaying small towns, instead I got sitcom characters.
I’m sorry I can’t put together my own list for you to tear apart,
Oh c’mon Jason, am I that kind of person? You know me a long time, and a list posting from you would always get a fair and most appreciative response. Sure we don’t always agree, but that’s part of the game, one you did acknowledge in the first sentence. I will admit that I have never understood your disdain for the magnificent BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR, and now NEBRASKA, which does have me most surprised. As far as that particular film is concerned you are honestly the very first person I have come across online or in person who didn’t either love or like it. Even our resident Maurizio Roca, who is no easy one to please rates it as the second best Payne film, and a movie that will make his own list. I was too busy laughing my ass off, and enjoying the excellent performances and Papamichael’s wistful monochrome to worry about the film being ‘demeaning to its subjects.” A curious criticism indeed. But it all comes down to taste, and I will never begrudge you your views. As I say I look forward to them when you get thinsg sorted out. As far as 12 YEARS A SLAVE being my absolute #1 film of 2013, I stand by that position mightily, and will go to the mat for it. I saw well over 240-50 new releases this past year, and that film remains the most unforgettable of them all, though obviously there is a very thin line between the order of preference from 1 to 10 that can always change on a dime. I am CERTAIN tou will like WADJDA, MY BROTHER THE DEVIL, SHORT TERM 12 and THE HUNT. I’d wager on it. I am not sure where you will go with TO THE WONDER. I must appreciate your excellent response and hope to be comparing notes at FILMS WORTH WATCHING soon my friend!
No of course you’re not the type to tear apart, but I only think it’s fair play since I’m critiquing a couple of your choices. Admittedly they are popular choices and I’m going against the grain, so I don’t begrudge anyone for mocking me for my positions.
As far as Nebraska goes I’ve realized lately that I don’t like many of Alexander Payne’s films, so that is probably in play here.
So far my number one is The Great Beauty. It’s the only movie I saw twice in theaters and loved it even more the second time. I’m sitting down to watch a couple of your other choices this afternoon though, so anything can change.
Oh and catch my writing at Movies Over Matter, not Films Worth Watching. 😉
hahahahahaha Jason!!! I got my good friend Jon Warner on my mind here! Ha! Yes, MOVIES OVER MATTER indeed. I adore THE GREAT BEAUTY immensely (I’ve seen it twice now) and can’t at all blame you for naming it to poll position. Yes, if Payne isn’t really your cup of tea, that would weigh in. I thought you were a fan of ELECTION and SIDEWAYS? Apparently I am wrong and am confusing you will someone else. Yeah, but I hear ya.
Haha that’s funny Sam. 😉
A real labour of love for you, Sam, both in watching all these films and in writing about them! I have spent most of my film-watching time during the last year on older titles, so haven’t seen many of these as yet, but I did really like ‘Blue Jasmine’ and ‘Philomena’ from your list of runners-up.
You did put it perfectly there Judy–a labor of love. I can’t even imagine how many hours we spent in darkened theaters this past year, though movies was only part of the equation. Yes PHILOMENA and BLUE JASMINE are very good films, no question there. I do know you have uncovered so many older gems at MOVIE CLASSICS over the last year. What a gift to the film community! Thank you as always!
Sam —
I didn’t even realize this post was here. I struck gold with another Caldecott Contender AND your picks for the top ten films of 2013! I’ve just printed it for reference as we check out movies from the library this year.
THANK YOU 🙂
Thanks so much for the very kind words Laurie! Yep, this has been a frantic ‘writing’ week for me, and I am still far from done. Yikes. As always I much appreciate your confidence in me!
Phenomenal list, Sam, as always I can depend on you throwing in several that I haven’t seen. I just got around to seeing your top two and although neither make my top ten, I can readily appreciate why you love them. Both are consummately crafted and explore the human experience with intelligence and great heart. I was very moved by Brie Larson’s performance in Short Term 12 and the scene in 12 Years a Slave when Patsey is beaten for wanting a bar of soap may be the most harrowing thing I’ve ever seen on screen.
Blue is the Warmest Color and Her are the two we definitely have in common. I’m almost certain that these two will be in my top three.
Our biggest disagreement is with Before Midnight. I absolutely adore this little gem as I have the entire trilogy. I know you see them differently and it is these differences that make our list-making interesting.
As far as my list goes, I absolutely have to see The Great Beauty and it doesn’t open here until sometime in February. That gives me some time to see a few others I’ve missed and firm up my list before Oscar time.
Thanks so very much for that Duane! Happy to hear you have high regard for SHORT TERM 12 and 12 YEARS A SLAVE–they are indeed exactly as you frame them here. You really say it perfectly. Though I knew she would never get nominated, I was still disappointed that Bree Larson’s name did not get announced this morning. Yes that scene in SLAVE was the most harrowing in the film, and one of the most harrowing ever. Absolutely. I had to laugh this morning when I learned that BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR was ignored in the Best Foreign Language category, as was WADJDA and THE PAST. Absurd, but typical. Believe me, I know the problem with the BEFORE films is me–too many revere them. I do hope you get a shot at THE GREAT BEAUTY my friend. Thanks as always!
[…] movies. Friends – like Sam Juliano at Wonders in the Dark – have recently been talking about their Top Ten Movies lists for 2013. I don’t go in […]