By Ed Boitano

The best films of 2023 proved to be an eclectic and exciting mix of thought provoking cinema. Narratives ranged from genocide, lost loves and rebirth, immigrant experiences, stories pulled from headlines and a teacher with a distracting lazy eye at a small boarding school in New England. The year was rich with directorial vision and personal styles: the unblemished truth by documentarian Frederick Wiseman, lonely science fiction from Andrew Haigh, the exploding imagery of Martin Scorsese, Justine Triet’s moments of tensity, the Bressonian minimalism of Aki Kaurismäki and Jonathan Glazer’s dialectical montage with the collision of image and sound.

Only time will tell if the list of films stands the test of time. As Jean Renoir once said, The best films are those that leave a lasting impact, that linger in your mind long after the credits roll.

15 TOP FILMS FROM 2023

1. The Zone of Interest:
   Jonathan Glazer (UK)
2. Past Lives:
   Celine Song (US)
3. Killers of the Flower Moon:
   Martin Scorsese (US)
4. Fallen Leaves:
   Aki Kaurismäki (Finland, Germany)
5. May December:
   Todd Haynes (US)
6. All of Us Strangers:
   Andrew Haigh (UK)
7. Anatomy of a Fall:
   Justine Triet (France)
8. Showing Up:
   Kelly Reichardt (US)
9. Passages:
   Ira Sachs (France)
10. Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros:
    Frederick Wiseman (France, US)
11. Poor Things:
    Yorgos Lanthimos (UK, US, Ireland)
12. Return to Seoul:
    Davy Chou (France, Germany, Belgium, Qatar, Cambodia)
13. The Holdovers:
    Alexander Payne (US)
14. Trailer of the Film That Will Never Exist: “Phony Wars”:
    Jean-Luc Godard (France, Switzerland)
15. Oppenheimer:
    Christopher Nolan (UK)

BEST DIRECTOR

Jonathan Glazer/The Zone of Interest

Runner-up: Martin Scorsese/Killers of the Flower Moon

BEST DIRECTORIAL DEBUT

Celine Song/Past Lives

Runner-Up: Raine Allen-Miller/Rye Lane

BEST MALE ACTOR

Franz Rogowski/Passages

Runner-Up: Cillian Murphy/Oppenheimer

BEST FEMALE ACTOR

Greta Lee/Past Lives

Runner-Up: Sandra Huller/Anatomy of a Fall & The Zone of Interest

BEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR

Robert De Niro/Killers of the Flower Moon

Runner-Up: Robert Downey, Jr/Oppenheimer

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR

Tilda Swinton/The Killer

Runner-Up: Rachel McAdams/Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

BEST ACTING DEBUT

Park Ji-Min/Return to Seoul

Runner-Up: Dominic Sessa/The Holdovers

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Rodrigo Prieto/Killers of the Flower Moon & Barbie

Runner-Up: Hoyte Van Hoytema/Oppenheimer

Best Original Screenplay

Samy Burch/May December

Runner-Up: Celine Song/Past Lives

Best Original Score

Mica Levi/The Zone of Interest

Runner-Up: Robbie Robertson/Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Editing

Thelma Schoonmaker/Killers of the Flower Moon

Runner-Up: Laurent Senechal/Anatomy of a Fall

Best Sound Effects

Johnnie Burn/The Zone of Interest

Runner-Up: Mark Ulano/Killers of the Flower Moon

Most Disappointing Film

Silent Night/John Woo

Runner-Up: Barbie/Greta Gerwig

The post Traveling Boy Selects Top Films From 2023 appeared first on Traveling Archive.