Still from The Act of Killing. (Drafthouse Films)
It’s hard to put in words how strong of a year it was at the movies. Between new works from masters of cinema like the Coen Brothers, Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, Alexander Payne and countless others, it would seem to be a crowded field for up-and-comers and young guns to leave their mark. But, of course, that didn’t prove to be the case.
With Pat, my favorite film of the year, The Act of Killing, is by a first-time filmmaker, proving that the world of cinema is as fresh as ever. Still, as much as first- and second-time filmmakers made a strong impression on the world of cinema this year, it was also quite a strong one for auteurs reminding us why they’re considered the best in the biz: Spike Jonze returned with a remarkable and beautiful love story for the digital age; master Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement but not before delivering a masterpiece of a film; and Richard Linklater capped off his triumphant Before trilogy with what’s perhaps the strongest entry.
In short, 2013 was a particularly strong year for film, and one that made boiling our favorite films into a top ten ranking as hard a task as ever. Still, we persevered and, after much deliberation, came up with this list of our top ten favorite films of the year (as well as a few honorable mentions that we wanted to call out). Enjoy our subjective and arbitrary lists and, by all means, chime in to the comments with your favorite films of 2013.
Pat Padua:
1. The Act of Killing (Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer)
I knew when I saw this in June that this documentary would be my movie of the year. I was right. As I wrote in my review, “What makes the film so powerful, and so provocative, is that the people whose imaginations spawned these spectacular images killed hundreds of people.”
2. Like Someone in Love (Dir: Abbas Kiarostami)
One of the most beautifully photographed movies of the year. “Kiarostami’s latest takes him far from his native landscape to a Tokyo that is as beautiful as it is alienating. Like Someone in Love is a quietly mournful drama, its potentially sordid pieces making a bittersweet puzzle.”
3. Drug War (Dir: Johnnie To)
The best action movie of the year never made it to area theaters, but you can catch up with the Hong Kong director’s thrilling, brutal and funny movie with its excellent ensemble cast on Netflix Instant as well as iTunes.
4. Beware of Mr. Baker (Dir: Jay Bulger)
Sure he’s a loud-mouthed ginger bastard, but this bastard is a great documentary subject. Director Jay Bulger lived on Baker’s South African ranch for months and put up with the former Cream drummer’s verbal abuse. But the director and Baker’s abused former bandmates still have an affection for the guy, and if you watch this movie you might too.
5. Leviathan (Dir: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel)
Life on a fishing boat documented like no other nature documentary. I called it “a disorienting, gorgeous barrage of images that comes off like Stan Brakhage adaptating Herman Melville.” If that sounds like a nightmare: exactly.
6. The Wind Rises (Dir: Hayao Miyazaki)
Due to be released this February, the final film from the director of My Neighbor Tortoro skips the fantasy elements of his most loved work for a film that comes off as animated Ozu, if Ozu made a movie about the designer of the Zero fighter. It’s as if this creator of gentle art is coming to terms with the potential danger of art.
7. Stories We Tell (Dir: Sarah Polley)
Sarah Polley’s documentary about her family sounds like just another vanity project, but Polley tells a fascinating story with a real life twist. I wrote, “The drama that unfolds reveals how much is hidden underneath the appearance of an apparently normal life.”
8. A Touch of Sin (Dir. Jia Zhang-ke)
Director Jia Zhang-ke based his homage to the martial arts classic A Touch of Zen on real-life events in an increasingly violent China. The result is the second best action movie of 2013, its fluid camerawork following rivers of cathartic blood.
9. The Past (Dir: Asghar Farhadi)
The director of A Separation revisits the contentious territory of failed relationships, this time in Paris. If the results aren’t up to his previous film, it’s simply the difference between a great movie and a very good one. Scheduled to open in area theaters in January.
10. The Hunt (Dir: Thomas Vinterberg)
Mads Mikkelsen turns in one of the best performances of the year against type. His Lucas as a sympathetic teacher wrongly accused of child abuse. I wrote that, “The director has called this film an observation of the state of masculinity in Scandinavia, but it’s also a chilling tale of groupthink that could happen anywhere.”
Honorable mentions: Only God Forgives, Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?, Short Term 12, A Werewolf Boy, A Band Called Death, Tabu, 56 Up, The Conjuring, Upstream Color, All is Lost
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Matt Cohen:
1. The Act of Killing (Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer)
Echoing what Pat said, when I first watched Joshua Oppenheimer’s polarizing, brilliantly crafted documentary I knew it would be be my No. 1 film of the year. It’s not only the best film of the year, but perhaps the most important documentary in recent memory; a true testament to just how powerful cinema can be, for better and worse.
2. Her (Dir: Spike Jonze)
Spike Jonze’s latest film, Her, is his masterpiece. The film, which doesn’t open until Christmas Day, takes place in the not-too-distance future and centers around a heartbroken man (Joaquin Phoenix) going through a nasty divorce, who falls in love with the disembodied voice of his computer operating system (Scarlett Johansson, in what’s one of the best performances of the year. Seriously). It may sound silly, but Her is the most deeply humanizing film of 2013.
3. The Past (Dir: Asghar Farhadi)
Channelling the masterstrokes of famed Japanese dramatist Yasujirō Ozu, Iranian writer/director Ashgar Farhadi follows up his acclaimed film A Separation with a devastating familial drama about secrets, lies, and failed relationships.
4. Before Midnight (Dir. Richard Linklater)
In my original review for Before Midnight—the third and (possibly) final film in Richard Linklater’s beloved Before series—I said that it “isn’t just a great film, it’s (maybe) the capstone of a terrific trilogy and possibly one of the greatest cinematic love stories to ever be filmed,” and I stand by that. Linklater’s nuanced, beautifully written (with the help of stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) film captures the inner-workings of love at its most visceral state.
5. Upstream Color (Dir. Shane Carruth)
After a long absence, Primer director Shane Carruth returns with his second feature, which is about as head-scratching but nonetheless terrific as his debut. The fragmented, loose plot flirts with metaphysical ideas involving shared experiences, love, and the control of one’s one free will. It’s a challenging film, but Carruth’s gorgeous cinematography, engaging soundtrack, and inquisitive, exploratory writing makes it one of the year’s most confounding but attractive features.
6. Gravity (Dir. Alfonso Cuarón)
Another welcomed returned from a long-silent filmmaker. The Children of Men mastermind returns with what’s perhaps the most engaging, immersive, and visceral films in recent memories. The idea of being stranded alone in space is terrifying enough, but Cuarón’s staggering cinematography—and astounding special effects—makes that idea as close to a reality as you’ll get without actually, you know, being stranded in space. I had problem’s with the film’s script (and Sandra Bullock’s acting), but that doesn’t matter — Gravity is a visual feast for the ages.
7. Stories We Tell (Dir. Sarah Polley)
Like Pat said, a documentary about a well-known actress exploring her family’s past may seem like a needless and annoying vanity project on paper, but Polley’s film deftly defies expectations and reveals the secrets and drama that lie beneath a seemingly picture perfect family.
8. All Is Lost (Dir. J.C. Chandor)
J.C. Chandor’s thrilling and terrifying lost-at-sea adventure, All Is Lost, is also one of the year’s most experimental narratives. We’re not sure who he is, or why he’s out in the middle of the sea alone, but Robert Redford’s unnamed character endures the elements after his yacht collides with a rogue shipping container, scraping a big hole in the hull. The nearly wordless performance from Redford is almost as remarkable as Chandor’s masterful camerawork.
9. Spring Breakers (Dir. Harmony Korine)
Is it sexist? Is it feminist? Is it a critique of youth culture? Does it celebrate it? No film sparked as much controversy and divided as many critics as Harmony Korine’s nihilistic exploration of spring break culture. Subversive on many levels—right down to the casting of former teen Disney stars Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez, as well as James Franco’s maniacal and terrific performance—Spring Breakers was both beautiful and maddening, deplorable and empowering, shallow and intelligent. Spring break, forever!
10. Berberian Sound Studio (Dir. Peter Strickland) / Escape From Tomorrow (Dir. Randy Moore)
The two oddest, zaniest, and head-scratching genre films I saw this year, I loved both so much I could pick one for my coveted number ten spot. The former: a dark, slow-burning, experimental psychological character study that celebrates ’70s giallo cinema; the latter, a pitch-black, deranged, and maniacal horror/comedy about one family’s surreal last day in Disney World (that was also shot without permission, guerilla-style in the Magical Kingdom). Both are destined to be cult classics.
Honorable mentions: Short Term 12, 12 Years A Slave, The Spectacular Now, Inside Llewyn Davis, Leviathan, Nebraska, Mud, In A World…, Frances Ha, Like Someone In Love, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Stoker, Side Effects, The Conjuring, Room 237, Tabu, Beyond the Hills, A Band Called Death, Blancanieves
