The results of Film Comment’s annual end-of-year survey were revealed at a special live event last night at Film at Lincoln Center, with Todd Haynes’s May December, Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up, and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon claiming the top ranks among films released in the U.S. in 2023. Of the films that screened at festivals worldwide but have not yet announced stateside distribution, Eduardo Williams’s The Human Surge 3, Lisandro Alonso’s Eureka, and Víctor Erice’s Close Your Eyes received top rankings.

The poll was voted on by more than 100 Film Comment contributors and colleagues from around the globe, including Jamsheed Akrami (scholar and filmmaker), Dessane Lopez Cassell (Seen), Erika Balsom (scholar and critic), Richard Brody (The New Yorker), Maya S. Cade (Black Film Archive), Edo Choi (The Museum of the Moving Image), Monica Castillo (The Paley Center for Media), Bilge Ebiri (New York magazine and Vulture), Jean-Michel Frodon (critic), Lovia Gyarkye (The Hollywood Reporter), Malcolm Harris (author, Palo Alto), Molly Haskell (critic), J. Hoberman (critic), Radu Jude (filmmaker), Beatrice Loayza (critic), Kevin B. Lee (Locarno Film Festival), Dennis Lim (Film at Lincoln Center), Cristina Nord (Berlinale Forum), Adam Piron (filmmaker and critic), Inney Prakash (critic and programmer, Prismatic Ground), B. Ruby Rich (Film Quarterly), Jonathan Romney (FC contributing editor), Dash Shaw (cartoonist and animator), Gavin Smith (critic), Imogen Sara Smith (critic), Amy Taubin (FC contributing editor), Manu Yáñez Murillo (Otros Cines Europa), Genevieve Yue (scholar and critic), and more.

 

From left: Devika Girish, Amy Taubin, Bilge Ebiri, Clinton Krute. Photo by Zhen Qin.

The top 20 films of 2023 were unveiled at the live event with critics Amy Taubin and Bilge Ebiri, moderated by Film Comment’s Co-Editors, Devika Girish and Clinton Krute; the lively discussion is now available on the Film Comment Podcast. The complete lists of released and undistributed films are included below.

“It speaks to the ongoing vitality of cinema as an art form, as well as the discernment of our critics in the year of ‘Barbenheimer,’ that this year’s top films represent some of the most boundary-pushing, complex movies of recent times—three new classics from contemporary masters,” said Krute.

“It’s invigorating to see so many independent films that boldly deny the conventions of narrative and nonfiction cinema—including Cyril Schäublin’s Unrest, Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós’s Dry Ground Burning, and Alain Gomis’s Rewind & Play—land in the Top 20, not to mention the wonderfully inventive gems in our undistributed list,” said Girish. “It’s reassuring for the future of not only cinema, but also criticism to see these titles emerge as the consensus picks of more than 100 critics!”

Film Comment’s Top 20 Films Released in 2023

  1. May December Todd Haynes, U.S.
  2. Showing Up Kelly Reichardt, U.S.
  3. Killers of the Flower Moon Martin Scorsese, U.S.
  4. Fallen Leaves Aki Kaurismäki, Finland
  5. Pacifiction Albert Serra, France/Spain/Germany/Portugal
  6. Anatomy of a Fall Justine Triet, France
  7. Afire Christian Petzold, Germany
  8. The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer, U.K./U.S./Poland
  9. Unrest Cyril Schäublin, Switzerland
  10. Our Body Claire Simon, France
  11. Dry Ground Burning Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós, Brazil
  12. Passages Ira Sachs, France
  13. Trenque Lauquen Laura Citarella, Argentina
  14. Orlando, My Political Biography Paul B. Preciado, France
  15. De Humani Corporis Fabrica Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, France/Switzerland/U.S.
  16. Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros Frederick Wiseman, France/U.S.
  17. Youth (Spring) Wang Bing, France/Luxembourg/Netherlands
  18. Asteroid City Wes Anderson, U.S.
  19. Rewind & Play Alain Gomis, France/Germany
  20. The Boy and the Heron Hayao Miyazaki, Japan

Film Comment’s Top 10 Undistributed Films of 2023

  1. The Human Surge 3 Eduardo Williams, Argentina/Portugal/Netherlands/Taiwan/Brazil/Hong Kong/Sri Lanka/Peru
  2. Eureka Lisandro Alonso, Argentina/France/Portugal
  3. Close Your Eyes Víctor Erice, Spain
  4. ALLENSWORTH James Benning, U.S.
  5. Gush Fox Maxy, U.S.
  6. Nowhere Near Miko Revereza, U.S./Philippines
  7. The Plough Philippe Garrel, France
  8. La práctica Martín Rejtman, Argentina/Chile/Germany/Portugal
  9. About Thirty Martín Shanly, Argentina
  10. Samsara Lois Patiño, Spain

The complete list of films and participants can be found on FilmComment.com.