Top 20 Best Films of 2023 according to Filmspotting (All Films)
Adam, Josh, Michael, and Marya shared 89 favorite films with their best movie lists of 2023.
There were a total of 56 UNIQUE movies/shorts (and 1 TV show included in the 56) from Filmspotting's podcast of the Best Films of 2023.
"May December" and "Past Lives" were the only films in everyone's top 20.
"Killers of the Flower Moon", the 4 Roald Dahl shorts, "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt", and "The Zone of Interest" were included in 3 of the 4 lists.
There were a total of 56 UNIQUE movies/shorts (and 1 TV show included in the 56) from Filmspotting's podcast of the Best Films of 2023.
"May December" and "Past Lives" were the only films in everyone's top 20.
"Killers of the Flower Moon", the 4 Roald Dahl shorts, "All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt", and "The Zone of Interest" were included in 3 of the 4 lists.
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56 titles
- DirectorRaven JacksonStarsKaylee Nicole JohnsonChris ChalkJayah HenryA decades-spanning exploration of a woman's life in Mississippi and an ode to the generations of people, places, and ineffable moments that shape us.
- DirectorAndrew HaighStarsAndrew ScottPaul MescalCarter John GroutA screenwriter drawn back to his childhood home enters into a fledgling relationship with his downstairs neighbor while discovering a mysterious new way to heal from losing his parents 30 years ago.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioRobert De NiroLily GladstoneWhen oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one - until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsJason SchwartzmanScarlett JohanssonTom HanksFollowing a writer on his world famous fictional play about a grieving father who travels with his tech-obsessed family to small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his world view disrupted forever.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiDa'Vine Joy RandolphDominic SessaA cranky history teacher at a prep school is forced to remain on campus over the holidays with a grieving cook and a troubled student who has no place to go.
- DirectorAnh Hung TranStarsJuliette BinocheBenoît MagimelEmmanuel SalingerThe story of Eugenie, an esteemed cook, and Dodin - the fine gourmet chef she has been working for over the last 20 years.
- DirectorJustine TrietStarsSandra HüllerSwann ArlaudMilo Machado-GranerA woman is suspected of murder after her husband's death; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsNatalie PortmanChris TenzisCharles MeltonTwenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
- DirectorIlker ÇatakStarsLeonie BeneschAnne-Kathrin GummichRafael StachowiakWhen one of her students is suspected of theft, teacher Carla Nowak decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her.
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsChristian FriedelSandra HüllerJohann KarthausAuschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.
- DirectorSean DurkinStarsZac EfronJeremy Allen WhiteHarris DickinsonThe true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMichael FassbenderTilda SwintonCharles ParnellAfter a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanA 93-year-old director embeds inside a French restaurant that's held three Michelin stars for more than 50 years.
- DirectorCeline SongStarsGreta LeeTeo YooJohn MagaroNora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrested apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Twenty years later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront notions of love and destiny.
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsEmma StoneMark RuffaloWillem DafoeAn account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.
- DirectorKelly ReichardtStarsMichelle WilliamsHong ChauAndré 3000A sculptor preparing to open a new show tries to work amidst the daily dramas of family and friends.
- DirectorJoaquim Dos SantosKemp PowersJustin K. ThompsonStarsShameik MooreHailee SteinfeldBrian Tyree HenryMiles Morales catapults across the multiverse, where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting its very existence. When the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles must redefine what it means to be a hero.
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsNanoka HaraHokuto MatsumuraEri FukatsuA modern action adventure road story where a 17-year-old girl named Suzume helps a mysterious young man close doors from the other side that are releasing disasters all over in Japan.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsRalph FiennesBenedict CumberbatchDev PatelChronicles a variety of stories, but the main one follows Henry Sugar, who is able to see through objects and predict the future with the help of a book he stole.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsRupert FriendRalph FiennesAsa JenningsA small brilliant boy is tormented by two large idiotic bullies.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsRichard AyoadeRalph FiennesRupert FriendIn an English village, a reporter and a mechanic listen to a rat catcher explain his clever plan to outwit his prey.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsDev PatelBenedict CumberbatchRalph FiennesWhen a poisonous snake slithers onto an Englishman's stomach in India, his associate and a doctor race to save him.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSoma SantokiMasaki SudaKô ShibasakiIn the wake of his mother's death and his father's remarriage, a headstrong boy named Mahito ventures into a dreamlike world shared by both the living and the dead.
- DirectorNicole HolofcenerStarsAmber TamblynDavid CrossTobias MenziesA novelist's longstanding marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears her husband giving his honest reaction to her latest book.
- DirectorKyle Edward BallStarsLucas PaulDali Rose TetreaultRoss PaulTwo children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsCailee SpaenyJacob ElordiAri CohenWhen teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
- DirectorGreta GerwigStarsMargot RobbieRyan GoslingIssa RaeBarbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
- DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsMinami HamabeRyunosuke KamikiSakura AndôPost war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.
- DirectorKaouther Ben HaniaStarsOlfa HamrouniEya ChikhaouiTayssir ChikhaouiBetween light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. Filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actresses to fill in their absence.
- DirectorKelly Fremon CraigStarsAbby Ryder FortsonRachel McAdamsKathy BatesWhen her family moves from the city to the suburbs, 11-year-old Margaret navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence.
- DirectorDavy ChouStarsPark Ji-minOh Gwang-RokGuka HanA twenty-five-year-old French woman returns to Korea, the country she was born in before being adopted by a French couple, for the very first time. She decides to track down her biological parents, but her journey takes a surprising turn.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsCillian MurphyEmily BluntMatt DamonThe story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
- DirectorChloe DomontStarsPhoebe DynevorAlden EhrenreichEddie MarsanAn unexpected promotion at a cutthroat hedge fund pushes a young couple's relationship to the brink, threatening to unravel far more than their recent engagement.
- CreatorBoots RileyStarsJharrel JeromeOlivia WashingtonBrett GrayThe coming-of-age joyride of Cootie, a 13-foot-tall man who escapes to experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world. He forms friendships, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and encounters his idol, The Hero.
- DirectorMaciek HamelaA small van traverses war-torn roads, picking up Ukrainians as they abandon their homes at the front. Shuttling them across the battered landscape into exile, the van becomes a fragile refuge, a zone for its passengers' confidences.
- DirectorKitty GreenStarsJulia GarnerJessica HenwickHerbert NordrumBackpackers Hanna and Liv take a job in a remote Australian pub for some extra cash and are confronted with a bunch of unruly locals and a situation that rapidly leaps out of their control.
- DirectorA.V. RockwellStarsTeyana TaylorAaron Kingsley AdetolaAven CourtneyAfter unapologetic and fiercely loyal Inez kidnaps her son Terry from the foster care system, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City.
- DirectorMorrisa MaltzStarsLily GladstonePam RichterTommy HeitkampAn unexpected invitation rushes a grieving young woman into a lonely road trip through the American Midwest towards the border between Texas and Mexico.
- DirectorChie HayakawaStarsChieko BaishôHayato IsomuraStefanie ArianneGovernment program Plan 75 encourages senior citizens to be euthanized to remedy an aged society. An elderly woman whose means of survival are vanishing, a pragmatic Plan 75 salesman, and a Filipino laborer face choices of life and death.
- DirectorCarolina CavalliStarsBenedetta PorcaroliGalatéa BellugiGiovanna MezzogiornoAmanda, 24, lives mostly isolated and has never had any friends, even if it's the thing she wants the most. Amanda chooses as her new mission to convince her childhood friend that they are still best friends.
- DirectorBabak JalaliStarsAnaita Wali ZadaGregg TurkingtonJeremy Allen WhiteDonya works for a Chinese fortune cookie factory. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie.
- DirectorMaryam TouzaniStarsLubna AzabalSaleh BakriAyoub MissiouiA middle-aged tailor and his wife find their relationship challenged by the arrival of a handsome new apprentice.
- DirectorHlynur PálmasonStarsElliott Crosset HoveIngvar SigurdssonVic Carmen SonneAt the end of the 19th century, a young Danish priest is sent to a remote part of Iceland. The deeper he travels into the Icelandic landscape, the more he loses a sense of his own reality, his mission and his sense of duty.
- DirectorAlice RohrwacherStarsJosh O'ConnorCarol DuarteVincenzo NemolatoA group of archaeologists and the black market of historical artifacts.
- DirectorD. SmithStarsDaniella CarterDominique SilverKoko Da DollA raw depiction of the lives of four black trans sex workers as they confront the dichotomy between the black community and themselves.
- DirectorJesse Short BullLaura TomaselliStarsHenry Red CloudCandi Brings PlentyKrystal Two BullsA chronicle about how the Lakota Indians fight to reclaim control of the Black Hills. Will investigate how the sacred land was stolen in violation of treaty agreements and feature interviews with Indigenous citizens.
- DirectorMatt JohnsonStarsJay BaruchelGlenn HowertonMatt JohnsonThe story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the world's first smartphone.
- DirectorGeorgia OakleyStarsRosy McEwenKerrie HayesLucy HallidayIn 1988, a closeted teacher is pushed to the brink when a new student threatens to expose her sexuality.
- DirectorIra SachsStarsFranz RogowskiBen WhishawAdèle ExarchopoulosA gay couple's marriage is thrown into crisis when one of them impulsively begins a passionate affair with a young woman.
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsAunjanue Ellis-TaylorJon BernthalNiecy NashThe unspoken system that has shaped America and chronicles how lives today are defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.
- DirectorJoshua PikovskyJordan TetewskyStarsJennifer AnnisBetsey BrownPeter ColeHannah lives a content, hard-working life in the small town where she grew up. To her visiting older brother, she's just wasting her time. As their Summer together winds down, Hannah gets what wasting time really means.
- DirectorClement VirgoStarsLamar JohnsonAaron PierreMarsha Stephanie BlakeSons of Caribbean immigrants, Francis and Michael face questions of masculinity, identity and family amid the pulsing beat of Toronto's early hip-hop scene.
- DirectorElaine McMillion SheldonThe cultural roots of coal continue to permeate the rituals of daily life in Appalachia even as its economic power wanes. The journey of a coal miner's daughter exploring the region's dreams and myths, untangling the pain and beauty.
- DirectorEmma SeligmanStarsRachel SennottAyo EdebiriRuby CruzTwo unpopular queer high-school students start a fight club to have sex before graduation.
- DirectorYahav WinnerStarsNimrod PelegYoram ToledanoAvinoam and Barak, father and son from a Kibbutz bordering the Gaza strip, are forced to deal with another round of rockets and combat, each in their own way. One night, Barak reaches a boiling point and Avinoam is forced to absorb the heat.
- DirectorLola QuivoronStarsJulie LedruYannis LafkiAntonia BuresiJulia, a young misfit who is passionate about riding, meets a crew of dirt riders who fly along at full speed and perform stunts. She sets about infiltrating their male-dominated world, but an accident jeopardizes her ability to fit in.