Christopher Nolan has made so many important films in a relatively short time that “Oppenheimer” might seem more obvious than a triumphant fusion of everything he is passionate about: Large-format cinema; the tension between humanity and science; the agitation of a brilliant mind; and the wonder of an exceptional group coming together to do something impossible (in this case a nuclear weapon), but also on a metafictional level, the film.
2. “The Zone of Interest”
Like “Oppenheimer,” the horror in Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” is what is not seen. Representation became a hot topic this year, as if the public wasn’t smart enough to imagine the worst. In “The Zone of Interest,” it is only a wall that separates a Nazi family from the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Glazer’s film is a masterclass in atmosphere: a chilling and witty depiction of the not-so-grey areas of complicity.
3. “Priscilla”
Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” is so beautiful to look at that it is easy to overlook its rigorous restraint and minimalism in storytelling. It provides a unique showcase for her very capable actors, Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, in which it’s all about the little things, the moments that might be imperceptible if it weren’t for her calm gaze. That Elvis’ estate wasn’t behind the project means she made it her job as an independent artist.
4. “Asteroid City”
Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City” play-within-a-play is perhaps his most self-aware film, made in his signature style but also about his style and the artifice of it. It is immensely pleasant, funny and with memorable lines, with the best performance by Scarlett Johansson and a brilliant cameo by Margot Robbie.
5. “May December” (“Secrets of a Scandal”)
It takes a master like Todd Haynes to authentically combine over-the-top and melodrama with grounded emotion, and that’s what he accomplished with the sickly entertaining “May December.” It is a satire on actors, the display of human tragedies as spectacle, and a moving portrait of an unaware victim.
6. “Kuolleet lehdet” (“Autumn Leaves” and in English “Fallen Leaves”)
Aki Kaurismäki was, embarrassingly, a blind spot for me. But the Finnish filmmaker’s deadpan romance about the lost connections of two lonely souls in a cold, unglamorous, alcohol-soaked environment is a wonderful place to start. As Holappa and Ansa discover, it’s never too late to grow up.
7. “The Holdovers”
There were a few movies this year that were so good and easy to watch that it seems very easy to select them. Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” is the best of them: a well-written, acted and composed film that makes you feel as if you, too, are stuck at a New England boarding school on vacation and learning things about yourself and those around you. the trenches with you.
8. “Poor Things”
Yorgos Lanthimos creates a deranged, provocative, unashamedly elegant and funny fairy tale that feels completely fresh. The themes aren’t exactly subtle, like Emma Stone’s insatiable Bella Baxter calling her creator (Willem Dafoe) God, but it’s one of those huge, ambitious attempts that works.
9. “A Thousand and One”
Writer-director AV Rockwell made the year’s best debut in this vibrant portrait of a mother and son in New York in the 1990s. The city as a character may be a tired trope, but here you feel its home changing and gentrifying. as their own relationship takes unexpected turns. This great debut feature is both intimate and epic, with a vibrant soundtrack.
10. “Bottoms” (“Fighting Club”)
It’s a little hard to believe that “Bottoms” was an actual movie released by a major studio, MGM. Director Emma Seligman and her co-writer, muse and star Rachel Sennott created one of the wildest, funniest and strangest high school movies that Generation Z has yet to discover and reclaim. There is still time.
Also: “20 Days in Mariupol,” “Theater Camp,” “Blue Jean,” “All of Us Strangers,” “Eileen.” , “Showing Up”, “You Hurt My Feelings”, “Killers of the Flower Moon” (“The Killers of the Moon”), “Le otto montagne” (“The Eight Mountains” and in English “The Eight Mountains”) , “Anatomie d’une chute” (“Anatomy of a fall” and in English “Anatomy of a Fall”), “The Pigeon Tunnel” (“Flying in circles, by John le Carré”).
JAKE COYLE
1. “Dead Leaves”
Loneliness and lousy bosses are everywhere in the cold world of Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki’s latest. But there are touching signs of life beneath the deadpan surface of “Kuolleet lehdet,” a minimalist fable about a possible romance between two working-class loners (Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen). Kaurismäki doesn’t need much (a trip to the cinema, a few good songs, a dog named Chaplin) to say a lot. An 82-minute balm for a desolate world.
2. “The Holdovers”
Alexander Payne’s latest film, with its cozy, Christmassy New England setting, has sometimes been compared to a warm blanket. But there is a strong rebellious streak in “The Holdovers,” much like the ’70s films on which it is based. The cast, which includes Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and newcomer Dominic Sessa, is impeccable. There’s a lot of warmth here, but there’s also anger, including a lament for the lost spirit of American cinema.
3. “The Eight Mountains”
The seasons of “Le otto montagne” follow the gentle story of friendship of Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch set in the Italian Alps. The film, vast and intimate at the same time, follows two childhood friends (Luca Marinelli, Alessandro Borghi) through the years, enveloping them in a stunning high mountain backdrop and the radiant folk songs of Daniel Norgren.
4. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (“Spider-Man: A través del spider-verso”)
The most dizzying and spectacular film of the year. As good as its prequel “Into the Spider-Verse” was, the second chapter dazzlingly goes against superhero conventions and the limits of animation.
5. “Perfect Days”
The great Japanese actor Koji Yakusho plays a lonely, soft-spoken public toilet cleaner in Tokyo in this deeply charming ode to the everyday from Wim Wenders. Although the plot and backstory make halting progress, “Perfect Days” is mostly about the daily rhythms of Hirayam, who reads Faulkner in the evenings, takes pictures of trees during his lunch break, and listens to cassette tapes (yes, including Lou Reed) while driving.
6. “Origin”
Ava DuVernay’s moving adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste” isn’t exactly an adaptation. DuVernay dramatizes Wilkerson’s writing of the celebrated nonfiction book, blending historical accounts of caste systems with the intimate dramas of Wilkerson’s own life. The combination poignantly fuses the social with the personal.
7. “Barbie”
There’s something that hasn’t been said enough about Greta Gerwig’s runaway sensation: it’s the funniest movie of the year. With apologies to Cord Jefferson’s scorching debut, “American Fiction,” and Nicole Holofcener’s white lie opus, “You Hurt My Feelings,” nothing was as clever as Gerwig striking a balance between marketing and genre satire.
8. “La Chimera” (“The Chimera”)
The past is everywhere in Alice Rohrwacher’s charming folk tale set in 1980, under the feet and in the melancholy eyes of its English protagonist (Josh O’Connor), the talented but tormented leader of a ramshackle gang of tombaroli (thieves). of tombs) that attack ancient Etruscan cemeteries in Tuscany. This is a magical but earthly film.
9. “All of Us Strangers”
The latest from Andrew Haigh, the British filmmaker of “Weekend” and “45 Years,” is a painful, unflinching ghost story. In a dreamlike metaphysical daze, the film alternates between the relationship that develops between two gay men, Adam (Andrew Scott) and Harry (Paul Mescal), and Harry’s visits to his childhood home frozen in time, where He finds his parents long dead. (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell). It’s about family, loss, fiction, romance, coming out, getting older, and it will absolutely level you.
10. “Totem”
Mexican writer-director Lila Avilés’ film is also about family and pain, and it also has the power to devastate. Avilés’ second film following her 2018 debut, “La camarista” (“The Chambermaid” in English), is largely seen through the perspective of young Sol (Naíma Senties) on a day when her multigenerational family he prepares a birthday party for his dying father (Mateo García Elizondo). The busy and distracted lives of her family almost obscure the harsh truth Sol has at hand.
Also: “NMR,” “Anatomy of a Chute,” “Oppenheimer,” “You Hurt My Feelings,” “A Thousand and One,” “Tori and Lokita,” “Youth (Spring),” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “The Criminals,” “Orlando, Ma Biographie Politique,” “Orlando: My Political Documentary,” “Past Lives,” “American Fiction.” , “Ferrari”, “The Boy and the Heron” and “The Boy and the Heron”) “Asteroid City”.
Source: AP
