Photo Credit (Pixeles)
Studio hits like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” reached new heights in cinema this past year, while indie favorites like “American Fiction” and “Past Lives” were well-received by reviewers and moviegoers alike. Unfortunately, not every movie has the financial success or critical acclaim that its creators had hoped for.
Because it can be difficult to sift through all the material to uncover the best films of the year (thus the popularity of end-of-year lists), Variety polled writers and editors for their recommendations of underappreciated favorites. Watch the heartbreaking animation picture “Robot Dreams” or the jaw-dropping action film “Polite Society,” directed by Nida Manzoor, while you’re on the hunt for fresh material.
Do not miss the out-of-the-way Australian crime documentary “Last Stop Larrimah,” which revolves around the local hero’s enigmatic disappearance and how it turns everyone into a suspect. “Missing” is a thrilling screenplay from the makers of “Searching” that follows a girl as she attempts to figure out what happened to her mother when she vanishes suddenly and unexplainably. The story unfolds exclusively through the teen’s phone and laptop.
In “She Came to Me,” starring Peter Dinklage, Anne Hathaway, and Marisa Tomei, a composer gets inspiration for his next musical masterpiece while cheating on his wife with a tugboat captain. It’s a bizarre little comedy, but it might be just what you’re searching for if you’re looking for something a bit lighter.
Take a break from “The West Wing” and “The Sopranos” to see one of these underappreciated films.
“Afire” by Christian Petzold
In German filmmaker Christian Petzold’s insightful picture of Leon, a young writer who visits a family house on the Baltic shore to finish his second work, the infectious “In My Mind” by the Wallners serves as both the opening and closing songs. Leon lazes around the house, trying to find inspiration—but really just wasting time—as his housemates go swimming, flirt, and fall in love. “My work won’t allow it.” Clever and attractive, “Afire” is mostly perceptive about the anxieties of a brilliant, borderline-insufferable writer who is mired in his own thoughts.
Cat Addict
Despite the success of the short story “Cat Person” in The New Yorker, the ambitious film based on it was a box office bust. A college student played by Emilia Jones and an older, more socially awkward man played by Nicholas Braun engage in a tense back-and-forth in “Cat Person,” which uses horror to highlight the awkwardness of two individuals who can’t interact with each other. As the tone shifts from whimsical to ominous, Jones and Braun expertly mismatch in nuanced ways that intensify with time. “Cat Person” will speak to any modern-day date, even as the finale loses steam.
Dazzling Ballet
Lily Gladstone’s year is 2023. Although Erica Tremblay has been highly praised for her work on Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “The Unknown Country,” her Sundance screening this year, “Fancy Dance,” is still in the distribution hunt. The coming-of-age tale “Fancy Dance” takes place in Indian Country in northeastern Oklahoma and stars Gladstone as Jax, a girl who, together with her niece, searches for Tawi, played by Hauli Gray. There is no sign of Tawi. As they travel, the two get into numerous scrapes, including car and money thefts as well as card game scams. Please don’t let this film go unnoticed so that everyone can witness Gladstone’s acting prowess.
Exciting Adventure Park
An unexpectedly raw, “Hangover”-outrageous road-trip comedy, “Joy Ride” was the funniest film of 2023, yet it bombed at the box office. It came in somewhat before the independent smash hit “Bottoms,” but the latter did insanely good business per screen. At the SXSW Film Festival, audiences watched both films and could tell they were going to shock the audience, particularly when Stephanie Hsu’s character revealed her tattoo. “Joy Ride” is hilarious even when heard as a streaming sample.
The Golden Land
A truck driver and his young Mexican-American stowaway go on a road journey in the insightful and moving debut feature film from writer-director Nardeep Khurmi. The film reaches a lovely intersection of professional, cultural, and familial obligations with greater human understanding. “Land of Gold” captures stunning performances and images while subtly questioning politics, parenthood, and personal responsibility through the relationship of Kiran (Khurmi, who also stars) and Elena (Caroline Valencia). The director was determined to defy expectations with this film. Debuting an understated but talented filmmaker, Khurmi has a lot more to say than what audiences may expect, but in a good way.
Larrimah, Your Last Stop
This HBO real crime documentary has a strange premise: in a village of eleven people, if one person goes missing, everyone becomes a suspect. Peeling back the layers reveals deep-seated animosities and grudges that cloud the proceedings in what starts as a film about a tiny village shocked that a crime could have occurred in their midst. The local watering hole in Larrimah is a breeding ground for enough drama to sustain a miniseries, and every citizen of the town is multi-faceted. At the conclusion, you will be just as ravenous for the town’s famous meat pies as you are for solutions.
Expert Gardener
In Paul Schrader’s most recent film, Joel Edgerton plays the role of Narvel Roth, a stuffy horticultural. The film is the third and final installment of a new trilogy about men dealing with difficult pasts; the others being “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter.” It tells the narrative of a man whose secrets aren’t as hidden as he would want them to be, and it is gorgeously shot. He comes to the realization that he may not be able to remain hidden from the world indefinitely when his boss, a rich woman who hires him to oversee her garden (Sigourney Weaver), invites her juvenile niece to tend to his meticulously manicured plants.
Not present
With its Sundance premiere and January 20th cinema release, “Missing” is noticeably absent from discussions surrounding the year’s conclusion in film. Newcomers Will Merrick and Nick Johnson direct an engrossing thriller that keeps viewers guessing right up to the end. Storm Reid, who plays the lead, spends the majority of the film searching for clues after her mother goes missing while abroad. She does this by analyzing Ring camera footage, old emails, and FaceTime calls with a Colombian gig worker. With its twists, thrills, and gratifying ending, “Missing” is a welcome addition to the emerging screenlife genre. It is ES
Hi, Monica!
Andrea Pallaoro’s subtle drama “Monica” (in which Trace Lysette plays a trans woman who goes back to her estranged family to take care of her dying mother, Patricia Clarkson) earned Trace Lysette a well-deserved nomination for best lead performance at the Indie Spirit Awards. Considering the universal emotion that director and co-writer Pallaoro extracts from a narrative about two women navigating the unsaid horrors of their past to discover understanding in the present, it is disappointing that the IFC Films movie failed to surpass the $200,000 mark at the box office this year. Even the film’s most personal scenes feel monumental in their emotional impact because of Lysette’s delicate performance as the lead. – ZS
Monster
“Monster” is director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s most touching and emotionally taxing work to date, following in the footsteps of “Broker” and “Shoplifters.” It follows a mother’s quest for answers from her son’s school about his strange conduct. Critics and moviegoers no longer considered “Monster” as essential watching after Japan chose “Perfect Days” to represent the nation in the Academy’s foreign feature category. An outstanding picture with a musical score by the late Ryuichi Sakamoto and a breathtaking ensemble helps propel it to the top of the year’s box office. — music CD
“Moon Is the Oldest TV” by Nam June Paik
Many people are familiar with the name Nam June Paik, and some have even had the opportunity to witness one of his live video projects, but few have a clue as to who he is. The beautifully shot documentary by Amanda Kim brilliantly fills in the gaps about the visionary figure that was Paik, illuminating his interactions with luminaries like John Cage, his years of starvation as an artist in New York, and the way he created surrealist TV museum exhibits from scratch, essentially inventing an art form. The most captivating aspect of the film is how it transports viewers to the otherworldly splendor of Paik’s works, which were inspired by his fixation with uncovering technology’s latent essence. Both it and “Little Richard: I Am Everything” are the most moving musician biopics that have come out this year. • OG
Aeons ago
“Of an Age,” directed and written by Goran Stolevski of Australia, is a romantic drama about a young guy whose relationship with his ballroom dancing partner’s brother intensifies in the span of a single day. While Stolevski’s handheld direction captures the eerie and enchanting allure of first love, the narrative deftly balances the joy of discovering your soulmate with the sadness of time running out. Even though the protagonist comes to terms with his sexuality during the film, director Anton Stolevski is determined that his romantic drama will not be a derivative of LGBT self-acceptance films. It’s much more invigorating because of that. A lovely gem, “Of an Age” has a gentle sadness that is both beautiful and comforting. – ZS
