Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the 10 Best Films of 2023 So Far
AFTER LOVE
A transcendent chamber piece, Aleem Khan’s feature-length directorial debut is graced with an exceptional lead performance from Joanna Scanlan as an English woman who converted to Islam for marriage years ago — only to discover, when her husband dies, that he was living a shocking double life. It’s a miraculous study of grief, jealousy and ultimately compassion, all executed with very little dialogue.-- — LESLIE FELPERIN
ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET
Kelly Fremon Craig’s adaptation of the classic Judy Blume novel about a girl on the cusp of puberty is charming, heartwarming, and beautifully acted and scored. But its magic comes from its respectful reanimation of the source material: The film stays close to Margaret and her emotions, using them to honor an already sturdy narrative while also expanding our understanding of the world around her. — LOVIA GYARKYE
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DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA
Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor take us not only deep inside the world of invasive medical procedures in several Parisian hospitals, but as far inside the human body as a feature-length documentary has ever gone. For those who can stomach it, this fascinating look at modern surgery is a memorable experience, making us ponder our own humanity as we watch people reduced to pure flesh and blood. — JORDAN MINTZER
GODLAND
In the late 19th century, a young priest travels from Denmark to Iceland, where his mission is mocked by nature and the corruptibility of his faith in Hlynur Pálmason’s mesmerizing elemental epic. That description suggests brooding portentousness, but there’s a marvelously odd vein of sneaky humor running through the film, along with an unpredictability that keeps you glued. It’s a work of grim majesty that exerts a powerful hold. — DAVID ROONEY
OTHER PEOPLE’S CHILDREN
Anchored by a superb Virginie Efira as a 40-ish teacher whose bond with her boyfriend’s young daughter awakens unexpected maternal yearnings, Rebecca Zlotowski’s latest film confirms her gift for injecting formulas with freshness and charm, smarts and sexiness. It has all the contours of conventional Parisian dramedy, but gradually deepens into something much tougher and wiser. — JON FROSCH
PALM TREES AND POWER LINES
In Jamie Dack’s subtle, aching debut about the relationship between a 17-year-old girl and a man twice her age, fleeting glances, changes in body language and deliberate silences come together to form an unnerving examination of consent and predation. Leads Lily McInerny and Jonathan Tucker conjure the endearing awkwardness of any courtship without losing sight of the terrifying nature of this one. — L.G.
PAST LIVES
It’s difficult to convey the multilayered beauty of playwright Celine Song’s exquisite debut feature, beyond urging people to see it for themselves and experience its transfixing spell. The melancholy romantic drama features Greta Lee as a woman observed at three points in time, with Teo Yoo and John Magaro as the men whose fates are tethered to hers across two continents. It’s a film that prompts you to reach back into your own life, to ponder forks in the road and consider how a different course might have altered your identity. — D.R.
RODEO
Leading a cast of mostly nonprofessionals with take-no-prisoners intensity, Julie Ledru plays a motorbike rider who claims her place in the brotherhood of outlawed dirt bike “rodeos.” The strife and hustle of Paris’ suburbs have been portrayed before, but never through the eyes of such an uncategorizable protagonist. Lola Quivoron’s exhilarating genre mashup is a crime story, a character study and an existential mystery, a celebration and a lament both gritty and transcendent.-- — SHERI LINDEN
SHOWING UP
The Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland makes a sublime setting for Kelly Reichardt’s thoughtful, affecting and unexpectedly funny character study of a woman (Michelle Williams) making art while navigating the exasperating whirl of everyday problems outside her garage studio. The film demonstrates once again that Reichardt’s work with Williams is among the most rewarding collaborations of contemporary American independent cinema. — D.R.
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE
Even when it feels leaden with backstory, this thrilling second chapter of the Spider-Verse series, in which Miles faces challenges across the multiverse, vibrates with the same freewheeling energy as its predecessor. The result is a visual feast, with an impressive layering of styles and a hero at its center who remains very much worth rooting for. — L.G.
This story first appeared in the June 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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