Established in the 1950s by André Bazin, Joseph-Marie Lo Duca, and Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, France’s Cahiers du cinéma has been a bastion for international film criticism for decades, even amidst recent changes. They’ve now unveiled their predictably stellar top 10 films of 2023 list.
Topping the list is Laura Citeralla’s four-hour epic Trenque Lauquen, while Víctor Erice’s long-awaited return Close Your Eyes and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall round out the top three. The list also features Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, Catherine Breillat’s Last Summer, and Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World.
Cyril Schäublin’s overlooked drama Unrest also got a mention while Pierre Creton’s Un prince and Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up tied for tenth place. They also have room for one major surprise, this year being Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche’s Berlinale premiere Le gang des Bois du Temple, which, alongside Close Your Eyes, is the only film on the list currently without U.S. distribution.
See the full list below, which also features Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, which received a 2023 release in France.