As various critics groups and awards bodies dole out their top films of the year, it can be hard to parse which ones are actually worth paying attention to. Following our top 50 films of 2023, one such list has arrived today with Film Comment’s annual end-of-year survey. Revealed at a special live talk last night, Todd Haynes’s May December, Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up, and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon grabbed the top three spots, while Eduardo Williams’s The Human Surge 3, Lisandro Alonso’s Eureka, and Víctor Erice’s Close Your Eyes topped the best undistributed films.

“It speaks to the ongoing vitality of cinema as an art form, as well as the discernment of our critics in the year of ‘Barbenheimer,’ that this year’s top films represent some of the most boundary-pushing, complex movies of recent times—three new classics from contemporary masters,” said Krute.

“It’s invigorating to see so many independent films that boldly deny the conventions of narrative and nonfiction cinema—including Cyril Schäublin’s Unrest, Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós’s Dry Ground Burning, and Alain Gomis’s Rewind & Play—land in the Top 20, not to mention the wonderfully inventive gems in our undistributed list,” said Girish. “It’s reassuring for the future of not only cinema, but also criticism to see these titles emerge as the consensus picks of more than 100 critics!”

Film Comment’s Top 20 Films Released in 2023

  1. May December Todd Haynes, U.S.
  2. Showing Up Kelly Reichardt, U.S.
  3. Killers of the Flower Moon Martin Scorsese, U.S.
  4. Fallen Leaves Aki Kaurismäki, Finland
  5. Pacifiction Albert Serra, France/Spain/Germany/Portugal
  6. Anatomy of a Fall Justine Triet, France
  7. Afire Christian Petzold, Germany
  8. The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer, U.K./U.S./Poland
  9. Unrest Cyril Schäublin, Switzerland
  10. Our Body Claire Simon, France
  11. Dry Ground Burning Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós, Brazil
  12. Passages Ira Sachs, France
  13. Trenque Lauquen Laura Citarella, Argentina
  14. Orlando, My Political Biography Paul B. Preciado, France
  15. De Humani Corporis Fabrica Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, France/Switzerland/U.S.
  16. Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros Frederick Wiseman, France/U.S.
  17. Youth (Spring) Wang Bing, France/Luxembourg/Netherlands
  18. Asteroid City Wes Anderson, U.S.
  19. Rewind & Play Alain Gomis, France/Germany
  20. The Boy and the Heron Hayao Miyazaki, Japan

Film Comment’s Top 10 Undistributed Films of 2023

  1. The Human Surge 3 Eduardo Williams, Argentina/Portugal/Netherlands/Taiwan/Brazil/Hong Kong/Sri Lanka/Peru
  2. Eureka Lisandro Alonso, Argentina/France/Portugal
  3. Close Your Eyes Víctor Erice, Spain
  4. ALLENSWORTH James Benning, U.S.
  5. Gush Fox Maxy, U.S.
  6. Nowhere Near Miko Revereza, U.S./Philippines
  7. The Plough Philippe Garrel, France
  8. La práctica Martín Rejtman, Argentina/Chile/Germany/Portugal
  9. About Thirty Martín Shanly, Argentina
  10. Samsara Lois Patiño, Spain

Explore more here and listen to Girish, Krute, Bilge Ebiri, and Amy Taubin count down the top 10 below.

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