Film Comment Best of 2018-2022
As voted at the end of each year by Film Comment contributors.
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- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsNatalie PortmanChris TenzisCharles MeltonTwenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.#1 2023
https://www.filmcomment.com/best-films-of-2023/ - DirectorKelly ReichardtStarsMichelle WilliamsHong ChauAndré 3000A sculptor preparing to open a new show tries to work amidst the daily dramas of family and friends.#2 2023
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioRobert De NiroLily GladstoneWhen oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one - until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.#3 2023
- DirectorAki KaurismäkiStarsAlma PöystiJussi VatanenJanne HyytiäinenIn modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles - from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.#4 2023
- DirectorAlbert SerraStarsBenoît MagimelPahoa MahagafanauMarc SusiniOn the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, the high commissioner of the Republic and French government must investigate an ongoing rumor: the sighting of a submarine whose ghostly presence could herald the return of French nuclear testing.#5 2023
- DirectorJustine TrietStarsSandra HüllerSwann ArlaudMilo Machado-GranerA woman is suspected of murder after her husband's death; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.#6 2023
- DirectorChristian PetzoldStarsThomas SchubertPaula BeerLangston UibelA group of friends are in a holiday home by the Baltic Sea where emotions run high as the parched forest around them catches fire.#7 2023
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsChristian FriedelSandra HüllerJohann KarthausAuschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.#8 2023
- DirectorCyril SchäublinStarsAlisa MiloglyadovaElisaveta KrimanOlga BushkovaIn late 19th century Switzerland, a factory worker becomes involved with a local group of anarchist watchmakers.#9 2023
- DirectorClaire SimonStarsClaire SimonFollows doctors and patients at a gynecology ward in France.#10 2023
- DirectorJoana PimentaAdirley QueirósStarsDébora AlencarLéa Alves da SilvaGleide FirminoIn 2013 the military police of the Brazilian Federal District initiated a large operation against drug traffic in the peripheral city of Ceilândia, dismantling a series of illegal networks and arresting sixteen men.#11 2023
- DirectorIra SachsStarsFranz RogowskiBen WhishawAdèle ExarchopoulosA gay couple's marriage is thrown into crisis when one of them impulsively begins a passionate affair with a young woman.#12 2023
- DirectorLaura CitarellaStarsLaura ParedesEzequiel PierriRafael SpregelburdWith the strange disappearance of Laura, two colleagues, her older boyfriend, Rafael, and Ezequiel, learn of their recent discoveries, which may help them locate her. However, the story is bigger and stranger than they could imagine.#13 2023
- DirectorPaul B. PreciadoStarsArthurEmma AvenaAmir BayllyAcademic virtuoso turned filmmaker Paul B. Preciado's Berlin Film Festival award-winning doc tells his and others' stories of transition through unique reenactments and visual interpretations of Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography.#14 2023
- DirectorLucien Castaing-TaylorVerena ParavelFocuses on five hospitals in northern Paris neighborhoods. It reveals that human flesh is an extraordinary landscape that exists only through the gaze and attention of others.#15 2023
De humani corporis fabrica - DirectorFrederick WisemanA 93-year-old director embeds inside a French restaurant that's held three Michelin stars for more than 50 years.#16 2023
- DirectorWang BingZhili is one of the centers of the textile industry and people around rural areas flock there for work. They toil away tirelessly, live in squalid conditions, face prejudice from their families, and have to fight for better pay.#17 2023
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsJason SchwartzmanScarlett JohanssonTom HanksFollowing a writer on his world famous fictional play about a grieving father who travels with his tech-obsessed family to small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his world view disrupted forever.#18 2023
- DirectorAlain GomisStarsThelonious MonkThe lack of respect with which the Black musician Thelonious Monk was treated in Autumn, 1969. At the end of his European tour, legendary jazz musician Thelonious Monk appears on an interview show in Paris for French state television.#19 2023
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSoma SantokiMasaki SudaKô ShibasakiIn the wake of his mother's death and his father's remarriage, a headstrong boy named Mahito ventures into a dreamlike world shared by both the living and the dead.#20 2023
- DirectorEduardo WilliamsStarsBo-Kai HsuMeera NadarasaSharika NavamaniDifferent groups of people wander in a rainy, windy, dark world. They are spending time together, trying to escape from their depressing jobs and to own the question of what to do with their time.#1 2023 undistributed
https://www.filmcomment.com/best-undistributed-films-of-2023/ - DirectorLisandro AlonsoStarsViggo MortensenChiara MastroianniAlaina CliffordMurphy searches for his daughter after she is kidnapped by the outlaw Randall.#2 2023 undistributed
- DirectorVíctor EriceStarsManolo SoloJose CoronadoAna TorrentA Spanish actor disappears during the filming of a movie. Although his body is never found, the police conclude that he has suffered an accident at the edge of a cliff. Many years later, the mystery returns to the present day.#3 2023 undistributed
- DirectorJames BenningIt centers on Allensworth, the first self-administered African-American municipality in California, showcasing the buildings of the now-abandoned town and looking for the traces of a Black cultural history.#4 2023 undistributed
- DirectorFox MaxyStarsRuth FishSergio MejiaSuavitel PaperAn embodied rumination of both male and female power, healing and haunting, all within an apocalyptic world. A transformation that courses through unknown terror to untamed collective joy.#5 2023 undistributed
- DirectorMiko ReverezaStarsBernadette GutierrezAurora Fernandez ReverezaJet ReverezaProfound portrait of immigration, disillusionment, and the elusiveness of home.#6 2023 undistributed
- DirectorPhilippe GarrelStarsLouis GarrelDamien MonginEsther GarrelThree siblings, a father and a grandmother run a business in the form of a travelling puppet show. When the father dies, the remaining family members try to keep his legacy alive.#7 2023 undistributed
- DirectorMartín RejtmanStarsCatalina SaavedraEsteban BigliardiCamila HiraneGustavo, an Argentine yoga instructor living in Chile who recently lost his wife and home while an injury prevents him from continuing with his yoga practice.#8 2023 undistributed
La práctica - DirectorMartín ShanlyStarsMartita AlchourrónMiel BargmanFrancisco BertínIt follows Arturo, whose penchant for indiscretions is impossible to overlook.#9 2023 undistributed
About Thirty - DirectorLois PatiñoStarsAmid KeomanyToumor XiongSimone MilavanhIn the temples of Laos, teenage monks accompany a soul in transit from one body to another through the bardo. A luminous and sonorous journey leads to reincarnate on the beaches of Zanzibar, where groups of women work in seaweed farms.#10 2023 undistributed
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsViggo MortensenLéa SeydouxKristen StewartHumans adapt to a synthetic environment, with new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice, Saul Tenser, celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances.#1 2022
https://www.filmcomment.com/best-films-of-2022/ - DirectorJerzy SkolimowskiStarsHolaTakoMariettaFollows a donkey who encounters on his journeys good and bad people, experiences joy and pain, exploring a vision of modern Europe through his eyes.#2 2022
- DirectorCharlotte WellsStarsPaul MescalFrankie CorioCelia Rowlson-HallSophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't...#3 2022
- DirectorAlice DiopStarsKayije KagameGuslagie MalandaValérie DrévilleFollows Rama, a novelist who attends the trial of Laurence Coly at the Saint-Omer Criminal Court to use her story to write a modern-day adaptation of the ancient myth of Medea, but things don't go as expected.#4 2022
- DirectorJoanna HoggStarsTilda SwintonLouisAugust JoshiReturning to a hotel now haunted by its mysterious past, an artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets in their former family home.#5 2022
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsNan GoldinDavid VelascoMegan KaplerFollows the life of artist Nan Goldin and the downfall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical dynasty who was greatly responsible for the opioid epidemic's unfathomable death toll.#6 2022
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsYunhee ChoKwon Hae-hyoLee Hye-yeongShe manages her daily life with a sense of mindfulness while keeping a grave secret to herself, and she decides to meet with a younger director who asked her to join his project, and after they meet there is sudden rainfall and thunder.#7 2022
- DirectorJordan PeeleStarsDaniel KaluuyaKeke PalmerBrandon PereaThe residents of a lonely gulch in inland California bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.#8 2022
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsLee Hye-yeongKim Min-heeSeo YounghwaA novelist visits a bookstore run by a young colleague who's been out of touch, then takes a walk with a film director and his wife. She meets an actress and tries to convince her to make a film together.#9 2022
- DirectorRicky D'AmbroseStarsMonica BarbaroBrian d'Arcy JamesGeraldine SingerAn only child's meditative, impressionistic account of an American family's rise and fall over two decades.#10 2022
- DirectorTodd FieldStarsCate BlanchettNoémie MerlantNina HossSet in the international world of Western classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and the very first female director of a major German orchestra.#11 2022
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsPark Hae-ilTang WeiLee Jung-hyunA detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.#12 2022
- DirectorRamon ZürcherSilvan ZürcherStarsHenriette ConfuriusLiliane AmuatUrsina LardiLisa is moving out. Mara is left behind. As boxes are shifted and cupboards built, abysses begin to open up and an emotional roller coaster is set in motion. A tragicomic catastrophe film. A poetic ballad about change and transience.#13 2022
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsMichelle WilliamsGabriel LaBellePaul DanoGrowing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.#14 2022
- DirectorMia Hansen-LøveStarsLéa SeydouxPascal GreggoryMelvil PoupaudWith a father suffering from neurodegenerative disease, a young woman lives with her eight-year-old daughter. While struggling to secure a decent nursing home, she runs into an unavailable friend with whom she embarks on an affair.#15 2022
- DirectorPayal KapadiaStarsBhumisuta DasL writes letters to her estranged lover. Through these letters, we get a glimpse into the drastic changes taking place around her. Merging reality with fiction, dreams, memories, fantasies and anxieties, an amorphous narrative unfolds.#16 2022
- DirectorClaire DenisStarsMargaret QualleyJoe AlwynBenny SafdieA young American journalist stranded in present-day Nicaragua falls for an enigmatic Englishman who seems like her best chance of escape. She soon realizes, however, that he may be in even greater danger than she is.#17 2022
- DirectorMichelangelo FrammartinoStarsNicola LanzaAntonio LanzaLeonardo LaroccaThe extraordinary adventure of the young members of the Piedmont Speleological Group who, having already explored all the caves of Northern Italy, changed course in August 1961 and went South to explore other caves unknown to man.#18 2022
Il Buco - DirectorJames GrayStarsAnne HathawayJeremy StrongBanks RepetaA deeply personal coming-of-age story about the strength of family and the generational pursuit of the American Dream.#19 2022
- DirectorTerence DaviesStarsJack LowdenThom AshleyOrlando JoplingLegendary 20th century English war poet Siegfried Sassoon embarks on a life-long quest for personal salvation through his experiences with family, war, his writing, and destructive relationships. True salvation can only come from within.#20 2022
- DirectorJane SchoenbrunStarsAnna CobbMichael J RogersTheo AnthonyAlone in her attic bedroom, teenager Casey becomes immersed in an online role-playing horror game, wherein she begins to document the changes that may or may not be happening to her.#20 2022
- DirectorDavid EastealStarsAndrew RakowskiDavid EastealCheri LeCornuEvery evening a man in his late 50s commutes home at the end of the working day in the outer suburbs of Melbourne.#1 2022 undistributed
- DirectorBertrand BonelloStarsJulia FaureLouise LabèqueNinon FrançoisOnline behavior and content consumption through the eyes of a teenage girl who immerses audiences into her dreams and nightmares. Navigating between dreams and reality, she's guided by a disturbing and mysterious YouTuber, Patricia Coma.#2 2022 undistributed
- DirectorLaura CitarellaStarsLaura ParedesEzequiel PierriRafael SpregelburdWith the strange disappearance of Laura, two colleagues, her older boyfriend, Rafael, and Ezequiel, learn of their recent discoveries, which may help them locate her. However, the story is bigger and stranger than they could imagine.#3 2022 undistributed
#3 2022 undistributed - DirectorAshley McKenzieStarsSarah WalkerZiyin ZhengXue YaoA suicidal teen develops a rapport with the student from Shanghai assigned to watch her in the hospital. A nightly exchange of secrets, text messages, and possessions expands the boundaries of the relationship and alters inner chemistry.#4 2022 undistributed
- DirectorRuth BeckermannStarsAlexander DiwiakAlexander HorwathRaphael NicholasSetting that permits analysis, emotion, reflection and intimacy in equal measure, opening up insights for us into the cosmos of eroticism and sexuality: both within and beyond the confines of male fantasy.#5 2022 undistributed
- DirectorAlessandro ComodinStarsPier Luigi MecchiaUlisse BuosiTomaso CecottoA policeman in a small village in northern Italy whose boring days barely conceal a growing melancholy in the town a world whose contours are just barely discernible.#6 2022 undistributed
- DirectorJames BenningA crisscrosses through the USA, carving it up into a series of static shots of just under two minutes, one for each state, presented alphabetically, from Heron Bay, Alabama to Kelly, Wyoming.#7 2022 undistributed
- DirectorDane KomljenStarsJonasz HapkaSigne WestbergTon GrasThe study of inland water ecosystems.#8 2022 undistributed
- DirectorAna VazShot entirely on day for night, this wildlife eco-horror follows the trajectories of endangered species fleeing to escape extinction, in a sombre plot in which the animals look back at us.#9 2022 undistributed
- DirectorSofia BohdanowiczBurak CevikBlake WilliamsStarsDeragh CampbellA woman moves to Paris to tend to the home of a recently deceased friend and begins a video correspondence with filmmakers Burak and Blake, an interaction that is initially healing but is not what it seems.#10 2022 undistributed
- DirectorApichatpong WeerasethakulStarsTilda SwintonAgnes BrekkeDaniel Giménez CachoA woman from Scotland, while traveling in Colombia, begins to notice strange sounds. Soon she begins to think about their appearance.#1 2021
- DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsHidetoshi NishijimaTôko MiuraReika KirishimaA renowned stage actor and director learns to cope with a big personal loss when he receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima.#2 2021
- DirectorJoanna HoggStarsTilda SwintonHonor Swinton ByrneJames Spencer AshworthIn the aftermath of her tumultuous relationship, Julie begins to untangle her fraught love for him in making her graduation film, sorting fact from his elaborately constructed fiction.#3 2021
- DirectorLeos CaraxStarsAdam DriverMarion CotillardSimon HelbergA stand-up comedian and his opera singer wife have a two-year-old daughter with a surprising gift.#4 2021
- DirectorTsai Ming-liangStarsKang-sheng LeeAnong HoungheuangsyKang lives alone in a big house, Non in a small apartment in town. They meet, and then part, their days flowing on as before.#5 2021
- DirectorJane CampionStarsBenedict CumberbatchKirsten DunstJesse PlemonsCharismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.#6 2021
- DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsKotone FurukawaAyumu NakajimaHyunriAn unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.#7 2021
- DirectorAleksandre KoberidzeStarsAni KarseladzeGiorgi BochorishviliOliko BarbakadzeA chance encounter on a street corner has Lisa and Giorgi fall in love at first sight, but an evil spell is cast on them. Will they ever meet again?#8 2021
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsVirginie EfiraCharlotte RamplingDaphné PatakiaA 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair.#9 2021
- DirectorChristian PetzoldStarsPaula BeerFranz RogowskiMaryam ZareeUndine works as a historian lecturing on Berlin's urban development. But when the man she loves leaves her, the ancient myth catches up with her. Undine has to kill the man who betrays her and return to the water.#10 2021
- DirectorRadu JudeStarsKatia PascariuClaudia IeremiaNicodim UngureanuEmi, a school teacher, finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is leaked on the Internet. Forced to meet the parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender to their pressure.#11 2021
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsJohn WatersMary WoronovBarbara WaltersThe Velvet Underground explores the multiple threads that converged to bring together one of the most influential bands in rock and roll.#12 2021
- DirectorMia Hansen-LøveStarsVicky KriepsTim RothMia WasikowskaA couple retreat to the island that inspired Ingmar Bergman to write screenplays for their upcoming films when the lines between reality and fiction start to blur.#13 2021
- DirectorAmalia UlmanStarsAle UlmanAmalia UlmanNacho VigalondoAmidst the devastation of post-crisis Spain, mother and daughter bluff and grift to keep up the lifestyle they think they deserve, bonding over common tragedy and an impending eviction.#14 2021
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsAlana HaimCooper HoffmanSean PennThe story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine growing up, running around and going through the treacherous navigation of first love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.#15 2021
- DirectorHong Sang-sooStarsKim Min-heeKwon Hae-hyoLee Eun-miWhile her husband is on a business trip, Gamhee meets three of her friends on the outskirts of Seoul. They make friendly conversation but there are different currents flowing independently of each other, both above and below the surface.#16 2021
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsOscar IsaacTiffany HaddishTye SheridanWilliam Tell is an ex-military interrogator living under the radar as a low-stakes gambler. When he encounters a young man looking to commit revenge against a mutual enemy, he takes him on the casino circuit to set him on a new path.#17 2021
- DirectorEphraim AsiliStarsAurielle AkereleShirley ChisholmChris JarellA young man inherits his grandmother's house and, with the encouragement of his girlfriend, turns it into a Black socialist collective where community forms the basis of family.#18 2021
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsPenélope CruzMilena SmitIsrael ElejaldeThe story of two mothers who bond in unexpected way after giving birth the same day.#19 2021
- DirectorJulia DucournauStarsVincent LindonAgathe RousselleGarance MarillierFollowing a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for ten years.#20 2021
- DirectorClaire SimonStarsSwann ArlaudEmmanuelle DevosChristophe PaouThe relationship between French writer Marguerite Duras and her last partner Yann Andréa, who was 38 years her junior.#1 2021 undistributed
- DirectorTed FendtStarsDaniela ZahlnerMia SellmannNatascha MantheDaniela is unsure about what to do next and where to live. Mia is finishing a master's degree that she spontaneously started. Along with Natascha, another friend thinking of moving to Vienna, they wander around and talk.#2 2021 undistributed
- DirectorKyoshi SugitaStarsChika ArakiSaho ItoTakenori KanekoIt is based on an expressive portrait of a young woman's interior world through suggestive action rather than psychology.#3 2021 undistributed
- DirectorAlice DiopStarsMarcel BalnoasEthan BalnoasFlorence RocheEncounters on a rail line crossing north to south thru Paris and its outskirts: A cleaning lady, a scrap merchant, a writer, a nurse, a follower of hunts and the filmmaker herself.#4 2021 undistributed
- DirectorSergey LoznitsaStarsHans FrankDina PronichevaAnastasya OsmachkoNazi troops massacre 30,000 Jews over a three-day period in September 1941.#5 2021 undistributed
- DirectorShengze ZhuThere are the images of before, the images of after and the letters. The images of after come first, they stem from the same surveillance camera in Wuhan, empty streets that only throng with people again on April 4th, 2020.#6 2021 undistributed
- DirectorSalomé JashiDocumentary follows trees that are transported, at great expense and inconvenience, from the coast of the Republic of Georgia to the private garden of that country's former prime minister.#7 2021 undistributed
- DirectorAnisia UzeymanSaul WilliamsStarsCheryl IshejaElvis NgaboDiogène NtarindwaAn intersex African hacker, a coltan miner and the virtual marvel born as a result of their union.#8 2021 undistributed
- DirectorJonas BakStarsLena AckermannAnke BakTheresa BakAs she enters retirement, a mother leaves behind her solitary life in rural Germany and memories of a once perfect family life and travels to protest-ridden Hong Kong, a place that has kept her son away from her for many years.#9 2021 undistributed
- DirectorRicky D'AmbroseStarsMonica BarbaroBrian d'Arcy JamesGeraldine SingerAn only child's meditative, impressionistic account of an American family's rise and fall over two decades.#10 2021 undistributed
- DirectorChema García IbarraStarsNacho FernándezLlum ArquesJoanna ValverdeWhen the leader of a UFO association dies unexpectedly, José Manuel becomes the only person who knows a secret that could alter the fate of humanity. Meanwhile, a young girl goes missing in Spain.#11 2021 undistributed
- DirectorJordan LordStarsAlbert LordDeborah LordJordan LordShared Resources depicts the filmmaker's family after their father was fired from his job as a debt collector and their parents declared bankruptcy, largely due to the filmmaker's own debt.#12 2021 undistributed
- DirectorJean-Gabriel PériotStarsAdèle HaenelJacques DelorsJacques DuclosBased on the novel by Didier Eribon, the film tells an intimate and political story of the French working class from the beginning of the 1950s to today.#13 2021 undistributed
Returning to Reims - DirectorPeter KerekesStarsMaryna KlimovaIryna KiryazevaLyubov VasylynaFollows the real-life stories of 107 mothers in the Odesa prison in Ukraine.#14 2021 undistributed
- DirectorNino Martínez SosaStarsVicente SantosKarina ValdezRamón Emilio CandelarioLiborio disappears in a hurricane. One day he returns speaking as a prophet, curing the sick and congregates many followers deep in the mountains. The local powers confront him only to see him vanish, until he decides to confront his deepest fears and battles the invading US Marines.#15 2021 undistributed
- DirectorAnocha SuwichakornpongStarsSirat IntarachoteWaywiree IttianunkulApinya SakuljaroensukFour young travelers embark on a trip to Kanchanaburi to see the museum, but pass the time in other ways when they find out it's closed for refurbishment.#16 2021 undistributed
- DirectorAvi MograbiStarsDani VilenskiShlomo GazitRoni HirschsonAn account of Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with statements from Israeli soldiers about their service there.#17 2021 undistributed
- DirectorGuan ChenStarsKeyu DengRuguang WeiA boy and a girl wander through the streets of a city in China during lockdown, in search of entertainment and freedom.#18 2021 undistributed
- DirectorAna KatzStarsRaquel BankDaniel KatzNicolás LevinSebastián, a man in his thirties, works a series of temporary jobs and he embraces love at every opportunity. He transforms, through a series of short encounters, as the world flirts with possible apocalypse.#19 2021 undistributed