If you’re one of the lucky ones who is able to attend, the 2023 New York Film Festival is a great way to see the latest in world cinema. From cutting edge films like Ryosuke Hamaguchi evil does not exist More professional fare like Michael Mann ferrariThe Big Apple Film Festival effectively showcases the art as it exists in the moment.
Of the hundreds of feature and short films screened at NYFF, I was only able to see a few, but each one was different and memorable in its own unique way. Something, like Garth Davis’ sci-fi movie enemyhave already been released, while others, like Andrew Haigh we are all strangers, is scheduled to be released this fall. From instant masterpieces to flawless works of art, these six films are worth watching for audiences looking to see the state of cinema in 2023 and have a good time at the movies.
enemy
Sometimes a film can be misunderstood for the wrong reasons, or not appreciated for no reason at all. Garth Davis’s contemplative, old-school sci-fi feature enemy Is one of those movies. When it was released in early October, the film received surprisingly mixed-to-negative reviews. Don’t listen to opponents; enemy Great, and worth your time.
Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal star as Henrietta and Junior, a married couple stranded in America’s heartland, ravaged by climate change. One day, he receives an interesting offer: Junior has been asked to test an experimental space colony as a future habitat for humanity, and to fill the void left by his absence, he has to Will be replaced by an AI version. Return. Naturally, this raises all kinds of questions about identity and love, especially when Henrietta develops feelings for Junior’s replacement. enemy It’s an entertaining throwback to those high-minded sci-fi stories of the 1950s and 1960s, which prioritized asking big questions rather than empty pyrotechnics.
enemy Now running in select theaters across the country.
anatomy of fall
The slow pace of a thriller, anatomy of fall As its title suggests, it is as straightforward and clear. The film focuses on Sandra (Sandra Huller, who also stars in this season). area of interest), a writer, lives in a remote skiing village in France with her husband Vincent and visually impaired son Daniel. One day, the son returns home and finds his father dead from a fall and his mother the prime suspect in his possible murder. Did Sandra kill him? Did Vincent fall accidentally? Or was it something, or someone, else?
The director, Justin Triet, is not only interested in answering these questions (though fear not, she does) – she’s also thrilled by the reasons they’re being asked in the first place. Sandra is on trial for more than just the murder of her husband; She is also being tormented for not having an easily defined concept of what an ideal wife, an ideal mother or a “good woman” is. anatomy of fall Works very well as a suspense film, but it becomes more interesting when it focuses on themes unrelated to the titular crime.
anatomy of fall Now running in select theatres.
may december
A bizarre combination of melodrama, comedy and poignant character study, may december It shouldn’t work as well as it does. It’s a testament to the cast led by director Todd Haynes and Julianne Moore (still alice), Natalie Portman (Thor: Love and Thunder), and breakout Charles Melton (Riverdale), that they pull off such a high-wire tonal balancing act with aplomb, and in the process, create one of the funniest and saddest movies of the year at the same time.
The title refers to the previously scandalous relationship between Moore’s Grace and Melton’s Joe, who first came together when Grace was 37 and Joe was 14. Yes, it’s a fictionalized version of the infamous Mary Kay Letourneau case from the 1990s, but may december There is no concern with cheap imitations. By adding Portman’s vaguely sinister actress Elizabeth, who is shadowing Grace and Joe for an upcoming movie based on their lives, Haynes puts a comedic, campy spin on what could have been a straight-up tragic tale. . It’s a strange, yet charming film; There’s nothing else like it, and its bittersweet humor can sometimes distract you in a pleasant way.
may december It will have a limited theatrical release on November 17 before streaming on Netflix on December 1.
boy and heron
Released in Japan under the title How do you live?Hayao Miyazaki’s final film (he’s already backed down from that proclamation, thank God) is less eccentric than his more famous efforts. walked away And howl’s Moving CastleBut it is no less stunning in its visual beauty and emotional subject matter.
The film concerns a young boy, Mahito Maki, who has recently lost his mother in a fire and is learning to adjust to his father’s new wife and home. Separated from his companions, Mahito encounters a magical heron, who leads him to a hidden tower that seemingly hides his still-living mother. From there, Mahito is transported to another world that has all the trademarks of a Miyazaki film: magicians with great power, courageous women who forge their own adventurous paths, and lots of birds.
boy and heron It takes a while to get going (there are perhaps too many scenes involving the titular heron harassing Mahito), but once it does, it’s as full of magic and sadness as Miyazaki’s best works. This is a great addition to the series of great directors’ final films that ties in with John Huston. dead and Ingmar Bergman after rehearsal As a film that serves as the definitive statement of an illustrious career.
boy and heron It will hit the theaters on December 8.
we are all strangers
The best film coming to the New York Film Festival, and a strong contender for Best Picture of 2023, Andrew Haigh’s stunningly beautiful we are all strangers This is the kind of movie that haunts you; If it makes you cry, it just means you have good taste. Andrew Scott plays Adam, a forty-year-old screenwriter who lives in a nearly empty London skyscraper. One evening, he takes a train to his hometown and encounters a mysterious man in a park. He follows him home and is not at all surprised to learn that it is his father (billy elliottJamie Bell), who has been dead for more than three decades. Gradually, Adam interacts with both his father and mother (CrownClaire Foy) as if they were still alive, and tells them about her life, her new boyfriend, Harry (Paul Mescal again), and how society has changed since his passing.
The premise sounds strange, but High never falls into cheesy sentiment. It’s up in the air whether or not Adam is hallucinating these visions, and it’s left up to you to decide what’s real and what’s not. But what is clear is that we are all strangers It’s a rare film that gets the feeling of being alone, drifting through life with both easy joy and low-key anxiety, just right. Both Scott and Mescal credibly create lost creatures who bond when alone; It’s their superpower, and it’s what draws them together. This film may devastate you, but it will also enrich you as only great art can do.
we are all strangers Heartbreak will open in theaters on December 22.
ferrari
james mangold 2019 film ford vs ferrari This was the ultimate dad movie, a thrilling, unfussy biopic that absurdly displayed the appeal of grease and testosterone. michael man’s ferrariOn the other hand, this is the ultimate Grumpy Uncle movie, a biopic that often loses control of its story and almost falls apart due to some of its disastrous casting choices. (Casting directors, please stop casting Adam Driver as real-life Italians!)
It is still worth watching, primarily because of the dramatic real-life story of Enzo Ferrari, especially when he takes part in a car race that was necessary to save his company from ruin, and Ferrari’s long-suffering Great performance by Penelope Cruz as the wife. , Laura, who adds flavor to the film whenever she comes on screen. Mann is known for his masterpieces manhunter And HeatAnd his dynamic filmmaking here is enough, especially in the bravura climactic race sequence, to make you wish ferrari Was a better film.
ferrari Will run in theaters on December 25.