Written by Brennan
With the end of the Academy Awards, another year of movies is officially over! Before I move on to 2014, I want to recap a great year by sharing my top 10 movies of 2013. Looking at my list of favorite 2013 movies, I notice that these movies took me to places that I’ve never been to before (from outer space to Indonesia); gave me a taste of experiences that I have never experienced (from the ups and downs of 18 years of life and relationships to the horror of slavery in antebellum American South); and made me feel emotions that I have never felt before (from reflecting on the life of a deceased loved one to paranoia of a parasite that affects humans, pigs, and orchids). This is the magic of movies! We live only one life, but through movies we can experience the world in ways otherwise impossible.
Enough with the pretentious malarkey, here are my 10 favorite films of 2013, from #10 to #1:
10. Upstream Color
Directed by Shane Carruth
Evocative, beautiful, and ambiguous. Some movies are better experienced than understood. This is one of them. As far as the plot goes, a man and a woman come in contact with some sort of parasite that has a three-stage life cycle in humans, pigs, and orchids. We see how this parasite transfers from one being to the next and the effect it has. What exactly happens isn’t really clear, but it is a great experience that affected me in ways no other movie has. At times the movie veers dangerously close to “weird, over-dramatic hipster fodder”, but for the most part this movie is a unique and enthralling experience.
9. The Place Beyond the Pines
Directed by Derek Cianfrance
Speaking of flawed, unique and ambitious movies, The Place Beyond the Pines shoots for the stars and comes a little short, but is a great movie in its own merit. Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper play as two fathers whose choices shape their sons’ futures. Because of how big the movie is (it literally spans decades), it feels a little disjointed and episodic, with some parts working better than others, but the performances and themes are so powerful that I was moved deeply and can forgive its short-comings.
8. Blue is the Warmest Color
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche
Blue is the Warmest Color is a three-hour coming-of-age story of young Adèle, a French teenager. It was heart-warming and sad watching Adèle grow up into an adult. She experiences love, sadness, loneliness, regret, passion, obsession, lust, joy, anger, and every emotion that a young person feels in her formative years. It’s very satisfying to see a matured Adèle by the end of the movie. Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos absolutely steal the show by bringing to life two beautiful and flawed characters that are hard not to fall in love with.
7. The Spectacular Now
Directed by James Ponsoldt
The Spectacular Now is another coming-of-age movie that feels familiar because of its common story, but is elevated by a smart script and wonderful performances. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are absolutely perfect as a charismatic slacker that is reluctant to grow up and a self-conscious dreamer that is scared to speak up. The Spectacular Now stands out because of its naturalistic feel. At no point do I feel like I’m being manipulated to feel a certain way, I only see two damaged and genuine high school students on the brink of adult life. Watching their relationship and character arcs really brought me back and made me think of how I’ve changed since leaving high school.
6. Gravity
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Most people are probably familiar with Gravity, as it made 270 million domestically because of repeat viewings and boosted revenue from 3D and IMAX. It’s a very simple story that has been done many times before, but I’ve never seen it so beautifully done. I rarely recommend 3D, but this is one I was glad to see in 3D (and IMAX), as it was an incredible and immersive experience. There were times that I would just stare jaw hanging at the beauty and terror of space. It’s not a perfect movie, some story and character elements hold it back, but for sheer technical virtuosity I cannot help but say that this was one of the year’s best movies, and one that will never be forgotten.
5. Stories We Tell
Directed by Sarah Polley
Stories We Tell is a documentary about a family reflecting on the life of their deceased mother/wife, who died of cancer some 15 years earlier. The director Sarah Polley (and daughter of the mother) uses this opportunity to explore the uncertainty about the identity of her father. The story is told through interviews, and the effect is incredibly moving. Through reflections of friends and family members and some home video footage, we get to know Diane Polley, a vivacious, beautiful, and conflicted character. The documentary also begins to take on a narrative as Sarah closes in on the true identity of her father. It’s probably the most heart-warming movie I saw this year and it explores how people leave legacies and how time affects how we interpret our own stories.
4. 12 Years a Slave
Directed by Steve McQueen
This year’s Best Picture Oscar winner is a great one. Director Steve McQueen has brought to us the story of Solomon Northrup, a free black man from the North who is kidnapped and put into slavery in the South. McQueen has a relentless, unflinching visual style that makes his movies extremely powerful and difficult to watch (his previous films are Hunger, which is about a hunger strike in a prison, and Shame, which is about sex addiction). This will be remembered as the essential movie depicting America’s grim history of slavery. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o, and Michael Fassbender are also electrifying and bring the madness and horror to life. Just try to ignore Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine accent.
3. The Act of Killing
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, co-directed by Christine Cynn, and an anonymous Indonesian
Perhaps even more disturbing than 12 Years a Slave, The Act of Killing is a documentary about old Indonesian hit-men who helped carried out the killing of 500,000 communists and ethnic Chinese locals from 1965 to 1966. The hit-men, the most notable being Anwar Congo, agreed to do this documentary through the reenactment of the killings. This documentary is brilliant and terrifying, as the viewers are made to spend two intimate hours with an unapologetic and strangely likable mass murderer.
2. The Great Beauty
Directed by Paolo Sorrentino
A modern throw-back reminiscent of Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ and La Dolce Vita, The Great Beauty has a kinetic energy and meticulous composition that puts The Great Gatsby to shame. Add to that a charismatic lead in Toni Servillo and a story that explores modern detachment, duty to country, spirituality, and culture and you have one of the most interesting movies of the year.
1. 1. Before Midnight
Directed by Richard Linklater
This movie cheats a little, because it has two preceding films that set the stage for the story of Jesse and Celine. By way of introduction, Jesse and Celine first met 18 years ago on a train to Vienna, which is the premise of the first film of the trilogy, 1995’s Before Sunrise. Nine years later they meet again in Paris in 2004’s Before Sunset. Now nine more years have passed and we get to see how 18 years of love and life has treated these characters. It’s an incredible feat, but it’s not just a gimmick, these movies are amazing. The dialogue and performances are so perfectly natural and convincing that you forget that you’re watching a movie. Watching the life of these two fictional characters has been so powerful for me that it has forced me to rethink some ideas and expectations I have of love and life. This is the magic of movies. I will gladly sift through hundreds of crappy movies if occasionally I can find a beautiful work like this.
Honorable Mentions: Mud, Inside Llewyn Davis, Frances Ha, Computer Chess, Nebraska, Her, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Side Effects, Blue Jasmine, Leviathan
So what were your favorite films? Am I just a movie snob who only likes certain movies because they are not well-known? Which films do you agree/disagree with? Let me know! Hopefully 2014 is just as great.
