John Waters Reveals His Top 10 Films of 2023 – Ari Aster & Schrader
by Alex Billington
December 7, 2023
Source: Vulture
“Dig it. Dig it deep, sir.” Always a delight to find out John Waters’ loved from this past year in film! One of our favorite “best of the year” lists that kicks off this time of the year is from filmmaker John Waters – his Top 10 favorite films in a list that is unlike any other. For 2023, Waters has chosen a rather intriguing mix of 10 favorite films, featuring Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (yes for real!) and Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid. His previous Top 10 list from 2022 included two François Ozon films on it, but this year there is no Ozon or Dupieux, though there are three other French films that he enjoyed for various kooky reasons. Highlights from 2023 include the excellent thriller Full Time, and Aki Kaurismäki’s romantic comedy Fallen Leaves (which everyone else adores, too). After years of publishing this list with the magazine ArtForum, Waters has switched it up and sent it to Vulture instead. Peruse all of his Top 10 favorites from 2023 below.
Waters includes a short one/two-sentence explanation with each pick, so head to Vulture to read all of his thoughts on his Top 10 of 2023. I’ve included a few of his comments in quotes below for some of the films where he said some interesting things. Without further ado, here are John Waters’ Top 10 Films of 2023:
1. Beau Is Afraid (dir. Ari Aster) “A superlong, super-crazy, super-funny movie about one man’s mental breakdown with a cast better than Around the World in 80 Days: Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone, Parker Posey, Nathan Lane, and Amy Ryan. It’s a laugh riot from hell you’ll never forget, even if you want to.”
2. A Prince (dir. Pierre Creton)
3. Master Gardener (dir. Paul Schrader) “Another erotic movie featuring gardening, this time an S&M one with stud-muffin-Nazi overtones and Sigourney Weaver in the best performance of the year as a sugar mama with a heart for vengeance. Dig it. Dig it deep, sir.”
4. Full Time (dir. Éric Gravel)
5. Last Summer (dir. Catherine Breillat)
6. Sparta (dir. Ulrich Seidl)
7. Fallen Leaves (dir. Aki Kaurismäki) “Another deadpan Finnish kitchen-sink melodrama from one of the world’s greatest auteurs. An alcoholic factory worker and a lonely supermarket clerk meet by chance and struggle to fall in love. It’s drab, it’s short, it’s beautiful, and it lacks nothing. Just call it Unmagnificent Obsession. Shut up and love it.”
8. Strange Way of Life (dir. Pedro Almodóvar)
9. Oppenheimer (dir. Christopher Nolan) “Deserves the Oscar for being a big-budget, star-studded, intelligent action movie about talking.”
10. Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World (dir. Radu Jude)
What do you make of Waters’ Top 10 list for this year? Have you seen all of the films he lists this year? His picks for 2023 are a mix of strange and conventional films – Oppenheimer and Master Gardener and even Beau Is Afraid are not as unusual as his typical favorites. I also loved Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (watch the trailer), especially because it has an adorable doggie in it, but mainly because it’s such a heartwarming off-beat romance. I’m also a big fan of Full Time (here’s my review), the acclaimed French film about a working woman & single mother starring the incredible Laure Calamy. I haven’t seen Last Summer or Strange Way of Life yet, missed these on the festival circuit but still want to catch up with them sometime soon. Another Quentin Dupieux film didn’t make his list this year? Wait until Waters watches Dupieux’s Daaaaaali!. There are usually some strange and one-of-a-kind films to watch, and Waters is always introducing us to some of the most underrated films of the year. As usual, it is good to pick at least one of these you haven’t seen yet, and give it a look to see if it impresses/intrigues you as much as it did him. Thoughts on these 2023 faves?
 |
