Here’s our (very delayed) list of the best international films of 2023. One big learning from 2023 is that having two kids under 3 in the household is not conducive to a lot of film watching. This will probably change in the not too distant future, but until then, we’re focusing on a top 20 instead of a top 30.
The list captures films from 5 continents (sorry Australasia) and features a lot of recognizable names as film festivals and distributors have returned to films that attract a wider range of film fans. Some of these films are brilliant – the returns of Aki Kaurismaki and Hayao Miyazaki are most welcome and there are also returns for less established names, such as Lila Aviles and Rebecca Zlotowski. In among are a few debuts, including an interesting and highly personal documentary from Milisuthando Bongela. We’re hoping to find more debut filmmakers in 2024 amidst some highly anticipated international releases from Mati Diop, Abderrahmane Sissako, Alonzo Ruizpalacios, and Victor Kossakovsky.
20 Best International Films of 2023
20. Milisuthando (South Africa)
Set in the past, present, and future of South Africa, Milisuthando is a memory-driven documentary that captures the South African experience with intimacy. Like the journal films of Jonas Mekas, it captures the feeling of a generation trying to put together the pieces of its past. In this case, an exploration of growing up through major political/historical events as South Africa ended apartheid.
19. Rimini (Austria)
Richie Bravo, once a ‘successful’ Schlager singer and ladies man, is now a middle aged hustler funded by half-filled restaurant concerts and prostitution. His character is a hilarious leftover from the easy-going 90s that just doesn’t fit in todays world. Whilst he assumes a free-loving Italian identity – maybe to counter his Dad’s Nazi days – he outwardly disdains the immigrants/refugees in the background. He’s a mess – but at least a big hilariously harmless one.
18. Bobi Wine: The People’s President (Uganda)
The inspiring leader battling political oppression road-show stops in Uganda after touring Russia (Navalny) and Kenya (Softie). In this documentary, our leader (Bobi Wine), is not just battling one of the worlds longest serving dictators, but continuing to release catchy reggae music. His fierce spirit and willingness to sacrifice himself for his country make this a captivating but difficult watch.
17. Other People’s Children (France)
A teacher full of life falls in love with Ali and grows close to his 4-year-old daughter, Leila. She becomes like a mother to her, provoking a desire for a family of her own. A rarely considered relationship and some great performances, makes Other People’s Children feel very touching and genuine.
16. The Blue Caftan (Morocco)
Touzani’s second feature follows the same style, setting, and structure as her first (Adam). It’s also filmed in close ups and a few mid distance shots to create a strong intimacy between the audience and her characters. The Moroccan setting is obvious but is subtly established through the close distance shots – we never see more than a few meters of streets, the tailor shop, or the bathhouse. Whilst many elements of the story follow Touzani’s debut, The Blue Caftan is another brilliantly warm portrayal of the battle between loyalty, friendship and love.
15. Godzilla: Minus One (Japan)
The 2024 Academy Award winner for Best Visual Effects is one of the most epic films of 2023. Without Godzilla, the film might resemble the overly patriotic notes of the new Chinese blockbusters a bit too closely. With Godzilla, it helps to reinforce the apocalyptic feeling of a country destroyed by World War 2 – not just by the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also by the carpet bombing of Tokyo where this film is set.
14. The Buriti Flower (Brazil)
2022 saw the release of National Geographic’s documentary The Territory, which followed the plight of indigenous people in the Brazilian rainforest. Whilst the documentary won awards for its coverage of deforestation and violence against indigenous people, The Buriti Flower tells it better. The Buriti Flower features the indigenous protagonists instead of processing their language and voices through mediators. In doing so, the Krahô are given a political voice and agency within their community and on the national scale.
13. City of Wind (Mongolia)
City of Wind covers the classic ‘tradition vs. modernity’ trope pretty well through its high-school coming-of-age romance. The setting stands out – Ulaanbaatar – which combines a mass of urban development with its rural, undeveloped outskirts, visualizing the encroaching development on tradition. Tradition is represented in a young shaman, balancing school with his cultural role as a ‘modern’ woman pulls him out of his focused life and into modernity. Will he or won’t he be the end of his cultural lineage?
12. Falcon Lake (Canada)
If there’s a genre that has a higher chance of landing on my best-of-the-year list than any other, it’s the summer vacation romance. The genre, especially when shot with grainy footage, always evokes a nostalgia for summer holidays filled with boredom-provoked spontaneity. Falcon Lake captures the summer vibes well and adds a layer of mystery fueled by lake based horror films.
11. Passages (France)
If a movie features Franz Rogowski, you can assume the acting is going to be worth watching, and Passages is no exception. He’s joined by a commanding Ben Wishaw and a naive Adele Exarchopoulos to make an electric love triangle that moves at Tomas/Rogowski’s whim.
10. Unrest (Switzerland)
It’s not easy to describe or categorize Unrest. It’s not a documentary, but it is too realistic to be a drama. The pacing feels closest to slow film, but with a unique historic lens that captures an era in the Industrial Revolution where everything has become farcically dictated by clock time (using different clocks – train, factory, home). The conflict between these clocks triggers a mini anarchist stand within a watch making factory in the Swiss mountains.
9. Chile 76 (Chile)
Chile 76 treads the same ground as a plethora of Chilean and Argentinian films which also cover their respective police states in the second half of the 20th Century. The red + blue paint scene is brilliantly memorable (if not a bit obvious), but this film stands out for its ability to drive anxiety like none of the films that preceded it. Thanks to a disruptive soundtrack, which turns mundane everyday scenes into ominously paranoid ones, we’re never allowed to settle.
8. Return to Seoul (France/South Korea)
Don’t even think about mentioning adoption or biological parents to Freddie. Perhaps the switch moments are a bit obvious, but Park Ji-Min flips her character brilliantly every time they come up. She plays the unpredictable character scarily – see Alfredo Castro in Pablo Larrains Tony Manero – or even a more edgy version of Renate Reinsve’s Julie in Worst Person in the World. But it’s not all about the performance, as the script keeps us invested in the growing identity crisis with each time-jump.
7. Fallen Leaves (Finland)
There’s no better film to break the anxiety-inducing Chile 76 and Return to Seoul than Fallen Leaves. It’s a beautifully simple love story featuring two down-to-earth lead characters, shot in an apparently ordinary style. Aki Kaurismaki makes filmmaking look easy.
6. Full Time (France)
Strap in for an everyday thrill ride. In Full Time, Eric Gravel turns managing hotel rooms into a high-octane thriller through frantic editing. The camera, like the lead actress, is always on the move creating anxiety-inducing cinema that will likely make you feel that your job and daily commute are a breeze.
5. Four Daughters (Tunisia)
Kaouther Ben Hania is back with more drama. Unlike her previous film, The Man Who Sold His Skin, Four Daughters is grounded in reality. Its authenticity and intimacy is granted by Olfa and her two daughters, who tell their family story with the help of actors playing their lost sisters within the confines of their four walls. Ben Hania encourages her cast to re-enact past trauma, like The Act of Killing, but on a more intimate scale, to create one of the most affecting movies of the year.
4. Rotting in the Sun (Mexico)
The best meta-comedy of the year, Rotting in the Sun features Sebastian Silva and Jordan Firstman playing satirized versions of themselves. It somehow manages to cross partying on gay nudist beaches with the mundanity of housework in Mexico City to create a film which will keep you guessing. It’s the most original film you’ll see from 2023.
3. The Delinquents (Argentina)
Argentina is the home of long, cosy, trivial mysteries. Our 2023 entry follows in the vein of El Pampero Cine, whose Trenque Lauquen was our favorite film of 2022. The Delinquents follows the stories of two men involved in a bank heist to escape unfulfilled lives as bank clerks. Their journeys take us to prison in remote Argentina, a beautiful riverside picnic spot, and famous pizza spots in Buenos Aires. If you have time for some indulgent storytelling – this is your best choice from 2023.
2. Totem (Mexico)
5 years after The Chambermaid and Lila Aviles is back with another affecting Mexico City film. This one takes place entirely within the confines of seven-year-old Sol’s family house as the family gets ready for a birthday party. Like the brilliance of Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding, Totem throws us into a family event and forces us to make ourselves comfortable. As we (the viewers) immerse ourselves in the family, the film becomes more and more emotional as the seriousness of the occasion becomes apparent.
1. The Boy And The Heron (Japan)
Miyazaki is back, and this one feels like a departing film as it makes peace with all the existential angst of his previous films. It also comes to terms with a legacy that may not be continued. It’s a magnificent end to an incredible career and gives us all one more chance to enjoy his magic. This is one of his best, and will continue to grow in the next few decades.
HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FILMS OF 2023:
Mami Wata (Nigeria), Smoking Causes Coughing (France), Suzume (Japan), The Eight Mountains (Italy), Godland (Iceland), Tiger Stripes (Indonesia), Society of the Snow (Chile), Terrestrial Verses (Iran), Los Colonos (Chile), El Conde (Chile)
If you think we’ve missed a film from a list that you think is one of the best international films of 2023, please get in touch on Twitter or by email.
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