Films of 2023.

Quick chat about films? Go on then.

Here are few films I watched in 2023 and quite liked. However, they did not necessarily come out in 2023.

It’s also not a very scientific process, as it basically involved me casting my eye over the films I’d watched and if it triggered a spark, or had stayed with me for some reason, then I put it down. It’s worth mentioning that I think expectation plays more of a part in my film enjoyment than I have previously acknowledged to myself. Absolute quality has always been a nonsense, but things always delight me more if I wasn’t expecting much from them, and I’m definitely harsher on things that I expected more from.

Anyway, that doesn’t really matter, these aren’t reviews, they’re just some fleeting glimpses.

One Fine Morning.

There’s beauty amid the tragedy of life.

The Robinson Trilogy (London, Robinson in Space, Robinson in Ruins).

A mesmeric meander through time, space and politics. I don’t really know how a five minute shot of some lichen on a road sign can be so captivating.

The Banshees of Inisherin.

Made me want a pint in a rural pub. To get over the crippling question of how to live a fulfilling life.

Zero Fucks Given.

Genuinely feels like you’ve put in a solid shift for a low-cost airline. And similarly, doesn’t end up where you’d expect.

The Great Beauty.

My kind of existential crisis; wandering through Rome in suit, only to be confronted by yourself and all you did or didn’t do.

Licorice Pizza.

I related hard to the relentless industry of teenage boys.

War Sailor.

Tapped into my fear of going down with a sinking ship. But also, a rare spotlight on that inconvenient end of war; all the victims.

All The Beauty And The Bloodshed.

Basically four documentaries in one, yet all inextricably linked, and immensely powerful. What a title, too.

So, there you go. I don’t know what the theme is, but I imagine there is a connection in there somewhere. And it’s probably back at the start, with my thoughts on One Fine Morning.

I’m closing the kiosk a little early today, I want to catch a movie, so I’ll say a quick goodbye and we’ll catch up properly next time.

Owen D. Pomery.