(This piece original ran at Midwestfilmjournal.com)

First, a preamble.

Not every film has to be great. There are lots of good films out there that deliver what they intend. As you read Best of the Year lists here and elsewhere, I encourage you not to fall into the trap of believing that if a film isn’t deemed great, then it’s not worth a look. 

2023 was a year with plenty of good-enough, hit-the-target films. They range from the Florence Pugh-starring addiction drama A Good Person to the rip-roaring Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. There was the courtroom drama The Burial, the mystery A Haunting in Venice, the bio flicks Rustin and Nyad, and the low-key senior-meets-alien Jules — all films I’d bet will please a range of audiences as they did me. 

Onward.

As in past years, I’m going with Most Satisfying instead of Best for my year end list. I’ll add some additional pleasures — and some disappointments — at the end. 

Let’s go.

ROBOT DREAMS

How is it that one of the most deeply human films this year about relationships, past and present, is a dialogue-free animated film about a dog and his robot companion? 

How is it that one of the funniest films of the year is a dialogue-free animated film about a dog and his robot companion? 

How is it that the most romantic film of the year is a dialogue-free animated film about a dog and his robot companion? 

How is it that the most moving ending of a film this year comes at the conclusion of a dialogue-free animated film about a dog and his robot companion? 

How is it that the one film from this year that I’m looking forward to seeing again is a dialogue-free animated film about a dog and his robot companion?

A quiet masterpiece.

PAST LIVES

OK, so there’s another great film this year about relationships, past and present. This one isn’t animated or French. It has dialogue. And it concerns neither dog nor robot. 

It’s about Na Young (Greta Lee) and her childhood crush, Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), who reconnect years later via social media. It’s a joyful reunion and one complicated by the real world, the lives they’ve lived in between and the places where they are now. Gloriously, subtly acted, patiently directed and superbly written in a way that trusts its audience. Remarkably, it’s writer-director Celine Song’s feature debut.

ARE YOU THERE, GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET.

Here’s one that made me glad I’m not someone who only gravitates to movies within my targeted demo. 

There aren’t any gimmicks here. No directorial flourishes. Just smart, solid writing that gives a wonderful cast the material they need to give dimension to their characters. It’s the story of a young girl trying to figure out who she is, what she believes and who she is becoming. It’s got awkwardness, pain, joy and wonder, and it surprisingly avoids being too tidy.

A THOUSAND AND ONE

If you need a clear example to show that the Oscar race is largely about marketing, hype and connections, look no further. The fact that Teyana Taylor isn’t central to the discussion of Best Actress contenders would be baffling if the system was actually based on merit. 

Taylor fuses herself so directly with the character — an ex-con committed to keeping the child in her life out of foster care — that the idea of performance disappears. I don’t want to tell you much except to say the ending packs a wallop that is well-earned. Writer-director A.V. Rockwell and cinematographer Eric K. Yue capture New York City with an authenticity that would be astounding if it didn’t feel so natural. 

POOR THINGS

There were a batch of films this year that seemed driven by a desire for weirdness. Most wore out their welcomes well short of their run times (I’m looking at you, Saltburn, as well as others). 

But as Poor Things proves, weirdness plus character plus plot can make for a wonderful experience. This Frankenstein-once-removed marks a giant leap forward for director Yorgos Lanthimos. While the fish-eye lenses and occasional cinematographic look-at-me! touches can be annoying, they are at least brief and outweighed by a gleefully committed cast and an oh-so-fresh script.

ORIGIN

In most films about journalists, there’s a story — a narrative — that the protagonist is trying to figure out. Here, though, is a film about a writer developing and exploring a thesis. And if that sounds like a drag, well, writer-director Ava DuVernay proves otherwise. 

Origin steadfastly refuses to follow conventional Hollywood movie beats, instead mixing history and research with the author’s personal struggles. It adds up to a thoughtful and compellingly original film that refreshingly respects the intelligence and curiosity of its audience. 

OPPENHEIMER

There’s a pattern here. Every second film by Christopher Nolan is a strong one. Rebounding from the head-scratching why bother of Tenet, he turns what could easily be a talking-heads movie with a foregone conclusion into a riveting blockbuster hit. Of course, casting is key and here it’s impeccable. And unlike the passionless Inception and the fuzzy-headed Interstellar, Nolan here actually has a story to tell that matters.

THE ZONE OF INTEREST

Even with an event as horrifying and world-shaking as the Holocaust, it’s easy to have a what-else-is-there-to-say / -show attitude. But filmmaker Jonathan Glazer shakes up that idea with this soberly affecting look into the blind banality of life just outside of Auschwitz. 

GODZILLA MINUS ONE

The first time I’ve experienced a kaiju movie where I (and clearly the filmmakers) cared as much, if not more, about the human characters than the big guy.

POLITE SOCIETY

One of the most fun movies of the year, Polite Society plows fearlessly through martial-arts, high-school, heist and must-break-up-the wedding conventions with a joy that is infectious. 

OTHERS WELL WORTH A LOOK

Barbie is a blast and a bold and beautiful surprise of an IP movie — although I could have used a little less Ken and a recasting of Will Ferrell. I’m still sorting out what exactly happened in All of Us Strangers, but outstanding performances and a deeply melancholy mood kept me entranced. One of the worst-titled movies since Dick, Bottoms drew big laughs as did Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain. (I would have no objection to Please Don’t Destroy becoming the heir to Abbott & Costello, cranking out a goofy film a year. It sure would beat Happy Madison’s output.) 

Killers of the Flower Moon represented solid Scorsese but never surprised me. Still powerful, though. Monster proved a worthy follow-up to Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Shoplifters and Broker while not being quite as memorable as those. Anatomy of a Fall mixed courtroom and domestic drama into a suspenseful winner. You Hurt My Feelings had magic in the moments and relationships. And while I wasn’t thrilled with the ending of Dream Scenario, its setup worked like a … well, like a dream.

Disappointments? Yes, there were quite a few. I didn’t think The Holdovers offered anything fresh and was less enamored with the cast (beyond Paul Giamatti) than many others have been. May December felt like an acting exercise. Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City looked great but wrapped its interesting core stories and characters in a lame framing device (unlike his The French Dispatch, which did the opposite). Fair Play was slick but its pleasures were diminished by too much oh-come-on-ness. Theater Camp felt like watching your least-funny friends trying to do improv. Beau is Afraid sacrificed an inventive first 45 minutes or so with another hour-and-a-half of tedium.  

In all, though, a good year for movies. 

Onward to 2024, the year of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes …