My Favorite Moviegoing Experiences Of 2023

The Trips To The Cinema That Defined My Year

After over 20 years of work as a film programmer, there is no point at all in denying my own subjectivity when it comes to how I articulate my appreciation of films. I don’t really like or care about “best of” lists or rankings or ratings on a numerical scale or “Tomatometers,” and especially when they are used as some sort of “consumer guide” for deciding whether or not to see a film. There is room in the conversation for all great films, so ranking them becomes irrelevant, declaring one of them better than another just a waste of time. Is it great? Great! Which great film is your “favorite?” Well, that’s another question… but an important one that needs context.

It should go without saying, but I need to see a film for myself and make up my own mind¹ and I am always, ALWAYS(!), of the opinion that a film of interest should be seen and considered without regard for what others think about it. Good film criticism, which I do find incredibly valuable, is ideally a well-considered reading of a film, the space where a work of art meets a thoughtful analysis of what it is attempting (consciously or unconsciously) and how it does or does not accomplish what it sets out to do². I take good criticism in and then, I experience a film using my own critical framework and however I experience it, well, that’s me.

And so, I like to dive into my annual list-making by highlighting my favorite filmgoing experiences. I also believe that if I’m going to put together a subjective list of favorite films from a year of filmgoing, I can’t just exclusively include new releases— repertory, film series, Q&As, industry screenings; all of them have had a profound impact on my year. I am fortunate enough to live in New York City and the decision to come here in the first place was framed by the experience of moviegoing, which includes all kinds of cinema. Also, as a film programmer, I think it is incredibly important to not only watch and experience older films on the big screen, but to support, recognize, and give credit to the programmers and institutions doing the important work of supporting all types of films, my colleagues who are working every day to keep the experience of filmgoing alive³.

To that end, 2023 proved once again that going to the cinema and seeing a movie on the big screen makes an absolute difference in supporting the art of film as it looks to endure yet another series of shifts in home distribution technology⁴. As someone who, in addition to programming and co-heading a film festival, co-leads a non-profit that books and operates its own six-screen cinema, I work daily to track ticket sales, study release calendars and box office projections, schedule films, co-market films with studios in our community, and work with a great team to see that our theater operates as a welcoming hub for our members and community. I am not interested in a list of films, but instead, the way in which we watch them and how that intertwines with the movies themselves to create the experience of the movie.

I am not a professional critic, and this way of building experiences through filmgoing is incredibly important to how my personal memories and appreciation for movies has always been built. Yes, the movie itself stands apart from my experience of it, but my joy, love, and passion for film is forever intertwined with being a subjective viewer, with my own history and understanding and taste and, frankly, preferences, the greatest of which is now and forever will be seeing a great film in a theater with an audience.

And so, here is my personal, subjective, unranked list of my favorite film experiences of 2023… caveat emptor, YMMV, etc, and here’s to the new year and to the trips to the cinema in 2024!

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PAST LIVES, ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT, and PASSAGES at Sundance

Is it the freezing temperatures? Piles of wet snow? Lining up in a tent in a parking lot? Dehydration at altitude? No, no— it is the magic of discovery that is my favorite part of attending Sundance. I wrote at length about Sundance on this blog, but the 2023 festival was as important as ever, featuring several great films. PAST LIVES and ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT were major discoveries for me⁵— two outstanding directors making their directorial debuts with stunning mastery of tone and beautiful storytelling. My most anticipated film of the festival, Ira Sachs’ PASSAGES, was delicious as well, a continuation of Sachs’ visionary work at the vanguard of truly independent filmmaking in this country. For all of the industry hand-wringing about the “value” of Sundance in a shifting marketplace for films, the festival experience remains a joy— a great opportunity to assess the shape of things to come in American filmmaking.

BARBIE at The Greene 14 in Dayton, OH

I wrote about this before, but for my generation of film programmers, there is an incredible amount of pride and satisfaction in watching a filmmaker that we have supported and whose career we helped nurture become a breakout sensation, so seeing Greta Gerwig’s brilliant, era-defining social critique of a popcorn movie was a moment of real introspection for me. On the one hand, I loved the movie and had a great experience watching it with my wife’s family at a multiplex in Dayton, OH on opening night. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but reflect on how far so many of the filmmakers I was lucky to get to know early in their careers have come. BARBIE was fuel for me as a programmer— an opportunity to celebrate the ascendancy of a generation of artists who are very dear to me, and a reminder to keep working to support the new filmmakers that will shape the culture in the years ahead.

GODZILLA MINUS ONE at The Regal Essex Crossing, NYC

Speaking of discoveries, I had no expectations at all when I took my sons to see GODZILLA MINUS ONE on a rainy autumn afternoon in Manhattan. But as the movie unspooled, I marveled as an entire (packed) theater became completely engrossed in its storytelling, with audible gasps, shouts, and cheers throughout this tale of a ragtag band of post-WWII Japanese citizens coming together to save their community from the legendary giant kaiju. This movie came seemingly out of nowhere— low budget, in Japanese with English subtitles, very little marketing— and knocked me, my kids, and our entire theater out. What a movie… and I never saw it coming!

YOU HURT MY FEELINGS and POOR THINGS at The Nitehawk Prospect Park/ AFIRE at Film at Lincoln Center

Date nights at the movies are the best, and this year, my wife and I got away from it all for three very memorable screenings— YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, Nicole Holofcener’s fun throwback of an independent comedy about marital and creative betrayals that had us talking late into the night, AFIRE, Christian Petzold’s story of longing, deception, and creative frustration that we both loved, and POOR THINGS, Yorgos Lanthimos’⁶ hilariously contemporary riff on the 19th century bildungsroman as a story personal and sexual liberation that had us laughing together and rooting for more “furious jumping” on the road to freedom. Going to the cinema is always special when you do it with someone you love.

NASHVILLE at The Nitehawk Prospect Park/ BIRTH at The Metrograph

One of my favorite parts of living in New York City is the opportunity to see some of my favorite films on the big screen. I caught a few favorites in the theater for the first time this year, but two screenings stand out— First, seeing the restoration of NASHVILLE on a huge screen at The Nitehawk Prospect Park on the 4th of July weekend was my first time seeing the film on the big screen and it did not disappoint, and then a late summer screening of Jonathan Glazer’s BIRTH, which I finally saw in 35mm⁷ at The Metrograph before I caught up with Glazer’s new film THE ZONE OF INTEREST (about which, more below). Both films are great and among my favorites, and both powerfully resonated with the person I am today. The opportunity to see older, personally important films in a dark theater with other people interested in the experience will always be one of my favorite things. Which…

TAXI DRIVER at Film Forum

In the mid-2000’s, I was lucky to be invited to work as a programmer at the Newport International Film Festival in Newport, RI⁸, and as part of the festival, was able to collaborate with the film preservation team at MoMA to feature a then-recently restored 35mm print of Martin Scorsese’s TAXI DRIVER⁹. So, when I saw that Film Forum was showing a 35mm print of TAXI DRIVER this summer, I invited my son and his friend to join me so they could see the film for the first time. Having grown up in Flint, MI, the idea of seeing TAXI DRIVER on 35mm in NYC was like a dream come true, but for my son and his friend? The movie was electrifying for them, and as we stepped out of Film Forum and onto the streets of Manhattan on a summer night, down into the torrid sweat of the subway, I couldn’t help but tell them how lucky they were that this was their first experience of seeing the movie—In New York City, on film, in a beloved cinema. Unbeatable. TAXI DRIVER retains all of its power, but watching it transform a new generation of film lovers for the first time was thrilling.

IRANIAN CINEMA BEFORE THE REVOLUTION: 1925-79 at MoMA

No film series captured my interest like this fall’s once in a generation survey of pre-revolution Iranian cinema at MoMA. The series landed right in the middle of my own film festival, so I wasn’t able to attend nearly as many films as I wanted to see, but what I did see was absolutely incredible. If I had to mark the discovery of the series for me, I would have to point toward the films of Bahrām Beyzāêi and especially his film STRANGER AND THE FOG, which was like nothing I had ever seen before. Contemporary Iranian cinema has been hugely important to me, but I was almost completely unfamiliar with films from before 1979. Kudos to guest curator Ehsan Khoshbakht and MoMA Film’s Joshua Siegel and La Frances Hui for the literal years of work that went into this series, which was a complete revelation and triumph.

Martin Scorsese, Todd Haynes, and Christian Friedel At The Montclair Film Festival/ KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON at The Nitehawk Prospect Park/ MAY DECEMBER & THE ZONE OF INTEREST for The Montclair Film Festival

As a film programmer, I am beyond fortunate to have had the opportunity to host and honor some of my cinematic heroes for their work (Altman, Bogdanovich, Herzog, Jewison, Kaufman, Streep, and Ullmann come to mind immediately), but this year was different. In the middle of the SAG-AFTRA strike, I was able to welcome Martin Scorsese and Todd Haynes to the Montclair Film Festival— Scorsese for our Tribute in celebration of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (which we did not screen as it was already in theaters) and Haynes for a Q&A that I got to moderate after our screening of his new film MAY DECEMBER¹⁰. In a stroke of extra good fortune, I was able to meet and host a Q&A with Christian Friedel, the star of Jonathan Glazer’s THE ZONE OF INTEREST¹¹. All of these experiences were absolute highlights of my work, but seeing all three of these films on the big screen— MAY DECEMBER and ZONE¹² as part of evaluating films for the festival and KILLERS at a public screening— was a huge part of my cinematic year. If I had to pick the three films I can’t stop thinking about in 2023, it’s these three. To be able to play a small part in helping build an audience for all three of them is something I never take for granted, but meeting these incredible artists and having them take the time to join us at our film festival? By far, a highlight of not only my year, but my career.

1. … and so do you!

2. Which is why read “reviews” and “criticism” after I see a film or, if I do read it before hand, do so knowing that I will, in every instance, be applying my own critical framework when I watch myself.

3. I see you and appreciate you all!

4. Radio —> Television —> VHS/Beta —> Videostores—> DVD/Blu-ray —> Streaming—> 77” OLED TVs with 7.1 Surround Sound at Home —> Collapsing & Non-existent Theatrical Windows that Prioritize Streaming Windows Over Theatrical—> Streamer Consolidation, etc etc.

5. …and a lot of other people as well

6. Lanthimos has really transformed his filmmaking… THE FAVOURITE seems to have been a major shift for him. Incredibly interested to see where he goes next…

7. BIRTH was my final ever Netflix DVD and I, uh, may still have a copy. 😬

8. The festival was transformed into a year-round non-fiction film non-profit called Newport Film, a wonderful institution you should support if you’re ever in the Newport, RI area.

9. As well as the restoration of LITTLE FUGITIVE which, a total joy.

10. Pinch hitting for Stephen Colbert, who was scheduled to moderate but who contracted COVID. Talking to Todd was incredible and I am so grateful to him for really diving into the film and its influences with me. Got a lot of compliments about our discussion, which are down to his generosity in the conversation.

11. I cannot say enough nice things about Christian, with whom I have a ton in common (#GenXForever) and who was incredibly thoughtful and kind both during the Q&A and backstage, shooting the shit. Rooting for his continued success!

12. I have a million things to say about THE ZONE OF INTEREST. I have also been thinking about Manohla Dargis’ negative review of the film in The New York Times. But let me just say: Manohla is a great writer and thinker, and a person I like and deeply respect. I disagree with her on this one, though… more later, when I have the chance to see the film again.