The end is nigh! After some spectacular highs (that party scene in Paolo Sorrentino’s majestic The Great Beauty) and some ludicrous lows (Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Diana – enough said), the year that dares to call itself 2013 is swiftly drawing to a not unsatisfying conclusion. As is now customary on the CineVue site, to celebrate the end of the year (and the start of 2014) we’ve asked a small pool of our top writers to list the films and performances they’ve most enjoyed from the myriad of screenings and international festivals attended over the last twelve months (films not yet released in the UK were also eligible). Take a look at the individual top ten lists below and do let us know your own picks by using the comment box.
CineVue*
Top 10 of 2013
1. Inside Llewyn Davis (37 points)
2. Upstream Colour (31 points)
=3. 12 Years a Slave (28 points)
=3. The Great Beauty (28 points)
5. The Act of Killing (27 points)
6. Under the Skin (25 points)
7. Her (15 points)
=8. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (14 points)
=8. Leviathan (14 points)
10. Zero Dark Thirty (10 points)
*Ranking was determined by points awarded for individual list positions (e.g. a #1=10 points, #2=9 points, #3=8 points etc).
Daniel Green, Editor
Top 10 of 2013
1. The Act of Killing (dir. Joshua Oppenheimer)
2. Inside Llewyn Davis (dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, US)
3. The Great Beauty (dir. Paolo Sorrentino, Italy)
4. 12 Years a Slave (dir. Steve McQueen, UK/US)
5. Norte, the End of History (dir. Lave Diaz, Philippines)
6. Her (dir. Spike Jonze, US)
7. Like Father, Like Son (dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda)
8. Stranger by the Lake (dir. Alain Guiraudie, France)
9. Leviathan (dir. Castaing-Taylor, Paravel)
10. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (Abdellatif Kechiche)
Best Director
Joel and Ethan Coen (Inside Llewyn Davis, US)
Best Performance
Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis, US)
Worst Film
Who Needs Enemies (dir. Peter Stylianou, UK)
Joe Walsh
Top 10 of 2013
1. The Great Beauty (dir. Paolo Sorrentino, Italy)
2. Inside Llewyn Davis (dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, US)
3. 12 Years a Slave (dir. Steve McQueen, UK/US)
4. Frances Ha (dir. Noah Baumbach, US)
5. Upstream Colour (dir. Shane Carruth, US)
6. Her (dir. Spike Jonze, US)
7. Stranger by the Lake (dir. Alain Guiraudie, France)
8. Leviathan (dir. Castaing-Taylor, Paravel)
9. The Selfish Giant (dir. Clio Barnard, UK)
10. A Field in England (dir. Ben Wheatley, UK)
Best Director
Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty, Italy)
Best Performance
Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha, US)
Worst Film
The Family (dir. Luc Besson, France/US)
Patrick Gamble
Top 10 of 2013
1. Under the Skin (dir. Jonathan Glazer, UK)
2. Leviathan (dir. Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel)
3. A Touch of Sin (dir. Jia Zhang-ke, China)
4. The Act of Killing (dir. Joshua Oppenheimer)
5. Upstream Colour (dir. Shane Carruth, US)
6. Beyond the Hills (dir. Cristian Mungiu, Romania)
7. The Great Beauty (dir. Paolo Sorrentino, Italy)
8. The Strange Little Cat (dir. Ramon Zürcher)
9. Museum Hours (dir. Jem Cohen, Austria/US)
10. The Wall (dir. Julian Pölsler, Austria/Germany)
Best Director
Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin, UK)
Best Performance
Luminita Gheorghiu (Child’s Pose, Romania)
Worst Film
Citadel (dir. Ciaran Foy, UK)
John Bleasdale
Top 10 of 2013
1. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (dir. Abdellatif Kechiche)
2. Upstream Colour (dir. Shane Carruth, US)
3. Gravity (dir. Alfonso Cuarón, US)
4. All Is Lost (dir. J.C. Chandor, US)
5. Under the Skin (dir. Jonathan Glazer, UK)
6. Inside Llewyn Davis (dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, US)
7. The Act of Killing (dir. Joshua Oppenheimer)
8. Blue Jasmine (dir. Woody Allen, US)
9. A Hijacking (dir. Tobias Lindholm, Denmark)
10. Captain Phillips (dir. Paul Greengrass, UK)
Best Director
Shane Carruth (Upstream Colour, US)
Best Performance
Adèle Exarchopoulos/Oscar Isaac – tie (Blue Is the Warmest Colour, France/Inside Llewyn Davis, US)
Worst Film
The Bling Ring/The Canyons – tie (dir. Sofia Coppola, US/Paul Schrader, US)
Ben Nicholson
Top 10 of 2013
1. Upstream Colour (dir. Shane Carruth, US)
2. 12 Years a Slave (dir. Steve McQueen, UK/US)
3. It’s Such a Beautiful Day (dir. Don Hertzfeldt)
4. Inside Llewyn Davis (dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, US)
5. The Act of Killing (dir. Joshua Oppenheimer)
6. Her (dir. Spike Jonze, US)
7. No (dir. Pablo Larraín, Chile)
8. Blue Is the Warmest Colour (dir. Abdellatif Kechiche)
9. Stranger by the Lake (dir. Alain Guiraudie, France)
10.Wadjda (dir. Haifaa al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia)
Best Director
Shane Carruth (Upstream Colour, US)
Best Performance
Adèle Exarchopoulos/Chiwetel Ejiofor – tie (Blue Is the Warmest Colour, France/12 Years a Slave, UK/US)
Worst Film
Movie 43 (dir. Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, US)
Craig Williams
Top 10 of 2013
1. Zero Dark Thirty (dir. Kathryn Bigelow, US)
2. Under the Skin (dir. Jonathan Glazer, UK)
3. At Berkley (dir. Frederick Wiseman, US)
4. Inside Llewyn Davis (dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, US)
5. The Great Beauty (dir. Paolo Sorrentino, Italy)
6. Before Midnight (dir. Richard Linklater, US)
7. 12 Years a Slave (dir. Steve McQueen, UK/US)
8. 4:44 Last Day on Earth (dir. Abel Ferrara, US)
9. Post Tenebras Lux (dir. Carlos Reygadas, Mexico)
10. Frances Ha (dir. Noah Baumbach, US)
Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty, US)
Best Performance
Toni Servillo (The Great Beauty, Italy)
Worst Film
A Good Day to Die Hard (dir. John Moore, US)
What were your favourite films of the year? Please feel free to leave your comments below.
The CineVue team wishes you all a Happy New Year, and make sure you look out for our upcoming 2014 preview piece.
Daniel Green
