Key Films and Themes of 2013

It is nearly impossible to sum-up over-riding themes in a year of cinema, but its almost impossible to resist the temptation to do so. American cinema is nearly always the easiest to do so, due to the availability of such films, so I have attempted to place some re-occurring themes and matched them with corresponding films. I have also listed some key films from around the world that have either made an impact on cinema this year, or on me. This has meant some films mentioned I have not seen, but deserve to be mentioned due to their impact on others.

American cinema seems to have been mostly concerned with two, twinned themes. Isolation and Technology, and Inequality and Celebrity/Excess. These themes are unavoidable in modern day America, and therefore is of no surprise they have often cropped up. These themes have also been occasional supported by other key films from across the globe, but have been placed alongside American counterparts to support the idea.

Isolation

Upstream Color (Carruth)

Long anticipated second feature by Carruth. Represents isolation and connection through artificial means, all while only ever telling fragments of story at a time. Key American independent film.

Gravity (Cuaron)

Most clear-cut film about isolation, Gravity contrasts the vastness of space with the emotions of one human. Perfect blend of Hollywood scale and creativity.

Her (Jonze)

Leviathan (Castaing-Taylor and Paravel)

Technology

The Worlds End (Wright)

Last of the trilogy, The World’s End examines how technology and commercialisation is removing the heart and soul of the United Kingdom.

Computer Chess (Bujalski)

Incredibly creative, Bujalski’s latest feature looks at the fear of technology from the 80s, and how what seemed strange then, is beyond normal now. That’s all until the ending…

Inequality

Elysium (Blompkamp)

Not as great as District 9, but still able to present more challenging ideas than most Hollywood blockbusters would ever attempt to do. By taking on an extremely relevant subject matter in America right now, Blompkamp was always likely to split audiences. His vision however of the future is distinctive and beautiful. Both on Earth, and on Elysium.

The Purge (DeMonaco

Altogether ignored by critics, The Purge is an examination on white-middle class America, and how it demonises the poor. Unafraid to explore racism and prejudice. If Haneke made an American genre film.

12 Years a Slave (McQueen)

Captain Phillips (Greenway)

Fruitvale Station (Coogan)

The Immigrant (Gray)

Celebrity and Excess

The Great Beauty (Sorrantino)

Wondering and beautiful, The Great Beauty shows post-Bunga Bunga Italy. Shows the hollowness of extreme wealth.

The Bling Ring (Coppola)

Celebrity obsession. Coppola takes an interesting story and allows her actors the freedom to really embrace all of their silliness and contradictions. The American dream has become wanting more for nothing.

Pain and Gain (Bay)

Similar themes in Pain and Gain to The Bling Ring. Dismissed due to Bay being the director. Is funny, over the top, and slightly over-long, however does a fantastic job at showing how the American dream has become corrupted.

The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese)

The Lone Ranger (Verbinski)

A film not so much about excessiveness, but is the embodiment of the idea itself. Unfair criticism for the film damaged from start, but has already seen some retrospective consideration.

Key Asian

Wadjda (Al-Mansour)

Sold on the fact that it is the first Saudi film by a Woman, Wadjda has a lot more going for it than just that. Funny, and heartfelt.

Shady (Watanabe)

Biggest unknown, seen at the Raindance Film Festival. Completely sucks you in. The subtle tonal shifts throughout are incredibly done.

Stray Dogs (Ming-liang)

Like Father, Like Son (Koreeda)

A Touch of Sin (Zhengke)

The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer)

Topping a number of End of Year lists, The Act of Killing is perhaps the must-see documentary this year.

The Grandmaster (Kar-wai)

Blind Detective (To)

North/South America

La Reconstruccion (Taratuto)

An  Argentinian look at isolation, set in the deep cold South. The performance of Diego Peretti is a stand-out.

From Tuesday to Tuesday (Trivino)

Short Term 12 (Cretton)
Tom at the Farm (Dolan)

Prinsoners (Villeneueve)

Africa

Grigris (Haroun)

Although not as well received as previous effort, A Screaming Man, it is still of note due to the fact it is the only African film this year to break into the a main competition at this years festivals.

Mother of George (Dosunmu)

Europe

Blue is the Warmest Colour (Kechiche)

Beneath the controversy about the director/actress relationship, and the (shock horror) lesbian roles, Blue is the Warmest Colour is a perfectly pitched love/break-up story.

The Past (Farhadi)

Bastards (Denis)

Child’s Pose (Netzer)

Under the Skin (Glazer)

The Selfish Giant (Bernard)

The Double (Ayoade)

Ida (Pawlikowski)

Museum Hours (Cohen)